Sermon on the feast of the Conception of St. John the Baptist. Trusting God

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. All my dear friends, brothers and sisters, I congratulate you on today's holiday. Today we recall the event, which, in fact, is the beginning of the Gospel, the first of the events described in the Gospel. This is the conception of John the Baptist, which was by the will of God and through the prayers of his holy parents - Zechariah and Elizabeth.

The Evangelist Luke tells us that Zechariah was an Old Testament priest in the Jerusalem temple. His priesthood was not what you see before your eyes now. The priesthood in the Old Testament temple was very different. The main concern of the priests was the performance of sacrifices. And so, in succession, that is, in turn, he served in the temple in Jerusalem and by lot it fell to him to play inside the temple.

If you've read the Old Testament, you probably know that the altar was located outside the temple, on the street where sacrifices were made. And inside the temple there was just a place where bloodless sacrifices were laid - bread, and there was also an altar of incense, that is, a place that was heated with coals, fire, where incense was placed, and from it there was an incense offered to God.

And so it happened to him that the lot fell to make such a censing inside the church. And it is known that both Zechariah and Elizabeth, his wife, were already elderly people for childbearing, remained childless and prayed all their lives that the Lord would give them a child. We know from the history of Israel that childless parents were reviled among the Israelite people, because it was believed that if the Lord does not give children, then somehow these people sinned, they were, as it were, rejected by God, cursed. Of course, this is a wrong judgment that has developed among the people, well, this is how it was, it happened like this.

And therefore, both Zechariah and Elizabeth prayed very earnestly, although by that time he had apparently lost hope.

And when he entered the temple, the archangel Gabriel appeared to him, who said to him: “Zechariah, your prayer has been heard, and a son will be born to you, you will call him John, and he will be great among people, he will not be subject to human passions, he will be an ascetic , will retire into the wilderness and be called the son of the Most High, because he will be a great prophet. " And Zachariah already inside himself had such, apparently, doubt, said: "Well, how do I know that this will be so, why should I believe you?" And the archangel Gabriel says to him: "I am an archangel sent from God, and because you doubted my words, you will be silent until this son is born to you." And so it was. We know from the further story of the Gospel that Zechariah was silent, was mute until the moment when his wife Elizabeth gave birth to her son John.

This gospel story teaches us a lot. But the main thing, I think, is that he teaches us never to lose faith in God. Always keep hope and remember that the Lord loves you and me so much. Moreover, we live in completely different times than Zechariah. We live in times when the Lord Jesus Christ has already come into the world, has already saved each of us, has already given His love and mercy to each of us. Therefore, we have much more reason to never lose faith and hope and trust in God, to always remember that He is with us and everything that He does with us, everything is arranged for our salvation. Indeed, in the eyes of God, the main thing for which He came into this world, and for what you and I were created, and why He generally ascended to the Cross is to place each of us in the Kingdom of God, to give everyone this great gift, to to which each of us is called. And he is called to the great glory of God, to be in the Kingdom of God, to be close to God, to glorify God, to love God, to love everyone around him, to enjoy this ineffable joy in eternity. And we very often do not understand this. Living an earthly life, we are completely immersed in it - in our addictions, in our earthly aspirations. And when we see that in our earthly life everything is somehow not our way, not the way we want it. And our problem, probably, is that we often pass our desire, our understanding, our vision as some such Divine and think: “That's why not? We pray, we pray, but everything is not how I thought, how I wanted, how I dreamed. " And the Lord thought, perhaps, differently, and the Lord judged us differently. And the Lord was preparing for us another way of salvation.

And so we must always remember the gospel examples: Zechariah and Elizabeth, and Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Mother of God, and other biblical examples, from the very depths of centuries that reach us, that the Lord knows best what our path of salvation is. Our, perhaps, a Christian task is very simple - to trust God, to trust and live as we live, to try not to sin, of course, not to indulge our sinful passions, to strive to live righteously, but all the occasions in life that we have, how our life goes, trust God. To say: "Lord, you arrange my life this way, glory to You, this is my way of salvation, I accept it." And do not forget to thank God, pray to Him and always remember: He is near, He wants our salvation and loves us. Therefore, when some temptation arises, distrust, and we sometimes lose faith, yes, doubts arise, I think we need to turn our prayers to people like Zechariah the prophet, like his wife Elizabeth, like the Godfathers Joachim and Anna, like Blessed Virgin Mary, Who generally saw the suffering of Her Son on the Cross.

So you and I will turn our prayers both to the prophet Zechariah and to his wife Elizabeth, and we will pray that they will help us accept what is happening in our life, teach us to trust God, trust God and through this maintain hope, maintain love for to those around us. And in this way, you and I will learn to love both God and people, and we will find salvation.

