Sunday sermon on the rich man and Lazarus St. Nikolai of Ochrid

Sunday sermon on the rich man and Lazarus  Orthodox life People on earth argue about property, and there is no end to this tiresome and fruitless dispute. O people, and whose property are you yourself? The rich man and Lazarus The rich man and Lazarus The herd is fighting for a place in the pasture, and the owner of the pasture and the herd is standing and looking, wondering: why does his herd fight for his pasture so much, since he cares about both the herd and the pasture? A person remembers many things, but cannot remember one thing at all, no matter how much he repeats: that he comes into this world without property and leaves it without property . People share this damp earth, and they won’t share everything! With life, they pay the boundaries of their property, but the boundaries still remain mobile. Incomparably more expensive people pay for incomparably cheaper; and this does not disturb them too much, and they call such a terrible price law, patriotism, or some other comforting word. They don’t just say that it’s crazy - when a sheep gives his life for a bunch of grass, since the grass is needed for life, and not for itself. The question of property is, after all, the question of grass, for everything that people eat and dress in is grass — or something even more dead than grass. At the very beginning of the Holy Scriptures it is said that God gave greens and grass for food to people and beasts (Genesis 1: 29-30; 9: 3). If you ask people the question: “What is more important - grass or people?” - you will get a unanimous answer that people are more important. But in reality, people recognize that grass is more important, because they sacrifice their own and others' lives for the sake of grass. Although the issue of property is a matter of grass, it is still the main stumbling block in the life of people on earth. Only the one who, by his spirit, is most likened to God, circumvents him, leaving him behind with neglect . For others, this stone of temptation is the subject of debate, the subject of talk, the subject of incredible labor and sweat, the subject and content of all life, and, finally, their tombstone. Where is the wealth of Croesus? Where are the feasts of Lucullus? Where is the power of Caesar? Where is the power of Napoleon? Traces of all this, in one form or another, can still be found, but such questions are not as important as: where is rich Croesus now? Where is the insatiable Lucullus? Where is the power loving Caesar? And where is the mighty Napoleon? The most important thing is to know where people are, and not where their property is. But we cannot know this before we find out: whose property is the people themselves? So, whose property are the people themselves ? It will be easy for those who solve this issue to solve the question of human property - as for travelers, when they remove the largest stone from the road, it is easy to clear up gravel and leaves later. When people decide this question themselves, without the Lord Jesus Christ, as they have been solving it for millennia, they come to two answers. First - man is the property of evil spiritual forces that hide behind nature and under the guise of nature; second, man is the property of nature itself, which created it, holds it for some time as furniture among his other furniture, and ultimately breaks and kills. Since the creation of the world, all human philosophies that have not borrowed a single drop of the mind of Christ have only two solutions to the question of whose property man is. And Christ's answer to this question says: man is the property of the all-good God. And he is not a property, just as things are someone else’s property, but as a free and intelligent being, as the son of God . This is not the decision of any philosopher, for in that case we would not have believed him; but this is the answer of the Witness, who came to people from the most triune core of being and life, spreading life throughout the worlds. Therefore, we believe this answer, and only we believe it is true and saving. More precisely, it should not be called an answer, but a witness testimony. This evidence resolved all issues of human property, all economic, economic and political issues on earth. People are God's property, which means that nature is even more God's property. And this, in turn, means: everything that a person calls his property, in fact, is the property of God, God's loan to people . The Lord distributed the loan unevenly between people. Why uneven? Because people are free and intelligent beings. God distributed everything to dead objects equally. And to the half-living, that is, not free and unreasonable, creations, God distributed everything equally. And to His free and rational creations, God distributed everything unequally, so that their mind and their freedom would manifest; so that people see their fraternal dependence on each other; and that they, wisely disposing of God's loan, provide salvation for both themselves and their brothers . Thus, God's loan - or what people mistakenly call their property - is only a means of saving a person. Today’s Gospel speaks of a richer man who understood property in a different way - in the absolute