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The Beatitudes
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom
of Heaven.
The Beatitudes can be viewed as a single system a ladder
ascending in virtues. Christ calls us first of all to acquire
spiritual poverty, and meekness, and only then to rise step by step
to the summit of spiritual perfection. Man becomes aware of his
poverty of spirit from the moment when the summoning and illumining
grace takes effect within him. The first thing revealed to the
spiritual infant is his helplessness the incompatibility of his
present spiritual state with that to which he is being summoned. The
human spirit is the chief motivating force of our salvation, for we
are bound to God, not by the soul, but by the spirit, and it is not
through the soul, but through the spirit that God's good will
descends upon us.
It is in the spirit of man that the Image of God is most truly
reflected. Our spirit trembles before God when it establishes
contact with Him in prayer, meditation, reading the Word of God, in
the Sacraments, Divine Services, good deeds, and so on. Only when it
is humbled will our spirit become aware of the gulf which separates
man from God and will know that God is all that within ourselves is
nothing worthy of the Lord or pleasing to Him, nothing that is our
own except our sins and that the fullness of spiritual life consists
in renunciation of self in giving oneself entirely to God and to
others.
Only by sacrificing ourselves will we find ourselves in the
fullness of life lived for God and for others. And to find ourselves
in God and in others, we must lose our own selves. Our spirit,
renewed in God, knows that human life belongs to Him and always and
in all things is dependent upon Him, and that we must be in
steadfast contact with Him, begging His help and living in the hope
that the gracious Lord in His mercy will not abandon us in our
helplessness.
The righteous men of the Old Testament were aware of their
insignificance before God. As Abraham said of himself, I... am but
dust and ashes (Gen. 18:27). David, both king and prophet, cried
out, I am a worm, and no man (Ps. 22:6); I am poor and needy (Ps.
86:1). Moses said to the Lord, I am slow of speech and of tongue
(Ex. 4:10); and the Prophet Isaiah said to himself, I am lost; for I
am a man of unclean lips (Is. 6:5).
The saints of the New Testament Church, the nearer they drew to
God, the stronger they were aware of their smallness and
unworthiness before God, and were filled with truly profound
humility. Some of them declared as they died that they had not even
begun their salvation, while others declared that there was no place
for them even in Hell, while yet others declared that even the earth
would not accept their sinful bodies.
According to St. John Chrysostom, humility is the foundation of
all virtue, for even if one distinguishes himself by fasting,
prayer, alms, chastity, of any other virtue, without humility all of
these would be destroyed and would perish. Thus there is no
salvation without humility. This virtue was regarded highly in the
Old Testament, for as the Psalmist says, A broken and contrite
heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise (Ps. 51:17). Seeing the results
which humility brings, he was moved to say, When I was brought low,
He saved me (Ps. 116:6).
In the New Testament, the Lord Himself gave us the greatest
example of humility (Matt. 11:39; John 13:14-16), for His entire
life teaches us humility. The Mother of God says of herself, For He
has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden (Luke 1:48). The
Apostle Paul said of himself, I am the foremost among sinners (1
Tim. 1:15). The Publican of the Gospel saw nothing within himself
except sinfulness, and simply hoped in God's mercy.
The ways in which one attains humility are different. Sometimes
it is through sickness, sorrow and misfortunes. Sometimes it is
through being persecuted by others or oppressed by disease. As St.
John Chrysostom says, True humility comes when we turn from our sins
to God.
In the human soul, humility is countered by pride which struggles
ceaselessly with it trying to destroy it. We know that all the evils
which bring man to damnation are the results of pride: the Fall of
Satan, of Adam, of Cain, and so on. And to this day pride is the
chief enemy of humility, and overcoming it with God's help is the
first task to be undertaken for our salvation, for God opposes the
proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
The attainment of humility is linked with overcoming our own self
and pride, and with the victory over our passions and the
temptations which face us. True humility prevents us from passing
judgment, from envying, being angry, arousing anger in others,
hurting or rebuking them, and it enables us to help others, to pray
for all, and to bear everything that happens to us calmly as coming
from God. He who has attained deep humility considers himself the
unworthiest among men and attributes all his accomplishments to God.
