Why envy is a mortal sin. Why envy is a major deadly sin. Be ready for the return of passion
Old Stump
And you, dear, hello! The seductive chance to choose any mask for yourself and then speak on its behalf, as well as the almost unlimited opportunity to demonstrate your successes, real or imaginary - these are the decoys with which the Internet catches us. It seems that when starting your page on the social network, you were not going to turn inside out, talking about the most intimate, but you don’t have time to come to your senses, as, lo and behold: the heavy shackles of self-control fell, the dungeons of moral taboos collapsed, and cheerful freedom joyfully meets you at the entrance. Vanity fairs, of course. And you are already ready to get naked, and not always in the figurative sense of the word, forgive me my insolence, Alexander Sergeevich - it hurts!
We'll talk about vanity later, but today about envy. Firstly, because after the article about Cain and Abel ("RG - Nedelya" dated June 23, 2016), many questions came. And secondly, because the Internet is not only a boundless vanity fair, but no less an endless arena for envy - otherwise where would so many dirty, offensive comments under any bright message come from.
So let's get started.
1. Can the evil eye, that is, an envious look, harm, cause illness, cause failure and even death?
The saints say no. This is how Basil the Great argued about this back in the 4th century, dedicating a separate chapter of his creations to envy. “Those who suffer from envy are considered more harmful than poisonous vipers. They inject poison through the wound, and the bitten place gradually rots; others think of the envious that they do harm with one glance, so that strong bodies begin to wither from their envious glance, according to youth of age blooming with all beauty. All their fullness suddenly disappears, as if some destructive, harmful and destructive stream is pouring from envious eyes. I reject such a belief, because it is common people and old women brought into women's chambers; but I affirm that haters goodness - demons, when they find in people themselves, demons, inherent wills and desires, use all measures to use them for their own intention; therefore, the eyes of the envious are used to serve their own demonic will. That is, an envious look can really burn with inhuman malice, but you should not attribute magical power to this hatred. Moreover, a person can always protect himself from envy. Think about it, if hatred and malice were stronger than the grace of God, the human race would stop at the first envious person - Cain.
2. Why is envy terrible?
The one that kills. But who? First of all, the envious person. As the saints unanimously believe, the grace of God - that is, the uncreated divine energy, power, leaves envious hearts. This means that if the envious person does not do anything, that is, if he does not repent, does not begin to fight the disease that has seized him, the most terrible thing awaits the unfortunate - the death of the soul. Like any sin, this passion blinds the envious person, and he ceases to notice that he lives by constantly comparing himself with others. Someone else's, not his own, life becomes the center of his attention. “Just as the raging often turn their swords on themselves, so the envious, having in mind only one thing - harm to the one they envy, lose their own salvation,” explains St. John Chrysostom. “Envy is worse than any other passion, because with its sting it seeks to destroy families , societies and even entire nations, bringing them to extreme crime and even murder."
3. What to do if you are envied? How to defend yourself?
First of all, the saints teach, “what is worthy of envy in you, then hide it most of all from the envious one” (St. Nilus of Sinai). Do not tempt people by showing off, planning the future. By the way, before the revolution in Russia there was a saying: "Man thinks, but God disposes," and it was actively used when someone was obsessively interested in your plans. And such curiosity in itself seemed strange. There was a principle: not to declare, and even more so not to advertise, an imperfect deed. We tried not to boast of success - it looked like bad form.
The saints unanimously believe that it is impossible to restore the favor of the envious by good deeds. "The passion of envy, flaring up in a person's soul, becomes insatiable. No kindness, no service from neighbors can stop this ungodly passion in a person." Therefore, there is one defense against envy - God's help: participation in the sacraments of the Church, prayers. Most of our prayers contain words of petitions for protection from the enemy of the human race, and it is he who is the parent of envy.
It is also necessary to pray for the most unfortunate, envious of you. "Pray for the envious and try not to irritate him," the Optina elders teach.
4. And what to do if a worm of envy has settled in you?
To understand: with this passion it is necessary to begin to struggle at the earliest stages. This is what Elder Nikon of Optina taught: “When you feel dislike for someone, or anger, or irritation, you need to pray for those people, regardless of whether they are guilty or not guilty. Pray with simplicity of heart, as the holy fathers advise: " Save, Lord, and have mercy on Your servant (the name of the person) and for the sake of his holy prayers, help me, a sinner! "From such a prayer, the heart is pacified, although sometimes not immediately."
