Whoever of the farmers sows more, gathers more at harvest time, and whoever sows less, gathers less. So it is with Christians: whoever sows more good in this life will also reap more fruit on the last day, the day of Christ's judgment, and "sow poverty, and he will reap poverty" (2 Corinthians 9:6). For our Lord is righteous: He will "reward each one according to his deeds" (Romans 2:6). That is why the Apostle exhorts: "Until the time of the Imam, let us do good to all, and even more so to those who are present (our own) in the faith" (Gal. 6:10). Christian brother! Let us write this apostolic word on our hearts: "Until the time of the Imams." This time is the time of real life; only now can we do good, give alms, — in the next age all this will come to an end. Let us take care to sow now, so that we may have something to reap with joy then; let us now labor in good works, so that we may then be at peace; let us give into the hands of the poor what we have, so that then we may receive it from Christ the Lord in abundance. Do not be afraid, Christian! "He who promises is faithful" (Heb. 10:23). You give it into the hands of a beggar, and Christ Himself promised to repay you for this. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall have mercy" (Matt. 5:7). Miserable are the unmerciful, for they will be deprived of mercy: "For judgment without mercy is he who has not done mercy" (John 2:13). Then the merciful, who have done works of mercy, will hear from the Righteous Judge: "Come to the blessing of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!" (Matt. 25:34:43). Christ does not need our good, He Himself gives us everything; Christ is not in need, but Christians, our brethren, are in need. And what is given to Christians, according to His love for mankind, Christ imputs to Himself, as He Himself says: "Inasmuch as you have created one of these my least brethren, you have created me with me." And what is denied to Christians, that is denied to Christ Himself, according to what is said: "For you have not created one of these least ones, neither have you created Me" (v. 40, 45). Consider this, O man, who is miserly in almsgiving, generous in his whims. Now you regret giving a ruble or fifty rubles to a poor man, — you regret giving from His, Christ's goodness — for all that we have is not ours, but Christ's, "for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulfillment thereof" (Psalm 23:1), and then, at the second coming of Christ, you will regret and weep over what you did not give, but it will be too late and useless. Then you will be ashamed and ashamed, and you will weep and weep when you see good Christians reaping the fruits of their seeds, and yourself barren and in extreme poverty. And you, blessed Christian, Christ-loving soul, do not cease to do good: "For in your time you will reap without fainting" (Gal. 6:9). Imitate the farmer who sows in due time, hoping to gather fruit; this also you are in the present life, so that later, at the time of the harvest — the end of the world, you may reap with joy. "As a man sows, so shall he also reap" (v. 7). It will be longing and sweet to hear: "Come, blessings!" Let us have mercy on our brethren, and we ourselves will have mercy, we will give, and we too will be granted. The farmer works and sows, looking to the fruits to come. Beloved Christian! Imitate this worker, He laboreth, looking upon the perishable and transient good: but with the eye of faith behold the eternal blessings, "which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor ascended into the heart of man, which God hath prepared for them that love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9). And work, and this in the hope of receiving these blessings. Behold that harvest which shall be at the last day, a harvest in which the fruits are gathered not earthly, temporary, perishable, but heavenly, eternal, incorruptible. Sow now, before the time is gone, sow the seeds of goodness, so that there may be something to reap during this harvest. Farmers are often deceived in their hope, for there is not always a harvest; but whoever seeks eternal blessings with faith, with hope and diligence, will never be deceived, but will certainly receive them, "for he who promises is faithful" (Heb. 10:23). Work now with faith and hope. Do not be afraid: your seed will not be wasted. You give into the hands of the poor, but your goods are in the hands of Christ, and will return to you with great profit. Put it in your mind and firmly establish in your memory that your homeland and your home are in heaven: "And so hide for yourself the treasure in heaven, where neither worm nor aphid corrupts, where they do not break in or steal" (Matt. 6:19-20). Do not be afraid: there your treasure will be all whole, and on the last day before the whole world it will be carried out and shown, and it will be given to you, and it will remain with you forever and ever. And then you will hear from Christ God: Beloved! Here is your treasure, which you hid not on earth, but in heaven — here it is returned to you in its entirety. Receive it and be comforted by it, and be rich in this incorruptible wealth. O Jesus, the light of our spiritual eyes! Open our spiritual eyes, that we may see the good things which Thou hast prepared for those who love Thee, and we shall seek them with desire and diligence. Beloved Christian! If you saw even a small particle of these eternal blessings, then you would forget everything in the world and strive for these blessings. But believe, perhaps, the true word of God, which is more certain than any vision, and you will seek them!

