In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Brothers and sisters! Today is the great feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. This holiday is also called Epiphany and Enlightenment. Enlightenment because God is the eternal Light that enlightens the world. In ancient times, it was customary in the Church for catechumens, that is, those taught the truths of Christianity, to receive Baptism – the Sacrament through which the soul of a person becomes bright and angelically beautiful – on Pascha and on the day of Theophany. This feast is also called enlightenment because in antiquity there was a custom on the night before Epiphany to light bonfires and torches in the streets, squares, crossroads and courtyards, to sing wondrous songs to God all night, so that the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople, seemed to be engulfed in flames on these nights. This feast is called Epiphany because after Baptism the Lord went out to preach the Gospel, showed Himself to the world as the Savior and Messiah. In addition, at the time of Baptism, the Holy Trinity revealed Himself: the Father through a voice from heaven, testifying that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; The Holy Spirit descends on the head of Jesus Christ in the form of a snow-white, radiant dove. Brothers and sisters! At night, when only a few of his disciples remained near John the Baptist, Jesus Christ came from Galilee to the banks of the Jordan and ordered the Forerunner to baptize Him. The Lord said: "Thus must we fulfill all righteousness" (Matt. 3:15). What do these words mean – to fulfill the truth? First, to do first by deed what He will teach and preach. Jesus Christ fulfilled all the commandments Himself, then taught them to the people. Secondly, the Lord showed an example of humility – being the Son of God, He was baptized of the son of man. This means that the truth of God lies in the fact that we carry out our ministry in humility. Jesus Christ, together with John the Baptist, entered the waters of the Jordan. During the baptism, people confessed their sins to the great prophet, but Jesus Christ was sinless, so He entered the waters of the river at night. John the Baptist baptized people with the words: "I baptize you in the name of the coming Messiah!" – but the Messiah Himself stood before him, so John the Baptist did not utter a word. He only touched the head of Jesus Christ with his hand. And, as the Holy Fathers write, by this touch John himself was baptized by the Son of God. Then they went ashore. The Holy Fathers say that during Baptism the Lord sanctified the waters of the world, turning them into an element for the celebration of this Sacrament. The ancient world arose from water. The first life, with God's blessing at the time of the creation of the world, began in the seas and rivers. When wickedness spread so widely on earth that people's repentance was no longer possible, the Flood destroyed mankind, except for Noah's family. The waters, as it were, washed away, buried the sin of the earth in themselves. Brothers and sisters! As groundwater nourishes the roots of trees and plants, so the grace of the Holy Spirit, which Christians receive during baptism, never fails. Whatever sins they have committed, the grace of God always calls a person to repentance, calls a person to good. The Fathers of the Council of Carthage write: "Without grace we can not only do anything good, but we cannot even think of it!" Thus, today the first of the Sacraments of the Christian Church was established – the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Therefore, I want to briefly tell you about its symbolism. Those who wish to be baptized enter the narthex of the church. He should stand dressed in one long shirt without a belt, with loose hair, as a sign that he renounces his past life, everything worldly, as if he does not have anything from the past on himself. He stands with his head bowed, bent, with his arms folded on his chest, facing the east. The East means the land of light, paradise and the Kingdom of Heaven. From the Lord, this man, standing as if condemned, seeks and waits for deliverance. The priest blows three times on his face and chest and puts his hand on his head. This means the breath of the Holy Spirit, Who casts out the evil spirit from the heart of man. Then the priest reads incantatory prayers. And so the one being baptized together with his godfather turns to the west. In church symbolism, the West means the land of darkness, the kingdom of the demon. Man now becomes a soldier of Christ, who must resist this dark kingdom with God's help. And he says: "I deny Satan, his works, his pride and service to him!" Spitting is a sign of disgust, a sign of hatred for sin and for the demon as the father of sin. Then he, together with his godfather, turns to the east and makes a solemn vow, takes an oath: "I am united with Christ," that is, I will not fulfill the will of the demon, not the will of my passions, but only the will of God. Thus, brothers and sisters, and all of us have made a vow, we have taken an oath to submit our will to the commandments of Jesus Christ. Then the godfather or the baptized reads the prayer The Symbol of Faith is a brief summary of the truths and dogmas of the Christian faith, outside of which there is no true communion with God, there is no fullness of salvation. Then the priest blesses the water, praying that it will gain the grace and power of the Jordanian waters. Then he anoints the person to be baptized with oil: forehead, chest, arms and legs. Here is the next symbol: when the flood ended, Noah let the dove out of the ark, and it returned, carrying an olive branch in its beak (Gen. 8:11) – evidence that the flood had stopped, that the wrath of God had ended. And in baptism, anointing with oil means the reconciliation of the sinner with God. Likewise, the Apostle Paul says: You, wild olive tree, have been grafted in... and became a partaker of the good root (Romans 11:17). In this case, the good root is the Church, of which the baptized person becomes a member. After that, the priest performs the great Sacrament of Baptism itself. At the same time, the font into which the baptized person is immersed signifies the cave, the burial cave of Jesus Christ. Water signifies the earth. Triple immersion in water means death and resurrection with Jesus Christ. Immersion three times – in honor of the Holy Trinity and in memory of the three-day stay of Jesus Christ in the tomb. Thus, baptism means that we have died to a life of flesh and sin and have been resurrected with Christ to spiritual life, to eternal life. Then the priest anoints the baptized person, who has already been baptized, with myrrh. Myrrh is prepared in a special way from many flowers and aromatic substances. During its preparation, the Gospel is constantly read. In the Sacrament of Chrismation, a person receives the strength to fulfill the Gospel commandments, the strength to struggle with his passions, the power to live according to the will of God. Then the baptized person goes around the font and the table on which the Cross and the Gospel lie three times. What does this rite mean? The circle means eternity. The threefold circumambulation of the font – by this the Church seems to say that baptism is the beginning of eternal life with God, that this life never ends, that it is all eternal abode, eternal communion of the soul with the Triune God, eternal approach to Him. Then the Epistle and the Gospel are read, which speaks of the command of Jesus Christ to the apostles to go to all corners of the world, to teach and baptize the people. The very reading of the Gospel symbolizes eternal life, which a person can enter only by fulfilling the Gospel commandments. Reading the Gospel means that a person must live worthy of the vows of baptism. This is followed by the last rite - cutting the hair. In ancient times, when the master bought a slave, he cut off his hair and kept it as proof that this person belonged to him. And here, when the hair of the person being baptized is cut, it is a sign that now his master and master alone is God, that he belongs completely to God, as a servant belongs to his master. But slavery to God – there is nothing humiliating in this word. Slavery to God is a voluntary submission to one's sinful will – the Divine will, the holy and good will. By giving himself over to slavery to God, a person receives freedom from his passions and becomes truly blissful and happy. Brothers and sisters! Great is the power of baptism. In the time of the emperor Julian the Apostate, there lived a certain actor named Genesius. He was engaged in ridiculing Christianity, ridiculing the Christian Sacraments and the Church. Julian the Apostate hated Christianity. He fought against it not only with fire and sword, but also with slander and sarcastic ridicule. And one day, when Genesius in front of a crowd of people, in the presence of the emperor, mocked the Christian faith, then, in the course of his vile comedy, he jokingly jumped into a vat of water with the words: "The servant of God is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!" There