High simplicity - Archpriest Valerian Krechetov. Multiblog of Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov works on the software platform In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

Sermon on Christmas Eve

The church on today's pre-holiday day sang: “Today the Virgin comes to give birth in the den, inexpressibly, the Eternal Word; the universe rejoices when it hears.” And in the Gospel we have already heard a brief narrative about the Nativity of Christ, where it is said that when the Most Blessed Virgin Mary gave birth to Her Divine Son, the named father Joseph gave Him the name predicted by the Angel of the Gospel, i.e. Savior.
The human race received the gospel a long time ago: in paradise itself. It was there that Adam and Eve, who had sinned, heard this joyful gospel. A terrible thing happened in paradise when they, beautiful, pure, innocent, sinless, who knew no sins or temptations, who had the great joy of talking face to face with God Himself as children with the Father, lost all this because of their sin, but however, the Lord, pronouncing His righteous judgment on this, there and then rejoiced them with the gospel that “the seed of the woman, - i.e. the descendant of the woman will erase the head of the serpent” (Gen. 3:15), the enemy-tempter. But humanity has been waiting for this Savior, Who will defeat the devil, for a long time. According to the Bible, more than five thousand years.
But now, you and I are approaching that great and bright holiday when heaven united with earth, when Angels on earth, as if at home in heaven, sang “glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace,” and the Salvation of the world lay in a manger.
You and I are preparing for this, but let’s not forget that preparation varies. Often a person waits for a holiday only because the holiday promises him purely everyday consolations. That's not the main thing. The main thing is the joy about which the Angel told the shepherds: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people” (Luke 2:10).
Let us remember that this is our joy with you. We, Orthodox Christians, know that He who is called Jesus is born, i.e. The Savior, and every Christian soul should meet Him on this holiday as their Savior. Not the Savior of someone else, some other people, precisely as our Savior, Who came to take upon Himself our heavy sinful burden, free us from it and give us eternal life. Don’t forget this when you bow before the manger and celebrate the actual holiday of Christmas! Amen.
   
 

Christmas Eve

Almost 2000 years have passed since that blessed night on which the heavenly evangelist announced “great joy that will come to all people” (Luke 2:10). And for 2000 years, the Holy Church, annually renewing the celebration of this Bethlehem night, tells us again and again about what happened then, and that this is truly a great joy.
Naturally, our thoughts now take us on the wings of faith to the holy city of Bethlehem. There really is now a celebration of celebrations. When there is another, even greater holiday of ours - the bright Resurrection of Christ, then all the celebration is concentrated at the Holy Sepulcher, and the Feast of the Nativity of Christ is celebrated there - in distant Bethlehem, at the manger of Bethlehem. And you and I now, receiving the anointing with consecrated oil, will receive it from the oil that the pious pilgrims brought us here - precisely from there, from the Bethlehem manger. So that not only in the spiritual order of faith, but also in the order of immediate communion, we will be partakers of the grace and sanctification of the Bethlehem feast.
But in order to properly evaluate what happened there when the Son of God was born and lay down in the manger in Bethlehem, let us pay attention to this:
At the very beginning of the existence of the human race, when only Adam and Eve, the primordial people, stayed in the paradise villages, they had that bliss that we, in our present sinful state, cannot even have an approximate idea of. They had the bliss directly, face to face, like children with their father, to talk with their Creator, Master and Lord, Who, as if putting aside His unapproachable greatness, so to speak, “easily” appeared to them, like a Father to his beloved children and talked with them.
There can be no greater bliss for a creature than to see its Creator and talk with Him. And the crafty seducer, the devil, who himself fell away from God, envied the first people and, out of envy, deceived them and plunged them into the terrible sin of disobedience to God. Succumbing to temptation, man wanted to be a god himself; but not only did he not, but on the contrary, like a damned sinner, he found himself separated from God, because sin stood between him and the Lord like a wall that separated him.
Remember the moment of the Savior’s suffering on the cross, when He exclaimed: “My God, my God, what have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46); - then everything went dark; as if an impenetrable cloud covered the sun, and darkness and darkness set in, which indicated that our sins, which He took upon himself, separated Him from the Father and He felt Himself abandoned by Him.
So, man who transgressed God’s commandment not only did not become a god, but fell away from God. But the Lord, in His ineffable goodness, did not want to leave His beloved creation and devised salvation in a special way. In order to save an unrequitedly guilty person, the wisdom of God carries out such a plan according to which, in order to save a person who had fallen away and moved away from God, the Lord Himself came to earth to become a man - the “Son of Man” (Luke 19:10), like Him liked to call himself. So that in this form it would be convenient to access Him as the God-Man.
What do we see during His incarnation? We see that, having abandoned all pomp and everything that is considered the greatest, most famous and glorious in this world, He did not even choose any hut for Himself, but deigned to lie down in the manger of a cattle cave.