Today, unfortunately, a woman does not often announce to her husband jubilantly: "I am pregnant!" And there were times when barrenness was considered God's punishment for a grave sin. In the Old Testament, the rabbis said that seven people are excommunicated from God, and this list began like this: "A Jew who has no wife, or a Jew who has no child." Childlessness was a reason for divorce.

In the first chapter of his Gospel, the Apostle Luke tells us about the barren couple Zechariah and Elizabeth, who, however, were righteous before God.

In the Holy Scriptures there is a refrain about a barren woman who finds special mercy from God and gives birth to a child who will bring great glory to the people of God. These are, for example, Rachel, the mother of Joseph, and Anna, the mother of Samuel, in whose sons St. Cyprian saw a type of Christ, and in their mothers a type of the Church (Testimonies, 1, 20). Thus, the righteousness of the spouses in Luke is contrasted with the absence of grace.

Zechariah was a priest, and then one day he was lucky to serve and burn incense in the Temple in the order of succession by lot. There were about twenty thousand priests; it is quite possible that many priests have never in their lives been honored to serve in the Temple; but if anyone had such a lot, this day became the greatest day in his life.

On that day, the lot fell to Zechariah, and he was undoubtedly shaken to the core. And now an angel appeared to the right of the altar and told the frightened priest about the birth of a son. From the words of the Angel, we can conclude that, even having lost hope, Zechariah prayed for the birth of a son. And then the Angel proclaims that John will be a joy not only for parents, but also for many people. He will be great before the Lord. He will not drink wine because he has to quench his thirst with the Holy Spirit. Through his ministry, many Israelites will turn to the Lord (Matt. 3, 5; Mark 1, 4), he will return the disobedient to the path of righteousness.

Zechariah, like any weak person, shows lack of faith in the words: “How do I know? For I am old, and my wife is in her old years. " The angel deprives Zachariah of speech until the birth of his son. Let's remember: “Who gave the mouth to man? Who makes you dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Am I not, the Lord God? " (Ex. 4, 11). The dumbness following the receipt of revelation appears in the Old Testament as the result of a shock (Dan. 10:15), sometimes as a sign (Ezek. 3:26), sometimes as punishment (2 Mac. 3:29).

Meanwhile, the people expected that Zechariah, after the prescribed prayer, would go outside to give Aaronic's blessing, but he went out and explained to them in signs. What gesture should I use to depict the Angel and what He announced? Moreover, Luke used the word "kofos" for Zechariah, which could mean "deaf", "dumb", or both together, that is, deaf and dumb. The latter is true, since further from the Gospel of Luke (1, 62) it is clear that Zechariah not only became numb, but also deaf.

At the end of his days of service, Zachariah returned home because he lived with his wife in another town. After these days, Elizabeth conceived and hid for five months about her pregnancy, apparently not wanting to provoke gossip among distrustful neighbors. During her voluntary retreat, she tirelessly thanked God for His great mercy. Elizabeth's pregnancy became a special sign of God's omnipotence for the Most Holy Theotokos the Virgin Mary. Having received the gospel from the Archangel Gabriel, she hurriedly went to Elizabeth, and when they kissed, greeting each other, John leaped in Elizabeth's womb. See, unborn children can take part in the events of this world (cf. Gen. 25, 22-23). So, according to rabbinic legends, unborn babies rejoiced when crossing the Red Sea during the exodus from Egypt. John already greets Jesus in his womb, already accepts Him as his Lord, as the One whom he is destined to proclaim to the world. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, blesses Mary and the coming Savior. These words (Luke 1, 42-45) are usually called "the song of Elizabeth", the words are similar to the prayer of Anna (1 Samuel 2, 1-10). In response to this, Mary utters words of gratitude to God: "My soul magnifies the Lord" (the so-called Magnificat, accepted by all Churches as the most beautiful prayer). Mary stays with Elizabeth until the time has come for her to give birth. When a baby is born, the parents call him John (“the grace of God”), the name that the Angel gave before the birth. Moreover, Zachariah, still deaf and dumb, writes the name of his son on the tablet. After that, the gift of speech returns to him and he also thanks the Lord ("song of Zechariah"), announces prophecies about the future ministry of John and the birth of the Savior.

Thus, the feast of the conception of John the Baptist is a feast of a long wait for pious parents. And most importantly, a holiday of trust in God. We don't choose parents, we don't choose children. And now, God forbid, that we are worthy of the one who is born in our family. Because pregnancy itself is a joy and a miracle, and the understanding that children are forever for us. If we were given to see how wonderful and great they will grow out of these lovely mischief-makers, if we saw their children, and grandchildren, and grandchildren of their grandchildren, we would treat the birth of a child as the greatest treasure. We would feel the presence of God in the children's holy fuss.

