The Preachers Among Us

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Sergey Komarov

In our everyday lives, we often overlook the silent preachers that surround us. A temple, for instance, stands as a preacher. Someone walks by a temple and decides to step inside. Standing in the temple’s silence, they suddenly find themselves weeping before God. What happened? A silent sermon was delivered and heard.

Cities can be preachers too. Sometimes, a non-believing tourist visits Jerusalem merely for an interesting tour and returns home a Christian. Books can preach as well. An atheist opens "The Brothers Karamazov" and closes it as a believer.

The sun preaches, warming both the righteous and the sinful with its rays. The sky preaches with its stunning beauty, making us frequently lift our heads to gaze into the endless blue and praise the Creator. The wind preaches, reminding us of God's omnipresence. The sea preaches, with its mysterious depths pointing to the inexhaustibility of divine wisdom. The entire world continuously praises the Almighty.

In this regard, the remarkable Russian ascetic and writer, Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, has much to teach us. He wrote a book titled "The Spiritual Treasure Gathered from the World." In the preface, Saint Tikhon writes that God "composed the world like a book with two chapters: heaven and earth. In this book, we see God’s omnipotence, wisdom, and goodness." He then encourages us to read this book. From the first page, his God-illuminated mind unveils an extraordinary picture, as if removing a veil from our eyes.

Saint Tikhon turns his attention to both living and non-living objects that we see daily. People, the sun, clay, wax, trees, vines, and rods… Wherever the saint's gaze falls, he perceives profound spiritual meanings that reveal the wisdom of the Creator and connects them to the Christian life. The entire surrounding world becomes a textbook of spiritual life, a temple where everything reminds us of the Lord.

For example, Saint Tikhon reflects on the sun. "The sun emits warmth equally to all things. Yet, some things melt from its warmth like wax, while others harden like clay. Similarly, God bestows His goodness equally upon all. But some people soften and repent from His goodness, while others harden and perish, as Pharaoh did, which still happens in the world today."

Or, he observes a father walking by with his child and contemplates, "Children are born from their father according to the flesh. Christians are born of God according to the Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. In children, we notice the qualities and likeness of their father. So too in Christians, there should be the qualities and likeness of the Heavenly Father. They must be holy, good, merciful, meek, patient, and so on."

Saint Tikhon's book helps us understand that the world is the handiwork of a Wise God. Behind every speck of creation, a Christian can see God’s wisdom. One only needs to look from the right perspective.

God has generously scattered His sermon about Himself throughout the world and has given humans a simple task: to listen and accept with faith. The Lord "wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." He earnestly awaits this from us.

 

Original article: radiovera.ru/propovedniki-vokrug-nas-sergej-komarov

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