Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Great Lent
Preaching in the Russian Church; Lectures and Sermons by a Priest of the Holy Orthodox Church: Chapter XI
“For He (Jesus) taught His disciples, and said unto them: the Son of Man is delivered up into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him; and when He is killed, after three days He shall rise again.” (Mark, ix. 31.)
Christ the Savior, having spoken the sorrowful word that they shall kill Him, adds the joyful ones that He on the third day shall rise again, concluding thus that we may know that after sorrows there always follows happiness. If there were no temptations there would be no crown, no hardships, no rewards; were there no conflicts, nor would there be any honors, no sorrows, no comforts; if there were no winter there would be no summer.
And this we may observe not only in people, yet also in the seeds which are thrown into the earth; and here a heavy rain and much cold are necessary, so that a stem spring up green, bearing its ear of plenty. Let us sow also in the time when spiritual misfortune visits us that we may reap in the summer; let us sow tears that we may reap happiness. According to the Prophet of God: They that sow in tears shall reap in joy (Ps., cxxiii. 5). Not so beneficial is the rain which pours over the seeds as the rain of tears, which gives the power of growth and ripens the seed of piety. As the tiller of the soil cuts deep into the earth with his plow, preparing a safe place for the seed that they may hide in the very bowels of the earth and safely take root, thus also should we with misfortune and sadness, as with a plow, touch the depths of our heart.
The holy Prophet would convince us thus, saying: Tear open your hearts but not your garments. Let us tear open our hearts so that, if there be any evil plant or evil thought within us, we may pluck it out with the root and cleanse the field for seeds of holy devotion. If we do not renew the field now, if we do not sow now, if we do not shed tears now when it is Lent—in this time of sorrow and fast—at what other time, then, shall we be afflicted? Can it be in the time of ease and pleasure? No, it cannot be then, for ease and pleasure lead to carelessness, while sorrow compels the soul, which is beset with many attractions on all sides, to look within itself.
The farmer having sown the seeds, which he gathered with much labor, prays for rain; and one, not knowing the work, with amazement looks upon all, and, perhaps, thinks so within himself: “What is that man doing? He throws away that which he gathered; but not that only, he yet carefully mixes it with the earth; and that is not all, for he prays that what he has sown may decay.” Quite contrarily, the farmer, when he sees the coming clouds overshadow the sky, he rejoices, for he does not look at the present, but to the future; he does not think of the thunder, but of the sheaves; not of the decaying seeds, but of the yellow ripe stalks. Thus should we look, not at the sorrow of the present, but at the benefit which is derived from it. If we be on our guard, we will not only suffer no evil from sorrow, but derive much consolation; but if we be careless, the very enjoyment of quiet will turn to be hurtful for us. To the careless one thing and another is evil, but to the diligent one thing and another is profitable. As gold retains its brightness when it lies in the water, and becomes still brighter when it is cast into the furnace, so we see the very opposite when if clay and straw are put into water; the one dissolves, the other rots. Now this is just the case with the righteous and the sinner; the first living in quiet remains bright like the gold which was put into the water, and being afflicted with temptation becomes brighter still, as the gold which passed through the fires of the refinery. But the sinner, although enjoying ease, dissolves and decays, as the straw and clay thrown into water or the furnace, where it burns and perishes.
Let us not be sad for present misfortune. If you have any sins, they will be easily uprooted by sorrow. And if you are the possessor of a virtue, it will become brighter for having undergone temptation. If you will continually watch, you will be beyond the reach of harm, as the cause of falling generally is not the kind of a temptation, but the carelessness of those tempted. And so, if you would enjoy quiet, do not seek pleasure, but strive to make your soul capable of being patient, because if this quality is wanting in you, you will not only be conquered by temptation, but sooner fall prey to the spirit of desolation which ease will bring upon you. As the storms of wind do not uproot a strong wood with its roots, but on the contrary from constant blowing on from all sides it becomes firmer, so does the holy soul, although overwhelmed with afflictions, it bends not, but becomes invigorated with a higher energy. How might we, a generation of the New Covenant, become justified and forgiven when we with difficulty overcome human temptations, while Job, the much afflicted, outbore with such alacrity a most sore temptation in the days before Grace, of the Old Dispensation?
Are you sad, beloved, because the Most Good Provider through sorrowing brought you to the thought of eternal salvation? God can put an end today to all troubles; but He will not destroy sorrow until He sees a change in us, until repentance really and strongly works within us. The goldsmith will not take the metal from the fire before it is purified, and God will not withdraw the tempest clouds before we are perfected by corrections. He who sends the affliction knows when the time comes to hold its stay. A player of the cithern does not tighten too much the strings, else they snap, nor does he freely loosen them, else the harmony of sound be lost. So does the Lord with our souls, which He will not leave in continual ease, nor in everlasting sorrow, ordering the one and the other according to His wisdom. The Almighty does not allow us to enjoy quiet without a change that we may not become more careless; nor does He keep us ever in sorrow that we may not fall into despair. Since we are occupied with this question, let us decide to wait for our Heavenly Father’s own time for putting an end to troubles, while we ourselves will pray and lead a life of devotion: because to turn to righteousness and live in the faith belongs to our obligation, but to quiet our sorrow is the work of God. God who is mightier than you, who are afflicted in temptation, desires to quench that fire, but He waits for your salvation. Therefore, as sorrow is begotten from ease, likewise we should wait for sorrow to give us quiet. It is not always winter, nor always summer; the tempest does not always blow, nor does the quiet always last; it is not always night, nor all one day. Thus also with us when we are sad, a change comes, we feel lighter, our hope is stronger—if we pray and, in time of sorrow, continually thank God.
And so let us enclose ourselves on all sides with truly good and charitable works, and thereby be saved from the anger of God. Let us make the members of our body the organs of righteousness; let us teach the whole body to serve only the cause of virtue. Then we will be delivered from present dangers, appease the Most High, and reach that inexpressible bliss, of which may we all be made worthy by the Grace and love for us of our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Ghost, now, ever and forever. Amen.
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