November: Day 15: Teaching 2: Holy Martyrs Gurias, Samonas and Habibus

 

November: Day 15: Teaching 2:
Holy Martyrs Gurias, Samonas and Habibus
 
(On the Severity of the Sin of Adultery)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. On the feast of the Holy Martyrs Gurias, Samonas and Habibus, who appeared as terrible punishers of one Goth for adultery, combined with a false oath and perjury, it will be appropriate, my brethren, for us to reflect on the gravity of the sin of adultery, which is forbidden by the seventh commandment of the law of God and which, to the great sorrow of all true Christians, is quite often committed in our time with the sad weakening of Christian faith and piety.

II. We must speak to you, brethren, about this sin with extreme caution, so that its very censure does not become like the light of those lighthouses that contribute to the destruction of ships, although, in turn, they were intended to save them.

a) Holy Scripture especially warns us against sensual sin, forbidden by the seventh commandment: “Leave it, do not walk in it, turn away from it and pass by” (Prov. 4:15).

The word of God speaks of adultery with indignation and disgust. The Law of Moses, distinguished by its stern justice from the hypocrisy of the world, punished both violators of the commandment with death.

“This is a crime, this is lawlessness, subject to judgment” (Job 31:11), says the righteous Job.

The Holy Apostle Paul says: “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Heb. 13:4).

The Jewish prophet, who spoke in righteous anger about the adulterers of his city, that they were “fattened horses: each one neighs after his neighbor’s wife” (Jer. 5:8), seemed to indicate that this sin destroys the main difference between man and animal.

The wise Solomon says: “Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does this destroys his own soul: he will receive blows and shame, and his dishonor will not be blotted out. For jealousy is the wrath of a man, and he will not spare in the day of vengeance” (Prov. 6:32-34).

b) Human conscience, the warnings of history, the experience of humanity, and the entire spirit of twenty Christian centuries brand this sin as a base, treacherous, and evil act. Indeed, a person's conscience, if he, being guilty of this sin, does not bow to the ground in shame, should be as if seared with a red-hot iron.

Does not Holy Scripture pronounce a curse on the seducer?

Is it forgivable to lure the innocent to death, to create stumbling blocks for the weak in spirit, for whom Jesus Christ accepted death?

Is it forgivable to cast into Gehenna, leading to the vile Moloch of animal passions, those souls for whom our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross of Golgotha? Is it forgivable for us to add our share to the sins that led to the destruction and corrupted the souls of those who, like women, should adorn themselves with the rose of feminine beauty and the lily of their purity?

c) Oh, if there were even a single spark of true Christian magnanimity in the hearts of young men, would not every woman be as sacred to them as their mother, sister, or future wife? But if there is not even a trace of magnanimity in them, can they not read the true meaning of their sin in those fiery signs by which God has inscribed their destruction through the consequences of sin?

Don't they ever think about them, their victims, dying in shame and suffering?

Once she was a happy, innocent child. Her mother's holy kiss couldn't tear itself away from her rosy face. And now! Young man, did God give you life so you could succeed in these dark deeds? And if her punishment was terrible, do you think you will be spared?

d) It can be said with certainty that this sin, the sin of debauchery, more than any other sin, reduces man to the level of animals, as the Holy Prophets and Apostles tell us. Debauchery deprives the mind, obscures it, brings upon it a fatal blindness, dulls it, fills it with darkness, sorrow, and memories of misdeeds (Hos. 4:11; Eph. 4:10; Proverbs 6:32).

e) This sin is the greatest sin and is one of the mortal sins that will inevitably destroy a person for heaven if he does not repent in time.

It is a sin against the human race, for it adds poison to man's gravest curse and destroys the influence of his purest affections.

This is a sin against the state, since debauchery has always been the most pernicious worm at the root of state life.

It is a sin against the family because it undermines the sacred foundations on which it is based.

This is a sin against the body, for, as the Holy Apostle Paul says, “Every sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the fornicator sins against his own body” (1 Cor. 6:18).

This is a sin against the soul, for the Holy Scripture says: whoever sins in this destroys his soul.

This is a sin against God and His image in us, i.e. innocence and purity.

This is a sin against Jesus Christ and His faithful, against the Holy Spirit and His presence in the human soul. It is the worst form of blasphemy, for it desecrates the temple of the Most High (1 Cor. 3:16, 17, 18; 6:9). In many cases, it simultaneously kills two souls, so that the sinner perishes in his iniquity not alone.

Those people do not exaggerate who call debauchery the most dangerous sin, due to its enslaving and deadly consequences; it elicits a cry from the prophet Jeremiah, through whose lips the Lord speaks: "How can I forgive you for this?" (Jer. 5:7). And Solomon exclaims: "Can one take fire in his bosom and not have his clothes burned? Can one walk on hot coals and not have his feet scorched?" (Prov. 6:27–28). Furthermore, he says: "The deep pit is the mouth of the adulteress; he who is angry with the Lord will fall into it" (Prov. 22:14).

f) But, of course, even the clear testimony of God's word is not required where the very facts of life reveal with such horrifying clarity the punishment the Lord has inflicted on forbidden desires in order to protect man from self-destruction. How many sinners against the laws of chastity escape at least the physical consequences? How many illnesses are there, complicated by hidden ailments, caused by the poisoned blood of the sinner or infecting his innocent children with various diseases and afflicting them with various forms of death.

