Be a peacemaker to be worthy to be called a son of God. – St. Ephraim the Syrian (25, 197).
The Savior gratified the peacemakers and announced that they would become sons of God, firstly, those who are at peace with themselves and do not start a rebellion, but stop internal warfare by subordinating the body to the spirit, establishing peace in others, living in discord and with themselves, and together.
No one has the right to point out to another what he himself does not have. Therefore, I marvel at the incomparable generosity of God’s love for mankind. The Lord promises good rewards not only for Labor and shedding of sweat, but also for a certain kind of pleasure, since above all that makes us happy is peace, and without it (when it is broken by war) nothing brings joy.
It is beautifully said: the peacemakers “will be called the sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
Since He Himself, as the true Son, pacified everything, making people an instrument of virtue, united the heavenly with the earthly, rightly said that those who do the same, if possible, will be awarded the same name and elevated to the dignity of sonship, which is the highest limit. bliss. – St. Isidore Pelusiot (52, 86).
Let us honor the gift of the Reconciliator-peace, the gift that, leaving the earth. He left us (John 14:27) as a kind of parting pledge. We will know only one scolding, scolding with opposing force. …Let’s yield in a different smallness in order to get in return the most important thing, that is, unanimity. Let us grant victory over ourselves so that we can also win. Look at the regulations of the competitions and the exploits of the wrestlers:
with them often the one lying below triumphs over those that were above. And we will imitate them… – St. Gregory the Theologian (18, 244).
(Apostle) Paul says: “Doing good, let us not lose heart” (Gal. 6, 9). This is what we do in domestic affairs: when two people quarrel among themselves, taking each aside, we give them opposite advice. So did God, so did Moses, who said to God: “Forgive them their sin, and if not, then blot me out of your book” (Ex. 32, 32). And he commanded the Israelites to kill each other, not even sparing their relatives. Although these actions are opposite to each other, both tend to the same goal. Saint John Chrysostom (41, 391).
“And shod his feet in readiness to proclaim peace” (Eph. 6:15). Pay attention to the fact that this is how he called a certain strength of the soul, because with our feet we go out to the One Who says: “I am the way” (John 14, 6), and we must put on them in readiness to preach the gospel of the world. – Blessed Jerome. Creations, book. 17 Kyiv, 1903, p. 383.
The holy elders told us such a case. One monk came from Skete to visit his fathers, who lived in a place called Cells, where many monks lived in separate cells. Since at that time there was no free cell in which he could stay, one of the elders, who had another cell, unoccupied, provided it to the guest. Many of the brethren began to visit the wanderer, because he had the spiritual grace to teach the word of God. The old man, who provided him with a cell, saw this and was stung with envy. He became indignant and said: “I have been living in this place for so long, but the brethren do not come to me, except very rarely, and then on holidays, but many brethren come to this flatterer almost daily.” Then he gave this order to his disciple: “Go tell him to leave the cell, because I need it.” The disciple, having come to the wanderer, said to him: “My Father sent me to your shrine: he heard that you were sick.” He thanked and asked the elder to pray to God for him, because he suffered greatly from stomach pains. The disciple, returning to the elder, said: “He asks your shrine to bear him for two days, during which he could find a cell for himself.” After three days, the elder again sent the disciple to the wanderer: “Go tell him to leave my cell. The disciple went to the wanderer and said: “My father was very concerned when he heard about your illness; he sent me to find out if you feel better?” He asked to convey: “Thank you, holy lord, your love! You took care of me so much! Through your prayers, I feel better.” The disciple, returning, said to his elder: “And now he asks your shrine to wait until Sunday; then he will leave immediately.” Sunday came and the wanderer calmly remained in his cell. The elder, inflamed with envy and anger, grabbed the staff and went to beat the wanderer out of the cell. Seeing this, the disciple went up to the elder and said to him: “If you command, I will go ahead and see if the brethren have come to him, who, seeing you, may be offended.” Having received permission, the disciple went ahead and, entering the wanderer, said to him: “Behold, my father is coming to visit you. Hasten to meet him and thank him, because he does this out of great goodness of heart and love for you.” The skier immediately got up and, in joyful spirit, went to meet him. Seeing the elder, before he approached, he fell on the ground before him, offering worship and thanksgiving: “May the Lord reward you, beloved father, with eternal blessings for your cell, which you provided me for the sake of His name! May Christ the Lord prepare for you in heavenly Jerusalem, among His saints, a glorious and bright abode! The elder, hearing this, was touched by his heart and, throwing the rod, rushed into the arms of the wanderer. They kissed each other in the Lord, and the elder invited the guest to his cell to eat food together while giving thanks to God. In private, the elder asked his disciple: “Tell me, my son, did you convey to your brother those words that I ordered to convey to him?” Then the disciple confessed: “I will tell you, master, the truth: due to my devotion to you, father and master, I did not dare to tell him what you ordered, and did not convey a single one of your words.” The elder, hearing this, fell at the feet of the disciple and said: “From this day on, you are my father, and I am your disciple, because Christ delivered both My soul and the soul of my brother from the sinful network through your prudence and actions filled with the fear of God. and love”. The Lord gave His grace, and they all dwelt in the peace of Christ, delivered by faith, holy care, and good intention of the disciple. Loving his elder with a perfect love for “Christ, he was very afraid that his spiritual father, carried away by the passion of envy and anger, would fall into a transgression that would destroy all his labors, taken upon himself from his youth in the service of Christ for the sake of Eternal Life. – „Otechnik” ( 82, 430-432).
Photo by Ron Lach :
