Week of the Publican and the Pharisee. Gospel of the true and imaginary worshiper

Week of the Publican and the Pharisee. Gospel of the true and imaginary worshiper

Luke, 89 cred., 18: 10-14.


A man came to the forest to select a tree for boards. And he saw two trees standing nearby. One was sleek and slender, but with rotten wood inside. The other tree the outside was rough and inconspicuous, but healthy inside. The man sighed and said to himself: “What is this smooth and tall tree to me, since it is rotten and not suitable for boards? The other, though rough and nondescript is at least healthy inside. And if I do a little more work on it, the boards may well fit for my house. " And, without hesitation, he chose the second tree.


In the same way, God from two people will choose for his house not the one who looks outwardly righteous, but the one whose heart is filled with the sound truth of God.


The proud are not merciful to God, whose eyes are constantly turned towards heaven, while hearts are filled with earth; but dear to Him are humble and meek, whose eyes are lowered to the ground, and the hearts are full of heaven. He who creates people loves people to list their sins to Him, and not their good deeds. For God is the Doctor, hurrying to the bed of all of us and asking, "What hurts you?" Wise is the man who takes advantage of the presence of the Doctor and tells Him about all his illnesses and infirmities; and stupid man is the one who, hiding his illnesses and weaknesses, will boast of his health before the Doctor. As if the doctor visits people because of their health, and not because of their illnesses! “Evil is to sin,” says wise Chrysostom, “but it is possible to help here;


Therefore, let us be wise and, standing up to prayer to God, we will stand as before the best and most merciful Doctor, carefully and lovingly asking each of us: "What hurts you?" We will tell Him, without hesitation, about our illnesses, our wounds, our sins.


Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us this, and the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee in today's Gospel reading. The Gospel says that the Lord told this parable to some who were sure of themselves that they were righteous and had humiliated others. Do not you also belong to those to whom the Lord turned with this parable? Do not be indignant, but confess your disease, be ashamed of it and take the medicine offered to you by the best and most merciful Doctor. In one hospital there were a lot of patients. Some were lying with fever and were waiting patiently for the doctor to come; others walked, considered themselves healthy and did not want to see a doctor. One morning the doctor came to examine the patients. With him was his friend, who carried the patients in. The friend of the doctor saw patients who had a fever, and he felt sorry for them.


- Is there any medicine for them? he asked the doctor. And the doctor whispered in his ear:


- For those who have fever, there is medicine, but for those walking there is no medicine ... They have an incurable disease; inside they are completely rotten.


The doctor’s friend was very surprised, he was surprised at two things: the mystery of human diseases and the unreliability of human eyes.


Now imagine that we are being treated at this worldwide hospital. We all have the same disease, and its name is "untrue'. This word embraces all passions, all evils, all sins - in short, all the weaknesses and all the relaxation of our soul, our heart and our mind. Some patients have just got sick, others have the disease in full swing, and still others are recovering. But such is the quality of this affliction of the inner man, that only recovering people know what terrible disease they have experienced. The most severely ill are least aware that they are sick. And in case of a bodily disease, a person with strong fever is not aware of himself or his illness. And the madman will never say about himself that he is mad. Newcomers, in untruth , are ashamed of their illness; but repeated sins quickly lead them to sinful skill, and that, in turn, - to intoxication and seduction by untruth, in which the soul is no longer aware of itself or its illness. And now imagine that the Doctor comes to the hospital and asks:


- Tell me exactly where your pain is?


Those who have just gotten sick will not dare to admit their illness, but they will say:


- Nothing!


Those who have a disease in full swing will even be offended by such a question and not only say:


- Nothing hurts! - but they will also boast about their health. And only those recovering with a sigh will answer the Doctor:


- Everything, everything hurts! Have mercy on us and help!


"If you fear to confess your sins, then look at the hellish flames, but only confession can extinguish" (Tertullian. About repentance, I, p.12).


So, think about all this, hear the parable of Christ and judge for yourself how much it is addressed to you. If you are surprised to say: "This parable does not apply to me," it means that you are at the beginning of the illness, which is called untruth. If you indignantly say, "I am righteous, and this applies to those sinners around me," it means that your illness is in full swing. If you repently beat your chest and say: "Verily, I am sick and have a need for a Doctor," then you are on the way to recovery. In that case, don't be afraid - you'll get well.


Two people entered the temple to pray: one Pharisee and the other tax collector. Two people, two sinners, with the only difference that the Pharisee did not recognize himself as a sinner, and the tax collector recognized. The Pharisee belonged to the most respected class of people in the then society, and the publican to the most despised.


The Pharisee, becoming, prayed in himself this way: God! I thank you that I am not like other people, robbers, offenders, adulterers, or like this tax collector: I pray twice a week, give a tenth of everything I acquire.The Pharisee began in front of the temple, right at the altar, according to the custom of all Pharisees to push through to the first places. The fact that the Pharisee was completely ahead can be seen from the further description, which says that the tax collector was standing in the distance. Such are the handful of the Pharisee and his confidence in his own righteousness, that is, in his spiritual health, that he seeks primacy not only before people, but also before God and seeks him not only at feasting and in congregation, but also at prayer. This alone is enough to show: the Pharisee is seriously ill with unrighteousness and ingrained in it.