was a roar of laughter in the crowd. The actor came out of the water and shouted: "I am a Christian!" The laughter continued, but the comedian made a sign for the people to be silent, and turning in the direction where the emperor was sitting, he said loudly: "Emperor, I am a Christian, these are the true words, these are the only true words that I have said in many years of my life. My parents were Christians and wanted to raise me in their faith. But from childhood I hated Christ, hated Him as my enemy. I mocked my parents, I mocked them when they prayed, I denounced them when they went to church. I began to lead a depraved and dissolute life, and thus led my father and mother to the grave ahead of time. Not out of necessity, but solely out of hatred for Christianity, I became a street buffoon and actor in order to mock Christians, their faith, their Sacraments in front of crowds of people. This gave me satanic joy. It seemed to me that I was spitting on Christ and slapping Him in the face when I caused laughter in the crowd. Once I saw my parents in a dream. They wept for me, and I even laughed at their tears in my sleep. But now a miracle has happened. When I said "the servant of God is baptized," I suddenly saw my sins written on a huge charter, on a scroll of paper, and a fiery hand from heaven tore up this list. I saw black spirits, demons, surrounding me. When I was baptized, the light of heaven descended on me, and the demons disappeared. Emperor, I am a Christian, repent and you, and God will forgive you just as He forgave me!" The crowd was stunned in amazement, and the emperor was so terribly angry that he ordered this former jester, and now a martyr for Christ, to be burned alive. Brothers and sisters! Great is the grace of baptism, but so is the responsibility that a Christian bears. When St. Macarius the Great asked the soul of the deceased: "Who is in the depths of hell?" he heard the answer: "Not idolaters, but those Christians who, having accepted the vows of Christianity, rejected them, trampled on them. They are in the depths of hell, called Tartarus." During baptism we receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is more precious than all worldly treasures, and we must preserve it. Brothers and sisters! After baptism, the Lord Jesus Christ withdrew into the wilderness, where He was tempted by the devil, and conquered him by the word of God. And our life is a spiritual struggle, an invisible war with the dark forces of hell. This struggle is difficult, cruel and evil is the demon – our infernal enemy, but the Leader in this struggle for us is the Lord Himself, Jesus Christ Himself, the Conqueror of Satan, death and hell. Amen.

About Zacchaeus

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Brothers and sisters! The Gospel is written for the whole world, for all times, for all peoples. But when we listen to or read it, we must listen to it as if it were addressed specifically to us, as if the Lord Himself were talking to us. The Gospel gives answers to all the questions that life poses to us and to the whole world, to all of humanity. The Gospel is a kind of light center from which innumerable rays emanate, and each of them touches the human heart. In addition to the literal and historical, the Gospel also contains spiritual, allegorical, symbolic, and moral meaning. And so I will try to explain to you today's Gospel (Luke 19:1-10). The Lord Jesus Christ entered Jericho. Often in the Holy Scriptures, Jerusalem means the spiritual world, the Heavenly Kingdom, and Jericho means our earthly life in sorrows and sins, for Jericho, according to the Holy Scriptures, is a cursed and rejected city. There lived in Jericho a certain publican, named Zacchaeus. As I have told you, the tax collectors, or tax collectors, who bought these offices for a time, drank the blood of the people like spiders. They were hated, despised, and at the same time feared. And here the publican means a sinful person, a person devoted to his passions (especially the love of money), a heartless person who does not know what love for one's neighbor is. Who is this person? The publican is each of us, everyone who is subject to his passions, sins and vices. Zacchaeus was the foreman of the tax collectors, he was rich. What are we, brothers and sisters, rich in? We are rich in sins and wickedness. And then Zacchaeus heard that Jesus Christ was walking through the streets of Jericho, and he wanted to see the Savior. Brothers and sisters, what is this mysterious passage of Christ near us? The Holy Fathers teach that there are two types of God's grace: the first grace is the grace that calls the sinner, it is called the initial, preceding grace. It touches the heart of a person, opens up a new life and spiritual world before him. And so, if a person responds to the call of this grace, then the Lord gives him a new grace, which is called working grace, which contributes to his salvation. Each of us, like this publican, has felt the breath of grace in our lives. The publican wants to see Christ, but He is obscured by a crowd of people. What does it mean – a crowd of people? These are our vain worries, our sins, passions, dreams, former habits. They are like a wall between us and God. They, like a dense crowd, stand between us and the Savior. Zacchaeus was small in stature, that is, short. What does that mean? That although we are Christians, we do not grow spiritually, we are spiritual dwarfs, and therefore cannot see Christ when we are overwhelmed by our sins. It is further said that the publican climbed a tree. What does it mean that he climbed a tree? He rose above the ground. This image is explained by the great ascetic, St. John Kolov. He says: "I am like a man who is being chased by a pack of wild beasts, ready to tear him to pieces, and he climbs a tree; the animals are standing, roaring and howling, but they cannot reach him." He was asked what this parable meant. He answered: "Wild animals are demons and my passions, and the tree is prayer. When I begin to pray and call on the name of God, they only stand at a distance and gnash their teeth, but they cannot seize me." And so, the sinner was lifted up above the earth in prayer in his spirit. And the Lord sees his heart – already renewed, thirsting for salvation. Christ sees the publican climbing a tree to get a better look at Him, clinging to the thin branches in order to keep from falling to the ground. And, approaching this tree, the Lord pronounced these mysterious words: Zacchaeus! come down quickly, for today I must be in your house (Luke 19:5). What do these words mean? We can only get in touch with the spiritual world through prayer, but in order for the Lord to enter our hearts, deep repentance is necessary. The publican descends from the tree. In bringing repentance, we must consider ourselves inferior to all: only he who humbles himself in repentance, considers himself the last sinner, will be exalted by God. The sinner brings ardent repentance, and the Lord enters his house. What is a house? His heart. There is an image in the Apocalypse – says Christ: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me" (Rev. 3:20). Home is the heart; the doors that can be opened to the Lord are the doors of repentance. It happens, brothers and sisters, that in the Sacraments, especially in Communion, or at certain moments of our lives, we feel the presence of God, and then suddenly everything changes again – our heart becomes cold, dark and empty. The Lord has left him! Why? Because our repentance was not a change in our whole life, we repented, but remained the same. The Lord came to us, but, saddened, He left! But here is Zacchaeus, he wants to keep the Heavenly Guest, he says: Lord! I will give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have wronged anyone in any way, I will repay fourfold (Luke 19:8). To give half of one's fortune to the poor means to love one's neighbor as oneself. To give away is not only property, but also strength and time, and, mainly, our love, our heart. If I have offended anyone, I will repay him, so that I may be reconciled to God, forgive all people, and then ask forgiveness from those to whom we have been unjust. These are the necessary conditions for true repentance and salvation: to change one's life, to give alms, and to build peace. The Lord answers Zacchaeus, but also addresses the people present there. It must be said that many of the people grumbled why the Messiah entered the house of this outcast, unclean in their eyes, heartless, cruel sinner. Here we can symbolically see something else: not only the murmuring of people, but also the surprise of the angels, for the angels are amazed at how merciful the Lord is to us, sinners and fallen, who do the will of the demons. The angels are amazed at the depths of Divine love. And behold, Christ says: "Today salvation has come unto this house, for he also is the son of Abraham" (Luke 19:9). What does "son of Abraham" mean? The Jews considered themselves to be the descendants of Abraham, although, in addition to the Jews, other peoples were descendants of him, for example, the Ishmaelites, some Bedouin tribes...

