Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov)
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and
beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me (Matthew 14:30).
In
the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord!
Today we had offered for our attention the wondrous and for
us very precious account from the Gospel of the Lord’s miraculous walking on
the sea and of His deliverance of His disciples, who were perishing in the
waves of the sea, and of the Apostle Peter, who was trying to walk over the
waves.
After the miraculous feeding of the five thousand people
with five loaves and two fishes, the Evangelist Matthew relates: And
straightway Jesus constrained His disciples to get into a ship, and to go
before Him unto the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He
had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and
when the evening was come, He was there alone. But the ship was now in the
midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the
fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when
the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a
spirit”; and they cried out for fear. But straightaway Jesus spoke unto them,
saying, “Be of good cheer: it is I, be not afraid.” And Peter answered Him and
said, “Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water.” And He said,
“Come.” And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water,
to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid: and
beginning to sink, he cried, saying, “Lord, save me.” And immediately Jesus
stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, “O thou of little
faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” And when they were come into the ship, the
wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped Him, saying,
“Of a truth Thou art the Son of God.” And when they were gone over, they came
into the land of Gennesaret(Matthew 14:22-34).
Brothers and sisters, everything that we heard here is
exactly applicable to us, who are perishing and drowning in the waves of the
sea of life. Our earthly life, my dear ones, bears a great resemblance to the
sea, for which reason it is called the “sea of life” in the Church’s
hymnography. Just as the sea is calm in times of quiet, without waves and with
a smooth and bright surface, so too does our life, where there are no adversities
and misfortunes, flow along quietly, calmly, and pleasantly. But then the winds
blows, the waves swell, and the sea surges, ready to sink not only a small
boat, but even a large ship. It is the same in our life. Adversities and misery
arise, passions surge, temptations and allurements appear, and sin runs amuck.
Then life loses its calmness and evenness, departing from its usual track and
threatening to destroy the inexperienced person who is unsteady in the rules of
Christianity.
In this manner, today’s Gospel teaches us about the benefit
and necessity of solitary prayer. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself often prayed in
solitude. In solitude one can give oneself wholly over to prayer, because then
nothing and no one will hinder one; whereas, when one is among people, their
bustling about makes giving oneself wholly over to prayer impossible for the
majority of people. This is possible only for experienced ascetic strugglers,
who have learned to converse with God everywhere and in all places.
We can, of course, find ourselves in the same situation as
the Holy Apostles. In our lives we can experience many terrible afflictions and
sorrows, and it can then seem to our confused heart that the Lord God has
forsaken and forgotten us; that we are completely perishing; and that there is
neither help nor salvation for us from anywhere. But be bold, dear brothers and
sisters, in these terrible times and fear not; place your trust in the Lord,
and not in the sons of men (Psalm 145:3). Do not forget for a
single minute that Divine miracle about which you heard in today’s Gospel. May
this manifestation of the Savior’s Divine love constantly serve as
encouragement and support for us during our course through the sea of life!
If we look at man’s earthly life, we see that it is full of
sorrows and all manner of vicissitudes from his birth and very earliest years
all the way to his last breath. Human life – both in its outward and especially
in its inward aspects – cannot always remain in the same circumstances and
conditions. A constant change of events takes place, with one situation
replacing another. At times man is content, calm, and happy, while at other
times he is overtaken by failure, troubles, and unhappiness. Today man is rich,
while tomorrow he is poor; today he and everyone else is healthy, while
tomorrow someone succumbs to a fatal illness. Today man is respected and
revered, while tomorrow he is dishonored and humiliated. As such, all of man’s
life is full of vicissitudes.
Many different afflictions befall man; they are beyond
number. And all of them are sent for a good purpose, for our benefit. Just as
the Lord allowed a contrary wind in order to strengthen them in faith, courage,
and fearlessness in enduring adversities, so too should we believe that the
right hand of God providentially allows these adversities for our correction.
The Lord allows these stormy waves and for us to fall into tribulations in
order to strengthen us in virtues; He sends misfortunes to humble our pride and
self-love, to restrain our whims, and not to allow us to fall into spiritual
laxity; and, most importantly, He gives us to understand that we should seek
true blessedness not on earth, but rather in the Heavens.
All things work together for good to them that love God (Romans
8:28), for which reason we should magnanimously endure everything sent from the
hand of God. Not to be sorrowful amidst sorrows is impossible because we are
human, but the sorrows themselves should be dissolved by good hope, for we are
not without God. At evening shall weeping find lodging, but in the
morning rejoicing (Psalm 29:6). And they that sow with tears
shall reap with rejoicing (Psalm 125:5).
