Living according to the commandments of the Gospel leads to completely different consequences. He who has set the fulfillment of the will of God as his goal in life strives to know this all-holy will in detail and with accuracy through the most thorough study of the Holy Scriptures, especially the New Testament, through the reading of the Fathers' writings, through conversation and consultation with successful Christians, through the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments both in outward behavior, and in mind, and heart. "The law of freedom," said St. Mark the Ascetic, "is read by true understanding, and by the observance of the commandments, of course, it is fulfilled by the mercies of Christ" [55]. When a Christian begins to live according to the will of God, good, pleasing and perfect,[56] or according to the commandments of the New Testament, then the fall and weakness of human nature is suddenly revealed to him. Infirmity does not allow him to fulfill the commandments of God in a pure and holy way, as God demands, and the fall opposes, often with the greatest bitterness, the fulfillment of God's commandments. It wants and demands that the fallen will and fallen human reason be fulfilled. The aspirations of this will and the conception of this reason are clothed in all kinds of the most sublime truth and virtue. The knowledge of the inner struggle, the denunciation and discovery of the one who lives within sin, the knowledge of its violent power over good wills and aspirations provide the Christian with a correct understanding of himself and of humanity. He sees the fall of humanity in himself; he sees from his own experiences the impossibility of arising from this fall by his own efforts alone; he acquires true humility, begins to offer God the warmest prayer for help and intercession from the heart of the broken, to which God always listens. Teach me to do Thy will! [58] Teach me by Thy justification! [59] Do not hide from me {p. 24} Thy commandments! [60] Confirm me in Thy words! [61] Turn away from me the way of iniquity, and have mercy on me by Thy law. [62] Having learned from experience that God's commandments are fulfilled only with the abundant cooperation of God's grace, and asking for this assistance by unceasing prayer, a Christian cannot but attribute all his good deeds to God's grace. At the same time, he cannot but recognize himself as a sinner. On the one hand, he learned from experience his own fall and inability to fulfill the will of God by his own strength alone, on the other hand, he sees in the very fulfillment of God's commandments with the help of grace the incessant errors introduced by human weakness and fall. This is clearly seen from the comments of the holy Apostle Paul about himself. In one of the Epistles he says: "More than all (the Apostles) I have labored: not I, but the grace of God, which is with me,"[63] and in another: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first."64 Such is God-pleasing righteousness! It is produced in man by the Divine grace that has overshadowed him, and it pleases God with the deeds of God-given truth. The God-pleasing righteous man does not cease to recognize himself as a sinner, not only because of his obvious sins, but also because of his natural truth, which is in a sorrowful fall, mixed with evil, defiled by sinful admixture. Blessed is he who is righteous in the righteousness of God, his hope is concentrated in Christ, the source of his righteousness. Unhappy is he who is satisfied with his own human righteousness: he does not need Christ, Who proclaimed Himself: for He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance [65]. St. Pimen the Great said: "For me, a person who sins and repents is more pleasant than a person who does not sin and does not repent: the first, recognizing himself as a sinner, has a good thought, and the second, recognizing himself as righteous, has a false thought" [66]. An assimilated false thought makes the entire life based on it useless. This was proved by experience: open sinners, publicans, and prostitutes believed in Christ, but the Pharisees rejected Him. Self-conceit and pride essentially consist in the rejection of God and in the worship of oneself. They are a subtle, difficult to understand, and difficult to reject idolatry. The Pharisees outwardly were the closest and most accurate servants and zealots of true worship of God, but in essence they were completely alienated from God, became His enemies, children of Satan [67]. When the promised Messiah, Whom suffering mankind had been waiting for for several thousand years, appeared among them with indisputable testimonies of His Divinity, they did not accept Him. Conscious of Him, in recognition of Him, they gave over to shameful execution, became God-killers [68].