Even the pagan philosopher Seneca said that whom God chooses for service, He chooses for suffering. And so, brothers and sisters, the Lord reveals to us another, not blood kinship with the righteous, but a spiritual kinship. He who does works like Abraham's is a true son of Abraham in spirit. Once this great forefather took the Son of God under his roof, under the shade of the oak of Mamre, and received a promise – a notification that he would have a long-awaited child. And here Zacchaeus receives Jesus Christ, the Son of God, under the roof of his house and is vouchsafed great joy – he hears the news of his salvation. Church history knows striking examples of the repentance of sinners. In Alexandria there lived a certain publican named Peter, a collector of tribute, just like Zacchaeus, who was also distinguished by special severity, cruelty and inhumanity. One day he was walking down the street, carrying a few loaves of bread, and the beggars began to say that there was probably no person to whom he could give alms. One of them, a cripple, said: "And what will you give me if I beg him for any alms?" And then this crippled beggar approached Peter and began to insistently ask and beg him to give him at least something. Peter hated beggars and at the sight of the unfortunate cripple he became furious. He wanted to throw a stone at him, but there was no stone at hand, and in a rage he threw bread in his face. The beggar caught this bread and brought it to his friends. They were surprised. They divided the bread among themselves and began to eat, thanking God and praying for the soul of Peter, who, although unwittingly, gave them alms and fed them. Some time passed, and Peter fell ill. He was already at the point of death and saw his soul at the judgment of God, saw angels and demons. He saw how the demons put his evil, dark deeds and sins on one side of the scales, and this cup bowed to the very ground. The other, the cup of good deeds, was empty. But then one of the Angels put on her the only good thing that Peter did unwittingly for himself: a loaf of bread thrown in the face of a beggar. And the scales swayed, and this bowl began to outweigh the other. And the angel said, "Go back to earth, Peter, and add good works, so that your soul may not perish." After this vision, the publican changed completely. He distributed everything he had to the poor, set free his slaves, except for one servant, and went on a journey to the Holy Places. Venerating the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, he said to his servant: "I have nothing more to give to the poor, sell me into slavery, and distribute this money to the poor." The servant refused. Then said Peter: "If you do not listen to me, I will punish you and sell you myself into slavery in a distant country." The servant answered, "I will do as you command." Peter said: "I am still strong and can do any work, lead me and sell me in the market." He stripped him to the waist, tied a rope around his neck and led him to sell him to the market. A certain craftsman, a jeweler, paid the required amount for Peter, took him into his house, and a faithful servant distributed the money to the poor. Peter, who became a slave, served his master, was distinguished by honesty and intelligence; the craftsman felt that with the arrival of a new servant, God's blessing rested on his house and on all his affairs. After a while, he accidentally learned that Peter was one of the richest people in Alexandria, was even known to the emperor himself. The craftsman was frightened and immediately wanted to call Peter and grant him freedom. But Peter, learning of this and fleeing from the glory of men, decided to depart. The house was closed. At the door stood a dumb porter, Peter shouted to him: "Open the door!" and suddenly the dumb man spoke and said: "I will open it for you immediately, sir!" Peter hid and went into the wilderness. And when the doorkeeper was asked what had happened to him, why he suddenly spoke, he said: "It was as if fire came out of the mouth of this man and touched me, and after that I was healed." And so the former sinner and publican became a great saint and wonderworker. The Gospel that we have heard today ends with the words: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). The Lord became the Son of Man so that we might become the sons of God by grace. The Lord came to save the lost. St. Ephraim the Syrian writes: "Our Church is the Church of the perishing, but the Church of the repentant." But if we, blinded by pride, do not see our sins, if we begin to speak or even only think about our righteousness, then we will become like the Pharisees, and then, brothers and sisters, the Lord will pass by our house. In order to lay the foundation for salvation, it is necessary to recognize oneself as the last sinner, but not only to realize, but also to change one's whole life, as happened with Zacchaeus. Brothers and sisters! Remember: even if we have fallen into the abysses of sin, but have repented sincerely, with all our hearts, the Lord will not abandon us, nor reject us, but will have mercy on us and save us. For it is as characteristic of Him to have mercy and to save as it is for the sun to radiate light and warmth! Amen.

