"My Lord shall come to the grave," says the wicked servant mentioned in the parable, "and shall begin to beat his minions, and eat and drink with drunkards" (Matt. 24:48,49). The bridegroom shall touch (Matt. 25:5), the foolish virgins think, and they sleep carelessly, while the last drops of oil burn out in their lamps. Thus, in weak or false Christians, forgetfulness of the impending coming of the Lord and His righteous judgment entails all deeds contrary to the spirit of Christianity, and completely exhausts all Christian virtues. The Prince touches the kings of the earth (Rev. 1:5), says the mighty of the earth, deceived by love of power, and begins to trample on the weak. The rebellious nations cry out, and plot without authority. The King will touch the crown of thorns, says the son of sensual pleasures, and, crowning himself with flowers, he falls asleep on the flowers, which are soon to wither and leave behind them only future thorns. The King the Lender will stagnate, says the slave of the love of money or sloth, and he buries deeper into the ground the talent of which the kingdom could be a bounty. The Bridegroom touches, says the soul that has condemned itself to the Heavenly Bridegroom, and slumbers, not noticing that in its spiritual vessel the oil of tenderness and Divine love is becoming scarce, and therefore the light of understanding may soon be extinguished. Where is the promise of His coming? For the fathers have been asleep, and have been in this way from the beginning of creation, and in the hope of this stagnation, or, rather, in despair, they walk after their own lusts (2 Peter 3:3,4).

No, wicked servants and light-minded handmaidens, the Lord will not touch the promises, as they think they are stagnation: but He is long-suffering against us, not that any should perish, but that all may come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), and who knows whether the measure of His long-suffering has not already been filled? Observe, Christians, how from day to day the signs of His coming, predestined by Him Themselves, are multiplied: the tightness of tongues, famines and destructions, and cowardices in places, a multitude of temptations, betrayal of one another, an increase in iniquity, the drying up of love. And this is already a sign, that so many are slumbering, not paying attention to the striking signs of the times, for according to the words foretold by the Holy Prophets and your Apostles, the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night (2 Peter 3:10).

Behold, he cometh from the clouds, and every eye shall see him. (Apoc. 1:7) Blessed is he who can say with all his heart: "Yes, come, Lord Jesus! (Rev. 22:20). Crown to those who love His appearance! Amen.

Sermon on the Day of the Uncovering of the Relics of Our Father Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia the Wonderworker, and on the Occasion of the Return to the Moscow Flock, 1830 [86]

You kiss all the saints, especially those who are from Caesar's house. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with you all (Phil. 4:22,23)

Return to this God-preserved city, to which the inscrutable destinies of God have bound me as much as I am a good one, as a terrible bond, because by sacred bonds, I have now to say much from the abundance of my heart, and above all to gratefully glorify God, the author of all the blessings, Who has already deigned to end my fourth distant and prolonged coming from these borders without comfort, if only this can be called the end of the coming for those who are not imams of this city, earthly but coming, heavenly (Hebrews 13:14), then reverently greet you, not only with the high grace of the sacrament, but also with the grace of miracles, Your Eminence, and your companions, you, who worship these ancient strongholds with your incorruptible bodies, and especially in the spirit of your God-pleasing prayers, that you may strengthen my weakness with them, correct my unworthiness, and bless me to appear again in the field after you hereditary service, to greet with love all those who are present here and who live here and who live here the communicants of the faith of one mind in Christ, the companions of the life of one law according to God, in whatever rank one is called to honor the True God, to serve society, to do good to one's neighbor, to build up one's salvation, if only one walks worthily of the highest calling of Christianity; especially to greet with consolation the communicants and companions of the sacred ministry, even in the absence of the Primate, as well as in the presence of those who preserve their order and affirmation without confusion and shame, and thus manifest in themselves the sign of the Church, forever unshaken.

But, like a shore of water, I keep the word of the commandment of the fathers, which commands that everything we do and say should have the testimony of the Divine Scriptures.

With what word of Scripture shall we govern and limit the flow of the present word? Let us listen to what the Holy Apostle Paul says to all the saints about Christ Jesus, that is, to those who were sanctified by the truth of the teaching and the power of the Christian sacraments, who were in Philippi, after Jesus Christ had preached to them and loved them in his womb, not coming to them personally, it is true, but almost all the same, visiting them through Epaphroditus, and conversing with them through a letter. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, he says to them at the beginning of his epistle [Phil. 1:1-2], and apparently not content to pronounce this greeting once, and apparently not having another so excellent, he repeats the same greeting at the end of the epistle: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with you all." And thus I will tell you, and there is no need, if I say not for the first time: Grace be with you all!

Grace, in so far as this name expresses itself, is a power that bestows good: it is also in accordance with the spirit of the sacred tongue to call it, if it seems simpler, mercy, as a sign of such a quality and disposition of a good being, according to which another being appears to him as sweet, attracting love - as long as there is good, compassion - because it is in need, forgiveness - because it is guilty. Or, if it is necessary to distribute the concepts more precisely, love and mercy, when they come into action, are called grace, and the grace received becomes a gift.

The recently quoted words of the Apostles, and many other sacred sayings, show that the source and immediate beginning of grace is God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father gives it, Jesus Christ brings it in His name, the Holy Spirit breathes it into the souls of believers and with it inspires them to spiritual life - strengthens and ascetics them to activity, truly beneficial and therefore pleasing to God and salvation.

From this conception of grace, which, however, is incomprehensible in its essence, since it is Divine, it is no longer difficult to understand how desirable it is for us, or, better said, how necessary it is for us. Without it there is no hope of forgiveness for the sinner, there is no sure deliverance for the needy, there is no good for anyone, because every good comes from the One God, and since God is infinite in His perfections, therefore He is all-satisfied with Himself and therefore has no need of anyone or anything, does not borrow anything from anyone, therefore He does not owe or owe anything to anyone, and consequently gives every good not out of any duty or necessity. but only by His boundless love and abundant grace.