sense of the word, and thereby condemned himself to such torments that his heart grows colder and his hair stands on end from one description. The Lord said: a certain person was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and every day he feasted brilliantly. There was also a beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gates in scabs and wanted to be fed with crumbs falling from the rich man's table, and the dogs, when they arrived, licked his scabs . Before us is a terrible picture of earthly inequality. But wait, later we will see an even more terrible picture of the inequality of heaven. What is the opposite: on the one hand, a rich man dressed in porphyry and fine linen, on the other, a beggar dressed in scabs and pus! On the one hand - a man surrounded by people like him: rich, well-fed, discharged, cheerful; on the other - a man whom only dogs surround! On the one hand, wealth, health, and satiety to the point of satiety; on the other - bitter poverty, disease and hunger! On the one hand - deafening songs, dances and laughter; on the other, a silent expectation of bread crumbs, and a silent look at the pus flowing from one's own body, and a silent expectation of death! Silent and patient - because it does not say that Lazarus asked for help or screamed like other beggars. Feeling hunger, he only wanted to be fed crumbs from the rich man's table and was silent. He spoke heartily with Someone, but his tongue - with no one. But why talk to him about his misfortune with his tongue, when his body, surrounded by dogs, spoke about it more clearly than all the languages ​​of the world? However, pay attention to a very important thing: the Lord does not mention the name of the rich man, but mentions the name of the wretched. And throughout the parable, the name of the rich man remains unnamed, while the name of Lazarus is mentioned both on earth and in heaven. What does it mean? Is it not completely contrary to the human custom to remember and mention the names of the rich, and not to remember the names of the poor, or, if they are known, not to mention them? Like nameless shadows, beggars walk or crawl along the earth between people, all under one common name - a beggar , while the names of the rich are heard in palaces, chanted in verses, written in history textbooks and in newspapers, cut out on monuments. Lazarus at the house of the rich Lazarus at the house of the rich That is why the Lord does not mention the name of the rich man, so as not to show unnecessary honor to those whom people have already excessively honored, and to show that the judgments of God are different than the judgments of men, and often completely opposite to them . He did not come to earth in order to do things to people as they do to each other, but to show how Heaven will do to people. And by this very pass of the name of the rich man, He reveals one of the heavenly secrets. The names of such rich men in heaven would not be known at all; they will not be remembered either among angels or among saints. They will be erased from the Book of Life. Of course, the Lord knew the name of the rich man, as He knew the name of the poor man. But He deliberately did not want to pronounce it with His life-giving lips, so as not to renew and revive it - for it had already been erased from the Book of Life. Please note that the Lord, as it were, deliberately avoids pronouncing the names of Herod, Pilate, and Caiaphas with His mouth. Go tell this fox (Luke 13: 32)! - He says about Herod, not calling him by name. Even earlier, God said: I will not remember the names of their word of Moy (Psalm 15: 4). The righteous, our Lord Jesus Christ said: rejoice that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20); and this rejoicing He commands them first of all else, even before rejoicing that demons obey them. But what evil did this rich man do that the Lord did not even want to pronounce his name? Look: the Lord does not accuse him of stealing, or of lying, of fornication, of murder, of disbelief in God, or even of dishonestly obtained wealth. After all, it seems that he himself did not obtain this wealth either honestly or dishonestly, but inherited it, because it says: he was rich , and not “became rich” or “got rich”. But why would the Lord blame him when there was a living charge at his gate, written against him, not with ink on paper, but with scabs and pus on the skin of a living person? Undoubtedly, the rich man had all those vices that wealth inevitably brings with it to every frivolous person. For the one who every day dressed luxuriously, ate luxuriously and drank and had fun, could not have the fear of God in himself, could not keep his tongue from multilingualism, his womb from unification, his heart from pride and vanity, from contempt for others people, from ridicule of the shrine of God. Nevertheless, this inevitably and irresistibly pushes a person to fornication, and to deception, and to revenge, to murder, to apostasy . But the Lord does not list all these sins and vices of the rich man. From His parable, only one rich man’s fault becomes apparent, namely, extreme contempt for the man Lazarus, and not because of anything else, but only because of his poverty and illness. If Lazarus appeared