October 6 (September 23, O.S.) The Church celebrates the Conception of the honest, glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John

The Holy Prophet Malachi predicted that His Forerunner would appear before the Messiah, who would indicate His coming. Therefore, the Jews, who were waiting for the Messiah, also expected the appearance of His Forerunner. The Forerunner could only appear from righteous parents. The Scripture says: "by their fruits you will know them"(Matthew 7:16): the fruit from a good tree really cannot be bad, for, as the same Scripture says: "if the root is holy, then so are the branches"(Rom. 11:16). Therefore, the holy branch - John could only come from the holy root.

Many mothers conceive children, but few are such whose conception would be glorified and celebrated by the Holy Church. There are only three known mothers in whose womb the completed conceptions became the subject of surprise for the whole world. These are the righteous Anna, Saint Elizabeth and the Most Pure Virgin Mary. Anna the righteous conceived the Mother of God, Elizabeth conceived the Forerunner, and the Virgin Mary conceived Christ our Savior. All these conceptions were announced by an angel and were accomplished by the grace of God, but moreover, not otherwise than through a conversation between the evangelist and those who conceive, for God Himself also demanded the permission of those who conceive.

At the time when Herod was king in Judea and Augustus in Rome, the righteous priest Zechariah lived in the city of Judah in the Mountainous Land of Palestine. Zachariah was a priest from the offspring of Ithamar, the son of Aaron, and had a wife, Elizabeth, who was also from the family of Aaron and was brought by sister Anna, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Holy Gospel testifies to Zechariah and Elizabeth that they possessed all the virtues and kept the commandments of the Lord: "they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless"(Luke 1: 6). However, the couple were unhappy: having reached their old age, they were childless and did not stop praying to God that He would give them a child. At that time, despair was considered a sign of God's wrath and humiliation.

It is known that Saint Zechariah, the Father of the Forerunner, priested in Jerusalem in the thirtieth year of the reign of Herod. He was from the daytime line of Abia, that is, from the lineage of Abija, whose line fell on the eighth week. Chareds these were established by David (1 Chron. 24:10). There were twenty-four of them. The Avian series was considered the eighth. ( King David, seeing that the family of Aaron had become very numerous, so that there was no possibility of all together to serve in the temple, divided the descendants of Aaron into 24 hours or faces, so that they, one after the other, celebrating each week, performed services in the temple .). Each chand began its service on Saturday and finished on Saturday. Thus, each succession got to perform divine services 2 times a year.

In each separate order, the king chose one most honest man and made him the ruler of the face, so that each order had its own chief priest, and in the line there were more than five thousand priests.

So that there is no dispute between the chief priests about which of them with their faces will serve the first week, who the second, who the third, etc. until the twenty-fourth, they cast lots and made the distribution by lot, and they held on to this once established line until the arrival of new grace, so that the descendants of each priest observed their turn according to the lot that fell to their ancestor. The eighth lot fell to the priest of Abijah (1 Chronicles 24:10), among whose descendants was also Saint Zechariah; that is why he served during the eighth week in the temple, along with his entire line, for he was in charge of the rest of the priests of his line.

According to the custom of the priesthood (Luke 1: 9), the office of the priests was to change the loaves of the offering, sacrifice animals, light lamps, burn incense, and so on. Whoever gets what part of the service - they cast lots. Zechariah, by this lot, got to burn incense. The censing was performed twice a day, in the morning and in the evening (Ex. 30: 7-8). In the morning the priest went out to bless the people who stood outside the sanctuary and awaited a blessing; it means that Zachariah used to burn incense in the morning.

And when he was praying in the altar, where the offering loaves and lamps were located, the Archangel Gabriel, standing on the right side of the altar, appeared and said:

- Do not be afraid, Zechariah: your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elisabeth will give you a son, and you will give him his name - John. And many will rejoice at his birth.

Zechariah replied:

- What you proclaim to me, joyous messenger, is unexpected and strange, for it is unnatural to give birth to children in old age; But I am old, and my wife is old in years: how can we conceive and bear a son?

The angel replied:

- From your very first words, Zachariah, I see that you have little faith; you do not believe that my words will come true. True, what I proclaim is not characteristic of your nature, but this is the will of God, for which nothing is impossible: "God can raise up children of these stones to Abraham"(Matthew 3: 9). Do you not know that God could create Adam from the earth, create Eve from the bone of Adam and give the aged Sarah a son Isaac? Therefore, Almighty God will grant to your wife the birth of a son in old age; for your prayer has been heard.

- I, - said Zechariah, - now offer God my prayers for the coming of the longed-for Messiah, Whom He promised through the lips of His holy prophets; I pray that God would quickly send Him to earth to save the seed of Abraham from the slavery of foreigners; I also pray to Him that He would forgive my sins and the sins of all the people; but now I do not pray to have a son, for I myself have reached old age, and my wife has grown old.

