Homily One on Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker (St. John of Kronstadt)

 

Homily One on Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
and the Name Day of the Right-Believing Tsarevich and Grand Prince Nicholas Alexandrovich

By St. John of Kronstadt

The truth of things has revealed you to your flock as a rule of faith,
an icon of meekness, and a teacher of temperance;
for this cause, you have achieved the heights by humility, riches by poverty.
O Father and Hierarch Nicholas, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.
(Troparion to Saint Nicholas)

In public life, examples of some have a very strong effect on others. Examples are very enticing to imitate. And what if these were only good examples? How public life would be ordered then! How many passions and vices would be eradicated in people! With what faith, what piety and honesty would the flock of God live then! But unfortunately, there are always many more bad examples than good ones, due to people's passion for carnal life and the perishable things of this fleeting world. That is why our life is full of various vices - lack of faith, unbelief, intemperance, pride, malice, foul language and bad deeds, idleness and other sins. There are very few living good examples in the world. But the Holy Church presents us with countless good examples for us, her children, to imitate. The Lord Jesus Christ adorned the intelligent heaven of the Church with a multitude of bright stars, each brighter than the other, although all bright - to illuminate our earthly, wandering life and guidance to the heavenly fatherland. Today the Holy Church points out to us in its heaven, as a all-bright star, our Holy Father Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra the Wonderworker. Therefore, let us fix our gaze on this star, which has been shining for one thousand five hundred years in the heaven of the Church and illuminating many children of God with its light. Look, what a wondrous light this spiritual star gives off! "A rule of faith, an icon of meekness, and a teacher of temperance; for this cause, you have achieved the heights by humility, riches by poverty, O Father and Hierarch Nicholas." This is how the Holy Church describes the Christian virtues of our Holy Father Nicholas. Behold, what a most radiant radiance this star gives to the souls of the faithful! See what high virtues the Saint of God has, given to us by the Lord as a model for our life. He had such virtues without which a Christian cannot be called a Christian, and which many of us do not have: he had great faith, and therefore is called the rule of faith. He proved this faith by his deeds, firstly, by great meekness and gentleness, secondly, by abstinence in everything, which Christians now so neglect, and finally, by mercy to the poor and those subjected to various troubles and misfortunes. Let us take these virtues of the Saint of Christ as a model for ourselves and let us, according to our strength, imitate them.

Saint Nicholas was and served as a rule or model of the faith of Christ. Let us learn faith from him. They complain about the lack of faith in Christians of our time. Why do many Christians have no faith? Or why is their faith weak? From carnal life, from the fact that they care only about what to eat and drink, how to make a profit, or how and what to wear, not caring about their soul, about its purification and salvation, about its incorruptible food of prayer and reading the word of God, about the communion of the Holy Mysteries, about the incorruptible clothing of the soul, or about good deeds. Saint Nicholas was the rule of faith for his flock: because from his infancy he loved Jesus Christ with all his heart and even in his youth he carefully studied the Holy Scriptures, and not just, but with the decisive intention of imitating the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore he became an excellent imitator of his Master and was himself honored to bear His image on earth. Yes, he was the rule of faith for his flock and his flock was believing. But many Christians of our time do not know the main dogmas of their faith!

Brethren, read or listen to the Gospel more often; delve into it, reflect, remember and apply to your heart and life the teaching of the Savior. Do not think always about food and drink, about clothes and profit, or about pleasures, do not read only worldly books, all this will serve nothing at death.