at the gate healthy and dressed in fine linen, the rich man would undoubtedly turn to him with an invitation to his meal - he would turn to him as a man and recognize him as a man. However, in a poor and scabby Lazar, he did not see or recognize a person. He despised the creation of God, as if he did not exist. He turned away from him, so as not to blur his eyes. He believed that he belonged to himself, and considered his wealth not a loan of God, but exclusively his property. The talent given from God, he buried in the earth of his body and did not give use to those who needed it. His heart was weakened by congestion and drunkenness (Luke 21 : 34) and became completely blind to the spiritual world and spiritual values. He looked only with carnal eyes, listened with carnal ears, lived a carnal life. His soul was in the same scabs as the body of Lazarus. His soul was a real reflection of Lazarus’s body, and Lazarus’s body was a real reflection of his soul. Thus, God placed two people on earth to be mirrors to each other: one at the gate, the other at the gate . The external brilliance of the rich man was a mirror of the soul of Lazarus, and the external scabs of Lazarus was a mirror of the inner world of the rich man. Why was the Lord listing all the sins of the rich man? All of them are revealed in one stroke, all to one. Cruelty to Lazarus tore the veil from the pus of the rich man’s soul, and instantly the whole abomination of this pus — for the eyes, for the ears, for the nose, and for the tongue, became apparent. Here is an image of two unequal people on earth: one whose name was very well known to people and readily pronounced by them, and the other, whose name people did not want to know. Now let's see how the stay of these two unequal people in another world is depicted. The beggar died and was carried by the Angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man died, and buried him. And in hell, being in agony, he raised his eyes, saw in the distance Abraham and Lazarus in his bosom . The rich die, just as the poor die. No one is born into this world to live forever in it, for this light itself is mortal and awaits its end. The rich die, sighing about this world, and the poor die sighing about it . Having left this world, the rich man left a splendor, luxury and pleasure; and Lazarus, having left this world, left hunger, scabs and dogs. But look now at the harvest of God! When the poor man died, the angels took his soul and carried it to paradise; and when the rich man died, the angels returned from his deathbed empty-handed. On one, outside rotten tree, angels found and gathered marvelous and ripe fruits; and on the other, leafy and green outside, they found no fruit. And every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Luke 3: 9). These prophetic words literally came true on the merciless richer. Both his body and soul were cut down; the body is thrown into the grave - to burn in the earth, and the soul to hell - to burn in hell. The angels did not even come close to his deathbed, for they knew that for them there was nothing; demons and people approached him. Both of them wanted to bury him: demons buried his soul in hell, and people - a body in the earth. Of course, people treated the dead bodies of the rich man and Lazarus differently, how differently the living bodies treated them. The news of the death of the rich man was spread in all directions, and the whole city was excited and came to his funeral. The cold body (which must have looked serious for the first time since it was born) was again dressed in new porphyry and new fine linen, placed in a coffin made of rare wood and rare metal, and transported around the city in a sheathed chariot horses covered with black blankets - so weary, as if they had put on mourning for the one who had lost the mercy of Heaven with his life. Crowds of friends, relatives and servants in mourning robes marched behind the chariot. Who was this mourning for? According to the one who did not even want to give leftovers from his table to a hungry beggar. The whole city gathered at his grave to listen to speeches about his merits and merits before the city, people and humanity - beautiful, like porphyry, and smooth, like fine linen on the body of a dead man, who no longer needed even crumbs from the meal of this life; false speech, like the whole life of this person; His speeches are empty, just as his soul was empty of good deeds. Finally, the body with porphyry and fine linen was laid in the ground - so that it was not licked by dogs, but worms ate. Wreaths of greenery and flowers were planted on the grave - the one who lost the crown of heavenly glory. And they erected to him above human growth an expensive monument with a gold written name, which was not in the Book of Life. But not one of the thousands gathered for this useless parade had the idea that at that very time the rich man’s soul was in hell. And how was poor Lazarus buried? Like a dead dog found on the street. Someone probably informed the city authorities that the corpse of some beggar lies on the street. So the authorities had to bother to bury him, for many reasons, but first of all for two: the first - so that his dogs would not be torn apart and not taken around