The angel said to him:

- I am Gabriel, standing before God; by the revelation of God, I know that now you are praying not for the gift of a son, but for what you told me; However, before, both you and your wife were not old yet, you fervently prayed to the Lord that He would send you a son. The all-merciful Lord, even the slightest movement of a human heart cannot hide from Him, he listens to those who pray to Him and fulfills the desires of those who fear Him. Hearing your earlier prayers, He will give you a son of equal grace; for the Lord knows, according to His good pleasure, when to fulfill the requests of His saints: and behold, a son will be born to you, who will be great before the Lord.

To this Zechariah answered:

- I see now, evangelist, that you are an angel of God, for your conversation testifies to this, and your appearance clearly shows this, and the power of your words confirms that. At first, when you suddenly appeared before me and began to broadcast, I was horrified, just as the prophet Daniel once feared when he saw an angel: "I looked," he said, "at this great vision, but there was no fortress left in me"(Dan 10: 8); also Samson's mother said: "The man of God came to me, whose appearance, like the appearance of the Angel of God, very respectable [terrible]"(Judges 13: 6). Therefore, I was afraid and do not dare to object to your angelic words; but I will ask, why will he who is born to me have a great son? Will he be higher and holier than the prophet Jeremiah, to whom the word of the Lord came: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you came out of the womb, I sanctified you: I made you a prophet for the nations."(Jer. 1: 5).

The angel said:

- Your son will be great before the Lord, and in his spiritual greatness he will not only be equal to the prophet Jeremiah, but also surpass him; if he received sanctification before his birth, then this one will be even more filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother's womb; Jeremiah was intended only for the prophecy of the Messiah, and this one will also be worthy to lay a hand on Him and baptize Him. And he will surpass not only Jeremiah, but also other great saints by the majesty of the grace of God, for even in our angelic ranks, who always see the face of the Lord of hosts, God does not equally reveal the secrets of His good will to everyone, but through the higher ranks reveals them to the lower ones. Many stars appear before the rising of the sun, but only one day comes before the sun itself. Many prophets preached about the coming of the Messiah, but the boy who was born by you will not only preach with the word, but with his finger he will point the people of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. That is why your son will be great and greater among all those born of wives. As much as the fulfillment of the good news is more pleasant than the message itself, the prophet who will be born of you will have more honor than other prophets. Before him, all the prophets prophesied and the law itself, this same will be the completion of all the prophets, the end of the Old Testament, the forerunner of new grace.

Zechariah said to this:

- Good and joyful is your message, angel of the Lord! If every wise son cheers his father, how much more would he cheer me, old man, the wisest son, than all the prophets! But how can I rejoice when I doubt your words? There is no joy and gaiety in doubtful things, but only in reliable ones. And so I beg you, angel of God, tell me how can I be sure of what you are proclaiming to me?

Then Gabriel answered:

- You still continue to doubt and do not believe my words, Zachariah; will I really speak falsely, the messenger of God, because "The Lord is faithful in all His words and holy in all His works"(Psalm 144: 13), so "with God no word will remain powerless"(Luke 1:37). You are a priest and teacher of Israel, do you not know that the time has come, which I counted in weeks, when I was sent to Babylon to the prophet Daniel? Haven't you read his prophecies? Consider and know that the Savior of Israel has already approached and an angel in the flesh - your son, who will prepare the way of the Messiah, walking before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah - will precede Him. But because you did not believe my words, you will be dumb and you will not say a word until the day this is fulfilled.

And immediately silence bound the lips of Zechariah, and the bonds of Elizabeth's infertility were broken. The angel went to the throne of the Almighty.

Since Zechariah, in his conversation with the angel, slowed down at the altar, the people who were in the church were amazed at this. Going out to the people, Zechariah was forced to show by signs that he had become dumb; then those present understood that he had a vision in the altar. Having finished his turn, Zechariah returned to his house, which was in a mountainous country, in Hebron, the city of Judah. This city was one of those that were given by lot to the descendants of Judah and intended for the residence of the priests. After these days, Elizabeth, his wife, conceived, and hid for five months and said: Thus the Lord has done for me in these days, in which he looked upon me to take away the reproach from me among men.

Saint Elizabeth conceived, but concealed her pregnancy for five months, until her distant relative, the Blessed Virgin Mary, visited her in order to share Her and her joy. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, greeted the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God. And Saint John, who was still in the womb of his mother, leaped joyfully in the womb (Luke 1:44).

The prophecy of the Archangel was fulfilled, and righteous Elizabeth was released from the bonds of infertility, giving birth to the world the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John.

