The Lord's Prayer

This prayer, by no means, excludes other prayers – the Lord Himself prayed using other prayers (John 17). Calling God our Father, we recognize ourselves as His children, and in relation to each other as brothers, and we pray not only on our own behalf and for ourselves, but also on behalf of all persons, of all mankind. By pronouncing the words "Who art in Heaven," we renounce all earthly things and ascend with our minds and hearts to the heavenly world. "Hallowed be Thy Name" means: Let Thy Name be holy to all people, let all people glorify the Name of God both in word and in deed. "Thy Kingdom come" — that is, the Kingdom of Christ the Messiah, of which the Jews dreamed, incorrectly, it is true, imagining this Kingdom; but here we pray that the Lord would reign in the souls of all people and after this temporal earthly life would vouchsafe us eternal and blessed life, in communion with Him. "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" – that is, let everything be done according to the all-good and all-wise will of God, and let us, people, fulfill the will of God on earth as willingly as the angels do it in heaven. "Give us this day our daily bread" means give us for today all that is necessary for the body; What will happen to us tomorrow, we do not know, we need only the "essentials". that is, daily, necessary to maintain our existence. "And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors" – these words are explained by St. Luke in his Gospel (11:4) as follows: "And forgive us our sins." Sins are our debts, because when we sin, we do not fulfill what is due, and therefore we become indebted to God and people. Debts should also be understood as all the good things that we could have done, but did not do, out of laziness or self-love. Thus, the concept of debts is broader than the concept of sins as direct violations of the moral law. Asking for the forgiveness of debts strongly inspires us with the need to forgive our neighbors all the offenses inflicted on us, since without forgiving others, we do not dare to ask God for forgiveness of our debts to Him and do not dare to pray the words of the Lord's Prayer." And lead us not into temptation" – here we ask God to protect us from falling, if the test of our moral strength is inevitable and necessary. "But deliver us from the evil one" — from all evil and from the author of it — the devil. The prayer ends with confidence in the fulfillment of what is asked, since everything in this world belongs to God: the eternal kingdom, infinite power and glory. Translated from Hebrew, the word "Amen" means "So, indeed, truly, let it be." It was said by the worshippers in the synagogues in confirmation of the prayer pronounced by the elders.The Lord's teaching about fasting, which should also be done for God, and not for the praise of men, clearly testifies to how wrong those are who say that the Lord did not enjoin His followers to fast. When fasting, one should not change one's appearance in such a way as to attract attention to oneself, but appear before people the same as always; in the East, after washing the body, it was customary to anoint oneself with oil, especially on the head; The Pharisees, on the days of fasting, did not wash, did not comb their hair and did not anoint it with oil, attracting everyone's attention to themselves with their unusual appearance, which is what the Lord condemns.

