Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of truth...
About the Eighth and Ninth Beatitudes
Gradually we come to the words that complete the beatitudes with which the Lord Jesus Christ addresses us all through the Gospel. The last two commandments can be combined into one, because they logically complement each other: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unjustly because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).
Not to be confused with dissidents!
You can see that the nine beatitudes describe a kind of circle: Christ promises the Kingdom of Heaven to the poor in spirit, and the same promise is given to those persecuted for the sake of righteousness. A circle is a line without beginning or end. The path of life according to the Beatitudes becomes not a movement from point A to point B, but a constant movement in a circle. Stopping the Earth rotating around the Sun will mean its death, because it is this rotation that determines vital earthly processes. Spiritual life can also be compared to such rotation. Man revolves around the center, which is Christ. The beatitudes become the orbit or trajectory of this movement. They are inextricably linked and have only one goal. And this goal is the Kingdom of Heaven, or the Kingdom of God - being with Christ.
The very first article on the beatitudes said that the blessed is the happy. But those whom Christ calls happy do not fit into modern ideas about happiness and the position of man in the world and society. And in the last commandments the Lord says that those who believe in Him will be expelled, persecuted and slandered, that is, they will be rejected by the world and become outcasts. But their reward is great, because this has always been done to those who are faithful to God. This is how they persecuted the former prophets.
It is interesting that the word “prophet” has two meanings in the Bible, one of which has been almost completely forgotten by modern people. Nowadays, the word “prophet” in most cases will mean someone who foresees the future. In the Bible, prophets were called not only those messengers of God who spoke about future times (although many prophets, indeed, by the inspiration of God, revealed to people the secrets of future times, especially about the time of the coming of the Messiah promised by God), but also those who spoke about the present time. The prophet appealed to the conscience of those who had forgotten about their conscience, buried it under a pile of sins and untruths, retreated from God and wallowed in lies. Essentially, the prophet's preaching was a call to righteousness.
In the fourth beatitude, Christ spoke about those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, where the righteousness of God was called righteousness. The word “truth” is used in the same sense in the eighth commandment. Those expelled for the truth are not dissidents, oppositionists or fighters against social inequality. These are, first of all, those whose righteous life has become a denunciation of the untruths of this world.
When the truth gets in the way
One might argue: after all, Christ Himself denounced the rich and powerful, challenged the inviolability of the religious traditions of his contemporaries, and was essentially a dissident. Yes, in the Gospel you can find many accusatory words addressed to those who are now commonly called the elite. But Christ denounced, first of all, that the craving for worldly goods and successes completely drowned out the desire for the Divine.
The Lord denounced the rich for their lack of mercy and love, and the scribes and Pharisees for the fact that their imaginary righteousness had turned into pride and exaltation over others. With his life, Jesus Christ showed that the only true authority is the authority of God, and every believer must first of all seek “the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). But many wanted to see the Savior as a king leading the people to earthly prosperity. But the Lord calls for righteousness.
Righteousness is living before God. Openness to God, faithfulness to the Divine word. The life of a righteous person should be a testimony of Divine truth to other people.
But why does the Lord say that the righteous will be driven out for their righteousness? The Lord Himself gives the answer to this question in another place in the Gospel: “People loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). A righteous life becomes a denunciation of a sinful life, a life of evil. Christ comes to call sinners to repentance in order to demonstrate the righteousness of God to everyone. Did everyone hear His call and follow Him?
But if we take into account all the previous words of Christ that it is necessary to strive to realize one’s poverty before God, to acquire meekness, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, does all this mean that one must specifically strive to be persecuted and slandered for the sake of Christ? After all, they persecuted the prophets...
The words of Christ do not mean that everyone should recognize himself as a prophet and go to denounce neighbors, relatives or anyone else. The Lord calls us, first of all, not to be afraid of our own faith, not to be ashamed of it, not to hide it from others. If we are Christians, then we should not be afraid of the misunderstanding of others.
In the first three centuries of our era, misunderstanding of the Christian faith on the part of the pagan world often ended in persecution and death penalties for those who did not understand. The same thing happened again in the 20th century in Russia, and in some places it’s still happening now. But still, the majority of Christians are not persecuted and persecuted, are not sent to prison and are not led to execution. But this does not mean that the world accepted Christ and came to terms with His preaching. Therefore, a Christian must be prepared to testify to his faith before the modern world. The modern world does not threaten death and reprisals to those who strive to live according to the truth of Christ, but the threat lies elsewhere. The modern world is trying to present Christian righteousness as something unnecessary, outdated, depriving a person of freedom. Why do you need all this? Live your life to the fullest, cross out all these outdated norms and rules.
Are we now ready to respond with our lives to the challenges of the modern world? Every Christian can ask this question to himself. And this challenge has been and will always be as long as the world exists. Therefore, as long as the world exists, believers in Christ must be prepared to endure the sorrows of this world. It is no coincidence that the Lord said: “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). But the sorrow will not be hopeless, because the Lord continues: “But take heart: I have overcome the world” (16, 33). The promise of the Kingdom of God to the exiled and slandered, and in fact to all who have remained faithful to God, is a promise of victory over a world lying in evil. God conquers the world with the Cross, and those who believe in Him - with the righteousness that God has given us through the Cross and Resurrection.