Poor farmers, who have little seed in store, although they endure need, nevertheless save them so that they have something to sow, and then to gather fruit. Poor Christian! Do thou, too, as the wretched and sensible toilers do. You have a little possessions, but do not spend all of them on your household needs; take care that there may be something to sow, and at harvest time gather fruit. And give a portion of the poor to Christ, Who will give you a hundredfold in due time; sow at least a few seeds in the hands of the poor, that the grace of God may multiply thy fruit. Give also a little to him who asks you, give with diligence: from a willing giver he will honor and accept a small thing for a great thing, as He received two mites from the poor widow. "Amen, I say unto you, that this poor widow multiplies all those who cast them into the treasure storehouse. For all have cast down from their abundance: and this from their deprivation of all that they have, they have given up all their lives" (Mark 12:43:44). Thou shalt also sweep mites into the hands of the poor, as seeds into the ground: and in due time thou shalt reap gladly. "And the cup of cold water given in the name of Christ" will not be forgotten by Him (9:41).

(From the works of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk)

420. Bear the Cross Which God Has Sent

Does it not sometimes occur to you, my friends, that God has given some people both wealth and happiness in this life, while others live in poverty and endure all kinds of needs and misfortunes? In answer to this, I will tell you an ancient story, from which you will see for yourselves that every man should be content with his fate, because the Lord God knows better than we do to whom what is useful, and sends to each one what is in his power.

There was a simple-minded peasant who lived by the work of his hands, but earned very little: he barely had enough to feed himself and his family. Once he went to the seashore, sat down on a stone and began to watch how large ships with rich goods approached the pier, and how these goods were then unloaded and taken to the city for sale. And then a sinful thought sank into his head: why did the Lord send wealth and all kinds of contentment to some people, and leave others to live in poverty? And the simpleton began to grumble about his unfortunate lot. Meanwhile, the noonday sun was very hot; The poor man began to fall asleep, and he fell asleep imperceptibly. And then he dreamed that he was standing at the foot of a high mountain; a venerable old man with a long white beard came to him and said to him: "Follow me." He obeyed and followed him. They walked for a long time, and at last they came to a place where lay a great multitude of crosses of every kind and of various sizes. There were crosses, both large and small, and gold and silver, and copper and iron, and stone and wooden. And the elder said to him: "Do you see how many crosses there are? Choose any one for yourself and carry him to the top of the very mountain that you saw before you." —