It is imperative to track in your heart the sprouts of such hostility and then confess them. And at the moment of the birth of malice in the soul, it is necessary, on the advice of another Optina elder, Ambrose, “to exterminate them at the first sensation, praying to the Almighty Heart-Knowing God with Psalm words: “Cleanse me from my secrets, and spare Thy servant (or Thy servant) from strangers” (Ps. 18:13-14)."
Another recommendation: “shut your mouth, seal your mouth,” that is, try with all your might not to say bad things about someone you envy.” Moreover, you need to encourage yourself to see the good in him, and if you happen to “open your mouth”, remember only good.
And finally, force yourself to do things of love. Yes, that's right: cultivate your heart, cultivate your soul. “One must force oneself, albeit against one’s will, to do some good to one’s enemies, and most importantly, not to take revenge on them and be careful not to somehow offend them with a look of contempt and humiliation,” taught St. Ambrose of Optina. That is, he envied a person - do him good, so you will stifle the viper of malice that is born in you.
5. Who is the culprit of envy?
Of course, not the one who is envied, even if the person behaved provocatively, temptingly. Envy is a spiritual disease of the one who experiences it. Theologians call selfishness and its main products - pride and vanity, greed and avarice, carnal pleasure as the sources of envy. By eradicating the root vices in oneself, a person also weakens envy.
In turn, envy in a person gives "the following bitter generations: rivalry, anger, malevolence, malevolence, enmity and hatred, quarrels, strife, slander, lies and slander, slander, secret trickery, low slyness, malevolence in the misfortune of others, slyness and hypocrisy" (Hermogenes Shimansky).
In asceticism, there is such a very effective method of dealing with passions: you need to instill in your heart a virtue that is opposite to the sin that has captured you. You are stingy - try to get joy from generosity, angry - know the pleasure of learning to be restrained, and so on. The virtue opposite to envy is sincere, heartfelt love for one's neighbor, the kind of love that, according to the words of the Apostle Paul, does not envy, does not exalt itself, is not proud. Oddly enough, love is also learned, but we will talk about this next time.
St. John of Kronstadt about the envious
Lord, enlighten the mind and heart of this Thy servant to the knowledge of Thy great, innumerable, unsearchable gifts, which are also received from Thy innumerable bounties. In the blindness of your passion, forget you and your rich gifts, and be poor yourself, rich in your blessings, and for this reason it looks more charmingly at the good of your servants, image, oh, unspeakable Blessing, have mercy on everyone, every time against his strength and according to intention your will. Take away, O All-good Lord, the veil of the devil from the eyes of the heart of Thy servant and grant him heartfelt contrition and tears of repentance and thanksgiving, may the enemy not rejoice over him, caught alive from him into his will, and may not tear him away from Thy hand.
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Today I want to talk about envy. This feeling is confidently located in the list of mortal sins (though only in the Western Christian tradition). In religious interpretations of the creation of the world, it is Satan's envy of God that determines the formation of Hell and, in general, the dualistic nature of the world order. In the biblical story of the sons of Adam and Eve, Cain kills Abel, torn apart by this very feeling. Often behind the seemingly senseless and destructive actions of a person are strong envy and the hatred it generates. I think that this is also why the feeling of envy is perceived extremely negatively by most people, which, of course, prevents it from recognizing and analyzing it in oneself, and hence from its spiritual elaboration. Let's try to at least slightly reduce this gap.
Many famous writers and poets, philosophers, theologians, psychologists and psychotherapists, even politicians, have studied this emotion and written about it. Just listing the primary sources would take several pages, not to mention quoting. Nevertheless, I think it would be wrong not to voice the points of view of at least some of them.