Why is it said: I prayed to myself? Why not out loud? Because God listens more attentively to what the heart says to Him, not the language. What a person thinks and feels when praying to God is more important for God than what he says with his tongue. A language may deceive, but the heart does not deceive; it shows a person as he is - black or white.


Oh God I thank you that I am not like other people.


This is how a sinful man dares to speak in the temple before God. What is a temple, if not a meeting place for a patient with a Doctor? Those who are ill with sin come in order to confess their sickness to God the Doctor, in order to ask for medicine and health from Him Who is the true Healer of all afflictions and infirmities of men and the Giver of all good. Are healthy people going to the hospital to boast of their health in front of a doctor? But this Pharisee came to the temple to boast of his health, not as a person with a soul sound and unharmed, but as seriously ill with wickedness, who, being in painful delirium, no longer feels his illness. One day, when I visited the hospital for the mentally ill, the doctor led me to the grate, behind which was the man who was most seriously ill with insanity.


- How do you feel? - I asked him. He immediately replied:


- And how can I feel among these crazy?


And so the Pharisee says: God! I thank you that I am not like other people. In fact, thanks to God, the Pharisee does not want to give God the merit of being different from other people.The words: God! I thank You, is nothing but a saying, a flattering introduction, turned to God, so that He would deign to hear the boast of the Pharisee. For of all that he said, he does not thank God in any way; on the contrary, he blasphemes God, blasphemy of God's creation. He does not thank God for anything, for everything he said about himself, he noted as his own merits, acquired without the help of God. He does not want to say that he is not a robber, not an offender, not an adulteress, and not a tax collector, since God has kept him by His power and His mercy, that he will not be with him. No; he only wants to say: he personally, ostensibly, is a man of such exceptional kind and price, that he has no equal in the whole world. And besides the fact that he is of such an exceptional kind, he himself makes efforts and makes sacrifices in order to keep this extraordinary height above all other people. Namely: he fasts twice a week and gives a tenth of all that he acquires. Oh, what an easy way of salvation Pharisee chose for himself, more easy than the easiest way of destruction! Of all the commandments given to the people by God through Moses, he chose only two, the lightest. But these two commandments he does not actually fulfill. For God did not give these two commandments because He needed it, so that people would fast two times a week and give tithe. God does not need it at all. And He gave these people, like all the others, the commandments not to be an end in themselves, but may they bring the fruits of humility before God, obedience to God and love for God and towards people; in a word, may they warm them, may they soften and enlighten the human heart. Meanwhile, the Pharisee fulfills these two commandments aimlessly. He fasts and gives tithe, but hates and despises people and takes pride in the sight of God. And so it remains like a barren tree. The fruit is not in fasting, the fruit is in the heart; the fruit is not even performed by the commandment, the fruit is in the heart. All the commandments and all laws serve the heart: they warm the heart, purify the heart, illuminate the heart, irrigate it, protect it, weed it, sow it, if only the fruit in the cornfield of the heart originated, grew and matured. All good doing is a means, not a goal, a method, not a fruit. The goal is in the heart, and the fruit is in the heart.


And so the Pharisee did not achieve what he wanted with his prayer. He showed not the beauty of his soul, but its ugliness; not revealed his health, but his illness. And this is exactly what Christ wanted to open with this parable, and not only in this particular Pharisee, but in general in the Pharisee group, which then prevailed among the people of Israel. But the Lord wanted to reveal and expose the imaginary piety and false pharisaism in all generations of Christians, including in ours, with this parable. Is there still no people among us who pray to God in the same way as this Pharisee prayed? Are few such who begin their prayer with accusations and blasphemy against their neighbors, and complete with praise to themselves? Are there few who stand before God, like a lender before a debtor? Do not many of you say, "God, I will forgive, I go to the temple, I pay taxes to the state and donate money to the Church, I am not like other people, robbers and perjurers, atheists and adulterers who have annoyed me. Where are you, God, look? Why don't you kill them, and you won't reward me for everything that I do for You? Don't you, God, see the purity of my heart and the health of my soul? "But know that" neither God nor you will deceive Him "(the maxim of Blessed Maxim, the memory of November 11. Here are some of his sayings:" Everyone is baptized, yes, not everyone prays. "A Pharisee is one who is“ by beard Abraham, but by works Ham ”).


So they say. And God listens and sends them into their houses with nothing, saying to them: "As such, I do not know you." And at the Last Judgment He will say to them: I do not know you. For God recognizes his friends not by language, but by heart; and He evaluates the fig tree not by the leaves, but by the fruits.