Christian humility is free and highly fruitful, and there is not
the least servitude, ingratiation or flattery in it. The humble
Christian cannot be the servant of other men, because then he would
not be the servant of Christ, for the servant of Christ is free in
Christ as the Highest Truth. Love for Christ and devotion to Him
allow the believer to call himself the servant of Christ, and as a
result of his regeneration, he is a freeborn son, a child of God and
not a slave.
Therefore, the poor in spirit, those who are humble of heart,
will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. This kingdom, as the Lord
Himself says, is within you (Luke 17:21), in the spirit and in the
humble heart.
2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Sorrow and grief enter the soul of one who has attained poverty
of spirit and who has become aware of the power of sin over his
soul, and they wring an involuntary cry of grief from its very
depths. Therefore the Savior is anxious to comfort those who weep
with His second Beatitude.
When it lived in Paradise, the human soul knew neither weeping,
nor tears, for then man was with God and God was with man. The sin
of our first parents separated man from God, giving rise to godly
tears and sorrow which lead to contrition and salvation. This godly
sorrow, as St. John of the Ladder tells us, liberates the soul from
all earthly loves and affections. This sadness, however, should not
be confused with worldly grief [which] produces death (2 Cor. 7:10).
If we do not overcome it, this earthly sorrow may grow into the
mortal sin of depression and despair.
Godly sorrow is permeated with love for God and for others and
sorrow for their sins and for our own. Such was the sorrow of Moses
when, at the foot of Mount Sinai, the Israelites forgot their God
and made themselves a golden calf to worship. Such were the tears
shed by the Prophet Jeremiah over the ruins of Jerusalem. And such
were the tears of the Savior Himself when He foresaw the destruction
of Jerusalem. Peter wept bitterly after his denial of our Lord, but
the Lord comforted him when He appeared to him on the first day
after His Resurrection, for God's mercy is infinite and He not only
comforts those who repent in this earthly life, but will wipe away
every tear from their eyes (Rev. 7:17).
Mourning, as the expression of the spirit's repentance for its
sins, is of spiritual value, and must be treasured so as not to be
wasted on earthly vanities. The mourning of the spirit, however, is
not always accompanied by physical tears, for deep sorrow can be
expressed in sighs, constriction of the heart, profound silence,
inner concentration and withdrawal. Yet, as St. Ephraim the Syrian
notes, these tears are like precious pearls, for by God's gift the
soul is enlightened by tears, reflecting the heavenly like a mirror.
Great is the strength of pure and heartfelt tears that rise from
the depths of the heart, for these tears wash away all internal and
external filth and quench the flame of all irritability and anger.
These tears are especially saving when they are constant and, as St.
John of the Ladder teaches us, he who is truly concerned for his
salvation will count each day when he has not wept for his sins as
wasted, in spite of any good deeds that may have been accomplished.
We are constantly sinning, both when we are active and when we
give ourselves over to idle dreams, and these sins must be washed
away with tears of repentance. These tears are a means of washing
and purifying our soul, and a sacrifice offered up to God by our
contrite and broken spirit. If our tears arise from fear of God for
our sinfulness, they will intercede for us with God, as St. Ephraim
tells us.
The blessed receive a special gift from God tenderness and the
tears of tenderness, which show that godly tears and sorrow contain
both joy and gaity, just as the comb contains the honey. In
addition, there are the tears of the heart, which are better than
the tears of the eyes, as Bishop Theophan the Recluse wrote. The
tears of the eyes fatten the worm of vanity, while the tears of the
heart are to be seen by God alone. Tears during prayer at Church and
at home are beneficial, but in Church it is better to hide one's
tears, leaving merely the tearful mood in one's heart, that is to
say, a contrite spirit and a contrite heart. Night is the best time
for prayer, especially at midnight. That is the place for your
tears. Therefore, secret tears for our sins cleanse the soul and
bring it closer to God, bringing us both comfort in this life and
true consolation in the next.
3. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Meekness is directly linked with heartfelt repentance and
mourning for our sins and he who considers himself worthy of all
sorrows and troubles will be filled with the spirit of meekness and
humility. He who is meek offends no one, is angered by no one, is
modest and virtuous. He is a stranger to idle curiosity and never
refuses his help to those who are suffering, doing good quietly and
without notice. This virtue is as difficult to attain as it is
great, for it demands much effort and struggle within the one who
wishes to attain it. First he must overcome his irritability,
impatience, touchiness and irascibility, for by overcoming his
passions, he attains modesty and meekness. This, however, is only
the beginning of his growth in this virtue.
The Psalmist especially praises meekness, placing it on a level
with truth and righteousness (Ps. 45:4), and the Prophet Isaiah
speaks of God's particularly merciful attitude to man who is meek:
This is the man to whom I will look, he that is humble and contrite
in spirit, and trembles at My word, says the Lord (Is. 66:2). St.
Peter sees a meek and quiet spirit as one of the greatest treasures
of the human heart, which in God's sight is very precious (1 Pet.
3:4). Therefore he urges the followers of Christ to be ready to
answer with meekness and fear (1 Pet. 3:15) those who ask the reason
for their hope. St. James asks us to receive with meekness the Word
of God (James 1:21), so that it will find the most direct way to the
hearts of his listeners.
St. Paul pays special attention to meekness, pointing out that
meekness in the preacher is the best way of convincing those who
oppose him (2 Tim. 2:24-25) or for correcting the sinner (Gal. 6:1).
He begs the Ephesians to treat each other with all lowliness and
meekness, because these are the qualities that make a man worthy of
the calling to which [he has] been called (Eph. 4:2, 1). To the
rebellious Corinthians, he would come not with a rod, but with love,
in a spirit of gentleness, (1 Cor. 4:21), for this Apostle to the
Gentiles counts meekness among the fruits of the spirit, for against
such there is no law (Gal. 5:22-23).
In the Old Testament King David (the Psalmist), the Prophet
Moses, who is called very meek (Num. 12:3), and also the righteous
Job, who blessed the Name of God when subjected to severe trials,
were all distinguished by their meekness. In the New Testament the
Savior demonstrated the greatest meekness and called us to learn
from Him first and foremost this virtue: Take My yoke upon you, and
learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls (Matt. 11:29), for it is out of this virtue that
all the other virtues grow, including love itself. Through meekness
and humility man overcomes his natural self and pride, and
spiritually develops towards self-denial in the Name of God and out
of love of Him and one's neighbor.
The saints offer us marvelous examples of meekness. Once during
Divine Liturgy, St. John the Almsgiver, when he was Patriarch,
reading in the Gospel lesson about making peace with your brother
before coming to pray (Matt. 5:23-24), recalled that there was a
cleric whom he had punished for some misdeed and who was angry with
him. He called him immediately and, falling at his feet, begged him
to forgive him and to make peace. St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, while in a
conversation with a local landowner, was in the course of an
argument struck in the face by him, at which the saint fell down on
his knees and humbly asked forgiveness of the landowner, saying, For
God's sake, forgive me for bringing you to such a state. Only a man
of meek spirit could have answered thus.
We can help pave the way to meekness in ourselves by deciding to
strive for spiritual health in all things, and for abstention in our
designs, in thought, in word and in deed. As St. John Chrysostom
says, If we are opposed, we will be humble. If anyone is arrogant
with us, we will be helpful. If anyone torments or oppresses us by
making fun of us or swearing at us, we will not answer in kind, so
as not to destroy ourselves through vengeance.
The Lord promises those who attain meekness that they will
inherit the earth. One would have expected the meek, the most
defenseless and oppressed of all, to perish in the first centuries
of the Christian era at the hands of the infuriated pagans, but they
have indeed inherited the earth that was formerly ruled by those who
persecuted them. The meek will receive their spiritual inheritance
in the mansions of the righteous, and will receive the goodness of
the Lord in the land of the living (Ps. 27:13), where eternal
blessedness awaits them.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be filled.
The more profoundly we become aware of our sinfulness and
spiritual imperfection, the less bearable to our reason and our
conscience becomes the idea of being spiritually extinguished the
threat of losing our salvation and within our soul are born hunger
and thirst for God's righteousness. Just as in life the body
periodically hungers for food and thirsts for drink, so in the
spiritual life come moments when man yearns for spiritual food.