According to one dictionary, envy is a feeling of annoyance caused by the well-being, success of another. According to another version, this is an unfriendly attitude towards more fortunate people. In any case, the conversation is about our difficult feelings in relation to someone else's good. One of the most profound researchers of envy, psychoanalyst Melanie Klein, directly stated that envy is a desire to take away, destroy, spoil an object that is attractive to us and belongs to another. (This point of view looks convincing and, perhaps, true, but for a person to understand his emotions, it is too categorical, which limits its use in the process of self-knowledge.) This is the first reason for people's dislike of envy. The second reason is the presence of envy in a complex emotion, in addition to anger, a sense of shame, and, accordingly, a painful experience of a drop in self-esteem. The study of shame often reveals an "explosive" combination of rage and shame, literally fueling each other's destructive energy. Shame is a painful experience of one's own inferiority, and envy causes it automatically, by definition. Shame is one of those emotions that a person tries to avoid at all costs, and the desire to deny envy that has arisen is an attempt to escape from the experience of shame. La Rochefoucauld noted in his time that we often take pride in even the basest of our passions, but "envy is so shameful that we will never dare to admit it". The famous German philosopher Max Scheler described the painful feelings of powerlessness and scarcity experienced by the envious individual.
This is what avoiding the awareness of envy in life looks like.
Alina, 30 years old: "I have absolutely no feeling of envy: we in the family outlived it many years ago. We used to suffer a lot from this feeling and then decided to change this situation. Now we are completely calm about someone else's wealth and success and are very proud of it. "
(Let me remind you that feelings arise unconsciously, therefore no conscious volitional effort will be able to prevent their appearance, only awareness. However, you will have to pay a high price for such psychological manipulation: the loss of control over unpleasant feelings that allegedly do not arise, but fully declare themselves In the same connection, the religious condemnation of envy looks illogical: how can you condemn something that appears against your will?)
The emergence of envy presupposes the presence of two subjects: the one who envies, and the one to whom this feeling is directed. Despite such a clear and specific description of the conditions for the emergence of envy, one must accept the truly absolute nature of the spread of this feeling: all people envy each other!
In response to such a sensational statement, you are probably rightly indignant, but let's reason logically. If someone else has something attractive to us, which we are currently deprived of, this circumstance cannot but arouse some feelings in us. Negative feelings. (Remember that unsatisfied needs and unfulfilled desires always cause negative feelings.) Now try to find a more appropriate name for these feelings than envy?! This is what I think is the right wording. Another thing is that in most cases this emotion is so weakly expressed that we simply do not notice it. But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Our life is literally permeated with emotions, they are obligatory companions of our mental life, but we do not realize the main part of them, since this is not necessary. But jealousy is more difficult. If it has arisen and does not go away, it should be noticed, otherwise it cannot be dealt with, and it will have a destructive effect on our psyche and life.
Freud wrote that the formation of society is based on the desire of people to control the destructive nature of the "original envy" inherent in man. To achieve this, society puts forward certain requirements for individuals to implement the ideas of social justice and equality; too much inequality will threaten the established structure of society. In fact, the very sense of justice owes its origin to envy!
The German sociologist Sheik, in his monograph Envy, a Theory of Society (1971), which caused great resonance in Western Europe, also proves the ubiquitous nature of envy. "Envy is the main anthropological category related to the human biological arsenal", - the author emphasizes and repeats Freud's thoughts about the reasons for the formation of society, the ideas of a fair character of which are dictated by the struggle against human envy. Sheik thinks "Jealousy rises as the American dream spreads more and more, that anything is possible, but such desires are not fulfilled so quickly". And, of course, it must be added that not everyone and not always.
The feeling of envy plays a truly huge role in life on Earth. In understanding its powerful destructive potential, one should not underestimate its strong positive impact on both the development of human society and progress through the promotion of competition. However, perhaps such a wide prevalence of this feeling also testifies to the historical youth and insufficient health of such a unique formation as the human psyche.
(The materials of the book by Evgeny and Anna Yaloveg "Psychology of Appetite" were used)
There are sins in which a person admits easily: yes, he is ambitious (proud), irritable (and who is not like that?), discouraged (one can regret it). But rarely does anyone admit to envy.
Why is this such a “shameful” sin? How to deal with envy?
M.I.Ignatiev. And life is so good, 1917.
Archpriest Konstantin OSTROVSKY, Rector of the Assumption Church in the city of Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region, Dean of the Churches of the Krasnogorsk District of the Moscow Diocese, answers:
Envy refers, I would say, to hidden passions. In the depths of the heart, it sits in every person as long as there is pride in him, but envy is felt only when someone has what I want, but do not have. Such coincidences do not always happen (if I don’t have and don’t want to, then I don’t envy, and if I have what I want, I don’t envy either), so people don’t always feel envy.