Our simpleton looked at the golden cross: it was so beautiful, like the red sun shining. He liked this cross, and he wanted to take it on his shoulders; But no matter how hard he worked, he could not only lift this cross, but also move it from its place. "No," the elder said to him, "it seems that you will not be able to lift this cross up the mountain. Take another one - silver. Maybe it will be according to your strength." The simpleton took a silver cross. This one was, it is true, lighter than the gold one, but still he could do nothing with it. The same thing happened with copper, iron, and stone crosses. "There is nothing to do," the elder said to him, "take one of the wooden crosses." Then the simpleton took the smallest of the wooden crosses and easily and quickly carried it to that mountain. He rejoiced that at last he had found one cross according to his strength, and asked his companion: "And what reward will I have for this?" — "So that you may judge for yourself what to reward you," he answered him, "I will reveal to you what these crosses you have seen. The golden cross that you liked so much at first is the royal cross. You think to yourself how good and easy it is to be a king! And you do not realize that the royal power is not an easy power, that the royal cross is the heaviest cross. It is difficult, very difficult, to be a tsar! You have fallen asleep peacefully on the seashore; you have no special concerns, except perhaps for the daily sustenance of yourself and your family. Not so with the tsar: he never has peace, because God has entrusted him with the care of the whole state. From early morning until late at night, he is busy with the work of government and concern for his subjects, for the security of the fatherland from enemies, for all good people to live well in his kingdom, and for evildoers not to do evil, so that from all these labors and cares he has little time for rest. He makes laws, and he himself sees to it that these laws are strictly obeyed. Think how difficult all this is, and you will understand why the golden, royal cross, although shining like the sun, is still the heaviest cross. "And the silver cross is the cross of all those who are vested with power, it is the cross of the pastors of the Church of God, the cross of the Tsar's closest servants, his ministers and advisers, who help the Tsar in governing the state. Though life is not so difficult for them as for the king, yet they have many cares and sorrows, and they have very little rest. "And the copper cross is the cross of all to whom God has sent riches. You, here, envy them and think: how happy they are! And it is harder for the rich to live than for you. True, they do not need to work with their shoulders to feed themselves and their families—they have plenty of everything—but they have many enemies and envious people. After your labors, you can sleep peacefully: no one will touch your wretched hut and your little goods, and a rich man is always, day and night, afraid that someone will deceive him, rob him, or set fire to his house. You don't have an extra penny, God won't demand from you if you don't help the poor, but the rich will give God an answer for his wealth: how he used his wealth. And if trouble happens, God will send a test, and the rich man will become impoverished: how many sorrows will then fall upon him! God forbid anyone to experience such a misfortune; It is better, a hundred times better, to be born a poor man than to be rich and then come into poverty... This cross is heavy – very heavy.. And what rich man can guarantee that he will avoid such a cross?.. But the Iron Cross is the cross of military people. Ask those who have been in war, and they will tell you how often they have to spend nights on the bare, damp ground, to endure hunger and cold; Needless to say, every soldier is obliged to take an oath in case of need and lay down his life for the faith, the tsar and the fatherland, and the other, if he returns home from the war, will be an unfortunate cripple. "And the stone cross is the cross of merchants. Do you like their life because they don't have to work like you? But does it not happen that a merchant goes overseas, spends all his capital on goods, and all the goods are destroyed by shipwreck, and the unfortunate merchant returns home a complete poor man? And various other misfortunes: troubles from fire, troubles from robbers, troubles from dishonest people... Who among the merchants can be sure that he will be happy all his life, that he will never go bankrupt, that he will not be threatened by any misfortune? And the larger and wider his trading business, the more worries and anxieties he has... No, their cross is unenviable, and not everyone is able to bear it! And this cross is especially difficult for an honest man. You, the farmer, have no opportunity to lie, steal, or deceive, but the merchant has such occasions every now and then. It is not in vain that the Scriptures say: "The merchant can scarcely escape error, but the innkeeper shall not be saved from sin" (Sir. 26; 27). As a nail is driven in the midst of bonds, so sin intrudes in the midst of selling and buying" (27:2). This is how many temptations there are for a merchant, how one must be careful not to sin before God and not to offend one's neighbor. Therefore, it is not easy for a good and honest merchant to bear his heavy cross.. But the wooden cross, which you so easily brought up the mountain, is your cross. You complained that your life is difficult, and now you see that it is much easier than the life of other people. Your occupation, agriculture, is the most sinless; Who knows? If you were rich, you would forget yourself in happiness, if you were a glorious nobleman, you would oppress others, if you were a merchant, you would begin to deceive everyone, and if you were a warrior, you would not suffer the labors and deprivations of wartime, you would murmur against God... The Lord knew that in any other rank and position you would have ruined your soul, so He gave you the most humble cross – the lightest cross – a wooden cross... Go therefore, and do not murmur against the Lord God for your poor lot. The Lord gives everyone a cross according to his strength, as much as anyone can bear." At the elder's last words, our simpleton woke up, thanked God for the intelligible dream that He had sent him, and from that time on he never again murmured against God.

This, brethren, is a lesson for each of us, that we, too, may be content with the position in which the Lord has pleased to place us. Believe me: He loves us all as His children, and therefore He gives everyone only what is useful to him. Therefore, let us never grumble about our fate: this is a great sin. Whatever the Lord sends us, happiness or misfortune, wealth or poverty, sickness or health, for all we will always thank and glorify Him and say: "Our Father, Who is in heaven!" Thy holy will be done in all things!

