SERMON XXX.
Preached on a feast of the Holy Virgin, in one of the convents of Moscow, June 2nd, 1834.
ON THE CAUSES AND USES OF AFFLICTION.
“Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also.”-S. Luke ii. 35.
THE trials of a good and innocent man form one of the difficult problems which this present world offers to the thoughtful mind. Seeing a good man suffer, another good man suffers along with him, because he feels compassion. And thus from one problem proceeds another: wherefore does also this one suffer? Perceiving this, he whose faith is weak falls into temptation. Observing this, a man inclined to vice solves the problem to his own peril: what use, says he, is there in being virtuous? Perceiving this, he who is inclined to unbelief solves the incomprehensible problem by another incomparably more incomprehensible, saying it is chance that rules the world and the works of men.
O thou who art blessed among women! O thou, purest of the daughters of men! And even unto thee <356> the wise old man, Simeon, did not hesitate to offer this problem, saying, “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also.” The day,—the woeful and terrible, yet at the same time the saving day,—solved to thee the problem of this prophecy. The thorns of the crown of JESUS, the nails of His Cross, the spear that pierced Him, His wounds, His painful ejaculation, His dying glance,—those are the swords with which thy motherly heart was pierced as infinitely deep as thy love was perfect, as thine innocence was matchless. And now that thou dwellest in the Divine glory of thy Son, the problem of the unparalleled event is already explained to thee: for thou contemplatest now in the light of GOD why it was necessary that even thine own pure soul should be pierced by the sword, and how this harmonises with the infinite wisdom, justice, and mercy of Providence, as well as with thine own eternal bliss.
O thou, mother of the Light! bring down upon us a spark of the light of CHRIST, that we also may understand the mystery of earthly calamities and sorrows, not so much as our curiosity would desire, but as much as is necessary to our peace and salvation.
There would have been neither evil upon earth, nor calamity among men, if there had not been sin: “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin,” [Rom. v. 12.] in which word the sum of all earthly calamities and woes is contained. For sin man was doomed to a <357> coercive and exhausting labour instead of a free and easy exercise: “in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” [Gen. iii. 19.] Sin has begotten disease: “in sorrow thou shaft bring forth children.” [Gen. iii. 16.] Sin has begotten death: “for in the day that thou eatest of the forbidden tree, thou shalt surely die.” [Gen. ii. 17.]
But man having lost the enjoyment of his own primitive, pure existence, as well as that of the universe, has lost even the comprehension of it. As the fish, moving about in the water, knows not the better and more perfect life of animals breathing the air: even so the unhappy soul of man, immersed in the gross and corrupted elementary world, and living in it, like the fish in the water, knows not the ethereal and incorruptible life of Paradise. Therefrom proceed the doubts or a mind, reasoning from its natural powers alone, concerning the reality of such a life, and the possibility of its existence. I will now cite but one of these doubts, to show their utter nullity. Reason calculates, that if men were continually being born, and if none should die, then the multiplicity of people would at last become out of proportion to the space and the resources of the inhabited earth; and that therefore the overcrowding of the universe requires the mortality of men, in order that the dying might make room for the superabundant multitude of the newly-born. We may answer such petty calculators <358> of lives in the words that the LORD addressed to the Sadducees, who bad imagined to draw from the laws of marriage a refutation of the doctrine of the life to come: “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of GOD.” [S. Matth. xxii. 29.] Who told you that earth should be an eternal prison for human immortality? And do you indeed suppose that there is no other way from earth unto heaven than that which lies through the coffin and the grave? Do you indeed think, that even before the curse on human works, it was necessary to divide the earth as now into tithes for man’s dwelling and sustenance? “Ye do err, not knowing.” Man undefiled by sin was infinitely less dependent in his life upon the products of earth than now, and the earth, even without his labour, was infinitely more bountiful than now in its products to him. Having accomplished on it his appointed career, he would have ascended up into heaven as easily as in Jacob's vision of the ladder, reaching up to heaven, “the angels of GOD ascended and descended on it.” [Gen. xxviii. 12.] The possibility of such a transition is partly shown to us in Enoch and Elijah. Fear not! The uncorrupted life of sinless man was better ordained by Providence than you are able now to imagine. But as eternal Providence foresaw from eternity that the gift of freedom, excellent and essential to salvation, would be misused by man, and that thereby the primitive ordination of man and the earth should be altered , then undoubtedly <359> the ensuing confusion of good and evil which astonishes and strikes us now was wisely and mercifully calculated by Him.
After the general question of the trials of humanity, as to why they exist in the domain of Providence,—to which question the answer is already contained in what we have just now said,—the inquisitive mind puts two particular questions: firstly, why do the innocent also suffer? secondly, wherefore do those who are guilty not suffer in proportion to their guilt, and why not seldom those who are less guilty suffer the most heavily? We will answer both questions.
To this end let us consider humanity, not with our own superficial glance, but with the deeply penetrating glance of men enlightened from above. Under what aspect does humanity appear to them? “All have sinned and come short of the glory of GOD,” [Rom. iii. 23.] saith S. Paul. “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?” asks Job, and answers: “not one, if he had even lived but one day upon earth;” [Job xiv. 4, 5. In the English Bible we read in the 5th verse, “Seeing his days are determined;” whereas in the Slavonic Bible there stands. “If he had even lived but one day upon earth.”] “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me,” [Psalm li. 5.] confesses David, not afraid by this declaration to transgress the law of honour to parents. What does this then mean? This, that all men had already <360> sinned in Adam, who as he begot children after having sinned, could not transmit to them, without a miracle, that which he no more possessed,—innocence and incorruptibility; but did naturally transmit unto them what he had in himself,— sin and corruption. If any one of us should venture to ask, How are we then guilty, having unwillingly inherited from Adam sin and corruption? to such a one, if he be but at all attentive to himself, instead of me, his own conscience might answer and shut his murmuring lips, for conscience may point out in the life of every one, instances in which we were not faithful to our good impulses, which were still powerful even after our hereditary degradation. “GOD is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things;” [1 S. John iii. 20.] and therefore He perceives in us even those subtle moral impurities, of which the conscience, more or less hardened, is not even aware. “If Thou, LORD, shouldst mark iniquities, O LORD, who shall stand?” [Ps. cxxx. 3.] By this reflection, the question, Why even the innocent suffer? is not only answered, but even annulled; because, judging justly, there are none innocent upon earth, and consequently all those who suffer, suffer more or less for being guilty, save One, “Who did no sin,” [1 S. Pet. ii. 22.] and Whose sufferings, sublimely mysterious, have a most blessed significance for us, “For He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of <361> our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.” [Isa. liii. 5.] He has raised and borne the burdens which crush us, that He might raise us at the same time from our fall.
As to the question, Why do men, who although not perhaps sinless, but to all outward appearances innocent, suffer sometimes heavily beyond measure? I answer, Who can accuse Providence of excess in this? If we acknowledge that the sufferer is not sinless, and if we know that every sin is a transgression of the law, and therefore is a revolt against the will of GOD, the Lawgiver, is a rebellion in the kingdom of GOD, an offence against the eternal majesty of GOD, then tell us what sin is too small for temporal suffering, and what temporal suffering too great for sin?
No one disputes that not all sins are equally heavy, and that there are different degrees of guilt in sins of the same kind; but who amongst us is able to weigh sufficiently justly this weight, to define correctly enough this degree? It is necessary therefore to put in the balance, and to take into calculation, not only the visible action, but also the invisible aspirations; the hidden intention, the secret thought, strength and infirmity, knowledge and ignorance, aids and impediments, seductions to evil and encouragements to good, inattention to things not yet understood, and unfaithfulness to that which is taught us by experience; stubbornness and repentance, hard-heartedness and <362> contrition. But to whom is all this possible, save to Him alone that trieth the hearts and the reins, the Omnipresent and Omniscient? Also to be well able to mete out the weight of suffering, we must take into consideration, besides its visible aspect, the degree of sensibility in the sufferer; the deficiency or even the absence, or on the contrary the abundance of opposing consolation, and much for which there exists for the outward spectator neither balance nor measure. How, then, can we speak of the excessive heaviness of suffering as compared with the weight of sin, if not at random and at hazard?
GOD ordains the temporal life of man, defiled by sin, not only as a Judge, for which there will yet be time at the end of all, but also, and pre-eminently, as the Great Physician, Whose time is even now. He therefore appoints to man a measure of trial and sorrow, sometimes not as a just requital of his works, but as a potion of medicine, able to overcome the power of the sinful disease; and this is quite a different consideration. There are diseases which seem of little importance and without danger, but against which an experienced physician finds it necessary to employ severe medical remedies. Moreover, the Great Physician sets Himself to the cure of the disease of the soul, not only when it is already manifest, but His glance pierces into the depths of the soul which are invisible to the soul itself, and detecting there the small germ of sin, passion, self-will, self-gratification, even a <363> light alloy of evil and uncleanness with good intentions and dispositions, draws outward, through trial, those unhealthy principles, that they may be cured, and the soul be led to higher purity. Do we not happen to see that men of well-ordained life, having willingly recourse to GOD, being bereft of that which they strongly loved—as, for instance, child or husband, worldly honour, glory, or property—surrender them selves so much to sorrow, that they concentrate their whole life in it, and are no longer able to strengthen themselves by those sensible reflections wherein they were not wanting before. They are no longer able to collect themselves in prayer, in which before they took delight; faith, love to GOD, submission to Divine will, are now to them but familiar words and sounds, whereas they formerly, before their trial, experienced their power and influence. What does this mean? This,—that they loved without measure their beloved ones, and loved them more than GOD, although they were unconscious of it themselves. Their children, husband or wife, honour, glory, or property, were the idols of their heart. What remained then unto Him, Who knoweth the heart and loveth the soul, but to take from us our idol, to tear out, be it ever so painful, the undue love for the creature from the soul which He desires to fill with His Divine love? He loves, pities, purifies, cures, and prepares unto bliss; while we look on and say, How heavily He visits!
Finally we must own, that there are misfortunes <364> of which it is thoroughly impossible to ask, wherefore? but rather, to what end? in which there is no need of accusing man, but in which we must learn only to justify and love Providence. Such are the trials of Job, of the prophets, of the Apostles, of the Holy Virgin. Not having attained that highest degree of spiritual maturity and life, in which one is fed on the strong food of the Cross, we in our Christian infancy,—GOD grant that we be at least in that infancy! —can undoubtedly, though feebly and indistinctly, lisp about the paths and actions of these souls who have reached the maturity of CHRIST. Let us rather ask them, what they will tell us of their trials. What says Job? The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” [Job i. 21.] What says the Apostle? “I now rejoice in my sufferings:” [Col. i. 24.] “for as the sufferings of CHRIST abound in us, so our consolation aboundeth by CHRIST.” [2 Cor. i. 5.] Do you see how inopportunely we sinful men take the part of the just men, and attempt to revolt against Providence in behalf of their sorrow? They accept not our foolish service, they do not lament their better lot, they are not desirous of changing it, they rejoice therein, they are blessing GOD, they are happy, we understand not their happiness, and we suppose it possible to murmur against that for which they are thankful.
If you wish to understand or at least guess at that which you have not yet attained, consider earthly <365> things, and from them try to conceive of heavenly and divine things. Thou lovest a friend, he loves thee and is thy benefactor. Will thy love be entirely satisfied by similar relations, if it be perfect and pure? Methinks no. Thou wilt think, Is my friend convinced of the sincerity of my love? does he not suspect that I prefer his benefits to himself? Let there happen an occasion, when thou shalt be able to undertake for thy friend’s sake some labour, to bear some sorrow, to encounter some danger,—if thou art a noble soul, how willingly wilt thou embrace this opportunity! And, enduring for thy friend’s sake labour, sorrow and danger, how wilt thou rejoice that he now will undoubtedly know the sincerity and purity of thy love. Apply this example to those who love GOD in prosperity. They are assured that GOD knows their hearts, thankful unto Him; but they are not sure of themselves. They may, and in some measure they ought to inquire carefully of themselves whether their gratitude towards Him is perfect, their love pure; whether their heart clings not with secret partiality to those benefits, to the overlooking of the Benefactor, and the love fed by temporal benefits, be not extinguished by the exhaustion of its fuel. Trial comes and calls upon us to sacrifice our beloved Isaac; to endure for the sake of GOD, the loss of that which thou lovest the most after GOD; bear, for the name of the loved JESUS, persecution, dishonour and suffering. What powerful aspirations quicken the GOD-loving <366> soul at this! How ready it is to enter upon the path of suffering, to surrender itself up to fiery trial! How firm it is in this trial! How it rejoices in the thought, that it offers at length up to GOD a sacrifice which casts so dear! What consoling and trustworthy testimony does conscience afford it, when the fire of trial cannot impair its gold; when in the furnace of suffering its love unto GOD burns more brightly; when, through the outward mortification of nature there shines forth the inward life of grace, and heaven dwelling in man confirms in him the hope of heaven. Believe, O ye inexperienced ones, that those men lie not, when they speak of their joy amidst suffering, and when in the fire of misfortune they sing and praise GOD with the same security, liberty and delight, as did the three young men in the furnace of Babylon.
Christians! who among us does not more or less often meet in the path of this temporal life with manifold misfortunes? Vainly should we endeavour to avoid all such encounters; some of them at least are inevitable. Consequently, we must in time habituate ourselves to meet them in a becoming way. Let our present meditation incite us to encounter misfortune not as an enemy and a tormenter, but as the just punishment of sin; as the physician of moral disease, as the messenger of GOD, as the herald of grace. “For whom the LORD loveth He chasteneth.” [Heb. Xii. 6.] Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please choose a name other than "Anonymous."