May: Day 29: Teaching 2: Blessed John of Ustiug

May: Day 29: Teaching 2:
Blessed John of Ustiug

(Why Did Holy Men Sometimes Choose New, Unusual Paths To Salvation?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Blessed John (15th century), whose commemoration is today, was born near the city of Ustiug. Even from his youth he showed the virtues of a future ascetic: he spent his nights in prayer, spoke little, on Wednesdays and Fridays he did not eat at all, and on other days he ate bread and water. When his father died and his mother took monastic vows at the Trinity Monastery in Orlets, John lived with her for some time, and then settled in Ustiug, near the cathedral church. He continued to spend his nights in prayer, and during the day he walked around the city, covered only with rags. John had to endure much from the cold, and even more from the people of Ustiug, who often laughed at him and often even beat him. John endured all insults with meekness and prayed for his offenders.

The priest of the cathedral church, Gregory, seeing John often, wanted to know his exploits better. One day he happened to see John praying for a long time with his hands raised to heaven, then, having leveled the coals in the oven, he protected himself with the sign of the cross and with the words, "The light of Your face has been marked upon us, O Lord," he calmly lay down on the hot coals. The priest, considering John to be mad and fearing that he might burn, went in after him. John came out of the oven and sternly said to the priest: "Do not dare to speak of what you saw until my death." The astonished priest fulfilled his will, and from that time on he was filled with respect for the blessed one.

Blessed John died on May 29, 1494 and was buried near the cathedral church in Ustiug. His feast day was established at the Moscow Synod of 1547.

II. Difficult, brethren, and tempting for many is the feat of foolishness for Christ which blessed John bore. Many are ready to think and ask: why leave the ordinary, common paths to salvation for all and choose new, often strange, unusual ones?

a) But is it possible, we will answer, not to abandon these ordinary paths, when a deep consciousness of one’s sinfulness and guilt before God forces one to undertake the more difficult and sorrowful path of repentance? Is it possible to be content with ordinary feats, when the deep, unselfish gaze of the ascetic penetrates into the full depth of man’s fall, measures the terrible abyss that separates poor fallen man from God? And if “all our righteousness,” according to Scripture, before the holy and all-perfect God “is like the filthy rag of an unclean woman” (Is. 64:6); if even what is good in man is permeated with sin, malice, self-love, if further the purpose of man is “to be holy, as our Father in heaven is holy,” then what feats are needed, how much of the most continuous vigilance over oneself is needed, how many of the most decisive efforts are needed in order to purify oneself, in order to appear somewhat worthy of the One, “before whose eyes even the sky is unclean!” Thus, no feats will seem sufficient for the one who constantly pays attention to himself and carefully measures the abyss of sin into which man has sunk!

b) But the Lord is good, we say, and in saying this we think to find a defense under the cover of which we could calmly indulge in sinful slumber. The holy men of God, who looked upon God with a pure heart, knew better than we that “God is love.” But if a deep consciousness of one’s own insignificance before God can induce a person to extraordinary feats, then the thought of God’s infinite love for man, of the blessings which the Lord has done for man, a sinner, can induce and has in fact induced God’s chosen ones to even greater feats. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, not caring for the shame” (Heb. 12:2), every true ascetic cried out in his heart: “Behold what the Lord has done for me. What have I done, what can I do for Him?” And indeed, what will our greatest sacrifices, our labors and sorrows mean before the weight of the sufferings of the cross? “If there be a sickness like My sickness,” the Divine Sufferer cries out through the Prophet. And whoever deeply feels the power of God’s goodness to man and decides on exploits in a feeling of love and gratitude to God, he cannot limit himself to known, specific types of exploits, “for love endures all things and never falls away.” And the more someone loves, the more exploits he accepts, and the easier these exploits are to fulfill; for love does not seek its own, does not think about itself.

c) True, great feats require great strength from a person. We can often say about the feats of the holy God that they are above human strength. So, does not undertaking such feats mean tempting God? “Not all can accept this word,” says the Lord to His disciples, giving the high Gospel advice on virginity and non-covetousness. “Not all can accept it, but to them it has been given; he who is able to accept it, let him accept it.” Who can say about himself: "I can accept it?" The Apostles asked Jesus Christ almost a similar question (Matthew 19:25). But Jesus Christ looked at them and said: “With men this is not possible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). This same divine Teacher once said to His disciples: "He that believes on Me, the works that I do, he also shall do; and greater works than these shall he do" (John 14:12). Thus, no feats, no temptations can be excessive for one who has placed his whole trust in the all-good God. The Lord God, "who leads no man into temptation beyond what is within the power of man," did not He give a helping hand to every believing ascetic in time of need? What is so remarkable, brethren, if the holy servants of God, motivated to choose a life of particular hardship by a profound awareness of their own insignificance before God, by an infinite love for the benevolent God, encouraged by faith in His all-good and timely help, ascended from strength to strength, manifesting in their lives the miracles of virtues and feats unattainable for ordinary people? What is so remarkable, if the special life of God’s chosen ones was accompanied by extraordinary manifestations testifying to its pleasingness? Finally, what is so remarkable, if we encounter in this life many cases that do not fit our concepts?

III. Brethren! Not for idle curiosity, but for edification and feats of imitation, the Holy Church offers to our attention the wondrous lives and deeds of the holy men of God. Let us pray to the Lord to grant us that wholehearted love for Him which made the holy ascetics strive for greater and greater perfection. Amen. 

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