"The Son of Man Came to Seek and Save That Which Was Lost"

(Luke 19:10)

 The very incarnation of the Son of God and His coming into the world greatly encourages sinners to repentance. For whose sake did Christ come into the world? For the sake of sinners. For what purpose? For their salvation. Oh, how precious God has placed our salvation! For our salvation, O sinners, He Himself came into the world. Hear, you sinners, and understand! God Himself came into the world for the sake of our salvation, and He came in our form. Oh, truly, "great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16). "Lord, what is man, that Thou hast revealed Thyself to him? What is the son of man, that Thou thinkest of him" (Psalm 143:3)? Truly wondrous is God's goodness to man, and wondrous is His incarnation! Foreseeing him, the prophet cried out to Him with fear and horror: "Lord, I heard a rumor about You, and I was afraid. O Lord, I have understood Thy works, and I am terrified" (Hab. 3:1-2). Sinners! Let us remember this great work of God, created for our sake, and repent. Let us remember how for our sake He was born of a Virgin, and was a Child, and was nourished by his mother's milk, and the Invisible One became visible, and received the Beginningless Beginning, and wrapped himself in swaddling clothes like a child, and the Intangible One became tangible, and "the Word became flesh" (John 1:14). Let us remember how, while still a child, he ran away from the murderer of King Herod. Let us remember how He lived and wandered on earth, how He moved from place to place and labored for our salvation, how the Unapproachable One dwelt with sinners to the Cherubim and Seraphim, and how He who had heaven as his throne and the earth as his footstool, who dwelt "in unapproachable light," had "nowhere to lay his head" (1 Timothy 6:16; Matt. 8:20); how "He, being rich, became poor, that we might be enriched by his poverty" (2 Corinthians 8:9). Let us remember how He who is clothed with light, like a garment that is perishable, was clothed with a garment; as He who gives food to all flesh was nourished by the bread of the earth; as the Almighty was weak, and the Giver of strength to all, he labored. Let us remember how He Who is above all honor and glory was blasphemed, reviled and ridiculed by lawless lips. Let us remember how he suffered, yearned, sorrowed, cried and was terrified. Let us remember how he was sold and betrayed by an ungrateful disciple, and was abandoned by other disciples; how he was bound and brought to trial; how the wicked judged Him, smote Him, scourged Him, mocked Him, dressed Him in a robe of mockery, and crowned Him with a crown of thorns, and beat Him on the head with a reed, and spat on Him, and mocked Him, saying: "Hail, King of the Jews" (John 19:3)! Let us remember how He heard from His wicked people: "Take, take, crucify Him" (John 19:15)! — how He was led to crucifixion with two evildoers, and on the cross between two evildoers the Son of God was crucified, and died on the cross. All this was created by the Son of God for our salvation, O sinners! In Adam we lost salvation and all our blessedness, but Christ, the Son of God, by the grace of His Heavenly Father, restored it to us. Let us judge for ourselves, sinners, whether it is not the very Blood of Christ, shed for our salvation, and all His providence cries out to us, that we may repent and thus not be deprived of eternal salvation. For without repentance there is no salvation for anyone. However, the accursed sinner is careless about this. The human-loving God showed Providence so wonderful about him, so that he would repent and thus be saved, but the sinner ignores this. Christ the Son of God in His Gospel represents His coming into the world for His sake, His voluntary humiliation, His voluntary poverty, His voluntary and profound humility, His labors, illnesses, sorrows, sorrows, sufferings and death, and death on the cross, and says to him: "Man! All this I have received and endured for the sake of you and your salvation, but you neglect your own salvation. You are careless, for you do not want to repent and, having ceased to sin, use My Blood and be revived." But the sinner, although he hears in the Gospel this pitiful and sweet voice of Jesus, nevertheless does not care about it. Christ promises him not to remember his sins and iniquities if he turns to Him, but the sinner neglects this. Christ calls him to Himself and promises him peace, but the sinner does not heed this. He remains defective as he was, lives lawlessly as he lived, does evil deeds as he did, loves darkness as he loved, hates the light as he hated it, and therefore does not come to the light, and remains with the devil, the prince of darkness. Oh, poor sinner! Wake up and feel yourself. If you do not do this, then the very Blood of Christ, shed for your sake, will cry out for vengeance on you. Listen to what the prophet of God says to you on behalf of God: "I will rebuke you, and I will present your sins before your face" (Psalm 49:21). That is, all your evil deeds, words, thoughts, plans, and undertakings will follow you to the next age and will appear at the universal judgment of Christ, and you will receive your worthy reward for them. If you do not want to repent now with benefit for yourself and thus be saved by the grace of Christ, then you will repent, but too late and in vain. "Arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light" (Ephesians 5:14), "God who rules over all," blessed forever and ever. Amen.