And this is how a true prayer book should pray:


The publican, standing far away, did not even dare raise his eyes to the sky; but, striking his chest, said: God! Be merciful to me a sinner! - Standing away! A true prayer book is not pushed forward, to the first places in the temple. Why should he? God sees him in the porch in the same way as near the altar. A true prayer book is always a true penitent. “The repentance of man is a feast to God,” says the Rev. Ephraim the Syrian. Standing away he feels his insignificance before God and is filled with humility before the greatness of God. John the Baptist, the greatest of those born of women, was afraid of the closeness of Christ, saying that he was unworthy, leaning over, to untie the belt of His shoes. The sinner's wife washed the feet of Christ, drenching them with her tears. So, a true prayer book is deeply humble and full of joy, if God allows it at least at His feet.


I did not even dare to raise my eyes to the sky. Why did he not raise his eyes to heaven? The eyes are the mirror of the soul. In the eyes you can read the sin of the soul. Do you not see every day how a person who commits a sin lowers his eyes before people? How can a sinner not lower his eyes before God the Most High? Behold, every sin committed against men is committed against God; and there is no sin on earth that is not directed against God. A true prayer book is aware of this, and therefore, besides humility, he is filled with shame before God. Therefore it is said: I did not even dare to raise my eyes to the sky.


Hitting his chest. Why did he hit his chest? In order to show that the body is a pretext for human sin. Body lust leads a person to the most serious sins. Gluttony gives rise to lust; lust begets anger; and anger is murder. Care of the body separates man from God, impoverishes the soul and kills the jealousy of God in man. Therefore, the publican at prayer struck his body, striking thereby the culprit of his sin, his humiliation and his shame before God. But why did he hit it in the chest instead of hitting the head or hands? Because the heart is in the chest; and the heart is the source of both sin and virtue. The Lord himself said: that which proceeds from a man defiles a man. For from the inside, from the heart of man, evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, malice, deceit, indecency, envious eye, emanate, blasphemy, pride, madness - all this evil comes from within and defiles a person (Mk.7: 20-23). That is why the tax collector struck his heart.


He said: God! be merciful to me a sinner! He does not list his good or evil deeds. God knows everything. And God does not require listing, and contrite repentance in all. Oh God be merciful to me a sinner! With these words everything is said. You, God, are a doctor, and I am sick. You can heal the one, and I fall to Thee the one. You are a Doctor, and Your mercy is medicine. Saying: God! be merciful to me a sinner! - the penitent as if says: “Doctor, give me medicine for the sick! No one in the world can cure me except You, God. I have sinned and have done evil before thee , I can do nothing for myself if you do not help me.The praise of man does not heal my wounds. You, You alone, know my disease; and You alone have medicine. It makes no sense for me to go to anyone else, it makes no sense for me to ask anyone else. If you reject me, the whole world will not be able to keep me from falling into the abyss. You, You are the One, Lord, you can, if you want. God forgive and save! Oh God be merciful to me a sinner! "


What does our Lord Jesus Christ say about such a prayer? I tell you that this one went justified into his house more than that. Who does the Lord say this to? All of you, confident about yourself that you are righteous. The tax collector goes justified to his house more than a Pharisee. The humble confessor of his sins goes justified into his house more than the arrogant self-praise. The shameful penitent was justified, not the shameless and self-satisfied arrogant. The physician was propitiated and healed the sick, who recognized his illness and asked for medicine; but with nothing he let go of the one who came to the Doctor, in order to boast of his health. And the Lord completes His marvelous parable with the following instruction: for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Who are they who exalt themselves and humiliate themselves? In general, no one can exalt himself one iota unless God exalts him. But here is meant the one who thinks that he elevates himself, striving to the first places both before people and before God; praising one's affairs; proud before God; humiliating others with the scandal and contempt of others in order to look more significant. In all these ways that he thinks to exalt himself, he actually humiliates himself. For the more he becomes in his own eyes, and even in the eyes of people, the less he becomes in the eyes of God. And such a God will humiliate, ever letting him experience humiliation. “Until a man gained humility, he won’t win rewards for his deeds. The reward is not for deeds, but for humility” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Word 34). And who is he who humiliates himself? Not the one who pretends to be less than what he is, but the one who sees his humiliation from sin. Verily, man cannot, even if he wishes, humiliate himself more than he is humiliated by sin. The Lord does not require any other humiliation from us except the realization and confession of his own humiliation of sin. And for a person who realizes and confesses the baseness into which he has cast his sin, it is impossible to descend below. Sin can always seduce us below the depth of our fall that we can see. St. Macarius the Great says: "The humble never falls. Where does he fall to the lowest of all? High wisdom is great humiliation. And humility is great height, honor and dignity" (Conversation 19).


In a word: the one who will act will rise like a tax collector. A Pharisee is an incurable patient who does not see his illness; the tax collector, a patient who is recovering, for he saw his illness, went to the Doctor and took medicine. The first is like a smooth and tall tree with a rotten core, something that a householder can do nothing with; the second is like a rough and inconspicuous tree; some householder processes, makes boards from it, and brings them into his house.


May the Lord have mercy on all repentant sinners and heal from the sinful affliction of all those who pray to Him with fear and trembling, glorifying Him as the merciful Father, the Only Begotten Son and Most Holy Spirit - Trinity of the All-Consistent and Unseparable, now and ever, for all times and for ever centuries. Amen.