Consider an example. If all people of the same social status with me are awarded medals, and I am awarded with a diploma (we believe that a medal is more honorable), I will feel envy. As a Christian, I will rebuke it in myself, reproach myself, repent, but I will definitely feel it. Why? After all, diploma is also honorable? Honorable, but in comparison with the medal - a humiliation, so they gave me a sign that I was not good, insignificant. And my sense of self-worth will suffer. Not self-esteem, when a person sincerely remembers that he is the son of the Heavenly King by grace, but a sense of significance, importance, desirability, love, a sense of superiority over other people rooted in pride. It is poisonously sweet and inherent in everyone, except, of course, the humble, fulfilling the commandments of love for God and neighbor.
In the example of awards, the infringement of a sense of self-worth "lies on the surface." But let's take another case. Two people court a girl, she marries one of them. The other will not only suffer, but also envy. If she had gone to a convent, he would have suffered, but not envied. Because there would be no moment of preference for his opponent.
One won 10 thousand rubles in the lottery, and the other 10 million. Will there be envy? Of course yes. But who humiliated the winner of the lottery 10 thousand? God! If in the previous examples the envious person was “humiliated” by people (bosses, beloved), then here the “masks are torn off”: God is the offender. In fact, when we envy people, we always rebel against God. The devil, Cain, the Jews who betrayed Christ to be crucified... and we.
The murder of Abel by Cain. Mosaic, Monreale Cathedral. 12th century
The less we become attached to vain earthly things, the less will be the ground for envy (that is, the fight against God) on our part. The deeper I understand that earthly signs of honor are nothing in themselves, that it is important to do the will of God, and earthly reward is not a true good, the less envy will torment me, the more successfully I will fight it with God's help. The more I trust in God in my earthly affairs, the stronger my faith that God loves us and arranges for everyone what is useful to him, the less reason for envy I will have.
But besides earthly happiness, there are also spiritual gifts. As if you can’t call them vain blessings? But, if we appropriate God's spiritual gifts for ourselves, treat them not as the power of God, which through us and in us, transforming and purifying, acts, but as, albeit given by God, but to their gifts, they become vain and harmful for us. , multiplying only reasons for pride. That is why God usually does not give us special spiritual gifts, or gives us, but from us in secret, so that with our pride we do not turn God's gifts into spiritual poison.
And if we talk about the eternal fate of man, then the eternal fate of each of us is exclusively in his own hands. God sends to everyone, everything, at every moment of time the most useful for the salvation of his soul. There is never anything to be jealous of. Humble yourself before the Heavenly Father, accept everything from Him with gratitude - this opportunity is given to everyone, no one is offended here.
- How to deal with envy?
We, proud and spiritually relaxed people, need to fight envy by denouncing this passion in ourselves, realizing it in ourselves, honestly admitting that I envied here, without self-justification and self-pity.
In thoughts, you need to repent and keep yourself from acting out of passion. This applies to all passions, including envy. For example, if someone was praised, and it hurt me, and I try to somehow condemn this person in a conversation, directly or indirectly offend, mock, ironize, etc. (there are many options) - in this case, I act out of passion. If I keep my reaction, I do not sin with envy in deed. This is already not bad (unless, of course, you mentally reproach yourself for pride).
Compassionate patience with sorrows is also necessary. If we are less than the other, love, praise, celebrate, then it is hard for us. But we must endure, and at the same time not grumble. Modern man is saved, read, by sorrows alone. God gives strength to few people for spiritual exploits, which we read about in the Fathers and the Lives of the Saints, so let us at least without grumbling, and even better with gratitude, endure everything He sends. If you have visited grief (of course, you don’t need to provoke it yourself), you must say: thank you, Lord, that you have deprived me of this thing, this consolation, what I so wanted, but do not deprive me of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Fighting passions with the help of opposite virtues, as recommended by some holy fathers, is for those who are spiritually successful, and, unfortunately, I am far from such a measure. When an ordinary person, that is, a proud person, begins to struggle with some passions in this way, then pride only grows.
