Why the Lord ended up on the Sea of Galilee, the Evangelist explains to us earlier. When He heard that John the Baptist had been put under arrest, He left Judea and withdrew to Galilee, to the despised region of the land of Israel. Foreseeing the bloody end of His great warrior and Forerunner, He prepared the victory over the enemy by His departure, as if by retreat. And if He is in Galilee, is it not natural for Him to settle in Nazareth, in His homeland, where He spent most of His earthly life? But what kind of prophet is received in one's own country? He came to Nazareth, but there they wanted to cast Him down from the top of the mountain. Again withdrawing from the premature evil of men, He finally settled by the Sea of Galilee, within the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali, among the most desolate and despised, among people in darkness and in the land and shadow of death. In this great darkness He will bury for the first time the seed of the fruitful tree of His gospel.

The Evangelist John writes that Andrew was the first to follow the Lord, moreover, while still in Judea. Andrew had previously been a disciple of John the Baptist, and when John pointed to Christ as stronger than himself, Andrew left his first teacher and followed Christ. Immediately after this, Andrew found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah, which means, Christ; and brought him to Jesus. Even then, Christ called Simon Peter, or a stone, a solid stone of faith (John 1:35-42).

Isn't this an obvious contradiction? No: not at all. Obviously, as St. John Chrysostom interprets it, two different events are described here. The first, which took place in Judea, when the Baptist was free, and the second, which took place later in Galilee, at the time when the Baptist was thrown into prison and when our Lord Jesus Christ settled in Capernaum, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. John describes an earlier meeting of Christ with Peter and Andrew, and Matthew describes a later one. This is clear from what Matthew says about Simon being called Peter, which means that the Lord had previously called Simon Peter. This, which took place before – and the first – meeting of Peter with Christ took place in Judea, when Andrew led his brother to Christ. John describes this first meeting with the following words: "And he brought him (Andrew) to Jesus." And Jesus looked at him, and said, Thou art Simon the son of Jonah; thou shalt be called Cephas, which means a stone (Peter). The Evangelist Matthew, now describing the second meeting of the sons of Jonah with the Lord, knows about this, and therefore he says: Simon, called Peter. He mentions Peter before Andrew because Peter was more lively in temperament than his brother, and from the very beginning he stood out more than him. That John and Matthew described two different events, and not the same thing, is clear to anyone who has read the two Gospels. If Matthew describes the decisive calling of Peter and Andrew to the apostolic ministry - follow me - then John, rather, tells about the meeting and acquaintance of these brothers with Christ, the reason for which was the words of the Forerunner: "Behold the Lamb of God." It is clear that after this meeting they parted from Christ and went to Galilee in another way or at another time, where the Lord found them again when they were engaged in their fishing business.

And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And straightway they left their nets and followed him. The Lord knows their hearts: like children, these fishermen believe in God and obey the laws of God. They are accustomed not to lead and order, but only to work and obey. They are not proud of anything, their hearts are filled with humility and obedience to the will of God. But, although they are simple fishermen, their souls hunger and thirst for as much truth and truth as possible. We see that Andrew once left his fishing nets and followed John the Baptist, becoming his disciple. And as soon as John pointed to Christ as stronger than himself, Andrew left John and followed Christ. They are living souls, seeking more and more of God's truth and the Kingdom of God. That is why Christ commands them: follow me. God does the same with all of us. He does not want to force us onto the path of salvation, but first gives us the opportunity to choose for ourselves, freely and with the help of our prudence, salvation or perdition. However, when God, Who sees our hearts, notices that our hearts are inclined to the path of good, to the path of salvation, then He decisively draws us to this path. When our hearts turn completely into the path of destruction and evil, God forsakes us, and Satan becomes our master. So it was with Judas the traitor. When his heart was completely inclined to evil and chose the dark path of perdition, Christ no longer tried to turn him away from that path; on the contrary, seeing that Satan had entered into Judas, the Lord said to him, "What you do, do quickly." Thus, neither in the case of Peter and Andrew, nor in the case of Judas, does the Lord in any way limit the freedom of human self-determination, but only after people have decided in their hearts in the choice of good or evil, He decisively says: To Peter and Andrew, follow Me, and to Judas, what you do, do quickly.

And I will make you fishers of men. This means: As hitherto you have caught fish with your nets out of the depths and darkness of the waters of the sea, so from now on you will be caught by Me and My Gospel to fish people out of the depths and darkness of the evil of this world. All that is good will remain in these snares, and all that is unfit will either not be able to enter these snares, or will fall out of them.

Hearing the call of Christ, Peter and Andrew immediately, leaving their nets, followed Him. Do you see how much the hearts of these two brothers have already decided on the choice of good? They don't ask, "Where are you calling us? What will we eat? And who will feed our families?" They seemed to have been waiting all their lives, listening: when will this call sound? Simple-mindedly, like children, they put all their cares on God, leave everything and follow the call of Christ.

From there, going on, He saw two other brothers, James Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and called them. And straightway they left the boat and their father, and followed him. And again - not two kings, but two fishermen! Without a royal crown on his head, but with a royal heart in his chest. This is how the Lord gathers pearls in darkness. Thus He chooses the small and the foolish, in order to put to shame the great and wise; and the Lord chooses the poor to shame the rich. See how poor James and John are: they themselves and their father are mending nets! But their souls are rich in hunger and thirst for God; their hearts are turned to the good and are waiting. Therefore, as soon as Christ called them, they immediately left their occupation, and the boat, and their father, and the nets, and followed Him.