Sermon at evening worship.

The Eve of the Nativity of Christ, Christmas Eve. Eve (Evening) of the Nativity of Christ filled with special trembling anticipation of the coming of the Savior into the world. Everyone is waiting for this: heaven, earth, creation, our hearts. And then the star flares up, and the sages and wise men, led by it, rush after it. Angelic singing is heard, and the shepherds listen to it. And now on this day chants are heard during the hours, which are usually called the Royal Hours (the Tsar-Emperor was always present at them in Byzantium). Along with the Old Testament prophecies about the Nativity of Christ, for the first time the words of the Gospel narrative about this great event sound on them - the first ray of good news about the Nativity of Christ

On Christmas Eve, pious believers do not eat food at all, but by ten o’clock in the evening they go to church, where they celebrate the Christmas holiday.
Only when the first star appears - the symbol of the Star of Bethlehem - can you taste sochivo (a Lenten dish, which is a wheat or rice broth with honey and fruit). Hence the name of this day - Christmas Eve. The holiday of Christmas itself, according to the teachings of the Church, symbolizes the triumph of man’s reconciliation with God, foreshadows the redemptive feat of Jesus Christ and the renewal of human nature, struck by the fall of our ancestors.
The day of the strictest fast is the eve of the Nativity of Christ, called Christmas Eve or Christmas Eve.

Nowadays, for some reason, many people think that Vecherie (Christmas Eve) begins in the evening when they come to the Christmas service. In fact, the Vespers service begins on the morning of January 6 and ends sometime in the afternoon. Before the revolution, it was considered obligatory to attend this service, because without Christmas Eve, what would Christmas be?
The service of the Eve of Christmas Eve is performed according to the same model as the Eve of Epiphany. This is due to the fact that in ancient times the Nativity of Christ was celebrated together with Epiphany (Epiphany). In general, the appearance of God in the flesh, the revelation in Christ and through Christ of Divine grace were remembered. Nowadays the two great holidays are separated by twelve days, but their eves remain the same.
Since ancient times, the Royal Hours have been celebrated at the Eve of Christmas and Epiphany. They are called so because the Greek emperors, and subsequently the Russians, were always present at them and during these hours many years were proclaimed to the kings. But the main content of the Royal Hours is the singing of psalms, troparions, kontakia, which tell or prophesy about gospel events.
On the festive Vespers all hours (1,3,9) are served one after another. So, in the morning you enter the temple and see that the Royal Doors are open. This means that the Royal Hours begin. In the middle of the temple, on a lectern, lies an open Gospel to commemorate the fact that the Lord came to earth to save all nations. The priest begins burning incense for the temple and the parishioners, and this brings to mind the frankincense and myrrh brought by the eastern wise men to the newborn King of the Jews.
This is followed by Vespers in conjunction with the Liturgy. During Vespers, many proverbs are read, selected in relation to the Great Feast. In the reading of the proverbs, the secret of the Eternal Council of God for the salvation of people is revealed, the solemn fulfillment of the troparions, proclaiming the truth of this Council. This solemn service fills the souls of those praying with a reverent premonition of the approaching great event.
On the Eve of the Nativity of Christ, after the dismissal of Vespers and Liturgy, the rite of “glorification” is performed. A candle is placed in the middle of the temple, signifying the star that appeared in Bethlehem. In front of her, the clergy and singers sing the troparion and kontakion of the holiday for the first time “in great voice.”

In the hymns of the holiday services, the Holy Church calls the Nativity of Christ a mystery, revealed by God to men in the incarnation of the Son of God, for today God has come to earth and man has ascended to Heaven.

Features of worship

The eve of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ - January 6 - is called the Eve of the Feast.

The custom of celebrating the Vespers before the Feast of the Nativity of Christ is undoubtedly ancient. This is evident from the fact that already in the 4th century it was determined how to celebrate the Evening Eve if it happened on Sunday (Theophilus of Alexandria, right. 1).

If the Vespers occurs on a weekday, except Saturday and Sunday, then on this day in the morning the Great (or Royal) Hours are celebrated and then Vespers with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.

Sequence of hours sung at the Eve of the Nativity of Christ.

The great clock represents the combination of all four clocks into one service with the addition of a fine clock to them.

Each of the four Great Hours has special two psalms dedicated specifically to the holiday, and troparia, as well as paremia, prokeimenon, Apostolic and Gospel readings.

The great clocks end with the rank of fine clocks.

On the eve (on Vecherye) of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, Christmas Vespers is performed during the day separately from the Matins of the holiday, in order to ensure its own solemn celebration. For this purpose it is usually combined with the longest, most solemn and touching liturgy of St. Basil the Great.

The Nativity of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. Service text.

After the usual beginning, Psalm 103, the great litany is sung stichera on the Lord I cried.

The entry is made with the Gospel.

Eight proverbs are read, the selection of which was made in relation to the great holiday. Thus, the first proverb tells about the creation of the world (Gen. 1: 12-14). In addition to the fact that reading this proverb gives the impression of reading the entire Bible in abbreviation, its content also indicates that the incarnation of the Son of God was a new creation.

The content of the second proverb is the prophecy of Balaam (Num. 24, 2-18) about the star from Jacob, the third is the prophecy of Micah (4, 6-8; 5, 2-8) about the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem, the fourth is the prophecy of Isaiah (11, 1-10) about the rod from the root of Jesse, on which the Spirit of God rests; the fifth is the prophecy of Baruch (named, due to the non-canonical nature of the book, by the name of Baruch’s teacher - Jeremiah - on the assumption that Baruch conveyed the prophecy of Jeremiah (3, 36-38; 4, 1-4) about the appearance of God on earth among people; the sixth proverb - the prophecy of Daniel ( 2, 31-45) about the uncut stone.The additional two proverbs supplement the above prophecy of Isaiah with his other two most important and direct predictions about the Messiah: about the birth of the royal Youth (9, 6-7) and Emmanuel from the Virgin (7, 11-15; 8, 1-4; 8-10)1.

After the first three proverbs, the royal doors open. The reader reads the troparion: “Thou art secretly born in a den” to the end. The chorus ends with the chorus: “Have mercy on us with them.” Then the reader reads the verses, and for each verse the choir sings the same end of the troparion. In conclusion, the reader reads the troparion a second time and himself repeats the end of it.

The second troparion is also performed after the next three proverbs. The choir sings the end of the troparion: “Giver of Life, glory to Thee.” After the end of the troparion with verses, two more proverbs are read, after which - a small litany and an exclamation: “How holy art thou, our God...”.

The prokeimenon is sung, tone 1: GThe Lord spoke to Me: You are My Son, I have given birth to You today. Poem: PGrow from Me, and I will give Thee the tongues of Thy inheritance, and Thy inheritance the ends of the earth.

The Apostle and the Gospel are read.

The intense and petitionary litany and the end of Vespers.

After the dismissal of Vespers, a candlestick with a burning candle is brought to the middle of the temple. In front of her, the clergy and singers (“cleresses”) sing “with great voice” - loudly and solemnly - the troparion and kontakion of the holiday, after which the worshipers disperse. The lit candle here symbolizes the star that appeared in Bethlehem.

Troparion of the Forefeast Day
voice 4
Sometimes she wrote with the elder Joseph, / as from the seed of David, / in Bethlehem, Mariam, / bearing the seedless Birth. / Now the time of Christmas has come, / and the place is not a single dwelling, / but like a red chamber / den appeared to the Queen. / / Christ is born resurrect the image that was previously fallen.

Kontakion of the forefeast
voice 3
The Virgin today is the eternal Word / in the den coming to give birth inexpressibly: / rejoice, the universe, having heard, / glorify with the Angels and shepherds / who wants to appear // the Child of the Young, the Eternal God.

I congratulate you on the eternity of the great holiday of the Nativity of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

This is an amazing holiday, and today is an amazing day, just as Holy Saturday before Easter is amazing. A holiday is Christmas, a holiday is Easter, but on the eve of such a holiday, when we are already overcome with joy, when we are having fun, rejoicing on the eve of the end of Lent - and today is a special fast - there is a joyful pre-celebration, and the meaning of this pre-celebration is that in order to comprehend the holiday itself, to think it over. And it is no coincidence that today many prophecies were read about the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, today there were corresponding Gospel readings, the hours today were unusual - everything was unusual today. And so, taking into account this great pre-celebration, the clergy during today's service dressed in festive Christmas vestments.