About the Publican and the Pharisee

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Brothers and sisters! Two men entered the Temple in Jerusalem, both praying to God. One came out enlightened and justified, the other burdened with new sins. One was a publican, a tax collector; this occupation was considered shameful in Judea, like the craft of an executioner. The other was a Pharisee, who belonged to a sect whose members called themselves pure, elect, and holy, and sought power over the Jewish people. Two men entered the Temple in Jerusalem. This temple was the only temple in the world of the True God, the Most High God. For its wondrous beauty, it was considered one of the wonders of the world. The first temple was built by the prophet Moses, this is the tabernacle. The second temple was built by King Solomon during his brilliant reign. The third was built by Zerubbabel in difficult and dangerous years, when each of the builders girded himself with a sword and placed a shield and a spear near him in case of an unexpected attack by enemies. The Book of Leviticus contains a detailed description of the temple that the Lord gave to Moses, all its utensils. Therefore, the church is not a product of the human mind or human genius, but a Revelation of God; for the temple itself is a great and mysterious icon of Heaven, a hidden book about the future eternal life. The temple is the voice of God, embodied not in words, but in stones. Brothers and sisters, the Jerusalem Temple, especially at sunrise and sunset, sparkling with the gold of its domes, seemed to be surrounded by flames, like an island floating in the air, a glittering ship sailing from earth to heaven. Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains. The ascent of the pilgrims to these mountains signified, as it were, the difficulties and dangers of the spiritual path. A number of steps led to the temple. At each of these steps, the pilgrims stopped, sang psalms, the so-called "Psalms of Ascent." These steps signified the ladder of virtues, the commandments of God, leading to the Heavenly Kingdom. When the pilgrims saw the Jerusalem temple from afar, they fell down on their faces with a feeling of reverence and repentance, kissed the ground and shed tears of joy that they had seen the cherished temple. ... Two men entered this temple. The publican, stopping at the threshold, shed tears of repentance, beating his chest. His lips were silent, but from his heart came a silent cry: God! be merciful to me, a sinner! (Luke 18:13). He saw his sins as numerous as the sand of the sea, he saw his sins rising like hills and mountains. He wept silently, and his tears, falling to the ground, reached the Throne of God and, like a fiery stream, washed away his sins. The Pharisee entered the temple, entered with self-confident arrogance, looking around, looking for signs of attention and respect from the people. The Pharisees, in order to spread their power among the people, refracted the pure light of the Old Testament through the prism of their interpretations. It is as if they wrapped the Holy Bible in a web of so-called "traditions", "commandments of the elders", believing the salvation of the people in the fulfillment of many petty rules. And these rules and laws were constantly multiplying and becoming more complicated. For example, how to spend the Sabbath – there were about seven or eight hundred decrees. Many decrees concerned how to clean dishes, how to cook food, how to behave on the road. However, all these laws were physically impossible to fulfill, and the same Pharisees began to invent rules on how to circumvent them. For example, on the Sabbath the Jews were forbidden to travel, but they were allowed to sail on a ship, and when a man who was to go on a journey of many days came to the Pharisee and asked him what he should do, the Pharisee decided the question approximately as follows: "Take a basin of water, tie it under the cart, and you will be above the water, so you will sail." Thus, spiritual lies and spiritual hypocrisy began here. Then, in order to gain popularity among the people, the Pharisees began to poison them with the spirit of national pride. They said that everything that other nations had, the Jews had given them. That Abraham taught the Egyptians mathematics, astronomy and other sciences. That even the first state laws of Greece and Rome were given to Lycurgus, one of the founders of Sparta, by the Jews. They extended their pride even to Heaven, claiming that God reads the Torah, that is, the Five Books of Moses, in the Hebrew language on certain days and hours, and He Himself learns from it. Here, brothers and sisters, are the two sins of the Pharisees, which Christ denounced: hypocrisy and pride. The publican stood in the temple with his head bowed. He saw neither the Pharisee nor the people in the temple. He contemplated only his sins, and the abyss of God's mercy opened up before him like a huge sea, the depths of which could swallow up the heavy stones of his sins. The Pharisee's gaze fell on the publican. He shuddered with disgust, as if he had touched an unclean animal. And he said: God! thank you... St. Andrew of Crete says: "I thank Thee – these are foolish words." Why crazy words? Because the Pharisee thanked God that other people were worse than him, that other people were sinners. He said: "I thank Thee, that I am not like other men, robbers, offenders, adulterers, or like this publican" (Luke 18:11). What a terrible hypocrisy: on the one hand, the Pharisee sought glory from the people in every possible way, and, on the other hand, in the depths of his soul he despised them.. The Pharisee said: I fast twice a week. What does that mean? In the Law of Moses it is said about a one-day fast of purification, and the Pharisee fasted more than is necessary according to the Law. He continued: "I give a tenth of all that I acquire" (Luke 18:12). In the Law of Moses, it was said about the sacrifice of a tenth of only fruits and cattle. This means that the Pharisee did more than what was commanded, and now he seems to remind God Himself of this in the temple, considering God to be his debtor. The publican stood at the threshold, not daring to raise his eyes to heaven. The Pharisee stood in a proud posture, considering himself the most worthy son of Abraham, as if all the virtues of the ancient prophets and heroes of the Maccabees were embodied in him, as if he had angelic wings behind him. But these wings turned out to be bat wings. The publican came out of the church, illumined by the grace of God. The Pharisee came out of the temple, surrounded by spiritual darkness, as if covered with a black, impenetrable veil. Brothers and sisters, the Gospel that you have heard today warns us against pride and against one of its most common manifestations – condemnation of one's neighbor; condemnation is a branch of the cursed tree of pride, rejected by God. The Holy Fathers considered condemnation and slander to be one sin. Already in the Old Testament, condemnation was forbidden. King Solomon said: "Drive away the accuser from you, and then the enmity will subside." The Lord said: "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matt. 7:1). The Apostle Paul forbids even associating with those who speak evil (1 Cor. 5:11), adding that such will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:10). No sin is so condemned in the Holy Scriptures as condemnation and slander, because the very word "devil" in Greek means slanderer. This means that the slanderer is likened to a demon. And on slanderers who condemn their neighbor, the curse that the Lord pronounced on the devil is fulfilled: "You shall walk on your belly, and you will eat dust all the days of your life... he shall bruise thee in the head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Gen. 3:14-15). What do these words mean? The slanderer who condemns his brother, the one who spreads gossip, cannot spiritually rise to Heaven, cannot be in communion with God. Even in church, these people are looking for gossip, news, and are like a snake that has crawled into a beautiful flower garden. Many of us, in the most sacred moments of the Liturgy, heard the insinuating voice of these people near our ears: "Do you know what happened?.. only between us... I'll tell you a secret...", and so on. These people feed on the stench of other people's sins, like worms on dust and dirt. They imagine themselves as fighters for the truth, but in fact they experience a secret voluptuousness from participating in such conversations. Why? Because their hearts are corrupt and corrupted. A truly chaste person will not want not only to speak, but also to hear anything bad about his neighbor. The Most Holy Mother of God, before Her blessed death, prayed to Her Son for one thing – that He would deliver Her from the vile and shameless appearance of demons and slanderers. Brothers and sisters, what should we do when such people come up to us? The Prophet David directly said: "He who secretly slanders his sincere will I cast out" (Psalm 100:5). But what do we do when we don't have the courage to do the same? Then you need to say to this person: "What you say about something else applies to me, I am also guilty of these sins, perhaps you have read (or read) them in my soul? I am what you say." And then your humble words will immediately shut his mouth. Or say in another way: "You are indignant that your brother has committed a sin, let's stand up with you to pray and pray for this brother." But this person is not indignant at all, he is very happy that others are sinners, and therefore he will not pray for anyone, but will immediately answer: "I have no time," and will run away from you, and then he will not even come to the place where you are. The sin of condemnation is terrible, we have no right to judge anyone. A certain monk said to the Monk Pimen: "I must leave the monastery because there are temptations here." Abba Pimen asked: "Have you seen them?" He answered: "No, but my brother told me about it." Abba said, "Your brother is lying." He objected: "He is an honest man." But the monk did not agree: "An honest man would never pass on to you the sins of other people." And he added: "And our eyes should not be believed if they see evil." St. Demetrius of Rostov says about the sin of slander and condemnation: "He who condemns his brother is the Antichrist, because the Lord is the Judge of the living and the dead, and he wants to judge until the Last Judgment, which means to take the place of Jesus Christ." St. Demetrius of Rostov explains why it is written in the Gospel: "First take the beam out of your eye, and then you will see how to remove the mote from your brother's eye" (Luke 6:42). "Because," he writes, "all sins taken together are to the sin of condemnation what a mote is to a beam." Our judgment is always unjust because we see only the outside, and the heart of another person is hidden from us. Our judgment is always unfair because we do not know tomorrow. Here are striking examples – the thief and Judas. Judas was one of the closest disciples of Jesus Christ, he endured the sorrows and hardships of the earthly life of the Savior. He healed, like the other apostles, the sick, cast out demons by the grace of God. He, like the other apostles, preached the gospel. It seemed that he had already been saved. But Judas turned from an apostle into the most terrible traitor. His name remained a grim symbol of ingratitude and treachery. The name of Judas is an eternal shameful stain on the face of mankind. But the robber – all his life he robbed, killed, raped, hid in the caves of the Jericho desert, like a wild beast attacked people. He was covered in human blood. Being caught, condemned to death and nailed to the cross, he began to blaspheme the Saviour, and it seemed that he was already a faithful victim of hell, the prey of the demon. But in the last moment of his life he repented, confessed the crucified Christ as Lord, and repentance lifted him up to heaven with its powerful wings. So, brothers and sisters, today's Gospel warns us against the most terrible sin – pride. Pride shook the heavens, made demons out of angels, opened the depths of hell and lit flames in hell. Pride is also the beginning of all sin for us. Humility and pride are two paths. One is the path of light, the other is the path of eternal darkness. Humility and pride are two paths: life and death. Let us choose the path of humility in order to gain eternal life! Amen.

