August: Day 20: Teaching 1: Holy Prophet Samuel

August: Day 20: Teaching 1:
Holy Prophet Samuel
 
(The Lord Calls Us All to Salvation Through Various Means: Natural and Supernatural)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Prophet Samuel, whose memory is celebrated today, grew up at the Tabernacle, that is, the portable temple of the people of God, and was the only consolation of the High Priest Eli. It soon became evident that he was pleasing to God, and that God had sent him His grace, and through him would proclaim His will. One day as a twelve-year-old boy, who slept every night in the Temple of God, was awakened by a voice calling him. Thinking that Eli was calling him, he quickly got up and went to the vestibule where the High Priest slept at the door of the Temple. “Did you call me, my father?” he said to Eli. “No, my child,” he answered, “I did not call you, go and sleep.” But as soon as the boy fell asleep, the same voice called out again: “Samuel, Samuel!” The boy got up, again went to the High Priest; and so on three times. Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy, and said to him: "If you hear the voice calling you again, then answer: Speak, Lord; your servant is listening to you." Indeed, Samuel heard the same voice for the fourth time and answered: "Speak, Lord; your servant is listening to you;" and the Lord began to speak to Samuel, and announced to him that He would punish Eli for not restraining his sons, knowing their iniquities.

Samuel got up in the morning, opened the doors of the Temple, but did not dare to tell the High Priest what God had told him about him. But Eli called him and demanded that he tell him everything. When Eli heard the words of the Lord, he said, "The Lord is the Master! His will be done."

The Lord blessed Samuel, and from that time on He often proclaimed His will through him. All in Israel understood that the Spirit of the Lord was upon the young man, and they honored him as a prophet, and after the disastrous death of Eli, they chose him as their judge and leader.

II. Christian brethren! The Lord calls us to Himself, like the Prophet Samuel, and moreover through various and multifarious means: through conscience, through chance and the circumstances of each person’s life, through the word of God, the church, and finally through the Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truth, thus through A) natural and B) supernatural means.

A. a) The very first means for each person to learn about themselves is their conscience. Who among people is devoid of conscience? Who does not hear, at least at times, the voice commanding them to do this or that, to undertake such actions or to refrain from others? What is conscience, if not the voice of God Himself? He, our Heavenly Father, sending us into this world, bestowed upon us this precious counsel; He instilled within our souls this unceasing word. If we were to heed our conscience, there would constantly be a direct revelation of God's will within us, and we would know, without the need for mentors, everything that we ought to do. Yet, here lies our misfortune! Instead of acting according to our conscience, we often go against it; we are led by our feelings, habits, and passions, while we neglect our conscience, stifling it, suppressing it, to the point that it seems to go silent. But there is a means to escape from this unfortunate state. Wash your conscience with tears of repentance, and it will once again become bright, reflecting and revealing to you the entire nature of your existence; cleanse and liberate your spiritual hearing from the filth of passions, and you will again hear within yourself the voice of God; for conscience, as we have said, is the revelation within us of God's will.

b) The second means of self-education is that everyone has their own life. Life is rightly called a school, and it is said, "As long as you live, you learn." Life is indeed a school, and moreover, a divine one. For in whose hands is our life and who governs it? God does, without His will, as the word of God teaches, not a single hair falls from our head. If not even a hair can fall without God's will, even more so, no significant event can occur to us. Therefore, for everything that happens to us in life, we must view it as lessons of divine wisdom and see in all things the good will of God guiding us. This perspective should also be applied to misfortunes. If Providence sends them upon us, it is always with a particular purpose — to teach us something, or to subdue our sensuality, pride, and other passions. In this case, misfortunes are indeed similar to those strong remedies that experienced physicians prescribe to patients in extreme situations, which have the property of either effecting a decisive turn for the better or exhausting the vital force. Therefore, misfortunes should always exert the most beneficial effect on our spirit: they warn us of God's wrath and call us to repentance and salvation.

B. We have so many natural means of learning! Thus we can learn from our conscience and from our life! But we are Christians: besides natural means of learning, we have many supernatural ones, given to us from above.

a) Such is the word of God – the writings of the Prophets and the Apostles. What can they not teach us? The word of God, as testified by the Apostle, is beneficial for all things: "for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). And who cannot have the holy books, if they desire? For their price is less than the cost of the tools with which you work.

"But many do not know how to read." So listen when the word of God is read in church. Here, throughout the year, all the Gospels, all the Apostolic Epistles, and a large part of the Prophetic writings are read. But alas, the misfortune of our time! Today, many know how to read yet neglect to learn and read the word of God; they throw themselves upon the most worthless books, the most miserable and soul-destroying fables, devouring them hungrily, while they do not wish to know what has been written to them from heaven regarding their eternal salvation! What could be more heinous than such negligence?

b) The second supernatural means of guidance that each of us has is the church. I say supernatural, for we can only build the walls of temples; but the church was established once and for all directly by God Himself. It is founded on miracles, sustained by miracles, and produces miracles, being based on the cornerstone – the Son of God; it is upheld by the power of the Holy Spirit, resurrecting the dead from sin to eternal life. What then is the church, if not a divinely established school for all? Here, in a single liturgy, you will hear the entire life of your Savior and the whole mystery of your salvation; here, on one iconostasis, the entire assembly of Saints is depicted before you, so that you may choose anyone to emulate in their life. Throughout the year, all the feasts will unfold before you in the church – with their mysteries and grandeur; all the days of the saints – with their virtues and exploits; all the fasts – with their tears and spiritual devotion; and all the days of remembrance for the departed – with a memory of death and the Dread Judgment. And how much is needed for everyone to learn in the church? Only eyes and ears, attention and understanding are required. Anyone may come; the doors are open to all; no references will be demanded regarding who you are or whether you have the right to learn; there will be no tests of abilities and knowledge. And how do many respond to this motherly love? By almost never attending church; even when they do come, driven by some circumstance, some stand there distractedly, impudently, rebelliously, and even engage in conversations and laughter! What could be more criminal than such actions?

c) Finally, brethren, we all have such a guide, higher and more divine than one could wish or imagine: for it is the very Holy Spirit – the third Person of the Most Holy and Worshipful Trinity. Recall what the Savior said before His ascension to heaven to His disciples, when they mourned His departure. He said it is better for Him to depart from them; for if He does not depart, the Comforter will not come to them; but if He goes, He will send Him to them; He is the Spirit of truth, who will remain with you forever and will guide you into all truth. On the day of Pentecost, this Most Holy Spirit indeed descended in the form of fiery tongues upon the Apostles and transformed them from fishermen into universal teachers: yet He descended upon the Apostles once and visibly, so that He might thereafter dwell always in the Church of Christ, to descend invisibly upon each of us in the Mystery of Baptism, to descend in order to guide, enlighten, and instruct each one of us towards eternal life. Therefore, each of us, by virtue of the Mystery of Baptism, has the full right to seek guidance from the Most Holy Spirit Himself. How should one seek? With the simplest and briefest, yet most sincere and heartfelt prayer. For example, when you feel a special need for guidance and there are no visible mentors; turn inward to the Holy Spirit and say this: "Holy Spirit, sent to guide me by my Savior, you see that I do not know how to act in this present case, you also see my desire to act rightly and truthfully: enlighten me and guide me with Your grace." It cannot be, it absolutely cannot be, that the Holy Spirit would not fulfill His work, would not heed such a prayer, or would not tell you how to proceed, what to do, or what to refrain from.

III. Therefore, behold, how many teachers and guides we have, both natural and supernatural, both visible and invisible, calling us to salvation and guiding us on this path.

Let us not regret that the greater part of us are ignorant of earthly sciences: they are not needed for the Kingdom of God; let us use the means given by God for our instruction; and above all, let us try to always justify what we know, even if it is little, by our deeds; then we will learn by experience that the path to heaven is not blocked to anyone, and that if in anything, then in the knowledge of this path there is no lack for anyone. Amen.  

 

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