And before death men speak and act more strikingly; all the more the God-man. Thus, let us increase our attention, and above all purify our thought. For just as with eyes full of dust it is impossible to see well the greatest and most obvious objects, so with a mind filled with impure thoughts about earthly goods, it is impossible to contemplate the Divine greatness of Christ's sufferings.
But, unfortunately, for many, the meaning and the whole soul are never so impure, filled with the vanities of life, as in this holy and pure week. Worries about the completion of various things before the feast, worries about the preparation of various things for the feast distract the mind on all sides and dissipate the feeling on the most vain subjects.
Ah, brethren! It is not such a meaning, scattered, suppressed by earthly feelings, that Holy and Great Week demands of us!
It was not in vain that the Lord Himself said to the Apostles at the onset of His sufferings: "Whosoever hath the moisture, let him take it... but whosoever hath not, let him sell his garment, and buy a knife" (Luke 22:36). This means that in these days it is necessary to free oneself from everything superfluous and entertaining. A knife is needed – the determination to slay all cares, all sinful and carnal desires. Sell, O believing soul, sell everything now, and buy this wondrous knife: it is not Malchus that you need to smite with it, but that old man, who often cries out in you against Christ: "Take, take, crucify Him" (John 19:15).
"But what to do with everyday worries?" someone will say. "The onset of a great and long feast necessarily requires a great deal of care for the things of life." We know, brethren, this situation, and we grieve that when Christ is on the Cross, Christians are in the marketplace from morning to evening; when Christ in agony exclaims: I thirst! (John 19:28) and drunk by the father, Christians prepare a variety of food and drink; when Christ gives up His spirit to the Father, Christians can hardly take a breath from the vanities of life. All this has become inevitable for many; But why? Who has made it legitimate for all our worldly needs to flock precisely in the terrible days of the Lord's death and burial? By whose command do our flesh and blood then lay claim to us and make us their slaves, when Christ gives up His Flesh and Blood for us? Was it not possible to satisfy the greater part of the needs, if not all, in the past days, in order to devote this week, especially the last days, entirely to the Lord? Are there not such people who act in this way, and in whom the flesh therefore does not hinder the spiritual? What prevents everyone from acting in this way: paying tribute to the world and the flesh in advance, so that now they may be free for the spirit? "But then the marketplace is empty." And who has caused them to be full on the most sacred days, and to make the temples of God empty, if not our dispersion and love of peace? Marketplaces will follow people as soon as people go where they should.
But let us not, perhaps, demand a change in the order of things, however bad and unworthy it may be for Christians; let us leave the world to rule in its place, even in these days. And at the same time, it is possible to fulfill the requirements of the Church, it is possible to have a purified meaning and to descend to Christ in the midst of His sufferings in the spirit of faith and love. The coming holiday requires preparations: but how much? A good Christian will easily find a way to meet all the requirements of the feast, without being distracted by thoughts and feelings, without losing sight of his Savior. And the apostles went into the city to shop, and they prepared the supper; And the Equal-to-the-Apostles wives bought perfumes: but look, how holy and pure everything is with them! Why can't it be like this in our country? Only our vanity invents a multitude of petty, unnecessary needs, and by satisfying them it torments itself and others; Only the insatiability of our flesh increases to measure the needs of bright days, which, being in themselves nourishing for the spirit, therefore require less food for the flesh.
Thus, brethren, the approaching feast requires little, because it contains in itself a great deal: much spiritual food and drink, much pleasure and sweetness of the heart. If in the course of it there seems to us too much that is necessary for the flesh; this is because our spirit does not enjoy the joys contained in the feast itself; but does not enjoy because he is incapable of tasting spiritual blessings; but he is incapable because, being in slavery to the flesh, he has always hungered only for sensual pleasures, neglected to purify his taste and other senses. For this reason, in general, after being present, often with one body, during the Divine services, we do not know what else to set up the feast for, except in a multitude of brashen, in the noise of amusements, often extending to the darkening of the meaning and all the senses.
In this way, with us, the entire Kingdom of God with its great events, the whole faith with its most holy sacraments, is most expressed in the longest service to the womb – brushing and drinking. Truth and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17), pure delights of the heart, holy raptures of the spirit, which constitute the main fruit of faith, the essence of any true feast, are either not known to us at all, or are known by one name. The condition is truly the most deplorable! And this is the main reason for the transformation of the order of things and of all festivals, especially of the present great and holy days. Being completely earthly ourselves, we also earthen the feasts of God: being carnal, we make the very Cross of Christ the head of our flesh. But let us enter the opposite path, and everything will take on a different, true and correct form. Let us spend this week as we should; let us fulfill the requirements of the Church, let us follow the Lord who is coming to suffer; let us be crucified with Him with all the "sweetness of life," and we, without great preparations for the flesh, will find in the coming feast that which we have never found: inexhaustible food for the spirit and joy for the heart. The enjoyment of the spiritual goods contained in the feasts will make us indifferent to the sensual goods associated with them; we will cease to measure the greatness of the sacred days by the length of our meals and the variety of food; and with this, a multitude of superfluous vanities will fall from us of its own accord, which now take away our precious time, and do not allow us to follow our Lord. In this way, by itself, without effort, imperceptibly the correct order of things, days and occupations will be restored.
I repeat again, brethren, let us make this holy experiment; let us resolve in these days to give as much time as possible to the Lord, and as little as possible to the world; let us resolve to gather all our thoughts and feelings, and direct them in the wake of the Lord's coming sufferings. Many times these holy days have already passed for us without benefit, perhaps even with harm to our souls; Let us conduct them at least once, as we should. Such a farewell usually seems dull, and for this reason they are most averse to it. And I, in the name of the Holy Church, in the name of our Saviour Himself who is coming to his sufferings, dare to assure you that the proper conduct of these holy days contains such an inner sweetness that whoever once spends them as he should, will not need a new motivation to spend them in this way and forever. Amen.
Слово в Великий Понедельник, на литургии
"Грядый Господь к вольной страсти, Апостолом глаголаше на пути: се восходим во Иерусалим, и предастся Сын Человеческий, якоже есть писано о Нем. Приидите убо и мы, очищенными смыслы сшествуем Ему, и сраспнемся, и умертвимся Его ради житейским сла-стем, да и оживем с Ним"
(на вечере, стихира 1).
Последуя Церкви, повторяющей в своих песнопениях приглашение — сшествовать грядущему на страдания Господу, и я, братие, почел за долг повторить оное, и еще остановить на нем ваше внимание. В утреннем собеседовании нашем мы рассуждали о необходимости сшествовать в духе Господу и об удалении препятствий к тому; но не показали способа к совершению сего святого дела, не указали подробно самого пути, коим должно идти. А и это, может быть, весьма нужно для многих. Увы, не многие из нас умеют сами идти за своим Спасителем! Немногие умеют надлежащим образом пользоваться даже теми путями, кои открывает и устрояет для сего Святая Церковь! Посему наш долг преподать касательно сего святого дела несколько правил, кои могли бы служить руководством.