The essence of Christmas is (I already said this yesterday) that Emmanuel was born, “and it can be said: God is with us” ( Matthew 1:23). And now - the feeling that God is with us, that we want, that we are ready to live according to His will. "You believe<…>and the demons believe and tremble<…>unfounded person" ( James 2:19). And we must believe in the love of God. And there is a huge distance between the faith of the Satanists - whom I don’t want to mention now - and the faith of the shining, luminous Seraphim of Sarov and others. And so, like the lordship of the holiday, like the lordship of our spiritual state on this day, the priest puts on white and luminous clothes. So let’s make sure that not only the vestments of the clergy are bright, but that our souls are bright on this Divine holiday.

This holiday has one more amazing feature: the apostles did not celebrate it, and the early Christians in the first centuries did not celebrate Christmas either. Why? The apostles celebrated those events in which they took personal part, which they personally experienced. But they weren’t there at Christmas. They had no need to remember Christmas. And from time immemorial there was a holiday - the feast of the Epiphany, dedicated to the fact that God appeared in the world, appeared in order to deify and raise man to heaven, to renew, to restore the fallen image of Adam. And only in the 4th century. and even at the beginning of the 5th century, largely through the efforts of John Chrysostom, according to his preaching, the celebration of the Nativity of Christ arose, but it was, as it were, latent, it was celebrated on the days of Epiphany, together with Epiphany. And the apostles knew the Baptism of Christ; both the Apostle Andrew and the Apostle John the Theologian were disciples of the Baptist John. They knew this, they experienced this, they needed to experience this again and again. But already in the 3rd century. St. Gregory the Theologian, in his wonderful sermon on Epiphany, spoke about the Nativity of Christ; he spoke about the meaning of Christmas, and I conveyed part of his thoughts to you today and yesterday. And in the Middle Ages, this holiday, as one of the German theologians of the mid-century wrote, rose to its peak and became the pinnacle of Christian holidays.

It is very interesting to compare the attitude towards Christmas and Easter among the Orthodox and among the Lutherans, Western confessors of Christ.

For us, the Feast of Feasts is the victory of Christ over death, His redemption. The essence of our faith lies in Easter, in the resurrection of Christ. “If Christ is not risen, then your faith is in vain” ( 1 Corinthians 15:17). But among Lutherans and other Protestants, Easter passes palely; For them, the central, highest holiday is Christmas. On the one hand, it is celebrated in a very bourgeois way, like a family holiday: this has partially passed down to us. On the other hand - and this is probably the main thing - they approach it rationally. They understand birth, they understand that a Man appeared, a Person Who began to teach and preach, but the Resurrection of Christ, the transformation of man through the Resurrection of Christ - this turns out to be less accessible to them. It is known that denying the Resurrection is a heresy. That is why the relationship between the meaning of our Orthodox holidays and the religious feeling and worldview of Protestants turns out to be different.

But, praising Easter, calling it the Feast of Holidays, we do not belittle Christmas, for if there had not been the Nativity of the Lord, there would have been no death on the cross of Christ, there would have been no our salvation and there would have been no radiant and all-conquering Easter.

Let us rejoice today that we have lived to see the days of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. And I feel a little bitter and offended - we have a wonderful custom: when we meet each other on Easter, we say: “Christ is risen!” Why don't we greet each other especially at Christmas?

Christ is born! Truly Christ-Immanuel is born! God is with us!

God bless you all!

Rev. Priest Gleb Kaleda

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Today, on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, on Christmas Eve, we heard the Gospel of the Nativity of Christ by the Apostle and Evangelist Luke.

The Apostle Luke was a scientist, he was a doctor. At that time, he was an educated man. Therefore, he conducts his gospel narrative, all the time noting: “During the reign of such and such a ruler, there was such and such an instruction - to conduct a census.” And it was precisely these moments that he noted that later appeared for subsequent generations as an indication of the year of the Nativity of Christ. Because the birth of the Child of God, as we see and hear, was unknown to many. And in order for humanity to then calculate chronology from this year, the Lord made the Apostle and Evangelist Luke wise to note all these facts. Because, of course, they knew the rulers, the emperors, and there was such a census. This was the “first writing,” as it is said, which means the first census. Well, you know, censuses happen in our time. And this instruction later served as the basis for our chronology.