Sometimes people ask whether to confess to a person that you are envious of him, and in this case they refer to the words of the Apostle James “confess to one another in transgressions” (James 5, 16). But such frankness can cause mental trauma to a person, for a long time, or even forever, ruin relations with him. It is necessary to struggle internally with passions with self-reproach, complacent patience, prayer for softening and purification of one’s heart, but not everyone needs to open their impure heart, but only to those who can bear our thoughts, from whom we hope to receive help - prayer and spiritual advice.
The Holy Scriptures say: “Do not open your heart to every man, lest he thank you badly” (Sir. 9:22). And the Monk Seraphim of Sarov in chapter 17 "On the preservation of the heart" wrote: "Do not reveal to everyone the secrets of your heart." True, in that context he had in mind the good secrets of the heart, but this also applies to evil secrets. 
Bosch, Jerome. Table with scenes depicting the seven deadly sins and the "four last things". Detail: Envy. 1475-1480.
But if a person does not understand, does not see in himself the passion of envy? For example, there is such a successful, capacious word “irritation”, in which you can repent and receive forgiveness, but it is already more difficult to understand what is the cause of irritation. After all, looking deeper into yourself is scary. And here the question may arise: is it necessary to help a person, to suggest: but you are jealous!
There can be no general recipes here. It happens that a person will expose someone in his passion, and the person's eyes will suddenly be opened, so that he will receive great benefit from the exposure. But it happens that you tell someone the obvious truth and, it seems, with good intentions, and the person will not improve, but will only become embittered and fall into despair.
I remember in my church youth, while still being an altar boy, I told the truth in the eyes of one of my acquaintances, but she did not accept my truth and only got upset. I told my spiritual father, Archpriest Georgy Breev, about this, and he answered me very gently (he told me the truth, by the way): “It’s too early for us to denounce something.” So, I remember that incident for the rest of my life, but I still can’t correct myself, although now I try to look more at myself than at those around me.
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From envy, as from a source, comes death for us, deprivation of goods, alienation from God. (7, 165).
The devil rejoices in our death; he himself fell from envy and overthrows us with him with the same passion (7, 160).
Let us beware of envy, so as not to become accomplices of the enemy - the devil, and subsequently not be subjected to the same condemnation with him. Saint Basil the Great (7, 155).
If envy wrestles with you, remember that we are all members of Christ, and both the honor and dishonor of our neighbor are common with him - and you will calm down. (34, 97).
Woe to the envious, for they make themselves strangers to the Goodness of God. Rev. Abba Isaiah (34, 195).
Just as a worm that originates in a tree first of all eats the tree itself, so envy first of all crushes the soul that gave birth to it. And to the one whom he envies, he does not what he would like, but quite the opposite ... For the malice of those who envy only brings great glory to those who are envied (for virtue), because those who suffer from envy bow down to God for help and use assistance from above, but he who envies the grace of God easily falls into the hands of all (38, 516).
For those who have not been freed from this disease, it is impossible to completely avoid the fire of hell prepared for the devil. And we will be freed from illness when we think about how Christ loved us and how He commanded us to love one another. (43, 561),
Let us avoid this pernicious passion and with all our might pluck it out of our souls. This is the most disastrous of all passions and harms our very salvation; this is the invention of the devil himself (38, 517).
When envy takes possession of the soul, it does not leave it before it will bring it to the last degree of recklessness. (38, 650).
Even if you give alms, even if you lead a sober life, even if you fast, you are the most criminal if you envy your brother. (42, 240).
The envious person lives in constant death, considers everyone his enemies, even those who have not offended him in any way. He mourns that honor is given to God; rejoices in what the devil rejoices (42, 384).
Envy is a terrible evil and full of hypocrisy. She filled the universe with countless disasters ... From her passion for glory and acquisition; from her lust for power and pride (42, 435).
Whatever evil you see, know that it is from envy. She also invaded churches. It has long been the cause of many evils. She gave birth to avarice. This disease has perverted everything and corrupted the truth (42, 435).
Weep and wail, weep and pray to God; learn to treat envy as a grave sin and repent of it. If you do this, you will soon be cured of this disease. (41, 432).
Nowadays, envy is not considered a vice either, which is why no one cares about getting rid of it. Saint John Chrysostom (41, 432).
