July: Day 6: Venerable Sisoes the Great

July: Day 6:
Venerable Sisoes the Great
 
(On Humility)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The asceticism of Venerable Sisoes, who reposed in 429, and whose memory is celebrated today, lasted from early youth to old age. At first he lived in a skete, then he crossed the Nile and retired to the mountain where the great Anthony had labored and where everything reminded him of the wondrous example of monastic life. Solitude did not hide the great ascetic Sisoes from people thirsting for spiritual enlightenment, and many began to visit Sisoes in order to benefit from his instructions. He did not refuse to receive people, since he placed love for people above his own, albeit beloved, silence.

His conversations with people especially contained lessons of humility. 

"Abba!" one hermit once said to Sisoes, "I notice about myself that the remembrance of God is always with me." "That is not much, my son," Sisoes answered him, "what is even more important is to see yourself as lower than everyone, because such humiliation contributes to the acquisition of humility."

To another brother he said: “Have humility, renounce your own will, give up empty worldly cares, and you will find peace of heart."

Sisoes constantly said about himself: "I fall asleep as a sinner, I wake up as a sinner."

Abba Sisoes said that for 30 years he prayed like this: “Lord Jesus, do not let me sin with my tongue today. And yet I constantly sin in this way.”

At the time of the death of Venerable Sisoes, his great humility and the great grace of the Lord, which dwells upon the humble, were revealed. Dying, the elder was raptured, his face lit up and he began to speak: "Behold, Abba Anthony is coming to me." A little later he exclaimed: "I see the face of the prophets," and at that very moment his face brightened even more. "Behold, the apostles have come," he began to speak quietly and as if talking with one of the saints.

“Who is he talking to?” wondered the hermits who had gathered around Venerable Sisoes to listen to his final words.

"Behold, the angels have come to take my soul, and I begged them to wait a little longer, so that I could have time to repent. But they said: 'You no longer have need of repentance.' I don't know if I have even begun it yet?" These last words of Venerable Sisoes made it clear to his disciples, who knew of his deep humility, that his virtue was perfect.

Finally, the face of the ascetic shone like the sun and at the same time he exclaimed: “Look, the Lord is coming to me,” and with these words he moved to another world.

II. Venerable Sisoes is a great teacher of humility both in his life and at death. Therefore, let us talk about humility.

a) All the saints were adorned with humility, despite all their great virtues. Let us look at these humble people, who humbled themselves before everyone, let us see who they really were. 

Patriarch Abraham was humble, he said of himself: "I am dust and ashes." But who is this Abraham? He is the father of the faithful, to whom no one among the patriarchs is equal. 

King David was humble, he said of himself: "I am a worm, not a man." But who is this David? He is the purple-wearing prophet, to whom no one among the kings is equal. 

The Apostle Paul was humble, he wrote of himself: "I am the least of the apostles, I am not worthy to be called an apostle." But who is this Paul? He is one of the foremost apostles, who labored more than all in the work of preaching. 

The Most Holy Theotokos was humble. She, having heard from the angel the good news of the conception of the Son of God, said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked upon the lowliness of His handmaiden." But who is this humble Theotokos? She is the Most Holy Virgin, the Mother of God, higher than the Cherubim and more glorious than the Seraphim. 

However, why should we cite too many examples? To list the humble means to list men who are high in spirit and holy in life. Let us end with one thing. Who is Jesus Christ, Who throughout His life until His death continually humbled and abased Himself, Who did not want to break a bruised reed or quench a smoking flax? Who is this who is meek and humble in heart, Who washed the feet of His disciples? The highest wisdom, the most perfect holiness, the radiance of the glory of the Father and the image of His Hypostasis - in a word, He is God in the flesh.

b) After this, what should we say about those individuals who refuse to be humbled before others, who take pride in themselves? What can we say about them? They are individuals who lack the true spirit of Christianity; they possess no genuine virtues; they embody neither greatness nor holiness. Only the lowly and insignificant take pride in themselves. Everything heavy naturally falls down, rests on the ground, while the light ascends, soaring through the air; thus, great and holy individuals always humble themselves before others, whereas the lowly and insignificant elevate themselves above all. Indeed, why do some individuals behave arrogantly? Having nothing, they seek to compensate for their lack of perfection with pride, believing that arrogance will replace the weakness of their abilities. Why does a certain individual, upon occupying an important position in society, suddenly become unapproachable? He fears that, upon closer inspection, one will see what he truly is: he wishes to conceal his shortcomings behind an air of aloofness and thinks he can make up for the scarcity of his merits with haughtiness. If you encounter a proud, unapproachable person, do not waste your time trying to decipher who he is; he is simply an individual devoid of true virtues, lacking both good intellect and kind heart.

Indeed, even those with great virtues sometimes succumb to pride. But how long can they remain great in their pride? To begin to be proud in oneself is to start to fall; to dream of oneself is to prepare for humiliation. God leaves the proud to themselves, while He supports the humble with His grace. Therefore, brethren, when you begin to dream of yourselves, fear that you may soon be shamed. Only with humility can a person be high and strong; without humility, he is weak and lowly.

Indeed, low and weak people also sometimes humble themselves. Their humility is no better than pride. Before whom do low people humble themselves? Only before their superiors. Why do they humble themselves? To rise more easily. What weaknesses do low people admit? The most insignificant, unimportant. Why do they admit them? To let others know how unimportant are the weaknesses to which they are subject. Thus, the humility of the lowly is always low; true humility is too high for them, it is not in their spirit. The truly humble person humbles himself because he is humble in soul; his eyes are not exalted because his heart is not puffed up; his heart is like an innocent, submissive, simple-hearted child. That is why only people with perfections, great and holy people, are truly humble; only such people have the spirit to say about themselves: "I am earth and ashes;" "I am a worm, and not a man."

III. Therefore, brethren, humility is not at all a sign of a weak and faint-hearted person; proud people are always weak and faint-hearted, but the humble are always great and holy; a humble neck is a sign of greatness of spirit, and a proud brow is the imprint of a small soul. And therefore let us not be ashamed, even if we happen to perform the lowest duty of a slave: a low service will never humiliate a high man. 

 

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