The good news of the gospel is the Truth that the Savior has come
to earth, and His teaching the righteousness of our salvation
through faith in Jesus Christ. This good news of the Truth of Christ
enlightens the soul. The Truth of Christ leads to faith in the true
righteousness of our salvation. And the stronger the faith in this
righteousness, the more fully its depths are revealed to the soul
possessing it wholly, acting from faith to faith, urging it to lead
a life compatible with this righteousness.-
If the meaning of the Truth of Christ lies in the fact that it
brings spiritual enlightenment to those who believe, then the
significance of this righteousness lies in the fact that it leads
them to faith and justifies them. God's righteousness in all its
fullness is centered in God alone and from Him it is poured forth on
all who seek it. To live in righteousness means to live according to
the will of God, and to live according to the will of God means to
live in God's righteousness.
It is not those who thirst for worldly happiness that are
blessed, but those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, obeying
Christ's commandments, living in God and with God. He who fulfils
the will of God will be like the Savior, Who said: My food is to do
the will of Him Who sent Me, and to accomplish His work (John 4:34).
The will of God is revealed to us in Holy Scripture. However, it
is not enough to know the truth of our salvation, for we also need
the strength to carry it out, which we receive through the
Sacraments and the prayers of the Church. Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for the food and drink of which Christ said: I am
the bread of life.... For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is
drink indeed (John 6:35, 55).
Hunger and thirst for God's righteousness, which find their
highest satisfaction in the prayers and Sacraments of the Church
(especially in Holy Communion), act together with love and the other
virtues in man's heart. However, we will be completely and entirely
satisfied with God's righteousness only in the life to come, when
the righteous will neither hunger nor thirst and He Who sits upon
the throne will shelter them with His presence (Rev. 7:15).
5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Everyone who lives in society needs a kind word, sympathy, and
compassion, and the man of warmth and sympathy has the traits of
mercy. The merciful, whom the Gospel calls charitable, are first and
foremost spiritual people hearers of the spirit. Mercy is a gift or
the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). The merciful follow Christ's
commandments: they give meat to the hungry and drink to the thirsty,
they clothe the naked, they take in the stranger and comfort the
sorrowing (Matt. 25:31-46).
The charitable look after orphans, do not forget the aged, return
to the path of truth those who have lost their way, strengthen those
whose faith is wavering, teach others kindness, give advice, do not
answer evil with evil, and forgive offenses. They pray for their
fellow men, and especially they pray for the dead who need nothing
from the living except prayers and deeds of kindness in their
memory.
The Lord warned Cain: ...if you do not do well, sin is crouching
at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it (Gen.
4:7). Doing good constantly is the guarantee of a successful
struggle with sin. Those who are constantly charitable and merciful
will receive mercy in their turn both from God and from good fellow
men. But let the hardhearted bear in mind that judgment is without
mercy to one who has shown no mercy (James 2:13). The Savior points
to His Heavenly Father as the highest example of mercy and calls us
to emulate Him (Luke 6:36), for He makes His sun rise on the evil
and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matt.
5:45).
In the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior also teaches us how to
perform deeds of mercy: Beware of practicing your piety before men
in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from
your Father Who is in heaven. Thus, when you give alms, sound no
trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do.... But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing...
(Matt. 6:1-3). To do deeds of kindness with the aim of being praised
by others, will be the means of depriving oneself of the rewards of
our Heavenly Father, for God Who sees in secret will reward you
(Matt. 6:4).
Around us are people who need our sympathy. They are the
Lazaruses of our lives (Luke 16:14-31 the Parable of the Rich Man
and Lazarus), who will open or close for us the gates of God's
Kingdom, depending upon how we have treated them. And all those who
are charitable and merciful on earth in the Name of God will find
mercy in the Kingdom of Heaven.
6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
It would seem that there is nothing harder to attain than purity
of heart and nothing more impossible than to see God. For, is it
possible for our heart to be pure and spotless when out of it come
evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness,
slander (Matt. 15:19), or for us to see God Whom no man has ever
seen or can see (1 Tim. 6:16; John 1:18; 1 John 4:12)? Nevertheless,
the Savior speaks of purity of heart and of seeing God with the
heart, because the previous Beatitudes teach the Christian humility,
mourning, meekness, righteousness and mercy; for only the spirit
which has acquired these virtues will give a new fruit grace-endowed
purity of heart and radiant holiness that sees God from within.