Eternal Treasure

From the 19th verse of the 6th chapter, St. Matthew describes in his Gospel how the Lord teaches us to seek, first of all, the Kingdom of God and not to be distracted from this search by other concerns, not to worry about the acquisition of earthly, short-lived treasures, which are easily subject to damage and destruction. He who has such a treasure is constantly with him with his thoughts, desires, and feelings; Therefore, a Christian, who should be with all his heart in heaven, should not be carried away by earthly acquisitions, but should strive to acquire heavenly treasures, which are virtues. To do this, it is necessary to guard your heart as the apple of your eye. We must protect our heart from earthly passions, so that it remains pure and does not cease to be a conductor of spiritual, heavenly light for us, just as the eyes are a conductor of physical light. The one who intends to serve both God and Mammon at the same time (Mammon is a Syrian deity, the patron of earthly riches, the personification of earthly treasures) is like one who wants to please two masters at once, who have different characters and make different, to the same opposite, demands; and in this case, he "will hate the one, and love the other; or he will be zealous for the one, and not care for the other" (Matt. 6:24)The Lord leads us to the heavenly and eternal, and wealth to the earthly and perishable, therefore, in order to avoid such duality, which hinders the work of eternal salvation, it is necessary to abandon excessive and superfluous, restless and tedious worries about food, drink and clothing – those worries that absorb all our time and attention and distract us from worries about the salvation of the soul. For if God cares so much for the foolish creature, giving food to the birds and luxuriously dressing the flowers of the field, how much more will He not leave man, created in the image of God and called to be the heir of His kingdom, without all the necessities of life. Our whole life is in God's hands and does not depend on our cares: can we, for example, add at least one cubit to our height? However, all this, by no means, means that it is worth abandoning all cares in general and indulging in idleness, as some heretics interpreted this passage of the Sermon on the Mount. Work was commanded to man by God in Paradise, before the Fall (Gen. 2:15), which was confirmed again at the expulsion of Adam from Paradise (3:19). It is not work that is condemned, but excessive and oppressive concern for the future, for tomorrow, which is not in our power and which we still have to live to. Only the degree of values is indicated: "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness," and as a reward for this, the Lord Himself will take care of us, so that we may have everything necessary for earthly life, and the thought of this should not torment and oppress us, as unbelieving pagans. This part of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:25-34) presents us with a remarkable picture of God's Providence caring for His creatures. "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of its own" — that is, tomorrow is not in our power for us to take care of it, because we do not even know what it will bring with it: perhaps such worries as we do not think about and have not thought about.

Don't judge

3. The third part of the Sermon on the Mount, contained in the 7th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, teaches us not to condemn our neighbors, to guard the holy from desecration, about constancy in prayer, about the broad and narrow paths, about false prophets, about true and false wisdom." Judge not, that ye be not judged" – these words are rendered by the Evangelist Luke as follows: "Condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned" (6:37). It is forbidden not to judge one's neighbor, but to condemn him, in the sense of gossip, which arises, for the most part, from some selfish and impure motives, from vanity and pride; Backbiting, malicious tongues, malicious reproach of other people's shortcomings, stemming from a feeling of dislike and ill-will towards one's neighbor, is prohibited. If any judgment about one's neighbor and about his actions were forbidden here, then the Lord would not say further: "Do not give holy things to dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine" (Matt. 7:6); and Christians would not be able to fulfill their duty to rebuke and admonish sinners, which is prescribed by the Lord Himself in verses 15-17 of the 18th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Evil feelings and schadenfreude are forbidden, but not the evaluation of one's neighbor's actions in itself, because, not noticing evil, we could easily begin to be indifferent to good, we would lose the sense of difference between good and evil. Correct him, not as an enemy, subjecting him to punishment, but as a physician offering a remedy. It is necessary not to reproach, not to reproach, but to admonish; not to accuse, but to complain; not to attack with pride, but to correct with love" (Discourse 23). Christ forbids blaming people for their faults without noticing our own and perhaps even greater faults. But there is no question of a civil court, as some false teachers want to show it, and there is also no question of evaluating a person's actions in general. The Lord had in mind the proud, self-conceited Pharisees, who treated other people with merciless condemnation, considering only themselves to be righteous. Immediately after this, the Lord warns His disciples against preaching His teaching, these true pearls, to those people who, like dogs or pigs, are incapable of appreciating them by their extreme ossification in evil, and who, deeply immersed in depravity, vices and wickedness, treat every good with bitterness and malice.

Constancy in Prayer

Further it is said: "Ask, and it shall be given you," the Lord teaches constancy, patience and diligence in prayer. A true Christian, remembering the Lord's admonition, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness," will not seek to receive anything vain, harmful to the salvation of the soul, and therefore can be sure that through his prayer the gift will be revealed to him, as the Lord promises to him who will pray fervently. Ev. Matthew (7:11) says: "Your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask Him"; and St. Luke, with the words: "He will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him," explains what are the blessings for which one should and should ask. The father will not give his son harmful, and therefore the Lord gives a person only that which is truly good for him.In conclusion of the instructions on our attitude towards other people, the Lord pronounces the rule that is called the golden rule: "In all things, whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them." In this canon there is "The Law and the Prophets" (Matt. 7:12), since love for people is a reflection of love for God, just as love for brothers is a reflection of love for parents.