About the Last Judgment

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Brothers and sisters! God, Who once created life, will at the end of time resurrect, raise up from dust and corruption all mankind from the days of Adam to the last days. And then the Dread Judgment of the Lord will come, the Judgment at which the final fate of each person will be decided – in accordance with what he did while living in his body. Today, while we are still in this earthly world, every thought, word, or deed is a seed that we throw into the depths of our hearts. And in eternity, from these seeds will grow either beautiful, fragrant flowers, or thorny, poisonous plants. The judgment is called the Last Judgment because it will judge not only people, but also spirits. The demons will see themselves once as beautiful angels who sang the ineffable cherubic hymn to God, inexpressible in human language. This song, this hymn is the ardent love and aspiration of holy souls to God. The demons will see their terrible fall. Satan, who was once a seraphim, will see how, having rebelled against God, he turned into a terrible hellish monster, into a huge spider that wrapped the whole earth in a web of sin, into a terrible hellish serpent that plunged its poisonous teeth into countless victims. In every sin committed on earth, there was his invisible presence. In every evil deed is his deadly breath, in every crime is his serpentine cunning. Satan will see a great grave – the underworld, which he has dug for himself. He will see the black hellfire that he lit for his victims and in which he himself will suffer forever. The judgment is called the Last Judgment because it will be universal. No one can escape this Judgment, just as no one can escape death. The righteous and sinners will rise from the dust. Then the bodies will be like the soul. They will not be bone, debilitated, consisting of moisture and earth, but spiritual, imperishable. For the righteous – in the image of the body of Christ the Savior Risen from the dead, for sinners – stinking and ugly, like their sins. St. Ephraim the Syrian writes the mysterious words: "We will all be resurrected at the age of thirty-three." What does that mean? A person goes through a certain cycle of development in his earthly life. Thirty years is the time of the highest development, human perfection in the earthly sense of the word. Both the very old and the infants will be resurrected not at their earthly age, at which they left this life, but at the age of "thirty-three" – that is, perfect. But at the same time, friends and relatives, of course, will be able to get to know each other. The judgment is called the Terrible Judgment because it will reveal all our deeds, all our thoughts, words, and the deepest desires of the heart. Everything that we have done in secret will be revealed, everything that has been done in private will be revealed to the whole world, what has been happening in the recesses of our hearts, will become open and naked. And when we see our own sins in all their nakedness, ugliness, and vileness, then we will be ready to cry out: "Mountains, fall on us and hide us from this shame!" Brothers and sisters, the Holy Fathers spoke of the existence of a kind of "memory of the heart" that seals everything, our entire life, both internal and external. And at the Last Judgment, this book, written in the depths of our souls, will be revealed, and only then will we see what we really are, and not how our inflamed pride depicted us. Then we will see how many times the grace of God called us to salvation, punished us, had mercy on us, and how stubbornly we resisted grace and strove only for sin and passions. We will see even our good deeds eaten away like worms, hypocrisy, pride, and secret calculation. The judgment is called the Last Judgment because it will be final. Here, on earth, as long as we live, repentance is always open to us, like a door from the dark prison of sin to freedom. Before the Last Judgment, the prayers of the Church and loved ones can help us. But the Last Judgment is final, after it there will be no other judgment. At the Last Judgment, the final separation of good and evil, light and darkness will take place. For the righteous, eternal life will come – eternal likeness to Christ the Savior, eternal radiance and illumination by the Divine light. In this life, every moment will bring more and more, more happiness, more joy, more light, more bliss. And the eternal death of the sinner is like Satan, an increasing immersion in the ocean of darkness. Hell is a place of oblivion, a place where the rays of God's mercy do not penetrate. Hell is erased out of God's love. Brothers and sisters, some ask the question: "Can the saved be happy if their relatives and friends find themselves in hell, those with whom they were united by love in earthly life?" When we love a person, we love something good in him (even if it was not good, but only seemed so to us), and when sinners arise, they will be the personification of sin and evil, they will be demon-like. Therefore, we will not be able to love them, just as it is impossible, say, to love the plague or the rabies bacillus. Imagine that the closest person appeared before you in the form of a snake or a scorpion; You would not be able to love him, and you would recoil in horror. So are those doomed to hellish torment. They will be full not only of despair and anguish, but also of satanic pride. The souls of sinners will boil with the flame of hatred for God and all that is holy, hatred that is ready to burn Heaven and Paradise itself! The bliss of paradise is the blessedness of the saints in love for God and for each other. St. Seraphim of Sarov writes that if a person knew how terrible hell is and how sweet paradise is, then he would be ready to endure the most terrible torments here on earth. Once the Monk Simeon, called the New Theologian, was so illumined by the Holy Spirit that he exclaimed: "O Lord! And he received the answer: "What even the saints here on earth, in the flesh, experience in comparison with the future heavenly bliss is like the sun drawn with charcoal on paper, compared with the sun shining in the sky!" St. Ephraim the Syrian writes that then there will be a different communion of souls with each other. There are words of the Savior that are preserved not in the Gospel, but in the writings of the ancient Fathers: "In the next world the inner will be like the outside, and the outer will be like the inside." Now the external is the body, the internal is the soul. In paradise, the body itself will be spiritualized, will become like the soul. And the inner – the soul – will become like the external, that is, it will be open. Ephraim the Syrian says: "If you only want to be with the holy martyrs, you will be near them; if you want to enjoy sweet conversation with the righteous, you will converse with them not with your tongue or mouth, but with your heart and soul, that is, you will see their souls with your soul; you will enjoy the contemplation of their beauty and love, which pour out from each saint to all." Brothers and sisters, only in paradise, in eternal life, will man learn the mystery of suffering, will he understand that here, on earth, sorrows, labors, illnesses and sorrows are a great blessing of God: man drinks the cup from which the Lord Jesus Christ Himself drank. Therefore, in eternal life we will thank our enemies, we will thank the slanderers, those who treated us unjustly, because they, without knowing it, contributed to our salvation. Here, on earth, we do not understand many things, but here we see only the first page of the Book that will be revealed in eternity, and there we will understand the full depth of God's wisdom, all the power of His love. Once upon a time, Patriarch Theophilos of Alexandria came to Mount Nitria and asked the oldest monk: "What have you found better in the spiritual life?" And he answered: "Blame yourself for everything!" So, brothers and sisters, let us remember the Last Judgment, let us awaken our conscience from sleep, so that it will judge us strictly while still here, and then the Last Judgment will become for us the threshold of eternal life! Amen.

