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1936_09_20 FOR THE GLORY OF GOD


hristo
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FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

After he had said this, he went on to tell them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.[1]

I am going there to wake him up.Contemporary people would say, Lazarus has died, i.e. went to the end of his life, not fallen asleep. The word endis understood in different ways. The end shows what the beginning  has been. The beginning of things is judged by the end, which is to show that between beginning and end certain connection exists.

Christ said: I am going there to wake him up.Why and when does one fall asleep? when he is tired. Hence, every time when tired, one looks for a way to rest. In this respect sleep represents a rest.

When hearing about Lazarus' resurrection many people ask themselves what Lazarus' sleep two thousand years ago has to do with them. What it has to do with them, is that in every man there is a sleeping Lazarus waiting for Christ to come and wake him. Moreover, every man carries in himself two sisters Martha and Mary. The Gospel says that Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary and Lazarus. Martha scurried around and worried about insignificant things and complained about her sister's not helping her. But Christ told her that her bustling was vain, and Mary had chosen what is better. Hence, Martha represents the physical, material part of the man, and Mary the spiritual part.

Thus, there are three minds in a man, i.e. three sides of the mind: the first is interested in the physical, material side of life. The second one is interested in the spiritual side of life, and the third is represented by the sleeping man not interested in anything. He is waiting for Jesus to come to him, to wake him and for his true life to emerge afterwards. For the grown-up those things are important, in which he lives in. For a child it is important how much he will grow up. Some children measure their stature every day. After waking up in the morning they lean against the wall straight away, stretch in full length and put a stroke on the wall as high as their head reaches. The next day they measure themselves again and put again a stroke on the wall. Thus they measure themselves day after day and are happy when noting to have grown up somewhat. What connection is there between a man's stature and his inner striving? There is certain link between a man's stature and his inner striving. It is not all the same if a man grows up or remains a little child. A man has to have certain stature to grow upwards from it.

Life has its inner side, which has to be studied. Contemporary people dwell on unimportant things in life, and the important things they neglect. By the unimportant things they are hampered, but are occupied with them nevertheless. E.g., some scientists study the speed with which atoms, ions are moving without seeing any application of this knowledge in the practical life of man. Everything is important for a man insofar as it pertains to his life. E.g., suppose you are interested in some good man and in some evil man. They are of interest to you insofar as they have some bearing on you.

Hence, when speaking good or bad things about some man, you feed evil and good both in this man himself and in yourself. At the same time, this shows that you love both the good and the bad man. Otherwise, you would not talk about them. Thus, knowing this, you ought not to speak about evil in order not to feed it. And when you do good deeds or speak good about people, you feed the good in yourself. You must know that you live in a world where both good and evil beings exist and influence you. They know the good, as well as the evil sides of man. They know his virtues, but know his faults too, his weak sides. In order to let a man learn about his good and evil sides the invisible world puts him on trial. When coming to this earth, people find themselves before on trial: they must get to know themselves, to learn what virtues and what faults they have. No one can avoid the trials in life. The saint is put on trials as well. When Christ descended on the earth, He did not avoid trials either.

“I am going there to wake him up.” Sometimes it is good to wake up a man, sometimes it is good to let him sleep. When Jesus heard about Lazarus, he said: “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Hence, when somebody complains to go through ordeals, to be sick, I say: All that happens is for the glory of God. An eye hurts – it is for the glory of God. An ear hurts – for the glory of God. A leg hurts – for the glory of God. A head hurts –it is for the glory of God. What is meant by the words that all that happens is for the glory of God? How so: a man is ill and his illness is for the glory of God? Following each illness, following each suffering one gathers certain experience, which raises him. The heavier the illness one has gone through, the stronger he has been made. The greater his trials and sufferings have been, the greater strength he has acquired. Great trials bring great acquisitions, small trials bring small acquisitions. Hence, all illnesses, all hardships, trials and sufferings one experiences without losing one's life are for the glory of God, because they bring with themselves great lessons, great goods and acquisitions.

This law is confirmed everywhere in nature. The oak, e.g., has become a big, strong tree, because it has gone through great storms and winds, through great calamities. The small plants and grasses are weak, because they have not gone through great trials. Nature puts them by and by on stronger and stronger trials to toughen, to steel them, to make them big and strong. Knowing this law, you understand that you cannot be strong, happy, until you have gone through great trials. Moreover, a man cannot be happy until all man have become happy. Happiness is possession of all man, of all living beings. How could you be happy, when seeing a crushed blade, a smashed animal in your way? When striving for happiness one has at the same time to pray for the happiness of his fellow men. This is to love your fellow men. When wishing for your happiness, as well as for the happiness and well-being of people, you manifest your love to them. Unless you love people, you cannot be good, you cannot be happy.