the city; and the second - so that he, decomposing, does not spread the infection in the city. In addition, it is necessary to pull it out of the city as soon as possible and bury it also because the dead body, crouched, covered with scabs and dressed in tattered clothes, offends the eyes of passers-by. So, not one of the reasons was for Lazarus, but all for the sake of the townspeople themselves. He, the poor man, annoyed people with his life, and annoyed him with death. The authorities must have frowned upon hearing this unpleasant news, and were looking for people who would do this unpleasant job, and were worried how to pay these people for their work! And word of mouth passed: some beggar died! Who will bury a beggar? Where, and at whose expense? “Who is this beggar?” - perhaps inquisitive children asked. Funny question. Who will recognize and remember the names of the poor! What a huge difference there was between these two people in the evaluating eyes of men! But in heaven they do not rely too much on human evaluations: neither on their praise, nor on spit, nor on orders, nor on condemnation. Human evaluations extend only to the grave, and then Heaven accepts the souls of the dead and gives evaluations of Itself . And according to heavenly estimates, the rich man dressed in fine linen went to hell, and the scabby Lazarus went up to heaven. And in hell, in great torment, the rich man raised his eyes and saw in the distance Abraham and Lazarus in his bosom . Probably, for the first time in his entire existence, the rich man now raises his eyes to the mountains. On earth, he looked only at himself and at the world around him, and his gaze, not clouded by any suffering, never rushed up. And today it is happening to many of us, which is why the proverb arose: "Like anxiety, so much to God!" May the suffering that we encounter in this life and compel us to raise our eyes and our hearts to the Lord be blessed a thousand times ! If this unfortunate rich man did not curse earthly torment, did not run away from them, looking only for laughter and fun, he would still raise his eyes to the heavens on earth and probably would have avoided the torment of hell, from which it is useless to raise his eyes up. Another wise king said: lamentation is better than laughter; because with sorrow of the face the heart is made better (Eccl. 7: 3). This rich man laughed and had fun all his life, and laughter and fun completely cast out from his heart the fear of God. So, when he looked from grief out of hell, he saw in the distance Abraham and Lazarus in his bosom. It is said in the distance to show how hell is removed from the heavenly abodes of the righteous. Abraham is the forefather of the Jewish people in the flesh, but in his piety, he is the forefather of all the righteous, who by faith, obedience and humility pleased God, fulfilling His will. And Lazarus was in the bosom of Abraham. What is the bosom of Abraham? It is a quiet haven of all the righteous, rested by God after the storms of life on earth . Before the coming of the Savior, Jews considered Abraham the first among the righteous, and the Lord spoke this parable to the Jews. Of course, with the advent of Christ into the world, many became and more than Abraham in the kingdom of God. Not to Abraham, but to His apostles, the Lord promised that they would sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. But of the tribe of Shem, Abraham was the first to be granted the kingdom of God (Luke 13:28), in which, besides him, are the rest of the righteous, tormented and battered prophets, pious kings and other saints of God. In these abodes of the greatest righteous, in the abodes of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, the prophets Elijah and Elisha, righteous Job and glorious David, Lazarus also entered, this miserable poor man who patiently endured hunger, nakedness, and contempt, and disease and scabs. None of them were honored to come to this place of light, peace and indescribable joy for their earthly wealth and merriment, for their scholarship and power, for their Tsarist crown and power; but for his firm faith and trust in the Lord, for his submission to the will of God, or for his patience and timely repentance. For God does not look at the place of man on earth, but looks at his heart. Owners of the king’s crown, but of the royal soul, will enter His kingdom; and the rich will come in with mercy and faith, and not with money and lands; and scholars will come in, whom not peace and flesh taught, but the wisdom of God; and rejoicing and merry ones will enter, but not those whose hearts were entertained only by musicians and dancers, but those who filled him with joy and joy about the Lord , as the psalmist says: my heart and my flesh will rejoice over the living Bose (Ps. 83: 3) ! The rich man and Lazarus. 1873, Surikov V.I. The rich man and Lazarus. 