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, furthermore, was a model of meekness and humility. They say that he always had a bright, kind and very pleasant face, testifying to his spiritual goodness and gentleness. Nowadays, in times poor in faith, people complain of the pride, malice, impatience, irritability, arrogance of people; parents complain of the rudeness and disobedience of children; children complain about their parents; masters about servants; servants about masters; superiors about subordinates; subordinates about superiors. Often between two or three quarreling persons an outsider is needed to reconcile the irritated and embittered. Why is this? Because there is no spirit of Christ in these people. They do not know, or they know, but do not want to fulfill the words of Christ: "Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matt. 11:29); that we must admonish our adversaries with the spirit of meekness; that a Christian must love his enemies, bless those who curse him, and pray for those who offend us; that when we are reproached, we must not reproach one another, just as Christ, when He was reproached, did not reproach another (1 Pet. 2:23). Do not respond to insults with insults, to malice with malice, to insolence with insolence, to insult with vengeance, to any unrighteousness with unrighteousness as well. If Christians begin to live like this, they will no longer be Christians or people, but beasts whose fate will be with the beast of the abyss – the devil in eternal fire. Holy Father Nicholas! Image of meekness and gentleness! With your sweet-breathing prayers, ask for meekness, gentleness, and patience for Christ’s inheritance.

Saint Nicholas was a teacher of temperance in word and deed, because he himself was a great faster. Tradition says that as an infant he sucked milk only from his mother's right breast, and on Wednesdays and Fridays he partook of this infant food only once, and then only in the evening. Thus, from his very birth from above, he was taught fasting, which he observed until his very death. Let the example of the Saint of God teach gluttons, fast-breakers and drunkards not to please the belly, which God will soon abolish; for it is said: "Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them" (1 Cor. 6:13). How much intemperance has increased in our time! What drunkenness and the resulting riots, fights, foul language, thefts! O people, and Christians at that, worse than any beasts! O generation of vipers, to whom the fire of Gehenna awaits, if they do not resolve to correct themselves immediately! If there are drunkards here in this holy temple, I beseech them in the name of God to abandon drunkenness immediately and to take utmost care for abstinence: "for drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:10); for drunkards are the plague of society, a grief and misfortune for their families and an unbearable burden for themselves. Holy Father Nicholas, good and compassionate shepherd, warmest and most ready deliverer, snatch, by the means which you know, given to you by the grace of God, the flock of Christ from the jaws of the invisible wolf, who is dragging it into the abyss of hell, into eternal fire and into outer darkness, "where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 8:12), according to the true word of Christ. Regarding the chastity of Saint Nicholas, tradition says that he carefully avoided women, and not only did not speak to them, but he was careful in every way to avoid even looking at a woman's face; he preserved true chastity and with a pure mind constantly looked at God, he loved to be in the holy temples of God, where he often spent days and nights in divine contemplation, prayer and reading divine books. Let fornicators and adulterers hear this, especially those who excuse their debauchery by the need and necessity of nature, and let them imitate, as far as possible, the chastity of the Saint of God, in every way avoiding even an impure look at a woman.

Another high virtue of the Saint of Christ should be mentioned for our imitation, namely, his almost unparalleled mercy to the poor and unfortunate. Thus, among other acts of mercy, he was a feeder of the poor, and distributed all his rich inheritance to the poor. In our age, the poor are despised, called vagabonds, parasites, and people prefer to spend their money on various whims, on useless luxury, than to give even a little to the poor. Where is the brotherly love among Christians, which is merciful, does not exalt itself, is not proud, does not think evil and is not irritated (1 Cor. 13:4)? Where is this love, which provides for its neighbor as for itself, desiring happiness and contentment for its neighbors, as for itself? Where is the faith in the words of Christ: "Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40)? Or the words of another scripture: "He that has mercy on the poor, lends unto God: according to his giving shall he be repaid" (Proverbs 19:17)?

Here are some of the virtues of the Saint of Christ, Nicholas, presented for our imitation. It is impossible to count all his good deeds because of their multitude. Let us imitate, each according to his own strength, at least these virtues of the great Luminary of the universe.

Holy Father Nicholas! By your prayers preserve, make wise and strengthen in all Christian and royal virtues your namesake, the Right-Believing Tsarevich and Grand Prince Nicholas Alexandrovich, heir to the throne of Orthodox Russia, which loves and fervently honors you and him, your admirer. Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.