Homily for the Fourth Sunday Evening of Great Lent (St. Sergius Mechev)

 

Homily for the Fourth Sunday Evening of Great Lent 

By Holy Hieromartyr Sergius Mechev

(Delivered in 1929)

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!

I told you, my dear ones, that a penitent truly enters into repentance only when he sees that his soul, created according to the Image of God and after His likeness, bears within itself death and corruption. Thus the holy ascetics, who truly struggled against the death of their soul and indeed went from earth to heaven, in this podvig (ascetic struggle) imposed punishments upon themselves as an aid. This happened with them naturally, and they did this in order to cleanse their soul already in this life. Venerable John of the Ladder says that the penitent is an inventor of punishments for himself. You all know well that in bodily illnesses medicine applies difficult means: operations or certain medicines, or the sick person is deprived of all food for a long time, even drink is forbidden. Thus a man is constrained in illness, and by this, little by little, health is restored. And if there were no regimen, the person would not recover, as medicine says. So the holy saints — “madmen” according to the world — voluntarily imposed upon themselves the greatest labors. And so I would like, my dear ones, to present a series of such examples from the lives of the holy saints. These were strong people, and when they sinned, they brought true repentance. And for us, small people, their example can give very much.

Saint Symeon the Stylite, at the age of eighteen, felt sin. In the Life it is not said how this happened, but how he strove to rid himself of it, to be healed of it — that's what we'll find there. He took a rope, very rough, and wrapped himself with it from his hips to his neck. After ten days his body became putrid and worms appeared in his wounds. The brethren began to murmur against him, for an incredible stench came from him, and then they complained to the abbot. The abbot forced him to remove his garments and, having learned what the matter was, restrained Saint Symeon in his podvig, since, because of his youth, he had taken upon himself more than his measure. But one who truly repents, if he feels sin, desires with all his strength to atone for it, to suffer for the sin, and he seeks this suffering, even as Saint Symeon did. And in his later life Saint Symeon fell and rose again. He fell into the great sin of pride, already being a great ascetic. He was renowned among people for his podvig, and many came to him asking for prayers and healing.

Venerable Theodoret, a contemporary of Saint Symeon, considered that the latter’s labors were beyond human strength. Indeed, the Venerable one was strong in spirit, but the devil deceived him. He appeared in the form of a radiant angel in a chariot, saying that he had come to take the Venerable one from the pillar to heaven. Saint Symeon was a great saint and, as a saint, understood that one must not trust visions, even in the form of bright angels, but here he did not discern the vision. It turned out that instead of humility, pride appeared. Although he said, “Lord, I am unworthy,” yet he raised his right foot and, out of habit, made the sign of the Cross over himself, and in that instant the chariot with the angels disappeared. Then he understood that he had fallen into demonic pride and felt that all his labors borne upon the pillar had perished through this sin. But since he was strong and great, he also undertook a great form of repentance. He forced himself to stand on one leg. It happened that the leg became gangrenous, and it was very difficult for him to stand on it, but for the sake of his soul he endured this constraint. He ordered his young disciple to gather the worms that fell from the pillar and bring them back to him. He applied them to the wound, saying: “Eat what God has given you.”

From the point of view of the world, this is madness, deformity; but from the spiritual, inward point of view, it is the desire of a man through suffering to atone for sin and to restore his former beauty. And other venerable fathers followed this path, each in his own way. Once a man has felt that he bears death within himself, he will strive to be rid of it. For by creation we are immortal.

Here is another Venerable one who felt sin. Being of great stature, he built for himself a confinement in which he could not properly stand nor even sit. He forced himself to bend his head to his knees, and in such an uncomfortable position remained for the rest of his life. From the worldly point of view, this is insanity. 

 

Even now, my dear ones, there are such ascetics. One of the ascetics of Glinsk, sitting in a soot-blackened cell, saw around himself only light, while those who came to him marveled at this, seeing only dark, smoke-blackened walls. Yes, we only in certain moments feel tiny grains of this.

The Holy Fathers, when they fell, applied great means in order to free themselves from death, and this is not madness, my dear ones, from the spiritual point of view. But we are but one human misunderstanding.

Saint Thalelaios says thus: “I am a great sinner, worthy of eternal torments.” 

 

And other Venerable ones acted likewise. One of them, while still young, felt sin and could find no peace, since before he had lived in holiness. And so he hears that near Alexandria there lives an elder who is very irascible and fainthearted, and that no one can live with him — all flee from him. He made a vow to live with this elder and serve him like a slave, if only the Lord would forgive him his sin. Do you see, my dear ones, how his heart ached: formerly there was breadth, but now constraint. And he went to the elder. The elder treated him like a dog. But the Lord looked upon his patience, and after six years of life with the elder, he had a vision in which the Lord made known to him that his sins were forgiven. From the standpoint of the world, this too is madness, yet in the soul there is anguish over that former breadth, over the loss of purity, and a desire to restore it. Therefore a man goes to voluntary constraint and endures everything that comes to him. This monk not only saved himself, but also brought the elder to God.

Once again I repeat that many, many saints acted in this way. But for us, who always sin and never come to our senses, our measure, of course, is not like that of Saint Symeon and the other saints. Our measure is to endure patiently all the sorrows that come upon us. According to the understanding of the Holy Fathers, this is the bearing of epitimia (penance). Epitimia is not punishment, but a help toward correction. Thus the Holy Fathers themselves chose their manner of repentance and prepared themselves for every sorrow. When we repent, let us look with great attention at our soul — what is holy in it and what is sinful. Let us try, my dear ones, to feel death in the soul — then we shall bring repentance, then our life will be sanctified differently, and whatever sorrows we may have, we shall accept them as a means of purification. As gold is purified in the furnace, so our soul is purified by sorrows and repentance. And the Holy Fathers will be for us lamps, not madmen as for the world. And we, in our measure, my dear ones, must bring repentance, and then more and more we shall feel how our soul is purified and more and more drawn toward heaven. But our eyes must be directed to the saints — and they are very, very many. I repeat, my dear ones: it is natural for the penitent to constrain himself. Let us therefore, in our measure, follow Venerable Symeon and Thalelaios and that monk who saved himself and his elder.

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.