Homily 10: On Death

 "Men are destined to die once"

(Hebrews 9:27)

 Death is powerful to move to repentance. Death is known to us and unknown. It is known because we will all die, and it is unknown because we do not know when, how and where we will die. The more we live, the more our life is shortened, and our days are shortened, and we are nearer to death, and today we are closer to it than we were yesterday, and at this hour, than an hour ago. Death follows everyone invisibly, and delights him when he is not waiting. Almost all people, especially healthy and strong ones, dream thus, thinking within themselves: I will still live, my death is not yet visible, I will gather and be satiated with the collected blessings. But then death suddenly falls upon him, and then all his dreams and thoughts perish (Psalm 145:5). Soon the one who promised himself a long life dies. Whoever wanted to gather and become rich, leaves both the world and his body in the world. So we do not know the end, Christians. The loving God, having care for us, made our end unknown to us, so that we would always be ready for it and remain in true repentance. With what a person departs from this world, he will appear with him at the judgment of Christ. Sinners! Let us diligently consider this and repent, so that we do not depart with our sins to that age and do not appear at the Last Judgment. The merciful God promised us to show His grace and mercy, but He did not promise us tomorrow. Let us listen carefully to this, and let us awaken from sleep, and, remembering our death, let us correct ourselves and prepare ourselves for the end, that we may die blessedly. "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord" (Rev. 14:13). He dies in the Lord who dies in repentance, and faith, and true prayer. That hour is terrible for all. All the saints, looking at that hour, wept and thus propitiated the man-loving God, that He might deliver them at that time. It is surprising that the saints, looking at that hour, weep, but sinners do not weep, although every day they see how their brothers die. Poor sinners! Why do we sleep? Behold, the devil, like a thief, steals our salvation. Let us engrave that hour in our memory, and we will be ready. From the hour of death a man will be either eternally blessed or eternally poor. Here the doors to eternity open to everyone, and he will go either to a happy or to an unhappy eternity. From this moment on, a person begins to either live forever or die eternally. Where are those who have now lived before us in luxury, and sweetness, and unrepentance? They have departed from this world, and have left all their pleasures, and remain in their places, and await the last judgment, where they will fully receive according to their deeds. Therefore, before this hour has come to us, let us turn with a pure heart to our God, and let us be reconciled to Him through repentance and faith, that we may receive eternal life. The holy apostles exhort and beseech us about this in their writings: "In the name of Christ, and as if God Himself exhorts through us; In the name of Christ, we beseech you: be reconciled to God. For He made him who knew no sin to be a sacrifice for sin, that in Him we might become righteous in the sight of God" (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). Amen.

Homily 11: On the Dread Judgment of Christ

 "Behold, I come quickly, and my recompense is with me, to repay each one according to his deeds"

(Rev. 22:12)

 Beloved Christians! I tremble and tremble with fear, hearing and pondering these words: "Behold, I come quickly, and My recompense is with Me, to repay each one according to his deeds." Who says this? God is great and terrible. What does it mean? That He Himself is coming to judge the universe and to reward each one according to his deeds. Poor sinners! What do you think when you hear these words? God Himself is coming to judge and reward you according to your deeds. Be horrified to sin and live lawlessly. God Himself is coming to judge you, He is coming with power and much glory. Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy on Thy creation, for no one is sinless, only Thou alone. Terrible, beloved, is the day and hour in which God will judge sinners. The judgment of man is terrible to us, but the judgment of God is incomparably more terrible. In the judgment of man it is a man like us who judges, and in that judgment it is God Himself who judges. In the judgment of man, witnesses accuse or acquit a person, but there they are not needed, for the Judge Himself knows everything perfectly. In the judgment of man, faces are often looked at, and the rich are preferred to the poor, and the noble to the ignoble, — there the Judge does not look at faces, but judges according to conscience and deeds. At human judgment, people often help people with their intercession: the noble to the noble, the rich to the rich, friends to friends – there this will not happen, but everyone will answer for himself. In human judgment, silver and gold often protect a person, but this will not be the case there. In human judgment, eloquence and cunning often help a person, but there they will be silent and dumb. In the judgment of man before a few, man is rebuked and judged, and there before the whole world the sinner will be rebuked and judged. In the judgment of man only external deeds are judged, and in that judgment even secret thoughts. In the judgment of man only evil deeds are judged, and in that judgment "men will give account for idle words" (Matt. 12:36).

"Behold, I come quickly, and my recompense is with me, to repay each one according to his deeds." Christians, chosen generation! We see the first coming of Christ our God, let us also see the second, as He Himself promises: "Behold, I come quickly," and so on. Of the first the holy prophets proclaimed to the world, as if to say: Christ is coming, coming into the world, and he has come; the teachers of the Church proclaim to us about the second, always repeating: here He goes, here comes Christ again into the world, and suddenly He will appear! His first coming was quiet and humble, and the second will be swift and glorious, "for as the lightning proceedeth from the east, and is seen even to the west, so shall be the coming of the Son of man" (Matt. 24:27). In the first coming the world saw Him suffering and dying for our sins, but in the second it will see Him sitting on the throne of His glory, and judging sinners for their sins, and rewarding each one according to his deeds. Now He says to sinners: "Repent," and then He says: "Answer Me!" Now He calls sinners to Him: "Come to Me," and then He will say to unrepentant sinners: "Depart from Me" (Matthew 25:34, 41). Where to? "Into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Oh, how terrible this word is! Poor sinners! That day has not yet come, the Judge is still "long-suffering" with us, "not wanting anyone to perish" (2 Peter 3:9), still waiting for our repentance, not yet judging us, still showing mercy to everyone who repents and prays. Let us also repent, that we may receive mercy from Him, and be vouchsafed to stand at His right hand at His coming, and to hear from Him an all-favorable voice: "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34). Amen.