The Gospel does not mention anything about the sinfulness or righteousness of the publican, but only sets up as an example of imitation the image of his prayer, which consisted exclusively of the consciousness of his sinfulness and of the humblest petition of God for mercy. The reason for this presentation is obvious. All people, without exception, are sinful before God, all need forgiveness and mercy for salvation, and God, according to His unlimited perfection, forgives all sins, both small and great, with equal convenience. In the perfection of God, all men are equal before Him in righteousness, by which they can differ only from one another. Acknowledging oneself as righteous is nothing else than not seeing one's sins, as self-deception. And therefore all people, without exception, when they come to the temple of God to appear before the face of God or intend to do so in the solitude of their cell, must prepare themselves with the consciousness of their sinfulness, and only from this consciousness should they offer prayers to God. Otherwise, our prayers will not be accepted [70]. "And the publican, standing afar, tells the Gospel, did not wish to lift up his eyes to heaven: but smote his face, saying: God, be merciful to me a sinner." The Gospel teaches us in these words that when praying, the humble disposition of the soul must correspond to the position of the body. In church, one should choose a place not in front, not visible, but modest, which would not be a reason for entertainment. Let the eyes not be allowed to be free: let them be constantly fixed on the earth, so that the mind and heart may be directed unhindered to God. The publican had the appearance of a bent man: so vividly did he feel the burden of his sins. And anyone who vividly feels this burden that oppresses the soul will involuntarily assume the appearance of bent and lamenting, as St. David said: "I have suffered and slushed to the end, lamenting all day long: for my hands are filled with reproach, and there is no healing in my flesh" (72). It is impossible not to notice that the place chosen in the temple by the publican, in the depths of the temple, is indicated by the Gospel [73] in contrast to the place chosen by the Pharisee, who, of course, stood in front in order to serve as an edification to the assembled people and to attract their attention to himself for the benefit of the people themselves. Thus, vanity usually justifies and covers up its actions. The position assumed by the publican's body according to his heart's thoughts is set in contrast to the position that the Pharisee gave to his body, also in accordance with the spiritual movement produced by the thoughts of pride. The publican, who recognized himself as a sinner, did not dare to lift up his eyes to heaven; The Pharisee, who recognized himself as a righteous man, freely lifted up his haughty eye to grief. The publican, because of the severity of his sins, seemed to be burdened with a burden; The body of the Pharisee took on a contrary appearance, encouraged, erect, inspired by self-conceit and self-confidence. The publican's face was covered with sorrow; The Pharisee's face shone with self-satisfaction. Sometimes the Pharisees stand in the very depths of the temple, especially when they are dignitaries, and then suddenly come out before the people, in order to impress more strongly both with the appearance of dignity and the preceding manifestation of humility. Their faces do not always express self-satisfaction: they assume various forms, depending on the need; but they are always invented.

The Lord who knows the heart concluded the parable with the following words: "I say to you, this (publican) is justified more than he (the Pharisee): for everyone who is exalted will humble himself, but he who humbles himself will be exalted" (74). This means: the publican was justified as having recourse to the justification granted by God, and the Pharisee was condemned as having rejected the justification granted by God, and wishing to remain in his own human fallen truth. To humble oneself means to recognize one's fall, one's sinfulness, because of which man has become an outcast creature, devoid of all dignity; To be exalted is to ascribe to oneself righteousness, even if it be to some extent and other virtues. Our worthiness, our righteousness, the price by which each person is valued and which is given for each person, is our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The poison that completely poisons the activity of the Pharisees is that they do all their works, so that people may be seen [75]. The basis of their activity is the search for human glory; The means to the end is hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is the character of the Pharisees. The Lord called hypocrisy their leaven [76]. All the activities of the Pharisees are permeated with hypocrisy; each of their deeds has hypocrisy in its soul. Hypocrisy, born of vanity, that is, of the search for human praise and glory, nourishes vanity with its successes. When vanity reaches maturity, then its action turns from impulses into a constant striving; then out of vanity is formed an insane and blind passion – pride. Pride is the death of the soul in the spiritual sense: the soul, embraced by pride, is incapable of humility, repentance, mercy, or any spiritual thought and feeling, which brings living knowledge of the Redeemer and assimilation to Him. In order to turn away from ourselves the terrible poison imparted by the leaven of the Pharisees, let us, according to the testament of the Gospel [77], strive for the fulfillment of God's commandments solely for God, concealing with all care this fulfillment from the pernicious eyes of men. Let us act on earth for God and for heaven, and not for men! Let us also act for people, not in order to extort our praise from them, but in order to bring them true service and benefit, for which they often tear their benefactors to pieces, just as foolish and ferocious beasts often tear to pieces those who care for them and feed them. Thus was done with the holy Apostles and many other saints of God. Let us vigilantly watch ourselves, notice our shortcomings and errors! Let us pray to God to reveal to us {p. 28} our fall and sinfulness! The constant striving to fulfill the will of God will gradually destroy in us self-satisfaction and clothe us in blissful poverty of spirit. Clothed with this holy and grace-filled garment, we will learn to stand before God in a God-pleasing manner, for which the Gospel praises the humble publican. Praying to God from the depth and sincerity of the heart's consciousness of sinfulness, we will surely receive the forgiveness of sins and an abundance of true blessings, temporal and eternal: for everyone who humbles himself will be exalted by the all-powerful and all-good right hand of the Lord God, our Creator and Savior. Amen.

