What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto Him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy glory (Mk. 10:36–37).
Beloved faithful!
If you carefully and reverently listened to today’s Gospel reading, then in addition to other sacred teachings stemming from the Savior’s words, you heard the request of the two Apostles James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They asked: Master, we would that Thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.
He said to them: What would ye that I should do for you?
They told Him: Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy glory (Mk. 10:35–37).
Do you see, my brothers? The temptation of vainglory dared to approach even the Lord’s disciples. And this isn’t at all surprising, considering that the devil tempted our forefathers Adam and Eve even in Paradise with the same temptation of pride and vainglory. Do you hear what the serpent says to Eve?
Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:4–5).
The devil and his angels were also cast out of Heaven for the sin of pride and vainglory, for they conceived to become like their Creator, Who brought them from non-existence into existence. Here’s what the Divine Scriptures say about it: For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High (Is. 14:13–14).
Do you see, brothers, that the sin of pride and vainglory was the cause of the fall of satan and the angels who were like him?
The devil deceived our forefathers in Paradise with this grave and abominable sin, and ever since he continues to tempt people with every kind of trial, especially the temptation of pride and vainglory, so vile to the All-Good God. And he tempted the Savior’s disciples the same way in today’s Gospel. However, you also heard with what meekness and wisdom the Savior corrected them. He didn’t berate them, didn’t curse them, didn’t punish them, but meekly said: Ye know not what ye ask.
Like unthinking children, He tells them that they don’t know what they’re asking for. Then He reminds them about the cup of His holy Passion, saying: Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? (Mk. 10:38).
And they said: We can.
To which Jesus added: Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized (Mk. 10:39).
And indeed, James was killed by Herod and John was exiled to Patmos by Domitian, the pagan Roman emperor. So both of these Apostles drank of the cup of suffering for the Lord and His Gospel.
But to sit on My right hand and on My left hand is not Mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared (Mk. 10:40).
But why did He say: But to sit on My right hand, and on My left, is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father (Mt. 20:23)? May no one here think like Arius the heretic that the Savior is less than the Father in His Divinity. No, the Savior is here speaking as a man. In His humanity, not His Divinity, He considered Himself lesser. In His Divinity, He was and remains equal to the Father unto the ages of ages.
And in another passage of the Holy Gospel, He teaches us, saying: I and My Father are one (Jn. 10:30). He also says: All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall shew it unto you… And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them (Jn. 16:15, 17:10). And in another place He says: Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? (Jn. 14:10).
But let’s continue further along the path of the word, to hear what the Holy Gospel says: And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John (Mk. 10:41).
Do you see, brethren, that because two of the Apostles were tempted by pride, the other ten were tempted by anger? And our all-merciful Savior called them to Himself again, like children who didn’t know what they were doing, and said to them:
Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all (Mk. 10:42–44).
The boundless goodness and love of our Savior corrects, with great meekness and wisdom, both the two who are tempted by the passion of vainglory and the ten who are angry at the two, and teaches them not to imitate the rulers of the world, who govern people and lord over them with immense arrogance and vainglory. Therefore, He teaches them, saying: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all (Mk. 10:27).
With these most sacred teachings, He banishes vainglory and anger from their minds, because both of these passions are daughters of pride. Vainglory is the beginning and pride is the end!
And at the washing of the feet the Last Supper, He gave them the same teaching against vainglory:
Ye call Me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you (Jn. 13:13–15).
But what exactly is vainglory? According to the Holy Fathers, vainglory is the beginning of pride, and “the only difference between them is such as there is between a child and a man, between wheat and bread.”1 The Lord threatens vainglory with grief, saying: Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you (Lk. 6:26). “The thought of vainglory is very subtle and easily hides behind deeds of virtue, and it takes no small feat to rid yourself of vainglory.”2
How can we be delivered from this many-headed beast of vainglory? According to the teaching of St. John Climacus, vainglory is driven out by those who reproach themselves in every place and in every deed, who bravely endure all insults and slander from others, who pass by praise untouched and strive for the glory above, counting the things of this world as dross.
The same saint says that “the beginning of the conquest of vainglory is the custody of the mouth and love of being dishonoured; the middle stage is a beating back of all known acts of vainglory; and the end (if there is an end to an abyss) consists in trying to behave in the presence of others so that we are humbled without feeling it.”3 Humility belongs only to the man who works every virtue with the aim of pleasing God, as the holy Apostle Paul teaches: Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31, cf. Col. 3:17).
St. Isaac the Syrian also teaches the following about vainglory: “Endeavor to be despised, and you will be filled with the honor of God. Seek not to be honored while within you are filled with wounds. Deprecate honor, that you may be honored; and do not love it, that you be not dishonored.” Then he says: “Honor flees away from before the man that runs after it; but he who flees from it, the same will it hunt down, and will become to all men a herald of his humility… Flee vainglory, and you will be glorified; fear pride, and you will be magnified… If you have come to detest praise, avoid those who chase after glory.”4
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Vainglory (Pride)
Beloved faithful!
So far we’ve been talking about the impiety of vainglory that tempted the two Apostles, James and John. Next, let’s talk a bit about the sin of anger, which causes us much harm in this life. And first of all, let’s look at what anger is and how many forms it takes.
“Anger further is the satellite of reason, the vindicator of desire. For when we long after anything and are opposed in our desire by some one, we are angered at that person, as though we had been wronged.”5 “Anger is a reminder of hidden hatred, that is to say, remembrance of wrongs. Anger is a desire for the injury of the one who has provoked you.”6
There are four types of anger. The first type of anger is called irritation; the second type of anger is called remembrance of wrongs; the third type of anger is called vindictiveness—that is, something that lies in a man’s soul for a long time and seeks revenge; and the fourth type of anger is the righteous anger of God.