This often happens: when a person has something: some skills, abilities, he perceives it as something ordinary. And what he doesn’t have seems to him more difficult, more significant, or something, it makes a special impression on him. A person, let’s say, produces something or understands some technical issues - “Well, everything seems to be clear here, this is a common thing!” But he cannot sing and play or, say, cook food. And when another sings, or plays, or cooks deliciously, it seems to him something special and is imprinted on him.

And it is remarkable that it is a learned man who describes in particular detail the appearance of angels to the shepherds. The Apostle and Evangelist Matthew speaks about the Magi. And for the Apostle and Evangelist Luke, the appearance of the Magi is quite understandable: well, learned people, they understood that if a star appeared, it means that this is all a higher creation, incomprehensible to man. It testifies, it means something special - it’s clear here. A learned person will understand, he should at least understand. But why did angels appear to shepherds and not to scientists? - this was something amazing for him, it somehow especially struck his soul. After all, they walked and walked, then they stirred up all of Jerusalem, asking everything: how, what, where? And the Lord sent angels directly to the shepherds, and they received the news not with the help of science, not with the help of stars, astronomy, but directly from the angels, from the spirits of God.

This moment is remarkable in its depth. Indeed, when a simple person hears how some scientist testifies to something, proves something, he is delighted: “How wonderfully he proves, how wonderfully he argues!” He believes unconditionally! He doesn't even need any special evidence. The soul accepts! But a learned person is struck by something else: “He doesn’t seem to know anything, doesn’t understand, but he has such strong faith!” This one lacks scholarship, and that one lacks scholarship beyond his head, but faith... - this could be stronger!

This is truly a wonderful moment. On this subject there is a saying from one of the great scientists, it seems, Pasteur: “When I began to study science, I was of little faith; when I delved into science, I became a believer; and now, having reached certain heights in science - and he was a world-famous scientist - I believe like the last Breton peasant woman.”

And so, in the end, faith makes everyone equal. Scientists and ordinary people, if they achieve faith. Faith is a gift. Learning, mental knowledge is also a gift from God. And it happens that one person is given more of something, another less, but faith is the most important thing. And there is, as they say, “holy simplicity” that covers everything and unites everyone.

At the First Ecumenical Council there were learned men, saints: the future, then archdeacon, and Hosea of ​​Corduvia, who headed this Council, and other pillars - the most educated people, bishops. And present with them was Saint Spyridon of Trimythous, who became a bishop, but was from the shepherds, and then, already a bishop, continued to shepherd the flock. Men of science cited arguments and evidence from the Holy Scriptures and theology. And Saint Spyridon, when they asked him: “How can this be: the Trinity, what is this?”, he said: “How? That's how". He took a brick, squeezed it - and water poured down, flames burst out, and he was left with a plinth in his hands. That's all! They just opened their mouths. "How can it be?!" But it worked.

This still happens to us: “How can this be?!”

Scientists say: “You need such and such conditions, then this and that will happen...” In order for a branch to bloom, you need to keep it warm, so that there is an appropriate temperature, so that there are nutrients... Then, when they get there, they will wake up this, that it will awaken this, then this will open, then that... And during the Entry into the Temple of the Most Pure Virgin, in winter, the willow blossoms and then folds again. We brought her here, and everyone saw it. How is this, why? Yes, that's it. Only God knows this.

When a person rises to the heights of science, he says like that great scientist: “Now I am like the last peasant woman. This is approximately my level.” And whoever has not yet reached the state of a peasant woman thinks that he is something. As they say, knowledge is abundant. For the most part, this is what happens.

So the Nativity of Christ is amazing in its completeness. Here are learned stargazers, stargazers (astronomers, in our opinion) - wise men and kings of Persia. Here are simple shepherds... Oh, simple shepherds! It is said about them: The angel of the Lord is in them, and the glory of the Lord is in them. The glory of the Lord shone around them. But the Glory of the Lord appeared only to the prophets Moses and Elijah, when the Lord appeared to them...

The Nativity of Christ in its fullness unites everything: both the learned and the simple; both that which can be comprehended through creation (stargazers), and that which is incomprehensible.

How can a person see the invisible world? How can a sinful person be in the Glory of the Lord? How can it be? May be! Because this is the will of God. The Lord reveals...