Lesson 2

on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee

On Prayer and Repentance

In the Gospel now read, the prayer of the publican is depicted, which attracted God's mercy to him. This prayer consisted of the following few words: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner" [78]. It is also noteworthy that such a short prayer was heard by God, and that it was pronounced in church, during public worship, during the reading and singing of psalms and other prayers. This prayer is approved by the Gospel, it is set up as a model of prayer: pious consideration of it becomes our sacred duty.

Why did the publican not choose some majestic and touching psalm for the outpouring of his heart before God, but turned to such a short prayer and repeated it alone during the entire service? We answer, borrowing the answer from the Holy Fathers [79]. "When true repentance vegetates in the soul, when humility and contrition of spirit appear in it because of the sinfulness revealed to its eyes, then verbosity becomes uncharacteristic and impossible for it. Concentrating on herself, directing all her attention to her plight, she begins to cry out to God with some shortest prayer."

Vast is the spectacle of sinfulness when it is given to man by God: it is indescribable in eloquence and verbosity; {p. 29} more accurately depicts his sighing and the groaning of his soul, clothed in the shortest and simplest words. Those who wish to reveal a deep sense of repentance in themselves use a short prayer as an instrument to attain such a state, saying it with all possible attention and reverence. The abandonment of many words, even if they are holy, helps the mind to completely free itself from distraction and to strive with all its strength towards self-contemplation. "In thy prayer do not allow thyself to be verbose," said St. John of the Ladder, "lest thy mind be inclined to the consideration of words. One word of the publican propitiated God, and one true saying saved the thief. Verbosity in prayer often leads the mind to distraction and daydreaming, and verbosity usually gathers it" [80].

In view of the greatest benefit of short, attentive, concentrated prayer, the Holy Church commands her children to become accustomed to any short prayer in due time. He who has accustomed himself to such prayer has a prayer ready in every place and at any time. And traveling, and sitting at a meal, and doing handicrafts, and being in human society, he can cry out to God. If it is impossible to pray with the lips, it is possible to pray with the mind. In this respect, the convenience of a short prayer is obvious: it is very easy to lose the meaning and consistency of a long prayer during practice; but a short prayer is always preserved in its entirety. Leaving it for a while, you can return to it again without any difficulty. Even during Divine services it is useful to repeat a short prayer in the spiritual cell: not only does it not interfere with the attention of the prayers read and sung in the church of God, but also contributes to especially careful attention to them, keeping the mind from being distracted. If the mind is not restrained in self-contemplation by a short prayer that fills the soul with a sense of repentance, then it will easily fall into distraction during the Divine services, leaving church reading and singing unattended, and will deviate to empty reflections and daydreams. This happened to the Pharisee now mentioned; the Pharisee listened superficially to the Divine services and was carried away by sinful thoughts. Sinful thoughts not only deprived his prayer, which was already weak, of all dignity, but also turned it into a pretext for condemning the one who prayed. The Pharisee's prayer was rejected by God: the Pharisee left the temple sealed with the seal of God's wrath, not understanding and not feeling his spiritual distress, for the reason that his heart, being dead to repentance, was filled with self-satisfaction and self-deception. When prayer by short prayer, from frequent and constant use, turns into a habit, then it becomes as it were natural for a person. Listening attentively to something that particularly interests us, we make various exclamations, which not only do not impede our attention, but even aggravate it: in the same way, having acquired the habit of short prayer, we express our sympathy and attention to the prayer and psalmody we hear.