Newspaper "Saratov Panorama" No. 4 (983)
Psalm
I went out in search of God. It was already dawn in the foothills. But I only needed a little - two handfuls of clay in total.
And I descended from the mountains into the valley, lit a fire over the river, and kneaded and rubbed the red viscous clay in my palms.
What did I know about God at that time, at the quiet dawn of existence? I sculpted the arms and legs, and I sculpted the head.
And filled with a vague premonition, I dreamed, in the light of the fire, that He would be kind and wise, that He would take pity on me.
When it faded, this long Day of fears, hopes and sorrows - My God, created from clay, Said to me: - Go and kill!..
And the years passed, And again - Everything was the same, but only ruder, My God, created from the word, Repeated to me: - Go and kill!
And I walked along the path of dust, A burdock dug into my dress, And God, created out of fear, Whispered to me: - Go and kill!
But again I sadly and sternly leave the threshold in the morning - In search of a good God And - oh, may God help me!
Bible references
Three times the hero tries to create a god according to his own ideas, and three times he hears the menacing: “Go and kill!” Such a call is a violation of one of the most important commandments: “Thou shalt not kill” (Ex. 20: 13). However, he continues to search for the “good God.” Let's look at these three hero attempts.
God first: God of clay, or “Thou shalt not make thyself an idol”
The opening lines of the poem refer us to the biblical description of the beginning of time, only it is not God who sculpts man from clay, but on the contrary, man creates God: “I sculpted the arms and legs, / And I sculpted the head.” The hero creates for himself a clay figurine, an idol, which contradicts another of the biblical commandments: “You shall not make for yourself an idol or any image of anything that is in heaven above, that is on the earth below, or that is in the water under the earth” (Ex. 20: 4) . The hero dreams that God “will be kind and wise, / That He will take pity on me!” However, such a god calls: “Go and kill!..”
Turning to biblical images helped Galich express his views on the cult that was shaped by Soviet times. The veneration of leaders (especially Stalin) was inculcated literally from kindergarten. The poet speaks of disappointment in his own trust in his superiors, which almost developed into religious faith. Now the author says goodbye to faith in Soviet idols.
God the Second: God from the Word, or the Gospel in Reverse
Author
In the 1949-1950s, Galich was known as a playwright and author of film scripts. Moreover, for the film “State Criminal” he was even awarded a prize from the KGB of the USSR. Galich's break with the dominant ideology began in the 60s. He gradually realized himself as a staunch opponent of the Soviet system and did not hide his opposition views. On the contrary, his highly social songs appeared about the terror of the 1920-1930s, the Holocaust, the horrors of camps and exile, and the unsightly moments of the Second World War. He especially sharply ridiculed the Soviet order that had developed during the time of “stagnation”, which is associated with the name of Brezhnev. In parallel with this, he published his book in an “anti-Soviet” foreign publishing house, which could not be published in the USSR for censorship reasons.
At the same time, he renounces atheistic views and recognizes himself as a believer, making a choice in favor of the Orthodox faith.
The poet was baptized in 1973. As the poet’s confessor, Archpriest A. Men, noted: “Galich was attracted to Christianity.” Undoubtedly, baptism was a deliberate decision, caused by a constant search for the truth and the right path.
Archpriest Alexander Men
Everything that happened to Galich caused a harsh reaction from the authorities. Alexander Arkadyevich was openly asked to leave the country, otherwise he would face trial. Galich decided to leave.
Just before flying abroad, customs officers stopped Galich and demanded that he take off his gold cross. The poet replied: “In that case, I’ll stay!” Only after long negotiations did they let Galich through.
He went through a difficult path from denial of God to faith. Galich never became a churchgoer; he did not change his secular lifestyle. But baptism, according to the poet himself, was “the only opportunity to realize oneself as a human being.”
His religious search was best reflected in the poem “Psalm,” written two years before his baptism. This poem can with full confidence be called the spiritual autobiography of the author.
Work
The full title of A. Galich’s poem: “The One Hundred and First Psalm.”
Alexander Galich. Psalm 101
A psalm is a song of praise, a petition addressed to God.
The collection of psalms is included in the biblical book of the Old Testament, the Psalter, and forms one of the foundations of Orthodox worship. The content of the poem is not a direct translation of the biblical Psalm 101, which is defined as “The prayer of the afflicted when he becomes discouraged and pours out his sorrow before the Lord.” Galich’s “psalm” coincides with the biblical psalm only in mood. These are reflections on difficult circumstances, an expression of personal sadness. The lines “I was cut down like grass” (Ps. 102:11); “All day long my enemies have reviled me” (Ps. 101: clearly echoes the fate of the poet.
The main thing for Galich here is not retelling, but an attempt to capture his spiritual path.