While the conception of our Savior was approaching, the conception of Saint John the Baptist took place in a glorious and miraculous way. Many mothers conceive children, but few are such whose conception would be glorified and celebrated by the Holy Church. There are only three known mothers in whose womb the completed conceptions became the subject of surprise for the whole world. These are the righteous Anna, Saint Elizabeth and the Most Pure Virgin Mary. Anna the righteous conceived the Mother of God, Elizabeth conceived the Forerunner, and the Virgin Mary conceived Christ our Savior. All these conceptions were announced by an angel and were accomplished by the grace of God, but, moreover, not otherwise than through a conversation between the evangelist and those who conceive, for God Himself also demanded the permission of those who conceive. Therefore, the evangelist, the holy Archangel Gabriel, entering the altar to the priest Zechariah, who then served before God, said:
- Do not be afraid, Zechariah: your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elisabeth will give you a son, and you will give him his name - John. And many will rejoice at his birth.
Zechariah replied:
- What you proclaim to me, joyous messenger, is unexpected and strange, for it is unnatural to give birth to children in old age; But I am old, and my wife is old in years: how can we conceive and bear a son?
The angel replied:
- From your very first words, Zachariah, I see that you have little faith; you do not believe that my words will come true. True, what I proclaim is not characteristic of your nature, but this is the will of God, for which nothing is impossible: “God can raise up children of these stones to Abraham” (Matthew 3: 9). Do you not know that God could create Adam from the earth, create Eve from the bone of Adam and give the aged Sarah a son Isaac? Therefore, Almighty God will grant to your wife the birth of a son in old age; for your prayer has been heard.
- I, - said Zechariah, - now offer God my prayers for the coming of the longed-for Messiah, Whom He promised through the lips of His holy prophets; I pray that God would quickly send Him to earth to save the seed of Abraham from the slavery of foreigners; I also pray to Him that He would forgive my sins and the sins of all the people; but now I do not pray to have a son, for I myself have reached old age, and my wife has grown old.
The angel said to him:
- I am Gabriel, standing before God; by the revelation of God, I know that now you are praying not for the gift of a son, but for what you told me; however, before, when both you and your wife were not yet old, you fervently prayed to the Lord that He would send you a son. The all-merciful Lord, even the slightest movement of a human heart cannot hide from Him, he listens to those who pray to Him and fulfills the desires of those who fear Him. Hearing your earlier prayers, He will grant you a son of equal grace 5977; for the Lord knows, according to His good pleasure, when to fulfill the requests of His saints: and behold, a son will be born to you, who will be great before the Lord.
To this Zechariah answered:
- I see now, evangelist, that you are an angel of God, for your conversation testifies to this, and your appearance clearly shows this, and the power of your words confirms that. At first, when you suddenly appeared before me and began to broadcast, I was horrified, just as the prophet Daniel once feared when he saw an angel: “I looked,” he said, “at this great vision, but there was no fortress left in me” (Dan. 10: 8); also Samson's mother said: "The man of God came to me, whose appearance, like the appearance of the Angel of God, very respectable [terrible]" (Judgment 13: 6). Therefore, I was afraid and do not dare to object to your angelic words; but I will ask, why will he who is born to me have a great son? Will he be higher and holier than the prophet Jeremiah, to whom was the word of the Lord: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you left the womb, I sanctified you: I made you a prophet for the nations” (Jer. 1 :5 ).
The angel said:
- Your son will be great before the Lord, and in his spiritual greatness he will not only be equal to the prophet Jeremiah, but also surpass him; if he received sanctification before his birth, then this one will be even more filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother's womb; Jeremiah was intended only for the prophecy of the Messiah, and this one will also be worthy to lay a hand on Him and baptize Him. And he will surpass not only Jeremiah, but also other great saints by the majesty of the grace of God, for even in our angelic ranks, who always see the face of the Lord of hosts, God does not equally reveal the secrets of His good will to everyone, but through the higher ranks reveals them to the lower ones. Many stars appear before the rising of the sun, but only one day comes before the sun itself. Many prophets preached about the coming of the Messiah, but the boy who was born by you will not only preach with the word, but with his finger he will point the people of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. That is why your son will be great and greater among all those born of wives. As much as the fulfillment of the good news is more pleasant than the message itself, the prophet who will be born of you will have more honor than other prophets. Before him, all the prophets prophesied and the law itself, this same will be the completion of all the prophets, the end of the Old Testament, the forerunner of new grace.
Zechariah said to this:
- Good and joyful is your message, angel of the Lord! If every wise son cheers his father, how much more would he cheer me, old man, the wisest son, than all the prophets! But how can I rejoice when I doubt your words? There is no joy and gaiety in doubtful things, but only in reliable ones. And so I beg you, angel of God, tell me how can I be sure of what you are proclaiming to me?
Then Gabriel answered:
- You still continue to doubt and do not believe my words, Zachariah; will I, the messenger of God, speak falsely, [after all] “the Lord is faithful in all His words and holy in all His deeds” (Psalm 144: 13), so that “with God no word will remain powerless” (Luke 1: 37). You are a priest and teacher of Israel, do you not know that the time has come, which I counted in weeks, when I was sent to Babylon to the prophet Daniel? Haven't you read his prophecies? Consider and know that the Savior of Israel has already approached and an angel in the flesh - your son, who will prepare the way of the Messiah, walking before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah - will precede Him. But because you did not believe my words, you will be dumb and you will not say a word until the day this is fulfilled.
And immediately silence bound the lips of Zechariah, and the bonds of Elizabeth's infertility were broken. The angel went to the throne of the Almighty. Praise the Lord forever. Amen.