The Narrow Path

Christ warns that following His commandments is not so easy, it is "the strait way" and "the narrow gate" (Matt. 7:14), but they lead to eternal and blissful life, while the broad and broad path, attractive to those who do not like to struggle with their sinful passions, leads to destruction.

On False Prophets

At the end of His Discourse on the Mount, the Lord warns believers against false prophets, likening them to wolves in sheep's clothing. The "dogs" and "pigs" of which the Lord has just spoken are not as dangerous to believers as false prophets, because their wicked way of life is obvious and can only repel them. False teachers present lies as truth and their rules of life as Divine. One must be very sensitive and wise to see what a spiritual danger they represent.This comparison of false prophets to wolves pretending to be sheep was very convincing to the Jews who heard Christ, because throughout their centuries-long history this people had suffered many disasters from false prophets.Against the background of false prophets, the virtues of true prophets were especially obvious. True prophets were distinguished by unselfishness, obedience to God, fearless denunciation of human sins, deep humility, love, strictness towards oneself and purity of life. They set themselves the goal of attracting people to the Kingdom of God and were a creative and unifying principle in the life of their people. Although the true prophets were often rejected by the broad mass of their contemporaries and persecuted by people standing at the helm of power, their activities healed society, inspired the best sons of the Jewish people to a virtuous life and podvig, in a word, led to the glory of God. Such good fruits bore the work of the true prophets, who were admired by the believing Jews of subsequent generations. With gratitude they remembered the prophets Moses, Samuel, David, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and others. Avoiding the denunciation of sins, they skillfully flattered people, thereby ensuring success among the masses of the people and the mercy of the powerful of this world. With promises of prosperity, they lulled the people's conscience, which led to the moral decay of society. While the true prophets did everything for the good and unity of the kingdom of God, the false prophets sought personal glory and benefit. They did not disdain slander against the true prophets and persecuted them. In the end, their activities contributed to the death of the state. Such were the spiritual and social fruits of the false prophets. But the precocious glory of the false prophets decayed faster than their mortal bodies, and the Jews of subsequent generations remembered with shame how their ancestors had succumbed to deception (the Holy Prophet Jeremiah, in his Lamentations, complains bitterly about the false prophets who destroyed the Jewish people, see Lamentations 4:13)In periods of spiritual decline, when God sent true prophets to guide the Jews to the good path, a large number of self-styled prophets appeared among them at the same time. Thus, for example, they were especially numerous from the 8th to the 6th century B.C., when the kingdoms of Israel and Judah perished, then before the destruction of Jerusalem, in the seventies of our era. According to the prediction of the Savior and the apostles, many false prophets will come before the end of the world, some of whom will even produce amazing signs and wonders in nature (false ones, of course) (Matt. 24:11-24; 2 Pet. 2:11; 2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 19:20). In both Old and New Testament times, false prophets caused much harm to the Church. In the Old Testament, by lulling the people's conscience, they accelerated the process of moral decay, in the New Testament, by leading people away from the truth and planting heresies, they tore off the branches of the great tree of the Kingdom of God. The modern abundance of all kinds of sects and "denominations" is undoubtedly the fruit of the activity of modern false prophets. All sects sooner or later disappear, others vegetate in their place, only the true Church of Christ will remain until the end of the world. Concerning the fate of false teachings, the Lord said: "Every plant which My Father in heaven hath not planted shall be rooted up" (Matt. 15:13)It should be explained that it would be an exaggeration and a stretch to classify every modern pastor or non-Orthodox preacher as a false prophet. After all, there is no doubt that among non-Orthodox religious figures there are many sincere believers, deeply sacrificial and decent people. They belong to one or another branch of Christianity not by objective choice, but by inheritance. False prophets are precisely the founders of non-Orthodox religious movements. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord warns His followers against false prophets and teaches them not to trust their external attractiveness and eloquence, but to pay attention to the "fruits" of their activity: "A bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit... for a bad tree bears bad fruit." By evil "fruits" or deeds it is not necessary to understand the sins and vile deeds that false prophets skillfully conceal. The harmful fruits of the activity of all false prophets, common to all of them, are pride and rejection of people from the Kingdom of God.A false prophet cannot hide his pride from the sensitive heart of a believer. One saint said that the devil can show the appearance of any virtue, except for one – humility. Like the wolf's teeth from under the sheep's clothing, so pride can be seen in the words, gestures, and gaze of the false prophet. False teachers seeking popularity like to show off, in front of a large audience, to perform "healings" or "exorcisms" of demons, to amaze listeners with bold thoughts, to cause delight in the public. Their performances invariably end with large cash collections. How far this cheap pathos and self-confidence is from the meek and humble image of the Savior and His Apostles!The Lord further cites the references of false prophets to His miracles: "Many will say to Me in this day (of judgment): Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? And was it not in Thy Name that demons were cast out? And have they not done many miracles in Thy Name?" Can a false prophet perform a miracle? No! But the Lord sends His help according to the faith of the one who asks, and not according to the merits of the person who pretends to be a miracle worker. False prophets, on the other hand, ascribed to themselves the works that the Lord did out of His compassion for people. It is also possible that the false prophets, in their self-deception, imagined that they were performing miracles. One way or another, the Lord will reject them at the world judgment, saying: "Depart from me, you workers of iniquity! I never knew you!" Thus, although false prophets weaken the Church, tearing away from it the unwary sheep, the faithful children of the Church should not be confused by the sparseness and seeming weakness of the true Church, because the Lord prefers the small number of people who keep the truth to the multitude of people who are in error: "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom!" and promises the faithful His divine protection from the spiritual wolves, saying: "I will give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no man shall snatch them out of my hand" (Luke 12:32, Jonah 10:28)Thus, false teachers can be recognized by their lives and deeds. As if against modern sectarians, who preach the justification of man by faith alone, without good works, the further words of the Lord are directed: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord! Lord!' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21). From this it is clearly seen that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone is not enough, but a life corresponding to faith is also needed, that is, the fulfillment of Christ's commandments, good works. In the beginning of the preaching of Christianity, many people did indeed work miracles in the Name of Christ, even Judas, who received this authority on a par with the 12 Apostles, but this does not save if a person does not care about fulfilling the commandments of God. is like a man who built his house on sand, while he who fulfills the covenants of Christ is in fact like one who built a house on a rock. Such a comparison was close, and therefore understandable to the Jews, since in Palestine frequent torrential rains were common, accompanied by storms and demolished houses erected on sandy ground. Only he who fulfills the commandments of Christ in practice can resist the hour of the onslaught upon him, like storms of grievous temptations. Whoever does not fulfill these commandments easily falls into despair and perishes, renouncing Christ; The Evangelist Matthew concludes the narrative of the Sermon on the Mount with a testimony that the people were amazed at the new teaching, since the Lord taught them as one in authority, and not as the scribes and Pharisees. The teaching of the Pharisees, for the most part, consisted of trifles, useless verbal outpourings and verbal disputes; but the teaching of Jesus Christ was simple and sublime, since He spoke on His own behalf, as the Son of God: "But I say unto you"—in these words His divine authority and power are clearly felt.

Healing the Leper

When the Lord Jesus Christ descended from the mountain after His preaching, a multitude of those who heard Him followed Him and, no doubt, were deeply shaken. And then again, as it had already happened once, as the Evangelists Mark (1:40-45) and Luke (5:12-16) relate, a leper approached Him, asking for deliverance from a terrible illness. Of course, this was far from an isolated case of healing lepers, taking into account the multitude of miraculous healings that the Lord performed in general during His public ministry to people.