1873, Surikov V.I. What does the sinful rich man say when he looks at this shining chamber above himself and sees next to Abraham and Lazarus, that same Lazarus, whose name he did not want to dirty his lips on earth? And crying, he said: Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to soak the end of his finger in the water and cool my tongue, for I suffer in this flame . Verily, there are no words that could better express the horror of the torment of sinners in hell! If someone is slightly hungry, he asks for meat and fish to appease his womb; if someone is very hungry, he asks for a crust of stale bread to get enough; but if a person dies of hunger, he rejoices, having received a handful of acorns to save his life. How indescribably scary the hellish flame in which this rich man burned is clearly seen from the fact that he does not ask for a piece of ice, or a bucket of water, or even a bowl of water, but only about the wet end of one finger! That only one drop of water at the end of the finger fell on his flaming tongue! Oh my brethren, if people would believe that our Lord Jesus Christ did not come to earth in order to increase the kingdom of unrighteousness with yet another unrighteousness; and that He could not utter a lie or exaggerate anything at all; then, truly, this gospel parable alone would be enough to save all the people who live on earth. Look how this man, who did not know mercy in earthly life, cries out for mercy from the flame of hell! And then take a look at yourself, you, not only not showing mercy, but also creating mercy more unhappy and poorer than yourself! Soon you can, like this former rich man, cry out for mercy from a place where the rays of mercy do not penetrate in eternity. But Abraham said: child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus - evil; now he is comforted here, and you suffer; and besides all this, a great abyss has been established between us and you, so those who want to go from here to you can’t, nor do they come to us from there . Abraham refers to the sinner burning in hell with the affectionate word: child , which shows the complete absence of all malice among the righteous in the Kingdom of Bliss. In addition, with this treatment, the forefather Abraham wants to remind his descendant that he was from his tribe that he had before him such high specimens as Abraham and other righteous ones, and that he could rid himself of hellish torments in time. But he cannot fulfill the plea of ​​the sinner for two reasons.Firstly, because heavenly justice is satisfied with this state of things; and, secondly, because between the abode of the righteous and the place of torment of sinners in the next world there is neither a bridge nor a road for people. Whether any of the sinners can, through the prayers of the earthly Church, be transferred by God from hell to paradise before the Last Judgment - this is the mystery of God, into which Abraham does not enter. He only reminds the former rich man, who is now poorer than all the poor in the world, that he received in temporary life everything he desired. And since he never wished heavenly blessings on earth, did not sacrifice a single crumb of bread for them and did not shed a single tear, he already accepted all his wages in full in earthly life. Lazarus, in this temporary life, received only flour, pain, contempt and tears, desiring the blessings of heaven, and now, he achieved these blessings. As the Lord said: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5: 4); and again: you will be sad, but your sorrow will be joy (John 16:20); and more: Woe to you, laughing now! For you will weep and cry (Luke 6:25)! Seeing that Abraham rightly answered his first request, the sinner now cries out, begging for something else: Then he said: so I ask you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers; may he testify to them that they also do not come to this place of torment . Where did he suddenly get such mercy for other people and such concern for the salvation of others? No, this is not mercy, but another wet finger, which he asks to ease with his touch his torment. By this he reveals his particular sin: the seduction of others. So, he fell into hell, not only because he was hard-hearted to Lazarus, but also because his frivolous life set an example for his brothers, and he destroyed them, paving the way for them to hell. And the temptation is a terrible sin: to slip on your own and to entrain others means to earn an incomparably more serious condemnation than a person who only slipped himself . Listen to what terrible words the Lord Himself said about through whom the temptations come. It would be better for him if the millstone were hung on his neck and thrown him into the sea, rather than that he would seduce one of these little ones (Luke 17: 1-2). And, apparently, the brothers of this rich man were younger than him. Therefore, first of all, he would like Lazarus to come to him and forgive him; and then atone for your sin before your brothers. Then his flame would cease and the torment would decrease. Thus, he makes this request to Abraham not so much for the sake of his brothers, but for his own sake. Abraham said to him: they have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them. He said: No, father Abraham, but if any of the dead comes to them, they will repent. Then Abraham said to him: if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, then if someone had risen from the dead, they would not believe . So, Abraham also can’t fulfill another request of the rich man. He makes a compelling and convincing argument why. Why send Lazarus