The pure in heart are not tempted by the seductions of this
world. As St. John of the Ladder says, truly blessed is he who has
attained complete dispassion for all carnal things, for appearance
and beauty; great is he who is dispassionate; he who has triumphed
over the body, has triumphed over nature, and there is no doubt that
he who has triumphed over nature stands higher than nature, and such
a man differs little from the-Angels; purity of heart brings us
closer to God and, as far as possible, makes us like unto Him.
St. Ephraim the Syrian teaches that purity of heart hates luxury,
laziness, bodily beauty, fine garments, rich food and drunkenness.
It overcomes the flesh and penetrates the heavenly with its eye. It
is the fountainhead of love and the dwelling place of Angels. It is
a gift of God, filled with goodness, edification and knowledge. It
is a peaceful and fitting haven which fends off evil and cleaves to
goodness. This purity of heart is characterized by cleanliness of
body and soul, a peaceful nature, meekness, humility, love and
closeness to God, and attainment in all the virtues, including
strict abstinence.
The heart attains purity, says St. Ephraim the Syrian, through
numerous tribulations, privations, renunciation of all worldly
things and mortification. And if it attains purity, it is not
defiled by minor offenses, fears neither tribulations in any part of
the soul, because the soul is strengthened by God.
The struggle with impure thoughts that defile our heart and
conscience helps us to attain purity of heart. Remaining in constant
prayerfulness before God creates a living link with God, giving rise
to what is called the awareness of God in the soul, the awareness of
Christ our Savior, and His cross, and it conquers our bad thoughts,
evil designs and desires of the heart. And this awareness of God, on
the highest levels of spiritual attainment, becomes the grace-giving
vision of God.
The performance of charitable deeds fills with love the heart of
the ascetic. Contemplating God, reading the Holy Scriptures, the
works of the Holy Fathers and the Lives of the saints, attending
Divine Services as often as possible, and partaking of the
Sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion, are all spiritual and
saving fare for the heart.
The ascetic whose heart has been purified and sanctified by the
Holy Spirit is filled with love for Christ and enters into such a
close spiritual union with the Lord that it is as though he sees Him
in himself. Freed from the influence of their passions, the saints
also see God in Divine Revelation. Just as a mirror reflects an
image when it is clean, so can a pure and holy soul see God and
understand the Scriptures, says the Blessed Theophilact. Like the
other Beatitudes which begin on earth and are completed in Heaven,
seeing God when it begins on earth is but seeing through a glass,
darkly what in the next life we shall see face to face (1 Cor.
13:12).
7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the
sons of God.
The fall of our first parents, which led to the severing of the
grace-endowing link with God and changed their souls radically,
could not but affect the relations between them as well. Disorder
and conflict within men brought about their mutual alienation. But
because our God is Peace and Love, salvation was impossible without
reconciliation with God. As St. Paul says, in Christ all the
fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile
to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace
by the blood of His cross (Col. 1:19-20). And Christ fulfilled the
will of His Father. He came, accomplished the Sacrifice of
Redemption and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to
those who were near (Eph. 2:17). And to this day He bestows peace
upon us, for He said: Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to
you; not as the world gives do I give to you (John 14:27). And not
only does He bestow peace, but He Himself has become our peace (Eph.
2:14).
Christ founded upon earth the Kingdom of God, one of the most
essential features of which is its peace. For the kingdom of God is
not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit (Rom. 14:17). Peace in the Kingdom of God is the peace of
God, which passes all understanding, [which] will keep your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
St. Paul summons all believers to seek peace in God (Rom. 15:33;
1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:20-21). When, with God's help, inner peace is
established in the human heart, the link between this heart and
others is also established. It is expressed in unity of word, spirit
and thought. / appeal to you, brethren, by the Name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions
among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same
judgment (1 Cor. 1:10). Agreement and unanimity make for lasting
peace in human relations, for where they are found, the individual
is like the whole and the whole is like the individual. Such peace
must be sought and striven for (1 Pet. 3:11), and cherished with
those who call upon the Lord from a pure heart (2 Tim. 2:22).
The Savior Himself was particularly insistent upon the need for
peace among mer. If you are offering your gift at the altar, and
there remember that your brother has something against you, leave
your gift there before the altar and go; and first be reconciled to
your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make friends
quickly with your accuser...lest your accuser hand you over to the
judge...and you be put in prison (Matt. 5:23-25). The Savior said
further: If any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have
your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go
with him two miles (Matt. 5:40-41). The main thing here is that
there should be no quarrel on the way and that the inner link not be
broken.
The Holy Fathers teach that humility is the foundation of all
virtues, and helps us to attain spiritual peace. According to St.
Isaac the Syrian, it. is when peace reigns in your life and when
your soul is obedient to you, and the rest of you along with it,
that the peace of God is born in your heart. According to St.
Ephraim the Syrian, if your brother disagrees with what you say, do
not be angry, but renounce your own will for the sake of love and
peace.
The Son of God came down to earth in order to reconcile to
Himself all things (Col. 1:20). He Himself, the Only-Begotten Son of
God, is the great Peacemaker The Prince of Peace, as the Prophet
Isaiah calls Him. Blessed are the peacemakers who keep their
conscience at peace with God and with their fellow men, following
the example of our Savior the Peacemaker. According to the words of
the Lord, they shall be called the sons of God.
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness'
sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
In His Sermon on the Mount, the Savior pointed out the two paths
through life the wide and broad one, and the strait and narrow one.
The wide one leads to perdition, and there are many who choose this
path, while the narrow way leads to life, that is, it brings
salvation (Matt. 7:13-14).
The narrow way demands an effort a constant spiritual struggle
with sin and with all the obstacles which are to be met with on the
way. The flesh, our bodily nature, revolts against this way, for it
finds our efforts towards purity of body and of heart hard to
endure, and the enemy of mankind, who cannot bear man's movements
towards salvation, revolts along with ill-intentioned men, who take
the good life of the believer as a rebuke to themselves.
History remembers many who have persecuted God's righteous ones.
The first was Cain, who killed his brother Abel because of the
latter's piety. The wild Esau cast forth his meek brother Jacob, and
the sons of Jacob cast out their brother Joseph and sold him into
slavery in Egypt to get him out of their way. The unfortunate King
Saul oppressed the meek David. The Jews drove away the prophets who
condemned their lawless life, and persecuted and crucified our Lord
Jesus Christ. This persecution of the faithful came about, as the
Savior shows us, for righteousness' sake (Matt. 5:10).
The true believer answers enmity and opposition with goodwill. He
answers lies and slanders with patience and silence, following the
rule that we should turn away from evil and do good (Ps. 34:14; Rom.
12:9). St. Paul teaches us: Repay no one evil for evil, but take
thought for what is noble in the sight of all (Rom. 12:17),
including the ill-intentioned, in order to overcome evil with good
(Rom. 12:21).
The Savior speaks even more concretely and decisively: If any one
strikes you on the right cheek., turn to him the other also (Matt.
5:39), by which means you will morally disarm him. It is better to
suffer pain and humiliation than to subject him who has hurt you to
evil in return, for evil breeds only evil. Only good can breed good.
The best defense from persecution, therefore, is patience and prayer
for those who persecute you. That is how the Savior Himself prayed
for those who crucified Him (Luke 23:34) and how St. Stephen the
First Martyr and Archdeacon prayed for those who stoned him (Acts
7:60).
We know that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12). The words of the Savior, though,
are heartening and comforting: If they persecuted Me, they will
persecute you (John 15:20). The destiny of the Christian, then, is
to live in sorrow and take the narrow way. However, love of truth,
constancy and determination in virtue, courage and patience help us
to bear suffering. It is not enough to know righteousness; we must
also love it. And it is this love which gives rise to our
determination, courage and patience.
All the previous Beatitudes, by producing corresponding virtues
in the heart of the Christian, prepare him for active love of
Christ's righteousness, and for spiritual life in Christ which gives
us strength to bear the sorrows, tribulations and persecutions that
come our way. And the reward for longsuffering is the Kingdom of
God, which every man who loves God's righteousness starts to bear
within himself here on earth, and in full measure in the Kingdom of
Heaven.
9. Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute
you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My
sake.
10. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in
Heaven.
These words are the continuation and conclusion and at the same
time the crown of all the Beatitudes that have preceded. In the
eighth Beatitude, oppression and persecution were linked with
Christ's righteousness, and in the ninth, with Christ Himself as the
bearer and expression of this righteousness. The Savior declares in
no uncertain terms that men shall persecute you, and shall say all
manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. In this lies the
greatest reward for His followers, who are called to joy and
happiness, when the hour of suffering is upon them.
It is hard for the non-Christian to understand how one can
rejoice and be happy when oppressed, cursed and persecuted. It seems
to him that all suffering leads naturally only to sorrow. But let us
recall the path we have trodden, up every step of the ladder of the
Beatitudes. As St. John Chrysostom says: Note after how many
Beatitudes Christ offers us this last one. In this last He wished to
show that he who has not been prepared by all the other Beatitudes
cannot undertake the feat of bearing suffering, revilement and
persecution for Christ's sake. For this reason, in laying the way
from the first Beatitude to the last, Christ was forging a golden
chain for us. It starts with the fact that the poor in spirit, the
man of humility, will mourn for his sins and in this way will become
meek, righteous and merciful. And the merciful is bound to become
pure in heart. The pure in heart will be a peacemaker. And he who
has attained all this will be ready for danger, and will not be
afraid of calumny and countless tribulations. Readiness and
fearlessness will be the crowning virtues that bring, according to
Jesus Christ, joy and happiness.
It is, of course, natural for man to avoid suffering, for through
many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).
Tribulations are unavoidable as an accompaniment to this life. The
Savior said: In the world you have tribulation; but be of good
cheer, I have overcome the world (John 16:33). The Lord overcame the
world by treading the path of persecution by His enemies, the path
of torture and suffering in Gethsemane, at Pilate's judgment and on
Golgotha. Sinless and innocent, He accomplished His feat for our
sake and for us, to free man from the stain of sin, to bring him
closer to Himself and make his path through life more like the way
of the cross which He Himself had followed. He calls him to take up
his cross and follow Me (Matt. 16:24), for he who does not take up
his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me (Matt. 10:38), and
cannot be My disciple (Luke 14:27).
It is important to understand that tribulations are necessary
because there is no other way for us to be cleansed of our sins
except that pointed out by the Savior and followed by Him. In
suffering we become aware of our own weakness and helplessness, and,
humbled in prayer and contrition before God, we receive divine help
and joy in the Lord.
Tenderness of heart and spiritual joy are characteristic of the
spiritual life. If life itself is a thing of goodness and joy, then
life in God is doubly good and doubly joyous. The very fact that
Christ is preached brings joy (Phil. 1:18). When we behold God's
world with a pure eye or pray sincerely, or do good willingly, or
perform the current act of obedience in the awareness that we are
fulfilling our duty, then a quiet joy in the Lord descends in our
heart. As St. James instructs us: Count it all joy, my brethren,
when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your
faith produces steadfastness (James 1:2-3).
Joy is no less a fruit of the spirit than love, peace, meekness
and the other virtues (Gal. 5:22). Joy carries within it hope in
God's continuing mercy. This joy and hope helped those who performed
spiritual deeds for Christ to bear their sufferings, and gave them
confidence that the Lord would not send them more suffering than
they could bear, but would grant them consolation in its turn. And
the lives of the holy martyrs confirm this.
Amidst a severe test of affliction joy abounds, granted by God's
grace (2 Cor. 8:2). It is not surprising that the Apostle calls us
to rejoice always (1 Thess. 5:16). The Lord promises that no one
will take your joy from you (John 16:22). If even here in our
earthly life the Lord gives us joy, how great must be the joy that
awaits us in Heaven!
The Christian who accepts the Gospel call to his neighbor is like
the wise man who built his house on the rock (Matt. 7:25), and he
will fear no misfortunes. For all believers this rock is our Lord
Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 10:4), urging us to follow Him, practice the
Christian virtues and fulfill His commandment.
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