God teaches us in Holy Scripture that we must cut off our evil anger: Cease from wrath and forsake anger (Ps. 36:8). The great Apostle Paul also says: But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth (Col. 3:8). He indicates the same thing in another place: Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice (Eph. 4:31).
St. John Climacus shows us what virtue we can use to drive out malicious and passionate anger, saying: “As the gradual pouring of water on a fire completely extinguishes the flame, so the tears of true mourning are able to quench every flame of anger and irritability.”7
As for the righteous anger of God, it was manifested in various forms of punishment, as the Divine Scriptures show us, saying: And in the greatness of Thine excellency Thou hast overthrown them that rose up against Thee: Thou sentest forth Thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with Thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters (Ex. 15:7–10).
In another place, we hear this about the righteous anger of God: And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day (Deut. 29:28). And the great and divine Prophet Isaiah, describing the righteous and sacred wrath of God that is to come at the end of the world, says: Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger. And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land (Is. 13:13–14).
My brothers, now let us show which virtues stand in opposition to anger. The first virtue that quenches and satisfies anger is meekness. Wanting to teach us how we can calm the turmoil of anger, our Savior Jesus Christ said: Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls (Mt. 11:29).
In another place, Divine Scripture teaches us, saying: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth (Mt. 5:5). The Divine Scriptures also teach us: A soft answer turneth away wrath (Prov. 15:1, cf. 16:14, 25:15). The holy Apostle Peter indicates that meekness has great value before God, saying: Let the hidden man of the heart be your adorning, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price (1 Pt. 3:3–4). The holy Apostle Paul also shows us that it’s necessary to give advice with meekness to those who fall into any sin: Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness (Gal. 6:1).
I’ve highlighted this from Divine Scripture to remind you that the best cure for anger is meekness and freedom from rancor, for these virtues can make the wicked good and bring them to repentance. In this regard, let us recall several stories from the Paterikon.
Some thieves came to an elder’s cell one day and told him: “We’ve come to take everything you have in your cell.”
And he replied: “Take whatever you like, brothers.”
So they took everything the elder had, forgetting only a bag hanging on a nail. But the elder grabbed it and ran after them, saying: “Brothers, you forgot something in my cell!”
Touched by the elder’s gentleness, they brought back everything they’d taken and repented, saying amongst themselves: “Truly, he is a man of God.”
And again, we read in the Paterikon about two monks living in a certain place. An elder went to them to test how they lived, and taking up his staff, he began to destroy the greenery one of them planted. When the brother saw this, he went and hid until nearly everything was destroyed. When there was just one root left, the brother said to the elder:
“If you want, leave it so I can cook it and we can share a meal together!”
When he heard this, the elder prostrated to the brother, saying: “
“Brother, the Holy Spirit shall abide with you for such guilelessness!”
Wrath killeth the foolish man (Job 5:2), said the divine Job.
And the Apostle Paul teaches us: Let not the sun go down upon your wrath (Eph. 4:26). Indeed, the fool is killed by anger if he doesn’t wholeheartedly reject the remembrance of evil and the desire to take revenge on those who upset him; otherwise, in harboring hatred for his brother, he shall become like a murderer.
Indeed, according to the testimony of Holy Scripture, anyone who hates his brother is a murderer—and you know that no murderer shall inherit eternal life (1 Jn. 3:15).
This, brethren, is how anger kills a foolish man. If he doesn’t’ reject anger and rancor, then he reaches the point of hatred, and hatred makes him a murderer and so, through anger and vindictiveness, he kills his own soul.
Beloved faithful!
Today is the fifth Sunday of Great Lent. Every day of the fast should be a new step that takes us to Heaven and brings us nearer to the Resurrection of Christ; thus, my brethren, we must compel ourselves every day to prayer, abstinence, fasting, to spiritual reconciliation with all people, to alms, to the rejection of sins by means of Confession, and to union with Christ in Holy Communion.
We’ve spoken today about two sins that are very common among us—about vainglory and anger. The Great Fast is the most fitting time for repentance and for our deliverance from the passions. Let us labor, let us pray all the more now. Let us cast off pride, anger, hatred, doubt, fornication, unbelief, and every sin now. Let us now be reconciled to God while we still have life and time for repentance.
Don’t we all see how much suffering there is in the world and how many people die without any Christian preparation? How can those who die in drunkenness and fornication, in hatred and strife, in sects and the darkness of unbelief escape condemnation? Who will free them from the torments of hell if human life on earth wasn’t enough for them to properly believe in God and do good deeds of repentance? May the Savior save us from such a terrible end without salvation.
This Sunday, the Orthodox Church commemorates St. Mary of Egypt, offering her to everyone as an example of repentance. This saint was a great sinner in her youth. But when she came to the Holy Sepulchre, she wasn’t able to enter the church because of her terrible sins. This brought her to her senses, and she began bitterly weeping for her sins. And having entered and worshiped in the church, she became a hermitess in the Jordan desert. There she labored alone for forty-seven years, enduring severe temptations, hunger, thoughts, cold, and demonic battles. Finally, when she was found by St. Zosima, a holy hesychast, she confessed to him and he communed her of the Holy Mysteries. A year later, he found her reposed in the Lord and buried her there. Her memory is celebrated on April 1/14. Do you see how many years she repented of the sins she committed in her youth?
Let us also follow the path of repentance, for without it life is in vain—we squander our lives and destroy our souls. We have a week until Palm Sunday. It would be good if you confessed during this time and communed of the Body and Blood of Christ on Palm Sunday.
Continue to fast and pray. But only ask what is useful for salvation. Be reconciled to God and man and take great care for your children. Let us pray to our good Savior to deliver us from every sin and place us with all the saints on His right hand in that world.
Amen.