to earth reminding people what awaits them after death, when through Moses and the prophets they are clearly told what needs to be done for salvation? Many thousands of other people were saved not by the testimony of the dead, but by the testimony of the living. And since so many thousands have been saved by listening to Moses and the prophets, your brothers will be able to. In vain the sinful rich man insists, confirming his request with the fact that if any of the dead comes to them, they will repent . Abraham again, citing a weighty argument, finally refuses to fulfill his request. How will the testimony of Lazarus help them if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets? Didn't Moses, Isaiah, and Elijah see God, and didn't they say what they said in the name of God? And if they do not believe them, then how will they believe Lazarus, if he appears to them, having risen from the dead? First of all, who is Lazarus? Have they ever looked into his scabby face to recognize him if he now appears to them in glory, as light as an angel? Have they ever listened to his voice to recognize him by voice? Have they ever asked about his bitter life to know him from his story? Will they not say: is it a ghost? Or some ghost? Or self-deception? How did Saul benefit from the appearance of Samuel from the dead (1 Samuel 28)? Abraham’s answer did nothing to help the sinner burning in hell, but he can help many who today summon the spirits of the dead to learn the secrets of heaven and supposedly be strengthened in faith. Verily, there is no easier way to go crazy and fall into the abyss! Spiritualism is an escape from light into darkness and a search for light in darkness. Those who call the spirits to know the truth prove that they do not believe the Lord Jesus Christ. But how can rational people believe the spirits of their aunts and neighbors when there is still a question, is it really the spirits of those under whose names they are, but at the same time not believe the Almighty of truth? How can aunts and neighbors, and mediums, and fortune tellers testify to their words? And Christ testified of His words with His blood and the blood of thousands and thousands of believers in Him, who laid their stomach for these words. However, the Jews saw not only the spirit, but also the spirit and body of the resurrected Lazarus, and yet they not only did not believe, but also wanted to kill Lazarus (John 12: 10-11) so that he would not testify to the truth. And the Jews saw the daughter of Jairus returned from the dead, and the son of the Nain widow - why didn’t they believe? And they saw many dead who rose from the tombs when Jesus gave up his spirit - why didn’t they believe? And finally, they reliably learned about the Risen Lord Jesus - but, instead of believing, they bribed the guards to deny the truth and proclaim a lie. If all this is not enough for us to believe, but the testimonies of the dead are still required, here they are: Abraham, Lazarus, and the sinful rich man! These are the witnesses of both heaven and hell, and these are witnesses verified by none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Although at least one of us clearly saw Paradise and hell with his own eyes and heard this conversation between Abraham and the sinner, he could not, to the smallest degree, believe in himself, his vision, his hearing as much as he can believe the testimony of the Tyranderer Jesus Christ. The Lord saw and heard everything that was told to us in this parable, and now we know the truth. If we saw this ourselves, we would doubt it, saying: maybe this is some kind of ghost, or a dream, or a hallucination. But He saw and heard, He, who could not be deceived and, moreover, whoever deceived anyone. Oh, brethren, if we would believe Him more than ourselves! He demands this from us; and this is the main requirement of His gospel - let us believe Him more than ourselves, and more than to all living and all dead . Is not it, however, in the case of any true guide and travelers whom he leads? Does he not require that travelers follow him, and do not look for ways with their inexperienced eyes, and do not follow false guides who, from some of their calculations, say that they know a shorter and easier way? Our Lord Jesus Christ is our Guide to His Kingdom, which no one can know better than Himself. We must trust Christ more than our ears and eyes, which are easily amenable to lies, and our insignificant speculations. So that we would not be deceived by various dubious spirits and ghosts, He in His presence opened heaven and hell to us and allowed the dead to declare to us the necessary for our salvation. In His presence - so that we learn the true truth about the afterlife - and just as much of this truth as we need to know, so as not to have the hard-heartedness of a rich man and have the patience of Lazarus, his faith and his hope. And so that we do not consider anything in this world to be our property, but all that we have is God's loan given to us for the salvation of ours and our neighbors. Honor and glory befitting the Lord Jesus Christ about this, with the Father and the Holy Spirit - the Trinity of the One-Essential and the Undivided, now and ever, at all times and forever and ever. Amen.