Cross-worship

Во имя Отца и Сына и Святого Духа! «Кресту Твоему поклоняемся, Владыко, и Святое Воскресение Твое славим». Духовное поклонение Кресту – это постоянное чувство благодарности Богу за крестные страдания, которые избавили нас от вечной погибели, от огня геенны, от бездны ада, от могилы богоотвержения и забвения, в которой должно было исчезнуть все человечество! Один богослов сказал: «Если бы тебя укусила ядовитая змея, и ты неизбежно должен был бы умереть в страшных мучениях, но твой друг высосал бы своими губами яд из раны и сам умер от этого смертоносного яда, то как дорога была бы для тебя его память, ты считал бы его самым большим своим благодетелем, – а Христос сделал для тебя гораздо больше... Он испил страшную чашу адских мук, уготованную тебе, ту чашу, которую ты должен был пить вечно». А чем мы отвечаем Христу Спасителю нашему? Большей частью равнодушием и холодностью. Духовное поклонение Кресту – это покорность промыслу Божьему, это терпение в скорбях, в искушениях – в том, что составляет крест нашей земной жизни. Некоторые из Отцов говорили: самая высокая молитва – это «Да будет воля Твоя, Господи!» Когда мрак скорбей, подобно черным тучам, сгущается вокруг нашего сердца, свет Божий как будто меркнет для нас, и нам кажется, что нет уже избавления и спасения, что мы гибнем под тяжестью страданий, мы должны в это время говорить, говорить непрестанно: «Господи, да будет воля Твоя, да будет воля Твоя!» И тогда воссияет нам свет надежды, и среди скорбей Господь ниспошлет нам небесное утешение. Духовное поклонение Кресту – это желание облегчить страдания других, как бы взять на себя их труды, их немощи и их болезни, подобно тому как Господь на Кресте взял на Себя грехи и страдания наши. Преподобный Агафон сказал: «О, если б я мог отдать прокаженному свое тело, а взять у него его тело, гниющее от язв и ран!» Духовное поклонение Кресту – это прощение всех обид. Крест –средоточие Божественной любви, и поэтому высшее исполнение Евангелия – это любовь к своим врагам. Св. Димитрий Ростовский говорит: «Некоторые думают, что в наше время уже не происходит чудес. Нет, христианство дает нам силы для более великого чуда, чем воскрешение мертвых, это чудо – искренно, от всего сердца, любить своих врагов и не только любить, но и считать их нашими благодетелями!» Духовное поклонение Кресту – это и чувство постоянного смирения. Если Господь Иисус Христос сошел на землю и принял самую позорную, крестную смерть, то для нас унижение на земле – это великая слава, клевета – награда, а мучения – радость. В «Отечнике» рассказывается, как один скитский старец, преподобный Моисей, встретил молодого монаха Захарию, который стоял у колодца, и увидел почивающего на нем Духа Святого. Это поразило старца, он припал к ногам юноши и сказал: «Сын мой, скажи, что нужно для того, чтобы стать истинным монахом и спастись?» Тот удивился и воскликнул: «Авва! Я должен спросить у тебя, а не ты». Тот, не желая говорить о видении, ответил: «Есть некто, кто велел мне спросить у тебя». Тогда Захария снял с себя свой клобук, бросил на землю, растоптал ногами и сказал: «Если ты не будешь под ногами всех людей, попираем ими, то не можешь стать истинным монахом и спастись». Братия и сестры, наконец, духовное поклонение Кресту – это борьба со своими страстями, со своими похотями, со своей гордыней. Некий подвижник от великой любви ко Христу желал стать мучеником за Него. Особенно хотел он, чтоб за веру его распяли на кресте. Но прошло время, приблизился он к смерти, так и не став мучеником. Это причиняло ему великую скорбь. Но вот открылось ему в видении, что вся жизнь его была мученичеством, потому что он мужественно боролся против грехов и страстей своих. И он будет увенчан тем же венцом, что и древние мученики, те, которых бросали за имя Христа на съедение зверям или распинали на кресте. В Писании сказано, что мы должны прославлять Христа в душах и телах наших (1 Кор. 6, 20). Когда мы поклоняемся Кресту, мы прославляем Христа и в теле нашем. Мы осеняем себя крестным знаменем, складывая руки таким образом, что три пальца знаменуют Таинство Святой Нераздельной Единосущной Троицы; два других, соединенные вместе, являются символом двух естеств: Божественного и человеческого в Лице Иисуса Христа. Эти два пальца мы пригибаем к ладони в память того, что Господь сошел с Неба на землю, вочеловечился и соединил с Небесами землю. Таким образом, само сложение пальцев в крестном знамении является как бы кратким Символом христианской веры. Совершая крестное знамение, мы должны воспоминать Голгофские страдания Иисуса Христа. Мы дотрагиваемся перстами до лба, чтобы Господь просветил наши мысли, дал нам духовную мудрость. Затем проводим руку вниз вдоль груди, чтобы Господь очистил наши чувства, чтобы даровал нам любовь к Нему и ко всякому человеку, чтобы силою Креста мы победили свои низменные страсти. И затем дотрагиваемся рукой до правого и левого плеча, чтобы наша вера была не мертвой верой, а выражалась бы в делах (ибо рука является символом деятельности); чтобы Господь укрепил нашу волю для христианской жизни, для совершения добрых дел, для исполнения Евангельских заповедей в своей жизни, в своих повседневных занятиях. Крест осеняет всю жизнь человека. Крестным знамением начинается его вступление в Церковь – Таинство Крещения. Крест он носит на своей груди как великое оружие против темных сил ада. Крест благословляет могилу христианина после его смерти. Итак, братия и сестры, сегодняшняя Неделя называется Крестопоклонной [1]. Будем поклоняться Господу телесно и духовно. Будем очами веры видеть перед собой не только лишь изображение Христа Спасителя, но и Его Самого, страдающего на Голгофе. Когда мы целуем Крест Спасителя, то будем целовать его так, как если бы мы прикасались губами к язвам Христа, источающим кровь. Братия и сестры, Крест – это оружие, которое Господь дал нам даром, оружие против сатанинских сил. Св. Кирилл Иерусалимский говорил: «Осеняй крестным знамением пищу, которую ты ешь, одежду, которую ты надеваешь, дверь, когда ты выходишь из дома и заходишь в дом». Так и мы пред каждым делом должны осенять себя крестным знамением и говорить: Господи, благослови! А по окончании дела – Господи, помилуй! или же Слава Тебе, Боже! Утром, вставая с постели, мы должны целовать крест с решимостью терпеть все, что принесет нам грядущий день. Ложась спать, мы должны целовать крест со словами: «Огради мя, Господи, силою Честнаго и Животворящаго Твоего Креста, и сохрани мя от всякаго зла». Благоверный князь Владимир Мономах в своем завещании детям говорил: «Каждый вечер, целуя крест, кайтесь в грехах своих и от сердца взывайте ко Господу: “Господи, как ты помиловал разбойника, мытаря и блудницу, так и нас помилуй, ибо имя Твое – Любовь”». Аминь. Так называется третье воскресенье Великого поста. — Ред. ^