The root of envy is pride
The root and beginning of envy is pride. The proud, because he wants to exalt himself above others, cannot tolerate anyone being equal to him, and especially above him, being in prosperity, and therefore he is indignant at his exaltation. A humble person cannot envy, for he sees and recognizes his unworthiness, while he considers others more worthy, and therefore has no indignation about their gifts. This passion is in those who think of themselves that they are something in the world, and dreaming so highly of themselves, they consider others to be nothing. The proud Saul is so indignant at the meek and humble David that the jubilant wives attributed more praise to him, as Saul himself says: “Tens of thousands were given to David, and thousands to me” (). Therefore, he began to persecute the innocent (104, 773).
The purpose of envy is to see the one whom one envies in trouble. It is born when the well-being of another begins; ceases when his well-being ends and misfortune begins. Thus, our forefathers were cast down by envy from high bliss into a distressed state. Envy taught Cain to rebel against his brother Abel and kill him. It's a matter of envy that Joseph was sold into Egypt. It must be attributed to envy that the Jews raised Christ, their Lord and Benefactor, to the Cross. Thus envy begins from pride, hatred from envy, malice from hatred; malice leads to the most unfortunate end. Therefore, Saint Chrysostom says: "The root of murder is envy." Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (104, 768).
Envy is more fatal and more difficult to cure than all vices, because it is even more inflamed by those medicines that stop the passions. For example, who mourns for the harm done to him, he is healed with a generous reward; whoever is indignant at the inflicted offense is pacified by a humble apology. And what will you do to someone who is even more offended by the fact that he sees you more humble and more friendly, who does not inflame anger with greed ... but irritates someone else's happiness. Who, in order to satisfy the envious, would want to be deprived of goods, lose happiness, be subjected to some kind of disaster?
Envy is the cause of all evil, but everything good is the enemy. Out of envy, Cain killed Abel. Esau persecuted Jacob, Saul persecuted David, and countless evils out of envy are going on in the world. Envy and hatred shut up Heaven, blind the mind, darken the soul, aggravate the conscience, sadden God, make demons glad. He who “hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going” (), - said the apostle. Envy cannot prefer what is useful: “where there is envy and strife,” says the apostle, “there is disorder” (). So, be thankful for your position, given to you by God; hold on to what God has given you, and do not envy those who are greater than you in prosperity and honor; what you are called to, in what you are arranged, stay in that, but do not be enviously jealous of more. Honor those clothed with honor from God and from people, and, answering them, be kind and humble. Do not envy the one to whom God has given something, and do not admire with pride for yourself, for no one can get anything for himself unless God gives him, for all power and honor is from God ... Saint Demetrius of Rostov (103, 1059-1060).
The inhabitants of Nazareth marveled at the word of the Lord, but still did not believe: envy prevented, as the Lord Himself revealed. And every passion is contrary to truth and goodness, but envy is more than all, because its essence is lies and malice. This passion is the most unjust and the most poisonous both for the one who wears it and for the one to whom it is directed. In small sizes, it happens to everyone, if an equal, and even worse, takes over. Selfishness is irritated, and envy begins to sharpen the heart. It is not yet so painful when the road is open to oneself; but when it is blocked by those for whom envy has already conceived, then I will not be able to restrain its aspirations, then peace is impossible. Envy demands the overthrow of its opponent from the mountain, and will not rest until it somehow achieves this or destroys the envious person himself. Well-wishers, in whom sympathy prevails over selfish feelings, do not suffer from envy. This points the way to the Extinguishment of envy for everyone who is tormented by it. It is necessary to hasten to arouse benevolence, especially towards the one whom you envy, and to discover this by deed - immediately envy will subside. A few repetitions of the same kind - and, with God's help, it will completely calm down. But to leave her like this will torment, dry up and drive her into a coffin if you don’t overcome yourself and stop doing evil to the one you envy. Saint Theophan the Recluse (115, 452).
Envy - enmity against God
Envy is tantamount to murder: it is the cause of the first homicide, and then of deicide. Saint Gregory Palamas (70, 269).
Envy, like a poison poured out by the basilisk-devil, kills the very life of faith before the wound is felt. For not against man, but clearly against God, the blasphemer rises up, who, stealing nothing else in his brother, except merit, condemns not the guilt of man, but only the judgments of God. Envy is that “bitter root” (), which, rising in height, rushes to reproach the very Source of blessings - God. Saint John Cassian the Roman (Abba Piammon 53, 513).
