A
Sermon on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent
Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky)
In
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
Many of us,
certainly, know that from Christian antiquity we have received
testimony of that special friendship that once existed between two of
God’s great saints, equal in talent, equal in spiritual elevation,
and both living out equally spiritual aspirations – these were the
holy hierarchs St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory the Theologian.
These great
hierarchs gave us the most ideal example of that friendship which
Christians must have amongst themselves. But Gregory the Theologian
far outlived his friend. Basil the Great reposed at a relatively young
age – he was but in his fiftieth year, while Gregory the Theologian
was over sixty years old at the time of his repose. But, when Gregory
the Theologian spoke in memory of his friend, he noted that St. Basil,
in his words, defeated one sin every day and acquired one virtue. And
in this way he rose up ever higher and higher.
Nowadays we
have forgotten, unfortunately, that which must be at the center of
every Christian’s attention: the fact that each one of us,
regardless of what duties we fulfill or work we perform in the outside
world, internally must always work on our own souls, trying to implant
in our souls and in our hearts the seeds of virtue, and tearing out
the weeds of every sin and vice
But here, of
course, one must be gradual, not trying to do everything at once.
Tomorrow the Church celebrates, in addition to Sunday, the memory of
that great teacher of this Christian spiritual approach, St. John
Climacus or St. John of the Ladder, so called because of his seminal
work, "The Ladder of Divine Ascent," a work which glorified
him forever in the Orthodox Church, a work which was once the most
beloved reading of our pious predecessors, as well as being read by
the Royal Family during their imprisonment, before their martyric
deaths.
And so the
venerable saint, having himself walked this spiritual path, and having
enriched himself by it first, earnestly, plainly, and clearly shows
how one must go gradually from one virtue to the next, going ever
higher and higher, cultivating himself spiritually.
Characteristically, his "Ladder" contained an expression
that the saint uses when one begins to speak of that highest of
Christian virtues – Christian love; the saint humbly remarks,
"He who says that God is love, and he who speaks of love, is one
who has dared to speak of God Himself. This is rather dangerous, and
above our station." That is how humbly the venerable saint spoke!
Or recall our
great and holy teacher of the spiritual life, in whose honor this
marvelous church is dedicated! "Wretched Seraphim," as he
called himself, was one of the greatest saints not only of Russia, but
of the whole Universal Church, our venerable father Seraphim. Once a
very earnest – but still young and inexperienced monk - set about
his labors zealously, so to speak, though lacking the requisite
experience. And so St. Seraphim said to him in a gentle, fatherly
tone, "My joy, do everything gradually, little by little, and not
all of a sudden. A virtue is not a pear – you can’t eat it up and
go grabbing for another."
And so, each of
us must remember that our principal goal is to cultivate our souls in
the performing of good, Christian works. But do not let this be
something erratic outward demonstration; instead, let every man
gradually cultivate himself spiritually. Spiritually experienced
people know how important this is, and more importantly, this is how
you find the path to the Kingdom of Heaven. For we know that
"nothing that defileth" shall enter into God’s Kingdom, as
it says in the Holy Scriptures; and so therefore, in order to inherit
God’s Kingdom, Christians must improve themselves, that we might
"cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1), as the
great Apostle Paul wrote.
Amen.
Translated from the original Russian by Rdr. Gregory Levitsky
Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese
