Prologue in Sermons: November 21

 

The Ways of God's Providence Are Inscrutable

November 21

(A Sermon on the Incomprehensible Judgments of God, Prayed About by a Certain Monk, So That He Might Understand the Ways of God's Providence)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Instead of bowing before God, who works inscrutable ways, and humbly observing all His actions, we, on the contrary, often judge the Lord's decrees with arrogance, sometimes complaining about them. But this should not be. The ways of God's Providence, though inscrutable, are always beneficial to us and always lead to good consequences.

A hermit prayed to God to reveal the ways of His Providence and imposed a fast upon himself. However, God did not reveal what he desired. The monk continued to pray, and finally the Lord enlightened him. When he went to visit an elder living far away, an Angel appeared to him in the guise of a monk and offered to accompany him. The hermit was overjoyed at the offer, and they set out together. As the day drew to a close, they stopped for the night with a pious man, who received them with such honor that he even offered them food on a silver platter. But behold! Immediately after the meal, the angel took the platter and threw it into the sea. The elder was perplexed, but said nothing. They traveled further and the next day stayed with another, also pious, man, and this one also received them joyfully, washed their feet, and showed them every consideration. However, disaster struck again! When the hermit and his companion were about to set out, their host brought his young son to them for a blessing. But instead of blessing him, an Angel touched the boy and took his soul. Neither the elder, terrified, nor the father, desperate, could utter a word, and the elder ran out, followed closely by his companion. On the third day of their journey, they had nowhere to stop except a dilapidated and abandoned house, and they found shelter in it. The elder sat down to eat, and to his astonishment, his companion began his strange deed again. He began to tear down the house, and, having destroyed it, began to rebuild it. Seeing this, the elder could not bear it any longer: “What are you, a demon or an Angel? What are you doing?” he said angrily to his companion. “Yes, what am I doing?” he retorted. “What do you mean?” the elder continued. “The other day you took a dish from a good man and threw it into the sea; yesterday you took the life of the boy, and today, why have you torn down and begun to build this house again?" Then the Angel said to him: “Do not marvel, old man, at this, and do not be offended because of me, but listen to what I tell you. The first man who received us truly behaved in a way pleasing to God in everything; but the dish I threw away was acquired by him unrighteously; therefore I tossed it, lest he lose his reward through it. The second man is also pleasing to God, but if his young son had grown up, he would have become a terrible villain; therefore I took his life for the good of his father, so that he too might be saved.” “Well, and what have you been doing here?” asked the old man. The Angel continued: “The owner of this house was an immoral man, and because of this he became impoverished and hid. His grandfather, having built this house, hid gold in the wall, and some know about this. That is why I destroyed it, so that from now on no one would seek gold here and perish because of it." The Angel concluded his speech: "Return, old man, to your cell and do not torment yourself without reason; for thus speaks the Holy Spirit: The judgments of the Lord are deep, unsearchable and unknown to man; therefore do not test them — it will not benefit you." The Angel then became invisible, and the astonished old man repented of his error and later told everyone what had happened to him.

Let us humble our minds, brethren, and not try to penetrate into the workings of Divine Providence that are incomprehensible to us. And how could it be otherwise, when our minds are limited and, moreover, darkened by sin, while God in all His perfections is boundless, His knowledge and wisdom know no bounds. Our task is to follow God's will, to kiss the hand of God, which both pardons and chastises us, and, striving in virtue, to maintain devotion to God's will. Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.