Homily Four for the Sunday of All Saints
By St. John of Kronstadt
“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mark 8:34).
By St. John of Kronstadt
“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mark 8:34).
What are You saying, Lord? Whoever wishes, You say, to follow You must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow You? Every one of us would like to be where You are, yet not everyone wishes to walk the path that You walked, that is, the narrow, sorrowful, and suffering path. Most especially, very few, very few indeed, are willing for Your sake to deny themselves, to deny their sinful and corrupted will, their passion-ridden heart, or their passions and lusts. Although these have wearied us, although they are destructive to us, they still somehow remain dear to us, and it is painful and difficult to part with them completely. No, the sinner does not desire to follow after You, Lord, but rather after his own heart, after its ruinous inclinations, and after the world which lies in evil.
But the word of the Lord is true and unchangeable. Whoever desires to follow the Lord, that is, to walk the path of righteousness and truth, the path leading to eternal life, must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him.
But why does the Lord say, “if anyone desires”? Because He compels no one by force to follow Him, but leaves each person free to choose the path of salvation. To every person has been given the freedom to choose good or evil, life or death.
It is said: “let him deny himself.” What does this mean? It means to reject everything evil and wicked within oneself; to renounce all fellowship with sin, which has penetrated our soul, our mind, our heart, our will, our body, all our senses, and all our actions; to declare war against oneself; to wage continual battle against one's sinful inclinations, passions, habits, and unrighteousness; to hate one's own soul for its continual transgressions of the law of God, for its deceitfulness, for its entire inner disposition that opposes God, for all the evil thoughts of this visible life, and for its neglect of concern for the life of the age to come.
This demand is entirely just. The human soul is full of every kind of unrighteousness: vanity, partiality, self-will, self-love, lack of faith, pride, envy, hostility, malice, delight in another's misfortune, resentment, blasphemy, complaining, impatience, greed, false swearing, injustice, injury and oppression of one's neighbor, love of pleasure, lack of self-control, and every kind of impurity. At times it is difficult to recognize in man the soul created according to the image and likeness of God; so greatly has sin disfigured it! Yet man, by his own free will, deforms and destroys himself.
It is evident, therefore, that he must also save himself voluntarily, with the help of God. For this reason the Lord entrusts salvation to our free will. “Whoever desires,” He says, “to follow Me, let him deny himself” — that is, cast away sin, hate the sin that you have chosen and come to love.
But since it is difficult for you to abandon sin, because it has become habitual and seems almost a second nature, and since evil people will persecute you if you withdraw from their company, and the devil will fiercely pursue you, you will necessarily have to endure sorrows, troubles, insults, labors, struggles, and conflicts. It will be as though you are being crucified upon a cross. It is in this sense that the Lord said that whoever wishes to follow Him must take up his cross.
Everyone has his own cross. Who is without some infirmity of soul or body? Who is without sorrow, illness, or enemies, whether visible or invisible, hidden or manifest? Pray, and endure everything unpleasant, sorrowful, and burdensome without complaining. This is your cross.
But having taken up your cross, follow after the Lord, that is, bear it patiently, without complaint, steadfastly, and to the end. Hold fast to righteousness to the end and hate unrighteousness to the end. Expose falsehood, contend for truth to the end, and the crown of righteousness shall be given to you by the Righteous Judge. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