But, apart from external upheavals, man also experiences
internal upheavals. Changes occur much more often in the inner, emotional,
spiritual-moral state than they do in external life. Here there are even more
storms and disturbances ready to destroy one. Our inward condition can change
every minute. Thoughts, feelings, and desires constantly replace one another,
so that we often cannot remain in any one of them for long. Ludicrous thoughts,
indecent feelings, and filthy desires often appear in one’s soul – and this all
takes place apart from our own will. Inner passions and predilections torment
us, drawing us towards sin – and hence to perdition.
This warfare is often extremely difficult; we feel an inner
dichotomy, a battle between spirit and flesh. The spirit directs our desires to
celestial beauty, showing us the path to virtue, while fleshly inclinations
relegate us to the earth, enticing us with the pleasantness of sensual
pleasures and destroying our good desires and intentions. Here is what the
Apostle Paul says concerning this: I delight in the law of God after
the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of
my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members(Romans
7:22-23). In my spirit I love an undefiled life, but there is something
tyrannical in me that does not permit me to fulfill my good desires. The Holy
Apostle Paul again says: a good will is present with me; but how to
perform that which is good I find not (Romans 7:18). And again he
exclaims: O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body
of this death? (Romans 7:24). Is this condition not the same as that
of the drowning that Christ’s disciples experienced?
But, dear brothers and sisters, the following detail from
today’s Gospel is worthy of our attention. When the Apostle Peter asked the
Lord’s permission to come to Him on the water, and the Lord permitted him, the
Apostle left the boat and walked on the sea as on dry land; the waves did not
hinder him and his feet did not sink. But when he saw the wind
boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save
me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said
unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?(Matthew
14:30-31). This means that if he had not doubted and feared, he would have
freely reached the Lord; however, lack of faith deprived him of grace-filled
strength. But when he called out for help, the Lord upheld him, not allowing
him to plunge into the depths. Therefore, my dear ones, let us never forget
this when it becomes our lot to bear sorrows.
We may undergo very grievous sorrows, but no matter how
grievous they may be, we should never succumb to despondency; we should not
think that life is bleak and that there is no way out. Believe firmly that in
misfortunes the Lord is near us. Since the Lord himself experienced such
sorrows under the weight of His Cross, will He not comfort us in the sorrows
that we undergo? He controls everything, sees everyone, and grants blessedness
for the tears of all. Just endure your misfortunes, hoping in God, and your
sorrow shall be turned into joy (John 16:20). After the gloom of night
there always comes the rising of the sun; following a storm there comes a time
of comforting peace and pleasant calm. If there are tears, there will also be
joy. If you have not known bitterness, you will not recognize sweetness.
Just how quickly the Lord helps in difficult moments of life
can be seen from the following story. A certain Elder-monk lived in an
abandoned pagan temple. One time unclean spirits came to him and said:
“Get out of our home.”
“This is not your home,” the monk replied.
Then the unclean spirits began to scatter about the palm
branches that he had prepared for weaving baskets, but the Elder tirelessly
gathered them. After this, the enemies of the human race grabbed him by
his clothes and dragged him out, but the Elder dug in his heels at the doors
and cried out: “Jesus, help me!” The bodiless evildoers immediately fled. The
monk wept. But a mysterious voice asked him:
“Why are you crying?”
“Because the enemies, who hate faith and virtue, dare mock
the Lord’s servant,” replied the monk.
“You yourself are guilty,” retorted the heavenly voice,
“since you had forgotten Me. You yourself see that, when you called upon Me, I
was quick to help.
The Elder, having perceived God’s power, fell upon the
ground.
My dear ones, let us give thanks to the Lord for His Divine
love for us, for His care for the whole Church and for each one of us, and for
the fact that He saves us from drowning. Let us pray to Him from our soul with
love: “Lord, Thou art our Creator, Savior, and Redeemer. Thou art our quiet
sailing, our miraculous Helmsman, and our secure dock. Thou hast always
appeared to us when we have been hit by storms. Teach us to come to Thee with
faith, undeterred by the turbulent passage of this life with all its dangers;
in moments of need stretch out Thy helping hand, as Thou didst to Peter when he
was drowning. If it please Thee to send us temptations, then confirm and
strengthen our weak powers to battle with them, that we might not fall under
their weight and lose Thy Kingdom, prepared for those who have loved Thee from
the creation of the world.” Amen.