Oh, envy is a pitched, hellish, disastrous ship! Your owner is the devil, the helmsman is the serpent. Cain is the main rower. The devil has given you a pledge of distress; the serpent, being the helmsman, led Adam to a mortal shipwreck; Cain is the chief rower, because because of you, envy, he committed the first murder. For you, from the beginning, the paradisiacal tree of disobedience serves as a mast, branches of sins are rigging, envious people are sailors, demons are shipmen, cunning is oars, hypocrisy is a rudder. Oh, the ship is the bearer of countless evils! ... Enmity, quarrel, deceit, quarrelsomeness, swearing, slander, blasphemy and everything that we call and omit the evil live there - all this is carried by the hellish ship of envy. The flood was unable to swallow this ship, but Jesus sank it by the power of the Spirit, the source of Baptism. There were also anchors in this ship, but they were melted into nails for Christ; this ship also had a mast, but the devil cut the Cross out of it; this ship also had tackle, but Judas strangled himself with them. In this ship, the Jews stumbled upon a rock, were wrecked in faith, and therefore to this day they swim in the depths of ignorance. However, those of them who are able to grasp the ship of Christ are saved; the rest perish a bitter death of ignorance. Saint John Chrysostom (44, 855).
“His eldest son was in the field” (). So far in the parable there has been a discussion about the younger son, by which he should mean publicans and sinners called by the Lord to repentance; but in a mysterious sense it prophesies about the future calling of the Gentiles. Now the speech turns to the eldest son. Many attribute it to the face of any saint in general, others actually to the Jews. In relation to the saints, the interpretation is not difficult, if we take into account the words: “I never transgressed your command” (15, 29), but it does not agree with the properties of the saint that he envies the conversion of his brother. And as for the Jews, although envy about the salvation of a brother is completely in their spirit, but what is said about the constant observance of the father's commandment does not apply to them.
“His eldest son was in the field,” sweating from labor in earthly cares, removed from the grace of the Holy Spirit and the Father’s Council. This is the one that says: “I bought the land and I need to go see it; I beg you, excuse me ”(). He is one who has bought five pairs of oxen, and under the weight of the law enjoys sense gratification. This is the one who, having taken a wife, cannot come to the marriage, and, having become flesh, cannot unite with the Spirit in any way. The eldest son in another parable corresponds to the workers sent to the vineyard at the first, third, sixth, ninth hours, that is, at different times, and indignant at the fact that the workers of the eleventh hour are equal in wages with them.
“And returning, when he approached the house, he heard singing and rejoicing; and calling one of the servants, he asked: what is this? (). And now Israel asks why God rejoices at the reception of the Gentiles, but, burdened with envy, cannot recognize the Father's will.
“He said to him: your brother has come, and your father killed the fattened calf, because he received him healthy” (). The cause of joy is the salvation of the Gentiles, the salvation of sinners, proclaimed to the glory of God on this earth: the Angels rejoice, the whole creation is ready for joy; about Israel alone it is said: “he was angry and did not want to enter” (). He is angry that his brother was taken in in his absence; is angry that the one whom he considered dead is alive. And now Israel stands outside the doors, and now, when the disciples listen to the Gospel in the church, his mother and brothers stand outside the doors, looking for him ().
“His father went out and called him” (). As good and merciful, the father asks his son to take part in domestic joy; the Father asks through the apostles, asks through the preachers of the Gospel. Paul says about this: “We ask in the name of Christ: be reconciled to God” (). And in another place: “you were the first to be preached the word of God, but as you reject it and make yourself unworthy of eternal life, then, behold, we turn to the Gentiles” ().
“But he said in response to his father: behold, I have been serving you for so many years” (). The Father graciously asks for consent, but he, following the legal truth, does not submit to the truth of God. But what truth is greater than the truth of God, which forgives the repentant, accepts the returned son? “Behold, I have been serving you for so many years and have never transgressed your orders,” as if it was not a crime of the commandment that he envied the fear of another that he boasts of the truth before God, when no one is clean before Him. For who can self-satisfiedly admit that he is the owner of a pure heart, even if he has lived on earth for one day? David confesses: “I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother bore me in sin” (). And in another place: “If you, Lord, notice iniquity, - Lord! who can stand?" (). And the eldest son mentioned in the parable says that he never transgressed the commandments, while so many times he was handed over to captivity for idolatry! “Behold, I have served you for so many years and have never transgressed your command.” Concerning this, the apostle Paul says: “What shall we say then? The Gentiles who did not seek righteousness received righteousness, righteousness by faith. And Israel, who sought the law of righteousness, did not reach the law of righteousness. Why? because they did not seek in faith, but in the works of the law ”(). Thus, it can be said about the eldest son that, according to the apostle, he is without stumbling in the field of truth, which is from the law: although it seems to me that the Jew boasts more than speaks the truth, like that Pharisee who said: “God! I thank You that I am not like other people, robbers, offenders, adulterers, or - like this publican ”().