Usually we reason like this: here, St. Sergius, St. Seraphim - it’s clear. How much they worked, how much they labored, from infancy! One didn’t even taste milk on Wednesday, the other was also marked from childhood with the special finger of God. These are monks, ascetics. They performed feats that were incredible for us, and were in the grace of God. What's here? Shepherds. Of course, I don’t know how it all happened there, whether they performed any feats, fasted diligently or did something special... It is said: “An angel of the Lord appeared to them.” Sometimes they say: “Why should they? After all, there were probably other shepherds in that area.” But why is none of our business. So the Lord willed it.

Here is exactly the answer to many questions that we have: “Why is this so? Why is this so? Why is he getting this? Why... This is the will of God. The Lord revealed it this way. He revealed it to the shepherds with angels. After all, all of Jerusalem knew that the Savior was about to be born when the Magi came. Would this perhaps be enough? No. The Lord revealed it to the shepherds through angels. Scientists would say that they seem to have more authority, but who would believe a shepherd? What about the shepherds? For us it’s like: “Such and such an educated person said such and such.” - “Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!” And some old woman said, “Come on, what does she understand? Yes, she imagined it!..” Such is our earthly logic. But the Lord opened Christmas through the angels; simple shepherds saw the angels. This is the will of God. The Lord said: I will put wisdom to shame the wise, and I will reject the understanding of the prudent.

No, both the Apostle and the Evangelist Luke - the wise, and the wise Solomon, and King David - all of them were given wisdom, and they were educated people. But, as I already said, all these are gifts of God, and the Lord gives regardless of anything, but He creates, he wants, as he wants. And he reveals it as He pleases. To one it opens in one way, to another in another way. And why? Because This is true. This is precisely the Divine testimony. That is, not according to our reasoning, not according to our logic, not according to our justifications of some kind, but because it is so.

By the way, some people perceive it that way.

I had such a case when one educated person asked a question. And before that, he was with all sorts of “experts” - from the pulpit I don’t particularly want to remember them. Well, those who put forward all sorts of abstruse theories: fields, energies... In a word, his brains were twisted and twisted, and he came to church. And he began: “Why is this so and so?” I somehow involuntarily answered him: “Well, because it is so. I do not know why". That is, he did not explain to him (as often happens), but simply said: “Because it is so.” That's when he realized it. He said, “That convinced me.”

And indeed, there is such spiritual beauty in this appearance of Angels to the shepherds! The Lord revealed it to simple shepherds, the higher spirits revealed it to them, and even “the Glory of the Lord shone around them.” And learned people, through science, through reasoning, through logical constructions and calculations, eventually came to the same thing, but their path was long.

Yes, this is usually the case. The path of reasoning and awareness is quite long, but the path of direct perception, when the Lord reveals, is short and direct. "Because it is so."

Or here’s another example that one priest, Father Peter, told me about. He is asked:

– Why can you eat caviar on Lazarus Saturday, but you can’t eat fish, only on Palm Sunday?

He says:

- Don't know.

– Why can you eat eggs on Maslenitsa, but not chicken?

- So according to the Charter. That's all.

- Well, why, father, like this?

- Because it was established so by the holy fathers.

By the way, superstitions often have an explanation, but the explanation is meaningless. And in faith, some things simply have no explanation. That's it, that's it!

Once people came to one old man, and one of them said:

– I don’t believe because I don’t understand, you explain to me.

The elder asked:

– Do you understand how food is digested in your stomach?

He answers:

“Well,” says the elder, “then don’t eat until you understand.”

It’s interesting what everyone eats: both professors who understand what happens in the stomach, and ordinary workers - all with the same pleasure. Moreover, many eat what they have been taught to eat since childhood. Sometimes they say: “Well, why don’t you eat, it’s better!” No, because he got used to something else, accepted it in the simplicity of his heart, and it lives in him. And in fact, when we begin to argue, many discords, many divisions occur because we do not treat these things simply - “well, because it is so.”

Although this does not mean that you need to do everything thoughtlessly. No, that would be wrong. And again the question arises: “Well, what then? So, let everyone believe as they believe?!” No. Test the Scriptures(), says the apostle and evangelist John the Theologian. Scripture, yes, indeed, and Scripture is compared one with another. But there are things that the soul simply accepts. A person feels this way and accepts it.