Troparion, voice 4:

First, the non-fervent non-fruit rejoiced, behold, Thou didst conceive of the sun as a lamp in Java, enlightening the entire universe with an ailment blindness. Rejoice Zachariah, crying with boldness: the Prophet of the Most High is even born.

Kontakion, voice 1:

Zechariah the Great rejoices lightly, with the all-glorious Elisabeth companion, worthy of conceiving John the Baptist: his own archangel rejoices in the good news, and we deserve to honor men, like the mysterious secret of grace.

Chorus to John the Baptist

Holy great John the Forerunner of the Lord, pray to God for us.

The Holy Prophet Malachi predicted that His Forerunner would appear before the Messiah, who would indicate His coming. Therefore, the Jews, who were waiting for the Messiah, also expected the appearance of His Forerunner. In the city of Judah in the Mountainous Land of Palestine lived the righteous priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, who blamelessly kept the commandments of the Lord. However, the couple were unhappy: having reached their old age, they were childless and did not stop praying to God that He would give them a child.

Once, when Saint Zechariah was another priest in the Temple of Jerusalem, he entered the Holy Place during the divine service to burn incense. Entering the curtain of the Sanctuary, he saw the Angel of God standing on the right side of the incense altar. Saint Zechariah was embarrassed and stopped in fear, but the Angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard, your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you will call him John." But the righteous Zechariah did not believe the words of the Heavenly Messenger, and then the Angel said to him: “I am Gabriel, standing before God, and I was sent to bring this good news to you. And now, you will be dumb until your birthday, because you did not believe my words. " Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zachariah and were surprised that he did not leave the Sanctuary for so long. And when he went out, he was supposed to give the people a blessing, but he could not pronounce it, as he was struck dumb. When Zechariah explained by signs that he could not speak, the people understood that he had a vision.

The prophecy of the Archangel was fulfilled, and righteous Elizabeth was released from the bonds of infertility, giving birth to the world the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John.

Troparion the Forerunner, voice 4:

First, the non-fervent not bad, rejoice, / behold the Sun of the Sun of the Sun of Java, / to enlighten the whole universe, without blindness. Kontakion of the Forerunner, voice 1: The light of Zechariah the Great is rejoicing / with the all-glorious Elisabeth companion, / worthy of conceiving John the Forerunner, / his Archangel of the good news, rejoicing, / and men are worthy // good enough, almost there

We are judged for our thoughts and deeds in our lifetime. Sometimes it seems to us that, for some unknown reason, adversity, illness, and failure suddenly fall upon us. Nothing happens to us without the will of God, even a hair from the head cannot fall. But this does not mean that the Lord controls our destinies, our lives mechanically. This does not mean that we are deprived of all freedom. We live freely and choose our own path, our place in life, we ourselves determine our place in relation to God. But the consequences of this choice attract to us either God's mercy or God's punishment. Therefore, it is not God who punishes us - we punish ourselves, placing ourselves under the wrath of God, under God's justice. And this mystery of the Divine judgment on us will come to an end already in eternity, when the whole human race will appear before God at the Last Judgment.

Conception of John the Baptist. House of the Forerunner

Ein Kerem is a quiet area of ​​Jerusalem, twenty minutes by bus from the center. Here is the world famous hospital "Gadassah" (remember the middle name of the Old Testament queen Esther?), And there is a synagogue with stained-glass windows painted by the mysterious Marc Chagall.

There is also a place known to every Orthodox by the verses of the Gospel of Luke, which we hear at the matins of any feast of the Theotokos: "In her days, Miriam will stay in Gornaya with zeal to the city of Judah, and enter the house of Zachariin, and Elizabeth the kiss."... Yes, it was here that the house of the high priest Zechariah and his wife Elisabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, stood. It was here that the preaching of the Forerunner of the Lord began, from the womb of the mother who greeted the Blessed Virgin and three days earlier conceived by the Holy Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now this place is a must on the program for pilgrims from Russia (and not only) - the Gornensky Monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate hospitably opens the gates, and we find ourselves in the cozy shade of cypress trees, lovingly planted by the first Russian inhabitants.

At the site of the Nativity of John the Baptist, a cave temple is located in honor of this event.

Above the entrance is a mosaic image of a preacher of repentance:

And on the outer wall there are amazing icons: the Annunciation of the Nativity of John the Baptist, the Conception of John the Baptist and the Flight of Elizabeth with John the Baptist into the wilderness:

Annunciation of the Nativity of John the Baptist

Conception of John the Baptist

Flight of St. right. Elisabeth with John the Baptist in the wilderness

We will talk about the last event a little later.

