Слово 43. О том, что пренебрегающий настоящим возобладает тем и другим, и что любостяжание хуже всякой грязи и нечистоты.

Since from the beginning, beloved, a certain great grace was to be shown to people, God, wanting to do this not as a gift, but to provide it as a duty, arranged first of all that a man gave his son at the command of God, so that it would not seem like a great thing when He betrayed His Son if a person did this for Him, so that it would not be considered that this was done only as a gift, but also as a duty. After all, if we love someone, we want to gift them in such a way that it seems that first we received some little from them and then we gave them everything, and we boast more about what we received than about what was given, we do not say: “This is what we gave him,” but: “This is what we received from him.” “Why,” it is said, “we received it as a sign” (“The same is true for the parable”) (Heb. 11:19), i.e. as if in a riddle, which was the parable of Isaac's ram, or as if in a similarity. Since the sacrifice was made and Isaac was killed voluntarily, that is why he is given as a gift to the patriarch. Do you notice, and now it turns out the same thing that I always talk about: when we improve our spiritual mood, when we show that we neglect earthly objects, then it will be given to us earthly things as a gift, and not before, so that we, having received according to need, will not experience even greater embarrassment. “Free yourself,” he says, “from slavery, and then take it, so that you no longer take it as a slave, but as a master. Neglect wealth and you will be rich; despise glory, and you will be famous; neglect to take revenge on your enemies, and then you will achieve it; neglect peace, and then you will receive it, so that when you receive it, you will receive it not as a prisoner, not as a slave, but as a free man.” Just as it happens with small children, when a child desires children’s toys, for example, a ball and the like, we hide them with great diligence so that they do not interfere with necessary things, and when the child does not pay attention to them and no longer desires them, we give them carefree, knowing that this will no longer harm him, since that wish is no longer able to distract him from necessary things, so God, when he sees that we no longer desire real objects, allows them to be used, and we own them as free men, as husbands, and not as children. And when you neglect to take revenge on your enemies, then you will achieve this - listen to what is said about this: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink, and it is added: for by doing this you will heap burning coals on his head” (Rom. 12:20). Again, when you neglect wealth, then you will achieve it - listen to how Christ says about it: “Whoever has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29). And when you neglect glory, then you will achieve it - listen also to how Christ Himself speaks about this: “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant” and again: “whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 20:26, 23:12). What are you saying? When I get the enemy drunk, will I then punish him? When I give up my property, will I then own it? When I humiliate myself, then will I be exalted? “Yes,” he says, “because such is My power – to deliver the opposite through the opposite. I am rich and skillful; don't be afraid; The nature of things follows My will, and I do not follow nature; I do everything, and I do not submit myself; therefore I want to change it and transform it.” And why are you surprised by this? After all, you will find the same thing in everything else. If you give offense, then you will be offended; if you are offended, then you will not be offended. If you take revenge, then you will not be avenged, but you will take revenge on yourself, because it is said: “He who shares with a thief hates his own life” (“he who loves unrighteousness hates his own soul”) (Prov. 29:24). Do you notice that it was not you who were offended, but you who caused it? That is why Paul says: “Why would it be better for you not to remain offended?” (1 Cor. 6:7). Do you notice that this does not mean tolerating offense? When you offend, then you will be offended; Many people partly know this when they say to each other: “Let’s leave here so that you don’t offend yourself.” How is this? So there is a long distance between him and you; whatever insults you give, he will consider it glory. Let us think about this most of all, and we will put ourselves above insults. And how, I will tell you. If we had an argument with someone dressed in purple, then by insulting him, we would consider that we had insulted ourselves, because we would recognize ourselves as worthy of communicating with him. What are you saying, tell me? You, being a citizen of heaven, possessing a higher philosophy, reduce yourself to communication with someone who thinks about earthly things? After all, even if he owned immeasurable wealth, if he enjoyed government power, he still has no knowledge of your good. Do not insult yourself by insulting him; Spare yourself, not him; Do yourself the honor, not him. Isn’t there a saying: “He who salutes honors himself”? And it’s true: he doesn’t honor him, but himself. Listen to what one sage says: “Do honor to your soul according to its worth” (Sir.10:31). “According to her dignity” - what does this mean? “If,” he says, “you have been covetous, do not be covetous; If you insulted, don’t insult.” Tell me, please: if some poor man took the dung thrown out of