Sermon of Archpriest Alexander Abramov, the feast of the Origin (Iznesenie) Honest trees Holy cross from the book “whosoever will may come. Conversations on Sundays and feast the gospel reading,” published in the publishing house “Nike”.
Photo: optina.ru
- The Dormition fast in August: why?
- A sermon on how to spend the Dormition fast
- Dormition fast: go from the outside
- Dormition fast: how to live without extremes
- Below the Dormition fast is not passed in vain
When I saw Him the chief priests and officers, they shouted, crucify him, crucify Him! Pilate saith unto them, take ye Him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in Him. The Jews answered him, we have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because he made Himself the Son of God. When Pilate heard this word, he was the more afraid. And went again into the Praetorium and said to Jesus: whence art Thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate said to Him, do not you answer? do you not know that I have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release Thee? Jesus answered, you would have I no power if it were not given you from above; therefore the greater sin who delivered Me to you. When Pilate heard this word, brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place called the pavement, but in Hebrew hawata. Then there was the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews: behold your King! But they cried out, take him, crucify Him! Pilate said to them: do your King shall I crucify? The chief priests answered we have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he Him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him away. Carrying his Own cross, He went forth into a place called the skull, in Hebrew Golgotha; where they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, and Jesus in the middle. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews. The inscription read many of the Jews because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. By the cross of Jesus stood His mother and His Mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, saith to His Mother: woman, behold your son! behold Thy son. Then saith he to the disciple, behold thy mother! And from that hour the disciple took Her to his own. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, it is done! And he bowed his head, and gave up the Ghost. But because it was the preparation, that the Jews, in order not to leave bodies on the cross on the Sabbath — for that Sabbath was a great day — asked Pilate to kill their leg and take them down. So the soldiers came and first broke the legs, and the other which was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was already dead did not break His legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his testimony is true; he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
In. 19: 6-11, 13-20, 25-28, 30-35
Today we in many are going under the shadow of the cross. We prekloneniem your knees in front of him. I really don’t want to think that we come to the Cross only for the reason that we “help”. We will attach to the next Shrine we consecrate honey “be okay”. Because if it were only so, it would show that we are sick. We didn’t get rid of the psychology of the late Soviet store where everything is in short supply. Here some new relic, there is still something.
In the relations of God and man is not important. Let the reason be a desire to latch on to some kind of honor or the way to the Shrine. But this is only the beginning of fellowship with Christ, and the rest needs no words, it is not always in need of applying, to stand in queue for hours, because of the relationship of Christ and man in the human heart happen. And they are unknown to anyone but him, in whose heart they spring, and the Savior Himself.
Archpriest Alexander Abramov
But the Church gives us a huge amount of material relics: relics are here, there is the icon, then cross. What is it? Below we have ceased to fear.
We cannot live all the time in the sense that we are alone. We are not alone because God is with us.
We are very often disappointed in people that we thought to find support, and meet the coldness and bad attitude. We thought we can trust and we are betrayed. But there is One Who never, under any circumstances, will not abandon you. Savior.
We always try to look better than we really are. We always hide their dirty part of nature somewhere in a very distant cupboard. We are looking for praise. We want to be good in the eyes of other people, because they are afraid that otherwise we will not love. But the Savior loves us with all our evil tripe. Wants to be a friend. Gives Himself, not the other sent to death.
We are with you, going now, at the beginning of the strict assumption of the post, should lean on the path to pose the problem: what we want to achieve? A generic word: we want to fast. And what’s the point? The Jews fasted, the terrorists some fast.
What do we want? The answer is very simple. We want more of the friendship of God. We want to approach Him as a friend.
We all remember how it was in school. How are we, as juniors, often stare at those who are older, and we were so desperate that they we have to pay attention to communicate with us. Let Christ pay attention to us. Not for our leprosy, not rigidity and anger is who in the world, and no matter when Christians make the fury and anger in the already corroded by rage and anger the world. As for the softness, for the ability to forgive. Let Christ looked at His disciples say: behold, they are Mine. They do not behave as it is accepted at all, but only as I say. And then there will be one flock and one Shepherd.
We enter the Dormition fast, giving the Saviour’s promise: Lord, we try to be a little better. What will help us force the Honest and Holy cross.