Simplicity, truly, is what one of the Optina elders said: “I have been asking for this simplicity for twenty years.” This, of course, is also a gift from God. And, truly, this is a blessed state. Then a person lives simply, as the monk said: “Where it’s simple, there are a hundred angels; where it’s sophisticated, there’s not a single one.” And this simplicity is in everything: both in faith and in all life. Then there is a simple perception of things: “Well, that means that’s it.”

“Do we have anything for dinner?” - “Here it is.” - “Well, let’s eat this.”

And this attitude towards everything, in the end, pacifies everything. And it happens when a person does not calm down: “Why is this so, and why is that?..” Yes, because it is so. Well, humble yourself, accept it in the simplicity of your heart - that’s all, and you’ll calm down. We know that the Lord, when he preached here on earth, said: “A hair from the head will not fall without the will of God.” And if a hair does not fall from the head without the will of God, it means that everything is controlled by God’s Providence, which means that for some reason this is so.

No, this does not mean that we should not participate in life, that we should be inactive. But our activities must, first of all, be in accordance with the will of God. The first question: how is this in accordance with the will of God? But the result is still from God. Because, for example, you may want good things, but the time for this has not yet come.

Last Sunday we glorified the holy fathers and forefathers. They kept waiting, waiting for the Savior of the world, but the time had not yet come. The time has come, and the Lord was born and came to earth. The Lord walked the earth, and people were chasing Him and wanted to kill Him. He said: “The time has not yet come.” The time has come - here it is This is your time, and the area is dark(). But for a moment, for a while. Crucified - that's it! Now I have risen and will come to judge when the time comes. And then it will all be over. All these intrigues, all this diplomacy, all these tricks - all this will be finished off. The time will come - then everything will be.

Without God, no one can do anything. Even during the life of the Savior, there were two rulers, very powerful at that time, named Herod. One - who ordered fourteen thousand babies to be killed, and another similar to him. He wants to kill you- They say. The Lord says: Shout to that fox, behold, I will cast out demons, and I will perform healings this day and morning, and on the third I will die(). If it cost nothing to kill innocent babies, then what did it cost to kill one Person? It didn't cost anything. But the Lord said: “But he will not be able to do anything, because the time has not yet come.” When the time came, Pilate, boasting of his power, said: Do you not think that the imam has the power to crucify you, and the imam has the power to let you go? The Lord says to him: You shall not have any power upon Me, unless it be given from above. (). Now, try to let him in - you won’t let him in, now you’ll sign “crucify.” And he signed “crucify.” Three times I wanted to let him go, three times he tried, but he signed “crucify.” So what was he like? Nothing.

We often forget about this in life. And a simple perception of life, a simple perception of the Gospel word, Gospel examples - that’s actually all. “Oh, what will happen?” What should be will be. “Oh, this one will do it!” This one will do nothing, and that one will do nothing, but this one will do what is given to him. Otherwise, no one will do anything. “Here,” they say, “this and that will happen.” Yes, who knows what will happen? This is what the holy fathers said will happen. "As it will be?" I don't know how, but it will happen.

We remember the time when they said that there would be nothing left: “everything is so captured!” It’s grabbed from above, but in fact it’s just stuck on, blow it and everything will fall apart. And it scattered. And there are so many examples of this, but we still can’t be convinced. And we still attribute this to some figures... Yes, zero! Complete zero without a stick.

Saint Ignatius says: “Man! In your pride, what do you think of yourself? You are a blind instrument in the hands of God’s Providence, completely blind, without the slightest independence.” But what kind of independence? There is no independence there. Even sometimes, in an earthly sense, you see that people have no independence, but they are given credit for being able to do something! Who can do what? Yes, no one can do anything if the Lord does not help. Apostle James says: Do you hear now, saying: today or in the morning we will go to this city and make that year one, and we will buy and gain, and you don’t know what will happen in the morning, what kind of life is yours? There is a couple that appears in the background and then disappears. Instead of saying to you: if the Lord pleases, we will live and do this or that.(). This is how you need to talk. And so it will be.

The essence of all this is the same: you need to strengthen your faith. Strengthen faith, real faith - and at every step. As the Lord says: A hair from your head will not fall without the will of God. So, yes. Everything must be treated exactly as the common people said: “Whatever God does, everything is for the best” and “The Lord rules before.” And this is true.