Outside the temple wall, in a nearby Catholic church,

the other half of the cave is located. Actually, she was divided by chance - after the earthquake. And so it happened that the place of the Nativity of John the Baptist was divided between Orthodox and Catholics. And the blank wall seems to be a mournful reminder of the division in the Christian world.

Unfortunately, the condition of the temple does not allow holding services there, and even pilgrims are not always allowed there.

Therefore, the divine services of the holiday are held in two other churches of the monastery: All the saints who shone in the land of Russia:

and the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (directly on the site of the house of the Holy Rights. Zechariah and Elizabeth):

On the same day, the icon of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos leaves the monastery, which was here for three months, from the feast of Kissing (it is celebrated only in the Russian Spiritual Mission, on the third day after the Annunciation).

And now let's return to the promised - the flight of Elizabeth with John the Baptist into the wilderness. Who were they running from?

They fled from the same soldiers of Herod, from whom the Holy Family went to Egypt. That is why the "Flight into Egypt" mosaic is depicted on the neighboring Catholic Church:

Have you ever thought about the number of babies killed by Herod, which the Holy Tradition brought to us? It is colossal even today - fourteen thousand. Even if you divide it by ten, it is still a lot for Bethlehem. After all, Bethlehem is still a small city, but then the population was much smaller.

Meanwhile, Tradition brought to us another story, much less known, according to which Herod commanded to kill all babies not only in Bethlehem, but in general in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

Not far from Ein Kerem there is another Catholic monastery. Previously, it belonged to the Greek Catholics (therefore, the icons here are made in the Greek manner), and its current owners are Franciscans-silencers.

Desert of St. Elisabeth

This place is called “John in the Wilderness”. According to Tradition, it was here that the righteous Elizabeth fled with the baby John. Overtaken by the soldiers of Herod, Elizabeth prayed to the Lord: "May this mountain cover us with the child!" - and the mountain parted, letting the fugitives into a small cave.

Elisabeth, as we remember, was in her old years when she conceived John, so she did not live long after the birth of her son. The boy remained to live in the wilderness until he left for a public sermon, which is sparingly reported in the last verse of the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke: "The child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts until the day of his appearance to Israel.".

He continues, the greatest of those born by wives, according to the word of the Savior, to preach to this day.

The following story is told in the Gornensky Monastery. Some time ago they had a guard, a Muslim Arab. One evening, while walking around the territory, he saw a stranger with a staff. "What are you doing here?" He asked angrily to the uninvited guest. "Who are you yourself?" - instead of answering he asked him. “I am the owner here,” the annoyed guard replied. The man looked at him sternly, said: "No, I am the master here," and disappeared somewhere. And in the morning the guard looked at the icon of John the Baptist and recognized yesterday's visitor.

In general, a simple story, but it touches the soul. Maybe just because he, who lost his home a few days after birth and wandered around the deserts all his life until the powerful of this world executed him for the truth, nevertheless returned to his home.

John the Baptist: The Forerunner of New Life

It is about him that Christ said: “... of those born of women, the greatest John the Baptist did not arise; but the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than him ”(Matthew 11:11, cf. Luke 7:28). Amazing words! It turns out that all Old Testament prophets are inferior to this man, who seems to have done nothing special - he simply called the people to repentance, pointed to Jesus ... He did not lead the people out of slavery, like Moses, and did not utter flowery speeches like Isaiah. Why did he turn out to be “more” than them, and in what sense can this “more” be understood?

At the junction of the Testaments

The Church also takes on this scale, dedicating a number of festive and fasting days to John: conception (October 6, new style); Christmas (July 7) beheading (September 11); the first and second acquisition of the head (March 8); the third acquisition of the head (June 7), not to mention the transfer of the right hand from Malta to Gatchina during the reign of Emperor Paul (October 25, today this shrine is located in the Montenegrin city of Cetinje, where it is unknown how it was taken out after the revolution). Finally, his memory, the so-called. "Cathedral" is celebrated on the day after Epiphany (January 20).

Muslims worship him under the name of the prophet Yahya; a special role was assigned to him in their theology by a variety of religious teachings and sects of antiquity - for example, the Gnostics and Manicheans. And even the famous festival of Ivan Kupala (it is celebrated far not only in Russia) in the church calendar is nothing more than the day of the Nativity of John, although here, for sure, ancient pagan customs in the minds of the people simply combined with the date of the Christian holiday. Many communities, cities, provinces and corporations, for example, the Canadian Quebec and the Knightly Order of Malta, and with it the entire island state of Malta, considered and still consider John as their heavenly patron.

Moreover, we read in the Gospel that during the life of John, crowds of people flocked to him, he had many disciples, and even the spiritual leaders of Judaism sent messengers to him on purpose to ask who he considered himself to be. But what is the reason for such popularity?