But even if the body remains unpunished, how can the soul escape punishment? Isn't it acknowledged that debauchery hardens everything in a person and destroys feeling?

g) But perhaps many of the listeners, to their great happiness, have never broken this commandment; for them this will be a terrible voice of warning.

Just as one touch to a rose makes the dew fall from it, and one hot breath of the wind dries up the spring flowers, so one poorly spent hour can deprive the heart of all its purity... Cursed, brethren, is this hour!

Dinah, described in the Book of Genesis (Gen. 34:1-2), went out into the field only once, and how did she return? King David failed to guard against his own sensual advances only once, on the roof of his palace (II Kings 21) and with what holy horror, with what a broken heart, with what bloody tears, he lamented this sin until his death!

How many family hearths have been destroyed, how many youths corrupted, and how many beautiful beginnings destroyed by these sins! How many pale ghosts rise from their graves and stretch out their hands to warn people against this sin! And behind them follows the judgment of God. Murderers, adulterers, libertines, and the depraved will suffer great punishment. (For instructions on purity, see 1 Thessalonians 4:4; 1 Corinthians 3:17; 4:18 and 19; Col. 3:5; Ephesians 5:11-13; 1 Peter 2:11; Matt. 5:27-32).

h) "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). If you, Orthodox Christian, want to earn this priceless blessing, which will be more precious to you than anything else in the world, then follow, my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, this advice:

Avoid idleness, it opens the way to the attacks of the devil, and the sins that brought down the fire of God from heaven are hidden in pride, over-fullness, and idleness.

Avoid bad companions, for bad company corrupts good morals.

Avoid idle pleasures and learn to love your dear "home", where piety and purity of young hearts reign and where, like angels, the prayers of your parents and sisters overshadow you.

Avoid youthful passions, avoid excessive indulgences in weakness, and strictly observe the abstinence and chastity of your body; beware of intemperate conversations, frivolous books, and dissolute opinions.

Learn to honor the image of God in yourself, recognizing your mortal members as the members of Jesus Christ and your mortal bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Be ashamed and afraid of impure thoughts and beware that your strict supervision of yourself does not catch you doing something sinful, or thinking about something sinful, even if it is done in the deepest secrecy.

Learn also to honor the image of God in others.

Practice self-education, which, while preserving in you respect for the purity and nobility of your own soul, will save you from corruption.

You must bring into being the presence in your heart of Him Whose eye reads the secrets of the heart, so that you will finally be able, together with the pure and loving youth, the comely Joseph, who in the Holy Scriptures is the eternal model of victory over sensual temptation, to ask with indignation: “How can I do this great wickedness and sin before God?” (Gen. 39:9).

Sometimes one can enter the path of piety through simple food, healthy exercise, good customs, unpolluted air; through avoiding intoxicating and stimulating things; and through an imagination purified by excellent books, noble studies, and worthy friends. But it is even easier to attain it through fervent prayer, attendance at divine services, observance of Sundays, frequent confession and communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, and participation in all good works for the spread of Christ's Kingdom.

But this is still not enough if you do not watch the thoughts of your hearts. If you do not drive away and suppress these filthy thoughts, then, remaining within you, they will taint your soul.

If you even once allow yourself on some unfortunate day to dream or think about something sinful, then say goodbye to your purity and your peace! From the serpent's egg will emerge a basilisk and then turn into a fiery dragon. "For from within, out of the heart of men, come evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these things come from within and defile a man" (Mark 7:21-23; Matt. 15:18-20).

III. O all who have already fallen, save yourselves, before it is too late, from the engulfing mire; those who have not yet fallen into the snares of the devil of fornication, fight with all your might against the evil forces. If you are possessed by unworthy curiosity, if you are amused by evil thoughts and examples, then temptation will seize you like a mighty fighter and perhaps bind you to the shackles of terrible slavery.

"Can a man take fire into his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can a man walk on hot coals, and his feet not be scorched?" (Proverbs 6:27 and 28). Fire is always before us. Won't it flare up if you keep feeding it fuel and pouring oil on it? Therefore, through prayer, with the help of Jesus Christ, strive to immediately suppress this temptation and correct your heart.

Let us each and every one of us pray that the Lord will look upon us as His dear children. Grant us a pure heart, O Lord, and strengthen within us the spirit of truth.

Let us turn, brethren, to Jesus Christ, so that He may forgive us for all our previous apostasy from Him, so that He may strengthen us in our present pious decision, so that He may save us from the tempting fire of our own passions and the terrible deceitfulness of our hearts.

Let us seek the all-powerful help of the Holy Spirit, without which we will not succeed in anything.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matt. 5:8). Grant, O Lord, to us, Your children, this heavenly blessedness, that by following You with pure heart and soul, we may behold You, and that Your holy name may be inscribed upon our foreheads. 

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.