Throughout the Holy Forty Days, during all the divine services, the prayer is often repeated, in the ears of those present in the church: God! cleanse me, a sinner. Why is this so frequent repetition of the same prayer? In order for us to learn to repeat it often. For the same purpose, another short prayer is often repeated: Lord, have mercy.

The Savior of the world, Who approved the prayer of the publican, subsequently permitted and granted us to pray in His all-holy name. Prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus, both in His name and as established by Him, is called the Jesus Prayer. Under the reign of the Old Testament, man turned to God, Whom he did not yet know definitely; At the onset of the dominion of the other, in the New Testament, man, in addition to the previous conversion, is given the opportunity to turn to the God-Man as an intercessor between God and men, as an intercessor in whom the Divinity is united with humanity, as an intercessor who has explained God to men with the detail and fullness possible for human comprehension, who confesses God [81]. To the Old Testament prayer God, be merciful to me, a sinner, the New Testament prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." The Old Testament servants of God used the first prayer; the New Testamentes, using the first, make the most use of the second, because it pleased the God-Man to combine with His human name a special miraculous spiritual power. For constant prayer, the prayer "Lord, have mercy" is also used. It is an abbreviated Jesus Prayer, and replaces it in those cases when the pronunciation of the entire Jesus Prayer becomes difficult, such as: in times of fright, in times of unexpected joy, in times of serious illness, during spiritual vision. In the latter case, the exclamation "Lord, have mercy" serves as an echo for the mind of those grace-filled understandings that appear to it after its purification, exceed its comprehension and cannot be expressed in words [82].

What is the meaning of the word "have mercy" in all these prayers, or be merciful? This is man's awareness of his destruction; it is a feeling of that mercy, that self-pity that the Lord commanded us to feel towards ourselves, and which is felt by very few; it is a denial of one's own dignity; it is a petition for God's mercy, without which there is no hope of salvation for the lost. The mercy of God is nothing else than the grace of the All-Holy Spirit; we, sinners, must unceasingly, persistently ask God for it. "Have compassion, O my Lord, on my miserable condition, into which I fell, having lost Thy grace, and dwell Thy grace in me again. Strengthen me with the Spirit of the Lord,[83] with the Spirit of Thy power, that I may be able to resist the temptations inflicted by the devil and the temptations that arise from my fallen nature. Send me the spirit of chastity, so that I may arise from the state of mental ecstasy in which I find myself, and correct my moral feet. Grant me the spirit of Thy fear, that I may fear Thee, as it behooves the weakest creature to fear the great God their Creator, so that because of my reverence for Thee I may keep Thy commandments sacredly. Plant in my heart love for Thee, so that I may no longer be separated from Thee, that I may not be carried away by an irresistible attraction to abominable sin. Grant me Thy peace, that it may preserve my soul in indestructible tranquillity, that it may not allow my thoughts to wander about the world unnecessarily, to my detriment, to my confusion, so that it may concentrate them in self-contemplation and from it ascend to Thy Throne. Grant me the spirit of meekness, so that I may abstain from anger and malice, and be constantly filled with kindness towards my brethren. Grant me the spirit of humility, so that I may not be arrogant, that I may not dream of myself, that I may not seek the praise and glory of men, but that I am earth and ashes, a fallen being, cast down to earth because of my unworthiness, which must be brought out of the body and this world by death, that I must be brought before Thy dreadful and impartial Judgment [84]. God, be merciful to me, a sinner! Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me! Lord, have mercy!"