your barn, would you call a court over it? No way. Why? So as not to offend yourself, so that everyone does not judge you. The same thing happens now. A rich man is a poor man, and as much as he gets rich, he becomes poor in true poverty. Gold is dung thrown into a stable, not lying in a house, because your house is Heaven. So, will you call a trial because of him? And the higher citizens will not condemn you? Will they not cast you out of your fatherland, you so low, so insignificant, that you begin to argue over a small amount of manure? After all, if the world were yours and someone would take it, would there really be a need to argue? Don’t you know that if you took the universe ten times, and a hundred, and a thousand, and twice as much, it would still not be equal to even a small part of heavenly blessings? He who admires what is here degrades what is there, and to the extent that he considers the former worthy of concern, he loses the latter and will not even be able to admire it: and how could he be otherwise if he is carried away by the former? Let us break the snares and networks: these are precisely earthly objects. How long will we keep going downhill? How long will we plot against each other, like animals, like fish? It’s better to say that animals do not plot against each other, but only against those of a different breed, for example, a bear does not willingly kill a bear, and a snake does not kill a snake as belonging to the same breed; But you, having thousands of motives for justice in relation to the same thing - kinship, rationality, knowledge of God, the power of nature and much more - kill him, your relative and companion by nature, and plunge him into thousands of disasters? What is the need if you don’t thrust a sword, don’t put your right hand into your throat? You do something else, more painful - you oppress with incessant sorrows. If you had done that, you would have relieved him of his worries; now you overwhelm him with slavish hunger, despair, and a multitude of sins. I say this, and I will not stop saying it, not at all inclining you to murder and not encouraging you to another, less important evil, but with the goal that you will not be arrogant, as if you do not have an answer, because it is said: “He kills his neighbor who takes away his food” (Sir.34:22). Let us finally hold our hands; It’s better to say - we won’t hold back, but we will extend them in a good way, not for covetousness, but for alms. Our hand is neither barren nor dry; dry - one who does not give alms; and she who engages in covetousness is dirty and unclean. Let no one eat with such hands, because it is an insult to the guests. Tell me: if someone invited us to recline on carpets, delicate bedspreads and tablecloths woven with gold, in a huge and shiny house, with a large crowd of servants, then offered silver and gold dishes filled with valuable and varied dishes, and forced us to eat, and meanwhile reclined with our hands stained with dung or human feces, would we endure it? Wouldn't anyone who suffered such torment consider it an insult? I think that even now I would jump out. Now you see that not only your hands, but also the very dishes are filled with the most perfect manure - and you don’t jump out? Aren't you running away? Don't you reproach? Even if he has power, you value him highly - and destroy your soul by eating such food? Indeed, covetousness is worse than any dung, because it is not the body, but the soul that gets dirty so that it is difficult to wash. So, seeing him reclining with his hands and face defiled by this dung, in a house and at a meal full of this dung, and those dishes are even dirtier and more disgusting than this dung, do you feel honored, expecting pleasure? And are you not afraid of Paul, who allowed us to go freely to the table of the Greeks (pagans), if we wished, but did not allow us to go to the tables of the covetous if we wanted? “If,” he says, “anyone who is called a brother remains a fornicator” (“If someone is called a brother, he will be a fornicator”) (1 Cor. 5:11), here calling every believer, not a monk, a brother. What exactly produces brotherhood? A bath of rebirth, the ability to call God Father. Thus, a monk, if he is only a catechumen, is not a brother; and a believer, even if he is a layman, is a brother. “If,” he says, “someone calls himself brother.” And then there was no trace of the monks, but all this blessed one spoke to the laity. “If,” he says, “anyone, while calling himself a brother, remains a fornicator, or a covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a predator; You can’t even eat with someone like that” (“If a certain person, we call him a brother, becomes a fornicator, or a covetous person, ... or a drunkard, with such a person is below food.”). But with the pagans it is not so: “If one of the unbelievers, meaning the pagans, calls you and you want to go, then eat everything that is offered to you” (1 Cor. 10:27). “If a certain brother, calling himself a brother... remains a drunkard.” Alas, what thoroughness! And not only do we not run away from drunkards, but we also come to them and have fellowship with them. Therefore, everything with us was turned upside down, everything was mixed up, distorted, and perished. Tell me really: if one of these invited you to a feast, you, who are considered poor and insignificant, then heard from you that “since what was offered was obtained through covetousness, I will not allow my soul to be defiled,” would he not be ashamed, confused, or blush? This alone would be enough to correct