О восьми страстях

Во имя Отца и Сына и Святого Духа! Братия и сестры! Сегодня мы празднуем память преподобного Иоанна Лествичника – учителя Церкви, великого наставника монахов, прозорливца, своими духовными очами прозревавшего самые глубины, тайники человеческого сердца, – память преподобного Иоанна, игумена Синайского. [1] Синайская гора – это одно из самых священных мест для христиан. Там Господь, через Моисея, дал миру десять заповедей – основу всего Ветхого Завета. Уже в древние времена, еще до Рождества Христова, Синайскую гору населяли отшельники, которых называли ферапевтами (ферапевт по-гречески значит «внутренний»). Они проводили время в псалмопениях и в безмолвной сердечной молитве, основой спасения полагая не исполнение внешних правил и обрядов, а внутреннюю жизнь, чистоту сердца и помыслов. В христианское время, после Вознесения Иисуса Христа на небо, Синайская гора стала излюбленным местом монахов-подвижников. Она была буквально усеяна монастырями, скитами, келлиями и казалась подобной пчелиному улью, где иноки собирали духовный мед с цветов созерцания и молитвы. Там, на Синайской горе, провел свою жизнь от отроческих лет до глубокой старости преподобный Иоанн Лествичник. Лествичником он именуется по названию своей бессмертной книги «Лествица», которую написал по просьбе своего друга, игумена Раифского. В ней Преподобный описал духовный путь человека в виде восхождения на тридцать ступеней, ведущих от земли на небо, в честь и воспоминание тридцати лет земной жизни Спасителя, протекших до того, как Он вышел на Евангельскую проповедь. Эти тридцать ступеней являются мистическим приближением души к Богу. «Лествица» охватывает всю духовную жизнь христианина. У монахов эта книга почиталась, после Евангелия, самой необходимой для спасения, но и для мирян она – сокровище. Поэтому Святая Церковь благословила читать поучения из «Лествицы» в дни Великого поста. Братия и сестры! Я остановлюсь на учении преподобного Иоанна о борьбе с восемью грехами – восемью язвами, восемью отравленными стрелами, которыми демон поражает души людей. Если бы мы могли увидеть собственную душу, то изумились бы и ужаснулись: в нашей душе – и свет рая, и черный пламень ада. Наша душа подобна дивному небесному цветку, но цветку, покрытому ядовитыми пауками. Наша душа похожа на прекрасный нерукотворный храм во славу Бога Всевышнего, но по ступеням этого храма ползают страшные змеи... О нашей душе молятся Ангелы, небеса радуются, когда мы каемся в своих грехах. Так драгоценна человеческая душа перед Богом, драгоценнее всего сотворенного мира! Но к ней подходит демон и поет ей змеиную адскую песнь, и она, очарованная своим соблазнителем, чаще всего идет за ним – к своей погибели. Св. Иоанн Лествичник пишет о том, что грех берет начало в человеческой душе от помысла. Святые Отцы называют демона великим живописцем. Он представляет нам вначале картину греха. Это называется прилогом; человеческая душа может отвергнуть его или принять. Если она отвергла грех, то победила. Если человек замедлит в нечистом помысле, то его душа сочетается, как бы соединяется с ним. Затем возникает называемое так аскетами сложение с помыслом – это решимость исполнить грех на деле. Затем включаются наши чувства, и грех становится страстью: человек ищет случая, представляет и обдумывает, как совершить грех. Затем, когда грехопадение уже состоялось, этот грех раз за разом повторяясь, переходит в привычку, а привычка, укореняясь в человеческой душе, становится ее второй природой. Легче всего победить грех, когда он еще в помысле, – как легче выдернуть молодое растение, нежели дерево, глубоко пустившее корни в землю. В Книге Иова грех назван мравольвом (муравьем и львом): вначале он мал, как муравей, почти незаметен, но когда вырастает, становится мощным и грозным, словно лев, и, подобно этому страшному хищнику, терзает нашу душу, и мы беспомощны в его адских когтях. Поэтому, братия и сестры, Иоанном Лествичником нам дан завет, чтобы мы бдели над своим сердцем, чтобы наш ум соблюдал сердце Иисусовой молитвой. Я сказал вам о том, что Иоанн Лествичник описал восемь главных страстей, восемь смертных грехов, восемь ядовитых источников, из которых проистекает все духовное зло и погибель. Это словно восемь стен, которые стоят между человеческой душой и Богом, одна выше другой, а последняя, гордыня, почти достигает небес. Первая духовная язва, от которой гниет и тлеет наша душа, – это чревоугодие. Чревоугодник не способен ни к чему духовному. Уже в древние времена говорили: «Человек должен есть, для того чтобы жить, а не жить, для того чтобы есть». Чревоугодник похож на походную кухню, в которой беспрерывно варится пища, которая беспрерывно дымит и коптит. Чревоугодник, по словам Иоанна Лествичника, не может возвести свой ум к небу, как тучная птица не может высоко взлететь. Чревоугодник превратился в плоть. Само чревоугодие делится на ряд страстей, первая из которых – чревобесие; это ненасытное желание любой пищи. Иоанн Лествичник говорит: «Чревоугодник готов съесть все житницы Египта и выпить весь Нил!» «Чревобесие, – пишет он, – это ложь чрева, которое, будучи насыщенным, кричит – я еще голодно». Чревоугодник перестает помышлять о духовном, о небесном. Он весь превращается как бы в одно сплошное свиное чрево. Второй вид чревоугодия – это гортанобесие, желание лакомой и изысканной пищи. Затем – тайноядение, когда чревоугодие соединено с тщеславием: человек показывает себя при людях воздержанным, а ест тайно. Затем, к чревоугодию относится вкушение пищи, разрушающей здоровье. Св. Василий Великий говорит: «Пища должна укреплять тело, а не вызывать болезнь». Святые Отцы учат нас также вкушать трапезу благоговейно, помня, что посланная нам пища – дар Божий. Они запрещали во время принятия пищи праздные разговоры, шутки, смех и особенно – осуждение. У блаженного Августина, епископа Иппонского, над столом висела надпись: «Здесь не осуждают людей!» И однажды, когда он услышал, что его гости стали осуждать какого-то человека, спросил: «Чего вы хотите: чтобы я вышел из-за стола, или чтобы снял эту надпись?..