In the inner sense, the fisherman means the catcher of spiritual goods, the net - the soul, the sea - this world, the boat - the body. Casting their nets into the sea, these fishermen seek spiritual blessings, spiritual food, or the Kingdom of God, stretching out and immersing their souls in the depths of this world, in order to catch these blessings somewhere. Repairing the nets means their work to correct their souls. The fact that the first two left their nets and followed Christ means that they left their old and sinful souls and followed Christ in order to be renewed, reborn and gain a new soul and a new spirit. And this also means that now they will seek and catch spiritual blessings not by the efforts of their own souls, but by Christ, not by their own strength, but by the power of God, not by their minds, but by Divine revelation. And the fact that the other two left the boat and their father means that they left their sinful body and their bodily father, in order henceforth to be concerned about the salvation of their souls and to go to meet their Heavenly Father as adopted by the grace of God.

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every infirmity among the people. After thirty years of solitary life, our Lord Jesus Christ now begins His Divine ministry, and begins with zeal and determination. This is indicated by the words: he walked throughout all Galilee. His ministry consisted in interpreting the old, in preaching the new, and in confirming both by miracles, healing people. The law was given through Moses and the prophets, and it was witnessed by many miracles, so that people would believe that this law is from God. But the interpreters of the law, having darkened their souls with sin, completely darkened the meaning of this law. For this reason this Old Testament law became dead and as if it did not exist. Now our Lord Jesus Christ, the most pure and sinless, reveals Himself as the only true Lawyer and true Interpreter of that first law. He interprets its meaning and reveals its spirit, which is closed to sinners. He is now the Interpreter of the Spirit, just as the Spirit will later be His Interpreter. He does not reject the Old Testament law of God - how can He reject it, when He Himself gave it? But on the basis of its true spiritual and prophetic meaning, He now gives a new law of salvation by preaching the Good News of the Kingdom. The Old Testament law is like a good and fertile land, which people have neglected to such an extent that its face is completely hidden under thorns and thistles sown by people, that is, by falsely named interpreters. So that everyone turned away his eyes and his heart from this desolate earth. Now the Lord is plowing this land and sowing new seed. And people look at Him with fear and wonder. And just as the Old Testament law was attested to by many Divine miracles, so our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Lawgiver, testified to this new law by many miracles. Those miracles were performed not for an idle and vain demonstration of their power, but in order to bring true benefit to people. All of them consist in the healing of physical and spiritual illnesses and human infirmities. For the Lord has visited us not as a sorcerer, but as a Friend and Physician.

All of you who hunger and thirst for righteousness and the love of God, who in vain catch this truth and love with your souls, like nets, in the sea of this world, hear the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ. For He calls you, as He once called the fishermen near the Sea of Galilee: Follow Me. And when you hear this voice, do not hesitate a moment, but immediately leave all your old efforts and all your old love and follow Him. He is your only Friend and Physician; all others who are outside of Him are either ignorant or charlatans. He calls you not as kings, nor as shepherds, nor as rich, nor as poor, nor as learned, nor as uneducated, but as people full of sickness and infirmity. The cause of our illnesses and infirmities is sin. Therefore, fall down before our Lord Jesus Christ and cry out to Him, as the multitude of the sick and infirm once were: Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner! Forgive me, Lord, forgive my innumerable sins. Cleanse me with Thy power, nourish me with Thy life-giving bread, enter deeply into me, like fresh and pure air in a stifling room, and I will be healthy, and I will be healthy and alive! May the Lord thus be glorified in the strength of our soul and purity of body, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, One-in-Essence and Indivisible, through the help and prayers of the holy Apostles of Christ, now and ever, at all times and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Third Sunday after Pentecost. The Gospel of Purity of Mind

Matt. 18 rec., 6:22-33.

Of all people on earth, the greatest responsibility before God is borne by a person who calls himself a Christian. For God has given the Christian the most, but He will also hold him accountable for the most. To the nations that have departed from the original revelation of God, God has left nature and reason: nature as a book and reason as a guide to this book. To Christians, along with nature and reason, the original revelation of God has been restored and a new revelation of truth has been given through our Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, Christians also have the Church, which is the guardian, interpreter and guide of both these revelations; and, finally, Christians have the power of the Holy Spirit, who from the very beginning gives life and instructs the Church. And thus, while non-Christians have one single talent - reason, which guides and teaches them from the book of nature, Christians have five talents: reason, Old Testament revelation, New Testament revelation, the Church, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Who should see better and read more clearly: the man with one candle, the man with two candles, or the man with five candles? It is certain that each of them will be able to read to some extent, and it is still more certain that the man with the five candles will be able to see farther and read more clearly than the first two. If the candles of the one who had five candles were extinguished, he would find himself in greater darkness than the one whose only candle was extinguished. For when two people find themselves in the same darkness, it is darker in the eyes of the one who has entered the darkness from a greater light. Those who walk with a single candle, that is, with a pure and undarkened mind, can break through the dark gorge of this life to the great light of God, but it is much easier for those before whom the candlestick of five candles shines. And if those who walk with one candle, having turned from the path and lost their way in darkness, are unanswerable (Romans 1:20), then how can those who have received five candles from Him, but still turn away from the path and get lost in darkness, be justified before God? Truly, of all people on earth, the greatest responsibility before God is borne by the person who calls himself a Christian.