He is the first person we meet in the New Testament; the evangelist Luke tells in detail about his conception and birth. His parents, the priest Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth, were childless for a long time (like, for example, the parents of the Old Testament prophet Samuel), and Zacharias learned about the impending birth of his son directly from the archangel Gabriel. In general, in his history we find a lot of details that remind us of the Old Testament - and at the same time, each of them leads to the New Testament Revelation. We also see the union of the two Testaments in how Jesus and John met, when each of them was still in the womb of his mother.

Young Mary, to whom the same Archangel Gabriel announced the birth of the Son, hurried to Elizabeth, her elderly relative, who was already six months pregnant. As Luke narrates, “when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, a baby leaped in her womb” (1: 41) - someone would have considered it a simple coincidence, but Elizabeth saw in this a joyful greeting. The Evangelist emphasizes that this was the work of the one Holy Spirit.

The main thing in the New Testament was the ministry of Jesus, but John was the one who was supposed to prepare the people for this ministry, and a sign of this was given even before their birth. That is why the church tradition calls him the Forerunner, that is, the "predecessor."

Preacher of new meanings

Luke tells us exactly the date of the beginning of his sermon: “the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,” that is, 28 or 29 AD. NS. John himself lived in the desert, wore coarse camel hair and ate locusts and wild honey — literally what one finds in the desert. This is perhaps the most severe asceticism that can be found in the entire Bible. At the same time, this is a sign of unlimited trust in God: a person does not care about his own food at all, knowing that God will send everything he really needs.

An ascetic and a fiery preacher, he did not demand any special asceticism from the rest - only loyalty to God. Once soldiers came to him - and in those days Palestine was occupied by Rome, so for most Jews these soldiers were collaborators like our Vlasovites - and asked what to do. They probably expected that he would demand that they immediately refuse to cooperate with the Romans, ordered them to run into the desert, fast and pray all day ... John only said: “... do not offend anyone, do not slander, and be content with your salary” (Luke. 3:14) - and thus, once and for all, justified the military craft for Christians. It turns out that soldiers are required to honestly carry out their duties, without resorting to violence and robbery, and more is required from them.

But in no way can one say that John was so gentle with everyone. The spiritual leaders of the Jews, who claimed to have the ultimate truth, got the most from him, and these ideas of theirs, as we will see more than once from the Gospel, turned a blind eye to the real Truth. According to Matthew (3: 7), it was to them that he addressed the words: “you brood of vipers! who inspired you to flee from future wrath? "

However, Luke (3: 7) says that these words he spoke to the people who came to him. He tried not to offend these people, but to convert them to repentance, and for this he pointed out to them the seriousness of sin and the position in which the sinner finds himself before God. And then he spoke to people about the approaching Kingdom of God and preached "baptism for the remission of sins," but, of course, this was not the baptism that is being performed today in Christian churches. No one yet knew anything about the Cross - it was about ritual ablution, which, according to the Old Testament law, was prescribed to be performed after various desecrations (for example, after touching a dead body).

The prototype of the crucifixion

It is no wonder that crowds flocked to such an unusual preacher, who literally in a few words expressed the whole essence of the Old Testament. But he himself constantly told people that he was not the Messiah, who was then tensely awaited, and even refused to call himself a prophet. Why? In fact, his ministry was quite prophetic, and even Christ said that he could be considered the prophet Elijah, who, as the Jews believed, should appear before the coming of the Messiah.

To say about myself “I am a prophet” would mean giving oneself a high status, demanding high honors for oneself. For John, all this was completely alien, he was "a voice in the wilderness" - the main thing for him was that the Lord revealed through him to people. And from the very beginning he spoke of the One who comes after him, but was before him. When Christ really came to John, at first he did not want to baptize Him: but who is he to perform the ritual over the Messiah? But perhaps it was this supreme humility of John that became the reason that Christ (the only time in the entire Gospel!) Did nothing himself and entrusted everything to him - and then called him the greatest of people born of wives. And yet, Christ added, everyone in the Kingdom will be even more than him - so he agreed with the humility of John, who never sought honor or glory.

Everyone knows how John ended his life. He denounced the then king for his lawless marriage with his brother's wife - and the king put him in prison. At the same time, he still respected John and did not dare to harm him. Only the cunning intrigue of the queen, and the dance of her young daughter at the feast, and the hastily dropped promise to fulfill any desire of the dancer led to the fact that the king, as it were, against his own will, commanded that John's head be cut off. But isn't the prototype of the crucifixion of Christ visible in this episode, the order for which Pilate just as reluctantly gave? A world steeped in evil tries to reject those who denounce it, and finds many ways and arguments for this.

The greatness of humility, the greatness of the deed, the greatness of the sacrifice - this is perhaps the main lesson of John, the son of Zechariah, the greatest man in the Old and the very first in the New Testament.