him and make him consider himself unhappy in wealth, and you be surprised in poverty - if only he saw that you neglect him with such jealousy. But we, I don’t know why, have become slaves of men, although Paul here and there cries out: “Do not become slaves of men” (1 Cor. 7:23). Why did we become slaves, tell me? Because before we became slaves of the belly, money, fame and everything else, we sold the freedom that Christ gave us. And what, tell me, awaits the one who has become a slave? Listen to what Christ says: “a servant does not remain in the house forever” (John 8:35). This is the final decision - he will never enter the Kingdom. “House” means exactly this: “in My Father’s house,” says the Savior, “there are many mansions” (John 14:2). So, “a slave does not remain in the house forever,” he calls him a slave, a slave of sin. And whoever does not remain in the “house” forever, remains in Gehenna forever, receiving no consolation from anywhere. But things have reached such a level of wickedness that they even make alms out of this money, and many accept it. That is why we have lost confidence and are not able to reproach anyone. Nevertheless, at least from now on, we will avoid the harm that comes from here, and you, who unwrap this dung, will refrain from such destruction. Just as a dead body does not use any sense and, moreover, is painful for those approaching, so sin immediately shakes the thinking ability and does not leave even the soul itself in peace, but leads to disorder and confusion. They say that when a pestilence appears, it destroys bodies. The same is true of sin: it is no different from an ulcer, except that it does not first spoil the air and then the body, but immediately attacks the soul. Do you not see how those who are exposed to the ulcer swell, how they are filled with stench, how disgusting their appearance is, how unclean they are? The same is true for sinners, although they don’t notice it. Tell me really: isn’t he worse than anyone suffering from a fever who is captivated by the love of money or bodies? Isn’t he the dirtiest of all who commits and suffers all sorts of shamelessness? What is more shameful than a husband who loves money? The very thing that dissolute women and actresses do on stage, he does not refuse to do - it is even possible that they are more likely to refuse than he is: he takes on things suitable for slaves, currying favor with those whom he should not, constantly falling into variability; he panders and flatters dishonest men and often spoiled old men, who are much poorer and more insignificant than him, while he insults and brazenly dishonors others, good and completely virtuous. Do you notice the dual indecency and shamelessness? And humiliation beyond measure, and insolence. But dissolute women stand in the dwelling; and their fault is that they sell their bodies for money. They are said to be motivated by poverty and hunger. Even if they were strongly encouraged, this is not enough to justify it: it would be possible for them to live by work. And here the covetous man stands not in a dwelling, but in the middle of the city; not the body, but the soul, he sells to the devil, so that he communicates with him, comes to him as to a real harlot, and, having satisfied all his desires, leaves; and the whole city is looking at it, not two or three husbands. Another property of dissolute women is that they give themselves to the one who offered the gold: whether a slave or a monk, or whoever, if he offers payment, is accepted; and free people, even if they were the most noble, are not allowed without silver. Those do the same here: they shy away from correct thoughts that do not bring silver, and communicate with vile and truly godless thoughts for the sake of gold, communicate obscenely and lose the beauty of the soul. Just as those (harlots) are by nature ugly, black, coarse, shapeless, poorly built and disgusting in all respects, so their souls are not able to hide their ugliness under external rubbing. Where there is extreme disgrace, no matter what they come up with, you cannot hide. And what shamelessness does to harlots, listen to how the prophet says: “but you had the forehead of a harlot, you threw away shame” (“you did not want to be ashamed of everyone, you would have the face of a harlot”) (Jer. 3:3). The same can be said to covetous people: “You were shameless with everyone, not with this or that, but with everyone.” How? Such a person is not ashamed of his father, nor his son, nor his wife, nor his friend, nor his brother, nor his benefactor, nor anyone at all. And what am I saying – friend, brother, father? He is not ashamed of God Himself, but everything seems to him a fable, and he laughs, intoxicated with great lust, and even by hearing he does not perceive anything that could benefit him. Oh, recklessness and foolish speech! Woe to you, mammon, and to him who does not possess you! Here I am bursting with anger: woe indeed to those who say this, even if they say it in jest! Tell me: didn’t God threaten such a threat, saying: “You cannot serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24)? Aren't you depriving the threat of its power? Doesn't Paul say that this (covetousness) is idolatry, and doesn't he call the covetous person an idolater? And you stand and laugh, like public women, causing laughter, like actresses on stage? This produced general disorder and destruction; everything with us turned to laughter, wit and sophistication; nothing serious, nothing solid. I’m not just saying this to worldly men, but I know who I mean: after all, the church is full of laughter, as soon as someone tells a joke, laughter immediately rises from those sitting. The devil dances everywhere, he has penetrated everyone, he has taken possession of everyone; Christ is dishonored, rejected, there is no church in any part. Do you not hear what Paul says: “Let filthy talk and idle talk and witticism be cut away from you” (Eph. 5:4)? He puts wit next to foul language, and you laugh? What is idle talk? Something that does not contain anything useful. And you - a monk, crucified, sighing - are you also still laughing and grinning? Are you laughing, tell me? Have you heard anywhere of Christ doing this? Never. But He often grieved: when He looked at Jerusalem, He shed tears; when I thought about the traitor, I came into emotional shock; when I was going to resurrect Lazarus, I cried, but are you laughing? If one who does not sympathize with the sins of others is worthy of condemnation, then what kind of leniency will be worthy of one who is insensitive to his own and laughs? A time of crying and sorrow, strangulation and enslavement, struggle and sweat, and you laugh? Don't you see what reproach Sarah deserves? Do you not hear what Christ says: “Woe to you who laugh now! For you will weep and lament” (Luke 6:25)? You eat this every day. What exactly are you saying, tell me? Do you say “I laughed”? No. But what? “I have labored in my groaning.” But perhaps there are some who are frivolous and stupid enough to laugh at this teaching, since we are talking about laughter. Such is insanity, such is madness: insensitive even to instruction! The priest of God stands offering the prayers of everyone, and you laugh and are not afraid? He offers prayers for you too, but you don’t pay attention? Do you not hear what the Scripture says: “Woe to those who are careless”? Aren't you trembling? Can't hold back? Entering the royal palace, you adorn yourself with your appearance, your gaze, and your gait, but here, where the true royal palace is and everything is the same as in Heaven, do you laugh? I know that you do not notice: hear that Angels are everywhere, and especially in the house of God they stand before the King, everything is filled with these incorporeal forces. This word of mine also applies to wives who do not dare to do this freely in the presence of their husbands, and if they do, it is not always, but only during rest; here - always. Tell me, wife: do you cover your head and laugh while sitting in church? You came in to confess your sins, fall before God, beg and beg Him for your evil sins, and you do it with laughter? How can you please Him? “But,” you say, “what’s wrong with laughter?” It is not laughter that is bad, but excessive and inappropriate laughter that is bad. Laughter is built into us so that when we see friends after a long time, we would laugh; so that when we find someone in confusion and fear, we would encourage him with a smile - without laughing or laughing all the time; This is why laughter is built into our soul, so that the soul sometimes gets rest and does not languish. Likewise, bodily desire is inherent in us, and yet, due to the fact that it is embedded, there is no inevitable need to use or not use it beyond measure, but we restrain it and do not say: “since it is embedded, we will use it.” Serve God with tears so that you can wash away your sins. I know that many mock us, saying: “Now there are tears!” Because it’s time for tears! I know that they make a wish when they say: “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die!” (1 Cor. 15:32). “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” (Eccl.1:2). It is not I who say this, but the one who has known all things by experience says this. “I... built myself houses, planted myself vineyards, made myself cisterns... acquired for myself servants and maidservants” (Eccl. 2:4, 6-7). So what happens after all this? “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” . So, let us weep, beloved, let us weep, so that we may truly laugh, truly be comforted in a time of bright joy. Sadness is always mixed with local joy, and it can never be found in its pure form; but the one there is pure, unfalse, without any deceit, without admixture; Let us enjoy this joy and strive for it. It is impossible to achieve it otherwise than by preferring here not what is pleasant, but what is useful, being little upset by sorrow and enduring everything with gratitude. In this way we will be able to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven, which may we all be worthy of in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom be glory to the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. Ἐκλογαί άπό διαφόρων λόγων . Under this name are known collections of conversations compiled by various persons after the death of Chrysostom on certain topics, from those related to the topics and especially liked by the compilers of the works of the saint. The passages are given partly in a literal presentation, partly in a free retelling and are borrowed both from the original works of Chrysostom, and from works only attributed to Chrysostom, which have not only survived to this day, but have also been lost. These Eclogues (selections) were widespread and were used by both private individuals and kings. Known, for example, is the luxurious collection of Eclogues, owned by the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros Botaniatus (1078–1081), registered among the codices of the Koalene Library under No. LXXIX. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: