Conversation 33. Love is a heavenly gospel hymn
My dear brothers,
God is love. "He who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him," loudly preaches the apostle of love, John the Theologian.
Love is the most beautiful flower in the garden of virtues that make up reason, the brightest of the rainbow's colors in the heaven of the Gospel. The most precious pearl in the crown of faith. The key that unlocks all doors of human behavior. The medicine that cures every illness of the soul and body.
Paradise Gospel Hymn.
One saint said: “Lord, make it so that I help people, and not they help me; so that I love others, and not they me; so that I understand them, and not they understand me.”
The love that the Lord taught, uncorrupted by false human notions, is a sacrifice, a fragrance of spiritual incense. It is the fruit of the heart and a gift of free will.
Love is shown not in what you give, but in how you give. Love is not in extending a hand, but in offering the heart. If you know how to give of yourself to others, then you know how to love: " For God loves a cheerful giver," says the Apostle Paul.
God loves those who give alms willingly and with a smile on their faces; those who give alms of their own free will. Alms given with regret and under duress are not accepted. The root of mercy is in the heart. Alms come from the heart and are given with the hands. Alms are warming when there is the fire of love. Alms are cold and burdensome when there is no love. They are a dead body without sun and light, a flower without sight and fragrance. Alms without love is an insult. Even the most beautiful and precious gift is worthless if it is given without a smile.
Christ says we must be careful in the matter of almsgiving. He condemns almsgiving that is done for show and with arrogance. The examples of the saints are very instructive in this regard.
Saint Nicholas showed a remarkable and astonishing example of mercy when he helped three poor girls find marriage. What's astonishing is not so much the amount he donated—and it was indeed a substantial sum—but the delicacy with which he gave alms. "Poverty is hard," says Saint Chrysostom. Sometimes it blinds a person to such an extent that they commit inappropriate acts. And so the three poor girls found themselves on the brink of disaster. Their father fell into utter despair. Saint Nicholas rushed to their aid in their difficult moment. He did everything possible to ensure that his actions remained a secret, fulfilling in practice the Lord's word: "Let not your left hand know what your right hand does . "
Without wasting any time, he takes a heavy bag of gold coins and, with great caution, late at night, goes to the poor man's house, throws the purse out the window, and quickly leaves. The father couldn't believe his eyes. Upon learning that his first daughter had married, the saint throws a second bag out the window.
The poor father fervently thanks the all-merciful Lord and glorifies His mercy. The second daughter also marries.
The benefactor must be found at all costs. The father sensed he would appear again and remained vigilant, patiently waiting for the rustling sound that would betray his presence. Then he would rush after him, catch up, and finally learn who the good man was who had saved him and his daughters. And so it happened. The third time, the saint failed to hide. The father caught up with him, recognized him, and began to thank him for saving his daughters from corruption. Saint Nicholas spoke to the poor man with love and extracted his word that he would tell no one what had happened.
Saint John the Merciful, a great worker of love, constantly and attentively studied the lives of the saints. He was particularly impressed by the life of Saint Serapion of Sidon. Saint John often recounted the following incident from his life.
One day, Saint Serapion, known for his ascetic life and poverty, encountered a beggar. The saint felt so sorry for him that he took off his outer garment and gave it to the poor man. Walking on, he encountered a man shivering from the cold. What should he do? Without thinking twice, he took off his undergarment and gave it to him, leaving himself naked with only the Gospel in his hands. An acquaintance saw him in this state and asked:
- Who undressed you, saint of God?
“It is,” answered Serapion, pointing his hand at the Gospel.
But he soon sold the Gospel and gave the money to the poor. One of his disciples asked:
- Father, where is your little Gospel?
And the saint answered:
"Didn't the Lord say, 'Sell what you have and give to the poor ?'" I obeyed His command. I thought I shouldn't spare the book where the Lord's commands are written, but sell it for the benefit of the poor.
One man of God said, "Every soul that has acquired love is a reflection of the Divine." Love is light; it spreads light. Love carries light within itself; it gives light. "He who loves his brother abides in the light . "
The closer you are to God, the more enlightened you become, the more light you bring. The more you love God, the more you love man. "Have you seen your brother? Then you have seen God," says Abba Isaac the Syrian.
Indeed, what good is conquering the universe if we don't win our brothers through love ? Why explore space and discover new galaxies if we can't discover the "star" of Bethlehem, the God of love? Why look through radio telescopes and search for new worlds if we don't know the "new commandment" of love? Without love, everything is futile, useless, and unnecessary. "Woe to us, if there is no love in us!" exclaims Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk . All human deeds and achievements acquire value only through love.
But love is reasoning, and reasoning is an art. If you don't master the art of love, then you don't know how to love. Love ignores a brother's quirks, forgives mistakes, tolerates shortcomings, yields to stubbornness, and avoids judgment. It ignores ridicule, dispels suspicion, rejects slander, and does not publicly insult or defame. It nobly and magnanimously covers all shortcomings. "Love is patient and kind... is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own... keeps no record of evil ," proclaims the Apostle Paul . Love, in its simplicity and sincerity, knows no evil. It is pure as the water of a crystal lake, undisturbed by the stormy waves of evil and wickedness.
He who has love is the first victor in spiritual warfare. He wins with his smile and kindness. While in other situations, concessions mean defeat, in love, concessions are victory. "Through love for humanity we will conquer," says St. Gregory the Theologian.
Glorious are the trophies of love. Precious are the crowns of philanthropy. On the other hand, let us not forget that every great love is crucified love. It wisely passes through all the steps of Golgotha, suffering as He did on the Cross. Every offering is a sacrifice, and every sacrifice is valuable.
"And whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water to drink, only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall by no means lose his reward," says the Lord. Love treats with prudence and kindness the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the humble, the prisoner, and "every sorrowing soul." And prisoners are our brothers. Therefore, the divine Paul commands: "Remember prisoners, as if you were bound to them." Let us consider their bonds as our own. Likewise, let us consider a brother's sorrow as our own.
Someone said, "The sorrows in the world are so great that if one were to collect the tears people shed daily, one would find oneself before the greatest river on earth." Love means not only "rejoicing with those who rejoice," but also "weeping with those who weep."
Every state has a national anthem, and Christians also have a national anthem – a hymn of love, which was skillfully set out by the great apostle of the Gentiles, Paul, in the thirteenth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians.
Let this beautiful melodic hymn be on our lips and in our souls. Amen.
Archimadrite Rafail Karelin on love:
Christian love is a sense of the unity of the human race, respect for the human personality as a phenomenon of eternity, as an immortal spirit clothed in flesh. It is the ability to emotionally experience within oneself the joy and sorrow of another, that is, a way out of one's own limitations and egoism—thus a prisoner breaks free from a dark and gloomy dungeon into the light. Christian love expands the boundaries of the human personality, makes life deeper and more rich in inner content. Christian love is selfless, like the light of the sun; it demands nothing in return and considers nothing its own. It does not become a slave to others and does not seek slaves for itself; it loves God and man as the image of God, and views the world as a picture painted by the Creator, where it sees traces and shadows of Divine beauty. Christian love requires a constant struggle against egoism.
Source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Efrem_Svyatogorec/iskusstvo-spasenija-besedy-tom-1/33