I ask you: do you not see that the same thing that the Pharisee said about the publican, the older brother said about the younger: “this is your son, who squandered his possessions with harlots” ()? To the son’s words: “I never transgressed your orders,” the father does not answer; does not confirm whether what the son said is true, but subdues his anger in another way: “My son! you are always with me "(). He did not say: you speak the truth, you did everything that I commanded, but he says: "You are always with me" - with me through the law to which you are subject; with me when you know me in captivity; with Me, not because you keep My commandments, but because I did not allow you to go far away. With me, finally, because I said to David: “If his sons leave my law and do not walk in my commandments; if they break my statutes and keep not my precepts, I will visit their iniquity with a rod, and with blows their iniquity; but I will not take away my mercy from him ”(). According to this testimony, it turns out that what the eldest son boasts of is false, since he did not walk in the destinies of God and did not fulfill His commandments. How, according to the parable, was he always with his father, not keeping the commandments? Because after the sins he was visited by a rod, and the visitor was not denied mercy. It should also not be surprising that he dared to stand before his father who could envy his brother; on the Day of Judgment, some will lie even more shamelessly, saying: “Is it not in Your name that we prophesied ... and in Your name we did many miracles” ().
“But you never gave me even a goat to have fun with me...” How much blood, says Israel, was shed, so many thousands of people were killed, and none of them became a redeemer for our salvation. Josiah himself, who pleased before Your face (), and recently the Maccabees, who fought for Your inheritance, were wickedly killed by the swords of enemies, and no blood returned us freedom ... Neither the prophet, nor the priest, nor any righteous person was brought sacrificed for us. And for the prodigal son, that is, for the Gentiles, for sinners, Blood was shed, more glorious than all created things. And while to those who deserved You did not give a little, to those who did not deserve much more. “He never gave me a kid to have fun with my friends” (). It is in vain that you speak thus, O Israel; say better: that I may rejoice with Thee. Can there be any other pleasure for you if the Father does not celebrate with you at the feast? Learn from at least a real example. When the younger son returns, both the father and the servants rejoice. “Let’s eat,” says the father, “and be merry!” (), rather than eat and be merry. But you, according to that inclination of your soul, according to which you envy your brother, according to which you move away from the contemplation of the Father and always remain in the field, you now want to feast without Him. “He never gave me even a goat...” The Father will never give a worse gift: a calf is slaughtered, come in, eat with your brother. Why do you ask for a kid for whom the Lamb is ready? And so that you don’t pretend that you don’t know that the Lamb is ready, John pointed it out to you in the wilderness: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (). And the Father, being merciful and accepting repentance, asks you to eat the calf without slaughtering the goat that stands on the left side. But at the end of the century, you yourself will kill the goat, the Antichrist, for yourself, and with your friends, unclean spirits, you will feed on his flesh, in fulfillment of the prophecy: “You crushed the head of the leviathan, gave it to the people of the desert as food” (
“He said to him: My son! you are always with me, and all mine is yours ”(). It is called a son, although he does not want to enter. But in what way does everything of God belong to the Jews? Really also Angels, Thrones, Dominions and other Forces? It is obvious that by everything one must understand the law, the prophets, divine speeches. God gave all this to the Jews so that they might learn in His law day and night...
“And about that it was necessary to rejoice and rejoice that this brother of yours was dead and has come to life, disappeared and was found” (). So, let us hope that we too, having become dead through transgressions, can come to life in repentance. In the present parable the son himself returns, just as in the earlier parables the lost sheep is brought back and the lost drachma is recovered. All three parables are concluded in the same way: “he was lost and is found”, so that through various comparisons we understand the same idea about the acceptance of sinners. Blessed Jerome (116, 193-196).