By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin
You, Christian listeners, yesterday heard the Gospel reading at the Liturgy. Remember how, among other things, Jesus Christ said to His disciples: "Then they will hand you over to torture and kill you; and you will be hated by all nations for my name; and then many will be offended, and they will betray one another and hate one another" (Matthew 24:9-10).
When is it then? Before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and then before the end of the world and the presentation of the light. Who will be hated by all nations? Apostles of Christ, their successors, pastors and teachers of the Church and Orthodox Christians in general. For whose name will they be hated? For His name, our Lord Jesus Christ. And who are these who will betray each other, hate each other? The same people who will hate the apostles and their successors, first them, and then, after, each other.
Thus indeed it was before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. The apostles and their successors were hated everywhere, persecuted, reviled, killed, and then, later, the persecuted themselves began to hate each other. So it was before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple; so, no doubt, it will be before the end of the world and the presentation of the light. Even so, listeners, it always happens before great social disasters, before the fall of kingdoms and peoples. First, people will hate the spiritual servants of God, the pastors of the Church, then, when unbelief and depravity spread in people from hatred for the spiritual, these people will hate each other, they will betray each other, rebel against each other, and after that social disasters will come, and society depraved, godless people fall, their kingdoms are destroyed. Read the history of these calamities and downfalls, and you will see that unbelief and depravity, these harbingers of social disasters and the fall of kingdoms, always began precisely from this, that is, with hatred for the spiritual, and therefore the enemies of societies always first try to arouse hatred in people towards the pastors of the Church, the servants of God. Without the light of God, in the darkness of unbelief and depravity, people will rather hate each other, attack each other, and then, of course, everything will immediately be upset, destroyed, fall ... except for the sake of some chosen ones, saints or some shrine. and that is why the enemies of society always first try to arouse in people hatred for the pastors of the Church, the servants of God. Without the light of God, in the darkness of unbelief and depravity, people will rather hate each other, attack each other, and then, of course, everything will immediately be upset, destroyed, fall ... will not fall, except for the sake of some chosen ones, saints or some shrine. and that is why the enemies of society always first try to arouse in people hatred for the pastors of the Church, the servants of God. Without the light of God, in the darkness of unbelief and debauchery, people are more likely to hate each other, attack each other, and then, of course, everything will immediately be upset, destroyed, fall... what will stand will not fall for the sake of the elect, saints or shrines.
So listeners, be afraid to hate the spiritual ones. From hatred for the spiritual, unbelief and debauchery enter in society from disbelief and depravity - social disasters. And private houses are falling, getting poorer from the same. The house grows, flourishes, enriches, abounds in everything, but now its members begin to grow cold towards the Church, now they secretly and openly begin to hate her shepherds, insult them in deed and word, oppress them, and then they begin to cool off both in their studies and friendships. Then the trouble is inevitable at home; and if it does not fall immediately, then he will not fall either, except for the sake of some sacred thing in the house, for the sake of some pious member of the house, for the sake of one chosen one in the house, its inevitable fall will stop for a while.
And every kingdom and every house depends on the holy seed in them. The seed is the holy standing of the world. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away, says God Himself (Matthew 24:35). Amen.