421. The Mount of Olives

Our Lord Jesus Christ loved the holy Mount of Olives and often sanctified it with His holy feet, now traveling to Bethany, to the house of His friend Lazarus, now returning from there to Jerusalem, now retiring here for night prayer or conversing with His chosen ones, the Apostles. At the foot of this mountain, in the silence of the Garden of Gethsemane, His saving sufferings began, when He, the Lamb of God, taking upon Himself the sins of the whole world, began to grieve and sweat blood; from the summit of the Mount of Olives, He, the Conqueror of death and hell, as the King of glory, ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father.

The Mount of Olives, or, in Russian, the Mount of Olives, received its name from the olive groves with which its slopes were covered in ancient times; it rises to the east of Jerusalem, on the other side of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, at a distance of no more than a mile from the city. The most direct way to it is through the eastern gate of the holy city, near which the holy First Martyr Archdeacon Stephen was stoned. As soon as the traveler passes the Garden of Gethsemane and climbs a little along the path, he will be shown a smooth, whitish stone, on which, according to tradition, the Mother of God had a custom to rest, when, living in Zion, in the house of John the Theologian, She visited this beloved mountain, where everything reminded Her of Her Divine Son. Right there She stood, as tradition says, at the time when the Jewish crowd was stoning Saint Stephen and strengthening the sufferer with Her all-powerful prayer. "Six steps higher show a stone at the place where, according to legend, the Apostle Thomas stood, when, after the dormition of the Mother of God,

She, the Queen of Heaven, deigned to appear to him in the air and threw him her virgin belt. "Halfway to the top, among the olive trees, you can see the ruins of the place where the Lord wept for Jerusalem during His triumphal entry on a donkey after the resurrection of Lazarus. He foresaw, in His Divine omniscience, that this fickle people, who now meet and accompany Him with joyful exclamations: "Hosanna to the Son of David!" — in a few days would furiously shout to Pilate: "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" — foresaw that for such hardness terrible misfortunes would befall this unfortunate people, this city, this temple, which from here opened to His eyes in all its then beauty and grandeur, — and so His loving heart could not stand it: tears, holy tears of love for His earthly homeland flowed abundantly from His eyes: "And when He saw the city, He wept over it, saying, 'If you also had understood (Oh, if only you had known, even now), in this day of yours, for your humility, (which serves for your well-being!).... Now hide yourself from your eyes! For the days shall come upon thee, and thy enemies shall encircle thee, and shall encircle thee, and shall encircle thee from every side. And they shall break thee and thy children in thee, and shall not leave stone upon stone in thee, because thou hast not understood the time of thy visitation!" (Luke 19:41-44).

A little higher is the place where the Lord taught His disciples the Lord's Prayer. Further, 90 steps from here, there is a magnificent Russian church in the name of Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene; it was built on the site where the Savior pronounced His Divine prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world.

But here is the very summit of the holy Mount of Olives. Here is the very place about which the prophet Zechariah predicted 500 years before the event: "The Lord will come forth, and His nose will stand on the day of His life on the Mount of Olives, which is directly to the east of Jerusalem..." (Zech. 14:3, 4). This is the place where on the fortieth day after His Resurrection Jesus Christ brought His disciples from Jerusalem, "and lifted up His hands, bless them, and when He blessed them, depart from them, and ascended into heaven" (Luke 24:50, 51). Note that the Evangelist does not say: "when bless" when he has finished the blessing: but "when he blessed" when he continued to bless... What a wonderful way of acting, remarks the Moscow St. Philaret. The Lord blesses, and does not yet finish the blessing, but continues to bless and in the meantime ascends to heaven. What does that mean? That He does not want to stop His blessings, but continues to bless His Church and all who believe in Him without end. Let us consider, brethren, that if we believe, His hands are stretched out now and over us, and His gaze, and His blessing. What joy for those who love Him! What shame and fear for those who forget Him in the vanity of the world!