So let us thank God, first of all, for the fact that the Lord gave us the true, Orthodox Christian faith, that the Lord gives us examples that are not found anywhere else. Such clarity and simplicity of truth - there is nothing like it anywhere. But if the Lord reveals this clarity, then everything is clear. And if he doesn’t open it, then eyes have- And they neither see with their eyes nor understand with their hearts(). Therefore, we thank God and glorify Him for the mercies that the Lord shows us. Because it gives us, to the extent of the opportunity that we, sinners, again receive from the Lord - the understanding of these spiritual things.

And therefore the angels, seeing how the Lord arranges human destinies here, glorify the Creator: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace. What kind of world is this? This is the peace about which St. Seraphim said: “Acquire a peaceful spirit, and thousands will be saved around you.” The peace that is in the human soul, which gives true faith, trust in God. Everything can spin and spin around, but this is in the worldly world. And in the soul of Orthodox Christians there should be such peace as there was when the Lord was born and the angels sang: peace on earth. And when the Lord rose again and said: My peace I give to you (). The Lord kept saying: Peace to you.

This peace must be tried in every possible way to acquire and preserve in the soul. Therefore, at one time, when I began, by the grace of God, my priestly ministry, one archpastor said to me:

- What are you, father, are you indignant about something there? Are there any statutory inaccuracies?

- I speak:

- Yes, how can that be?

He says:

– Everything must be placed on the altar of peace.

And I still always remember this saying.

And when some situation occurs, we find ourselves in some circumstances: whether family or work, we still need to remember one commandment, as Father Sergius (the Kingdom of Heaven be upon him) said: “Evil should not come from us.” And evil will not come from us only when it is not in us. And it will not exist only when we try with all our might to maintain peace of mind. If you maintain this peace of mind, then you will not become embittered, and if you do not become embittered, evil will not come from you. And these words of the Lord: peace on earth, - will be fulfilled in the soul of every person. Amen.

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas! The eve of each holiday combines prayer and Godly reflection: this is another opportunity to look back at your own life and evaluate your inner state. The sermon of the clergyman of our monastery, Priest Roman Chistyakov, is dedicated to this topic:

In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Today is called Christmas Eve. We remember with you that on the last day before the great holidays, the Holy Church calls us once again to think about the upcoming event, about the triumph of our salvation, about the greatness of the Savior’s feat, and, at the same time, encourages us again and again to look at our condition - how useful it is for We spent another fast on ourselves, did we learn anything during this saving time, did we conquer any passions in ourselves or at least pay attention to them, did we prepare our souls to accept our God.

And now, Christmas Eve is no exception. This holiday is truly filled with the greatest meaning. Among people, the birth of a new person is always a great event, which is accompanied by great celebrations and extraordinary inner uplift. When a child appears in a family, all the hardships and sorrows, everything that some time ago darkened the lives of these people - everything goes away, giving way to great joy. So if we rejoice so much at the birth of ordinary people, then how much more solemn and majestic is the birth and incarnation into the world of God Himself, our Savior Jesus Christ - the One who again and again frees us from sin and, at the same time, gives birth to us for Eternal Life!

Christ was born into the world in Bethlehem of Judea. It took humanity more than 5,000 years from the beginning of human history to prepare itself to accept its God. This time was a kind of “Christmas Fast” for the Universe. But Christ, for the sake of our salvation, is born again and again, from year to year, but no longer materially on earth, but in our souls. That is, our souls become the same Bethlehem, the same manger, which alone in the entire city gave shelter to the Creator of everything.

And so, both for all humanity and for each of us, fasting is a time of cleansing and preparing oneself to receive the Divine Infant. Christmas Eve is a kind of exam milestone, the last stage for self-control and self-analysis. This is the time when we can once again evaluate whether my “manger,” that is, my soul, has become a “red chamber” for Christ, whether it is a worthy “container of the Incontainable.” If yes, then let’s thank the Lord, and if not, then let’s not despair, but, again, let’s thank Him for the given opportunity to work for Him and try to prepare ourselves again.

Let us try to be cleansed with Him in the waters of the Jordan, and to endure temptations in the waterless deserts of passions and to overcome them with dignity, and to ascend to our Favor in order to be transformed with Him, to suffer on Golgotha, and, finally, to be resurrected for Eternal Life.

Once again I congratulate everyone on the upcoming celebration of the Nativity of Christ! I wish all of us to worthily meet the Infant of God who is born today and sing together with the shepherds: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will toward men!”

Priest Roman Chistyakov.

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