[Acts 14:20–27; John 9:39–10:9] And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind (John 9:39). They which could not see were the simple people who be?lieved the Lord in simplicity of heart, while they which saw were the scribes and learned men of that time, who due to their pride of mind did not believe, and held back the people. Our clever ones think that they see, and, this is why they are a?lienated from that faith in the Lord that the simple in heart and mind firmly hold to. Therefore, according to the truth of the Lord they are blind, whereas the people see. They are exactly like those birds which can see at night, but not during the day. The truth of Christ is dark for them, whereas what is contrary to this truth — falsehood — to them seems clear: here they are in their element. This is so obvious, but nev?ertheless they are ready to ask: Are we blind also? (John 9:40). There is nothing to hide; you are blind. But since it is your own fault that you are blind, the sin of blindness and not seeing the light lies on you. You can see, but you do not want to, be?cause you came to love a deceptive, yet tempting lie.
Saint Theophan the Recluse
[Acts 12:12–17; John 8:42–51] What means, do you think, did the Lord use to explain to the Jews the reason for their not believing in Him? The means he used was to tell them the truth. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not (John 8:45). The lie became, as it is said, their flesh and blood, and made them unable to receive the truth. Why do people not believe today? For the same reason; the Lord speaks the truth; this is why they do not believe. But how can this be? Are they not all scientists, and don’t they talk only about the truth? They have many words, but no deeds. They spin their systems as a spider spins its web, only they don’t notice the flimsiness. The principles of their systems are groundless, and their conclusions cannot be proved; but they are satisfied with them nevertheless. There has become such a demand for hypotheses that it seems they alone make up the en?tire content of their minds, and this is reputed to be solid education. They apply the fog of their dreams to the few facts they have procured; and these facts appear in this fog to?tally different from what they are in reality. Nevertheless, this is all reputed to be the sphere of immuta?ble truth. So their mind has gone rotten, and its taste has been ruined! How can it contain the truth? And so they do not believe the Lord, Who speaks only the truth.
Saint Theophan the Recluse
Thursday. [Acts 10:34–43; John 8:12–20] I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12) says the Lord. Conse?quently, he who turns away from the Lord, turns away from the light and is headed into darkness, and therefore he is a true obscurant.[1] You know what the teaching of Christ demands; and look: as soon as someone puts forth thoughts con?trary to this teaching, do not fear calling him an obscurant; this is his real name. The Lord teaches that God is one in essence and three in persons: this is the ray of the super?natural light of truth. Whoever preaches the contrary is headed in?to darkness from the light, and he is an obscurant. The Lord teaches that God has three hypostases; and hav?ing created the world by His word, guides it through His providence. This is the Divine light, which illuminates the gloomy paths of our life, but not with an earthly, com?forting light. He who preaches con?trary to this is heading into dreary darkness — he is an obscurant. The Lord teaches that God created man according to His image and likeness and set him to live in paradise. When man sinned, God righteously drove him out of paradise to live on this earth, which is full of sorrows and want. However, He was not an?gered with him unto the end, but it was His good will to arrange salva?tion for him through the death on the cross of the incarnate Only-Be?gotten Son of God — and this is the spiritual light, illuminating the mor?al gloom that enshrouds our souls. He who preaches contrary to this is headed into darkness and is an ob?scurant. The Lord teaches. Believe, and upon receiving the power of grace in the Divine mysteries, live according to His commandments and you will be saved — this is the only way for the light of God to en?ter us and make us enlightened. He who teaches something to the con?trary wants to keep us in darkness and therefore is an obscurant. The Lord teaches: enter in at the strait gate of a strict life of self-denial, and this is the only path to the light. Whoever is travelling the broad path of self-pleasure is headed into darkness, and is an obscurant. The Lord teaches: remember the last things: death, judgment, hell, heav?en. This is a light that illuminates our future. Whoever teaches that death is the end of all casts darkness over our fate, and is thus an obscur?ant. Lovers of the light! Learn by this to distinguish where the dark?ness is, and depart from it.
[1] During St. Theophan’s time there was already much talk amongst “progressive” people about Chris?tian “obscurantism.” The Orthodox faithful were often accused of “obscuring” the enlightenment of more progressive groups; i.e., they were called reactionaries.
Wednesday. [Acts 14:6–18; John 7:14–30] On Mid-Pentecost a cry is heard from the Lord: If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink (John 7:37). If so, then let us all go to Him. Whoever thirsts for anything, as long as it is not contra?ry to the spirit of the Lord, will find satisfaction without fail. Whoever thirsts for knowledge, go to the Lord, for He is the only light truly enlightening every man. Whoever thirsts for cleansing from sins and to soothe the burning of his con?science, go to the Lord, for He lifted up the sins of the whole world onto the tree (cf. I Pet. 2:24) and tore up their handwriting (cf. Col. 2:14). Whoever thirsts for peace of heart, go to the Lord, for He is the trea?sure, the possession of which will force you to forget all deprivations and despise all goods in order to possess Him alone. Whoever needs strength — He has every strength. Glory — He has glory on high. Free?dom — He is the giver of true free?dom. He will resolve all of our un?certainties, will break the bonds of the passions, will disperse all sor?rows and grieving, will enable us to overcome all impediments, all temptations and snares of the ene?my, and will smooth out the path of our spiritual life. Let us all go to the Lord!
Saint Theophan the Recluse
[Acts 10:21–33; John 7:1–13] The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil (John 7:7). The Lord did not say this to His disciples; to His disciples He foretold later that the world would hate and persecute them also, be?cause He has taken them out of the world. So, note what the world hates, and you will learn of Christ’s lot. The world rebels most strongly against what is of Christ, what is closest to Him, and more like unto His spirit. This is an external indica?tor, but for those who live external?ly this is enough. The world does not act on its own, but is kindled in its works by its prince — satan, the works of whom the Lord destroyed, and continues to destroy in believ?ers and with believers. He cannot do anything to the Lord directly; this is why he directs his anger up?on those who believe in Him, so that in frustrating them he will frustrate the Lord. He does not act directly in this, but through his agencies, which make up the world. This does not mean that he is strong; do not fear him, but rather be bold, for the Lord overcame the world and the prince thereof. Satan is not in a con?dition to do anything to one who does not yield on his own.
Saint Theophan the Recluse
[Acts 10:1–16; John 6:56–69] When the Lord presented His teaching about the mystery of His Body and Blood, setting it as a nec?essary condition for communication with Himself and as a source of true life, then many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him (John 6:66). Such an act of God’s boundless mercy toward us seemed too miraculous to them, and their disinclination toward the miracu?lous tore them from the Lord. The Lord saw this, and although He was prepared to be crucified for the sal?vation of every person, He did not consider it possible to diminish or cancel the miraculous. It is so cru?cial in the economy of our salva?tion! Albeit with regret, He allowed them to depart from Him into the darkness of unbelief and destruc?tion; and said to them and to the chosen twelve as well, will ye also go away? (John 6:67) This showed that He was ready to let them go al?so, if they could not bow down be?fore the miraculous. So it is, that to flee from the miraculous is to flee from the Lord and Saviour; and one who turns away from the miracu?lous is as one who is perishing. May those who are horrified by the mi?raculous heed this! Even they will come across a miracle which they will not be able to thwart: death, and after death, judgment. But whether this inability to thwart it will serve them unto salvation, only God knows.
Saint Theophan the Recluse
Friday. [Acts 8:40–9:19; John 6:48–54] Saint Paul defended the Old Tes?tament routines so zealously at first, because he was sincerely certain that it was the unalterable will of God that these routines remain unchanged. He was not zealous be?cause it was his fathers’ faith, but because he was zealous in bringing service to God. In this lay the spirit of his life — to devote himself to God and direct all his energy to?ward things pleasing to Him. Thus, in order to bring about his conver?sion, or to make him stand for the realm of New Testament things rather than the Old Testament, it was sufficient to tangibly show him that God no longer wants the Old Testament but rather the New, and that He has removed all of His good will from the former and given it to the latter. The Lord’s appearance on the road accomplished this in him. There it became clear to him that he was not directing his zeal where he ought, that he was not pleasing God by acting as he did, but was going contrary to His will. This vision of the state of affairs, with the help of God’s grace, immediately changed his strivings, and he cried out: Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? (Acts 9:6). And from that moment on he directed all of his zeal toward what was shown to him, and he did not forget this event for his whole life, but thankfully remembering it, stirred up his zeal with it — not sparing anything to work for his Lord and Saviour. This is how all people act who have sincerely turn?ed to the Lord.
Saint Theophan the Recluse
[Acts 6:8–7:5, 47–60; John 4:46–54] Saint Stephan says: The most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands… What house will ye build Me? saith the Lord or what is the place of My rest? (Acts 7:48–49). Only the temple in the heart not made with hands can contain God, as the Lord said: If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Fa?ther will love him, and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him (John 14:23). How this is accom?plished is unfathomable for us, but it is true because it is obvious that then it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).[1] Do not rea?son, just give your heart away to the Lord, and He Himself will establish of it a church for Himself — but give it unsparingly. If there are parts which are not given, then from the heart a whole church cannot be es?tablished, for one thing will be de?cayed, another broken — and what will come out, if anything comes out, is a church with holes or with?out a roof, or without doors. It is not possible to live in such a church: the Lord will not be in it. It will only seem that it is a church, but in reali?ty will be a conglomerate mass.
[1]The Slavonic for Phil 2:13 reads: God worketh in us both desire and action, according to his good plea?sure
Saint Theophan the Recluse
Thomas’ Sunday. [Acts 5:12–20; John 20:19–31] My Lord and my God! (John 20:28) cried the holy apostle Thomas. Do you feel the strength with which he has grasped the Lord, and how tightly he is holding onto Him? A drowning man grasps the plank on which he hopes to be saved in the same way. We will add that whoever does not have the Lord like this for himself and does not keep himself this way in rela?tion to the Lord, does not yet believe in the Lord as he should. We say: “Saviour and Lord,” meaning that He is the Saviour of all; but Thomas says: “my Saviour and Lord.” He who says: “my Saviour,” feels his own salvation proceeding from Him. The feeling of salvation lies ad?jacent to the feeling of perishing, out of which the Saviour pulls whomever He saves. The feeling of perishing, for a man who is life-lov?ing by nature and who knows that he cannot save himself, forces him to seek the Saviour. When he finds Him and feels the power of salva?tion proceeding from Him, he grasps Him tightly and does not want to be torn from Him, though he be deprived for this of life itself. Such a nature of events in the spiri?tual life of a Christian are not only imagined in the mind, but are expe?rienced in deed. Then, both his faith and his union with Christ become firm, like life and death. Only such a person can sincerely cry: Who shall separate me! (cf. Rom. 8:35).
Saint Theophan the Recluse
[Acts 3:11–16; John 3:22–33] We have two lives, fleshly and spiritual. Our spirit is as though buried in our flesh. Once it begins to extract itself — coming to life by God’s grace — from its intertwining with the flesh and to appear in its spiritual purity, then it will be res?urrected, or it will resurrect itself piece by piece. When it wholly tears itself out of this binding, then it comes forth as if from a tomb, in a renewed life. In this manner the spirit becomes separate, alive and active; whereas the tomb of the flesh is separate, dead and inactive, though both are in the same person. This is the mystery of what the apostle says: where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (II Cor. 3:17). This is liberty from decay, which surrounds our incorruptible spirit; or from passions, corrupting our na?ture. This spirit, entering into the freedom of the children of God is like a beautifully coloured butterfly, fluttering away from its cocoon. Be?hold its rainbow colouring: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temper?ance (Gal. 5:22). Is it possible for such a beauty of perfection not to arouse in us a desire to emulate it?
Saint Theophan the Recluse