Итак, братия и сестры, христианин должен вкушать пищу с благоговением и благодарить за нее Господа. Для того, чтобы победить чревоугодие, Иоанн Лествичник советовал перед вкушением пищи от всего сердца помолиться Богу и, вкушая пищу, помнить, что настанет час, когда само наше тело будет пищей для червей, и помышлять о том, как Господь на Кресте вкусил желчь и оцет. Вторая язва, второй грех – это блуд. Иоанн Лествичник говорит: «Кто хочет угасить блуд, не победив чревоугодия, тот подобен человеку, который хочет затушить костер, бросая в него солому». Как победить эту страсть? Преподобный авва Иоанн пишет: «Нужно возлюбить уничижение, пить поругания и клевету как исцеляющий, очищающий напиток; необходимо иметь во всем смирение – и внутренне, в сердце, и наружно, в одежде своей и в обращении с людьми». Затем он советует удаляться от всяких поводов и причин к соблазну. Он говорит: «Победа над этой страстью есть бегство. Как человек, который стоит рядом с пропастью, может упасть от первого же толчка, так может впасть в этот гнусный грех человек, который проявил неосторожность». Затем святой продолжает: «А если человек далеко стоит от пропасти, то, хотя бы и тащили его к ней, он может еще кричать о помощи, может схватиться за кусты и деревья и удержаться». Третья язва нашей души – гнев. Мы гневаемся, когда не исполняются наши желания. Поэтому, чтобы победить гнев, надо сделаться бесстрастным, не отдавать своего сердца земному и мирскому. Гнев разделяется на несколько видов. Во-первых, ярость. Ярый – значит огненный. Это – неудержимый гнев, который овладевает человеком настолько, что он ведет себя как безумец. Другой вид гнева – злопамятство, когда человек долго не забывает обиды, – это самый страшный и опасный вид гнева, человеческое сердце как бы превращается в логово затаившихся во мраке змей. Молитва злопамятного не бывает услышана Богом. Другие разновидности гнева – ненависть, обидчивость, излишняя подозрительность человека, когда он во всем видит чьи-то козни против себя, в каждом слове – порицания, намеки и насмешку; когда, как сказал один богослов, человек похож на бомбу, заряженную грязью, и достаточно неосторожно пройти мимо, чтобы бомба взорвалась и всех обдала страшным зловонием. Как нам надо бороться с гневом? Иоанн Лествичник учит: «Во-первых, когда в нашем сердце кипит гнев, то не надо вступать ни в какие разговоры и объяснения; необходимо сначала подавить, утишить гнев в своем сердце; а до этого победа – молчание». Затем Иоанн Лествичник советует вспомнить о достоинствах человека, на которого мы гневаемся, ибо в момент гнева нам кажется, что этот человек есть средоточие всех зол и пороков. Вспомни о его благодеяниях к тебе, вспомни обо всех его добрых делах и в то же время вспомни о своих грехах, и тогда гнев твой утихнет. Затем святые Отцы советуют, прежде чем что-либо сказать, несколько раз мысленно прочесть молитву. Если ты не можешь безмолвствовать, а должен ответить, то сначала прочти Иисусову молитву в сердце своем тридцать три раза и только после этого ответь. Итак, победа над гневом – это, прежде всего, победа над языком. Затем второй этап – когда мы боремся уже с нашими гневными мыслями. Четвертая страсть – сребролюбие. Как пишет Иоанн Лествичник, сребролюбие есть потеря надежды на Бога. Апостол Павел называет сребролюбие тайным идолопоклонством (Кол. 3, 5). Сребролюбие также делится на несколько видов: это скупость, когда человеку так же трудно расстаться с принадлежащим ему, как отрубить собственную руку; затем жадность – скупость, соединенная с желанием приобретения; вещелюбие и тому подобное. Часто люди копят деньги, говоря, что они это делают для того, чтобы потом иметь возможность помогать другим. Это не так. Чаще всего человек, когда накопит денег, становится бездушным и бессердечным даже к своим друзьям и родным. В Патерике говорится о преподобном Евлогии, каменотесе, который отличался нестяжательностью и необыкновенным радушием. Но, внезапно разбогатев, стал безжалостным к нищим и гордым по отношению к своим друзьям. И только лишь снова обеднев, он раскаялся, вернулся к своей прежней добродетельной жизни и был прощен Богом. Рассказывают также об одном садовнике, который всю жизнь свою раздавал все, что зарабатывал, бедным и нуждающимся. Но пришла к нему мысль – «оставлю я себе нечто на черный день», и накопил он тридцать золотых монет. И вот настал для него черный день – у него заболела и стала гнить нога. Он обращался к разным врачам. На свое лечение истратил почти все, что накопил. Наконец, врачи сказали, что они бессильны помочь ему, необходимо отрезать ногу. И вот перед тем, как должна была состояться операция, он со слезами молился Богу и говорил: «Господи! Прости меня, в чем я согрешил перед Тобой. Господи! Открой мне, за что послана эта кара?» И Господь открыл ему через видение: за то, что он надеялся на деньги, а не на Него! Но за прежние добрые дела свои садовник получил исцеление, и на следующий день, когда врачи пришли к нему, принесли для операции ножи и другие инструменты (на них страшно было даже смотреть) и обнажили его ногу, они увидели, что все раны и язвы зажили, и изумились этому чуду, происшедшему на их глазах. Братия и сестры, я сказал о четырех главных страстях, а всего их восемь. Я ограничен во времени, и потому, если Господь благословит, в следующий воскресный день расскажу о прочих язвах нашей души. Братия и сестры! Книга Иоанна Лествичника – это великое сокровище. Когда мы читаем ее, то мы как бы мысленно беседуем с ним. Пусть этой бессмертной книгой и своими святыми молитвами он будет нам, грешным, путеводителем в вечную жизнь. Аминь. Память преп. Иоанна Лествичника Церковь совершает в 4-ую Неделю Великого поста и 30 марта/12 апреля. – Ред. ^

О восьми страстях (продолжение)