Homily One on the Second Sunday of Luke
By St. John of Kronstadt
“Just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise” (Luke 6:31).
By St. John of Kronstadt
“Just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise” (Luke 6:31).
In the Gospel read today, the Lord teaches us to treat all people as we wish them to treat us, that is, simply, lovingly, sincerely, purely, holy, respectfully, indulgently, patiently, kindly, freely and willingly. The Lord gives us a simple and wise rule, and it is convenient for everyone to follow - for the simpleton and the learned, for the rich and the poor, for the noble and the ignoble, for the old and the young. Because each of us has in our soul a measure and a rule, although not always correct, by which we now determine whether our neighbors treat us well or not, and if they treat us well we are calm and contented, and our affairs have a correct course; if not well, coldly, unaffectionately, or contemptuously, unkindly, forced, unfairly or even hostilely, we are very dissatisfied, and sometimes unsuccessful in our affairs themselves. We must observe the same measure, only from the good side, in relation to other people with whom we have to live and act every day, or just meet, get to know, be together. Treat everyone the same way you want them to treat you; sincerely respect and love everyone; be kind to everyone from the heart; pity those who sin; sympathize with the misfortune, grief, sorrow, loss, poverty of your neighbor; take advantage of the opportunity to do good to someone; rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep; do not think badly about anyone without sufficient reason, but think good about everyone; do not have in your soul enmity and hostility towards anyone, or envy and ill will; do not humiliate or despise anyone in your soul because of any shortcomings and errors, but cover everyone and everything with love and indulgence; look at those who sin as weak, as spiritually ill; do not repay evil for evil, but repay good for evil - and you will fulfill the commandment of Christ and will be crowned with an incorruptible crown of righteousness and eternal life. It is a great thing, beloved brothers and sisters, not to give place in one's soul to any evil, not even for a single minute, but to constantly overcome evil with good, and every sin with appropriate repentance and prayer; for it is foolish and disastrous to increase evil with evil, and, so to speak, to pour oil on the fire, and make a flame out of a small fire. Evil or any sin is the greatest calamity, tragedy, misfortune of the human race, which must be bitterly regretted and which must be eradicated, if possible, by good, love, prayer, admonition, philanthropy or righteous punishment, and, in extreme cases, by casting out the evil person from among you. "Cast away the evil one from among you" (1 Cor. 5:13).
“If you love those who love you,” the Lord says further in the Gospel read today, “what credit is that to you? For even sinners (i.e., pagans) love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners, that they may receive back the same. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and evil” (Luke 6:32–35).
We must deeply understand the above words of the Lord and lay them on our hearts in order to fulfill them. These words are directed directly at each of us, against our wicked, egotistical, corrupt customs, and expose all of us in selfish love: we love only those who love us in return, or even often do not love them either, or we love those who flatter us, or are partners in our sins, but meanwhile we have enmity and hostility towards those who are truthful towards us, rebuke or punish us, do not agree to sin together, or really do not love us, are cold to us, or despise and hate us, take revenge on us and do us harm. Such behavior of ours is sin, egotism, self-love, self-deification, falling away from God. God's law must be fulfilled according to God's mind, and not according to our own, blinded by passions. The Lord teaches us to overcome our corrupt heart, i.e. to overcome the sin that is born with us and lives in us, to go against ourselves, to swim, so to speak, against the current, to deny ourselves. It is not an important thing to do good to those, or to love only those who do good to us: this is done even by pagans who do not know the gospel, who are not reborn by grace, who do not have the gift of adoption to God, they are dogs, and not children; but we have the invaluable, greatest privilege of being children of God, and the grace or power given to us in abundance for every good, and from the children of God deeds worthy of children are justly required. We must be holy, as the Lord our God is holy; we must be merciful, as our heavenly Father is merciful. "Be holy in all your conduct" (1 Pet. 1:15), says the Apostle Peter.
Further, the Lord rebukes our avarice, saying that we lend to others in order to receive back, and even with interest, and we do not like to lend without return, even though we know that the one who has received money from us as a loan is an insolvent and poor man, and although we have given him only our surplus. This is also the custom of pagans, not Christians. We consider money to be our treasure and wealth, and not God, who is our inexhaustible treasure, who is our true life and who can easily enrich us even in poverty; we consider our treasure not love for our neighbor, for example, for a debtor, who often cannot repay his debt only because of poverty; not mercy, which makes us like God and leads us into the eternal heavenly shelters, but again money and wealth. You see how our life, our deeds are not in accordance with the teaching of our Lord every day and hour; everything is done inside out, perversely, not according to God, but according to the wicked wisdom of the flesh, the world. Let us learn to live according to God. “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father in heaven is merciful; and He is kind to the ungrateful and evil” (Luke 6:36, 35).
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
Further, the Lord rebukes our avarice, saying that we lend to others in order to receive back, and even with interest, and we do not like to lend without return, even though we know that the one who has received money from us as a loan is an insolvent and poor man, and although we have given him only our surplus. This is also the custom of pagans, not Christians. We consider money to be our treasure and wealth, and not God, who is our inexhaustible treasure, who is our true life and who can easily enrich us even in poverty; we consider our treasure not love for our neighbor, for example, for a debtor, who often cannot repay his debt only because of poverty; not mercy, which makes us like God and leads us into the eternal heavenly shelters, but again money and wealth. You see how our life, our deeds are not in accordance with the teaching of our Lord every day and hour; everything is done inside out, perversely, not according to God, but according to the wicked wisdom of the flesh, the world. Let us learn to live according to God. “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father in heaven is merciful; and He is kind to the ungrateful and evil” (Luke 6:36, 35).
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.