Today's people love mainly those next to them: husband, wife, children. Thereupon their partial happiness depends. The smaller number of people you love, the less happiness you will have. People’s happiness depends on their love. If you love many people, you will reach great happiness. The same law applies to hate. If you do not hate much, not many misfortunes will befall you. If you hate much, many misfortunes will befall you. Love feeds the good in a man, and hate the evil. Love each other in order to enjoy the fruits of good. Beware of hate in order not to taste the bitter fruits of evil. When hating you pay and others eat and drink. When stumbling on the evil in this world, people call it their karma ‒ their evil fate they cannot avoid. What is the karma of a man? The karma is a bomb buried in the soil. One digs it out and starts exploring it. If one touches it awkwardly or drops it on the ground it will explode at once. If you come upon a bomb, you must be careful, you must not approach it, you mustn't touch it. Many bombs does a man carry in himself, and he must not touch upon them. Until he does not he will be well. Once he touches them, the karma comes to the fore. Both the sinner and the pious carry their bombs in themselves. The difference between them is that the sinner touches them all the time, while the pious avoids approaching them.

Now, in order to get the better of your karma you must wish the good, the happiness of all people. Thus, you raise yourself and at the same time help those next to you, as well as all mankind. This is to fulfil God's will. Hence, when somebody does good to his fellow man, he intends to fulfil God's will. Having fulfilled God's will, he rejoices, and his fellow man rejoices too. When one fulfils God's will he is joyous and pleased with himself. When one ceases from fulfilling God's will his joy is lost. Thus, should you say something to a man, say what is in connection with God's will. Whether you speak well or poorly, if what you say is in accordance with God's will, it will be in place. The will of God is contained in everything that gives an urge to a man, that raises his life and confers meaning to it.

If you want to progress, fulfil God's will, not your own will. He who thinks only about himself cannot progress. The true progress of a man is determined by his love to all people, to all living beings. A man's love for himself is the least love. A man's love to God is the greatest love, which confers meaning to life. Man is carried between those two poles of love. He starts with himself, moves to his fellow man, until one day he gets to God. Whoever wants to be strong, happy, he should love God. Whoever wants to get rid of misfortunes, he should love himself. Only he loves himself, who is distinguished by great reason. Being not aware of the sense of life, some people say they love only themselves no one else concerns them and they do not want to know about anybody else. To speak thus is not to acknowledge what loneliness is. A horrible thing is loneliness! It is a prison where not one ray of light could penetrate. There is no greater evil for a man than loneliness: to live alone, with no living being around, without any fellow man to hear a word from, to exchange a word with. Secluded, retired, distanced from people this is a false idea of loneliness. To retire, to distance oneself from people is to give up the evil in them and to live with the good, with their love. This is to connect with God. But entirely to move away from people means to be left with one's naked mind. What poverty could be greater than this? There is no sublimity in loneliness. In connecting with God is the sense of life. In fulfilling God's will is the strength of man.

Therefore avoid loneliness for yourselves, shun lonely people too. A lonely man is one condemned to death. There is no growth in him, no progress. Figuratively said, a lonely human being is an old woman or old man who think solely about themselves. But if they have a lovely daughter or a strapping, young son, they are not lonely. Everybody visits them, everybody wants their friendship. This confers to them value in their own eyes, as well as in those of their fellow men. Why do people marry? In order to have handsome daughters and sons, to be respected and honoured by them. Hence, old people have to marry, and young people to help them. While young one has not to marry, but to work and help the old. Once grown old, one has to marry. In other words: As long as one is sated, one must not eat in order not to overeat. Then he is young and can work. When he gets hungry he is old and must eat again to get sated, to rejuvenate. The young is sated, he must work. The old is hungry; he must eat, but not overeat and be glad about his food.

I am going there to wake him up.Christ must

come to the earth and wake the sleeping Lazarus in men. They are sleeping now and say that the wold is evil. The world is not evil, but it must fall asleep and wait for our Lord to wake it up. When Lord wakes it up, He will tell it: Come now, go home. The new waking of the world means the new education. Say, you have a wish you cannot fulfil. Thank to God that you did not fulfil it. You married thank for this. You cannot marry thank nevertheless. You are impoverished thank God. You got rich thank for that too. Thank for all that is going on around you and with you. This is what the new education consists in. Thank both for good and evil. When you thank for evil God will turn it into good. When you thank for the good you will taste from its fruits. When shunning evil you are on a false way and create your misfortunes yourself. If you want to get the better of evil, don't run away from it, but thank God, it called on. Once you thank for evil God will turn it immediately into good. Thank for everything, but inwardly, not outwardly. When a man has risen to a state, in which he thanks for everything he lives through, he has been waked. Every gratitude addressed to God connects us to Him. Once you connect to God He instantly comes to your help. If some evil has befallen you He turns it into good. Without gratitude to God you cannot perceive Him, you cannot acquire anything.

I am going there to wake him up.” – Why did Lazarus fall asleep? For the Glory of God. A human being is born this is for the Glory of God. A human being has died for the Glory of God again. Everything has happened and does happen for the glory of God, however not to the letter, but in spirit. People are born and die for the glory of God. Death is transition from one state to another, from one world to another. Some people pass from death to life, others from life to death. Those who die and those who live, all do for the glory of God. If you reason in this way you will easily solve your contradictions, you will easily overcome your hardships and sufferings. If you do not reason in this way, you will never get rid of the hardships and sufferings. Hardships can be abolished only by converting them into good. Sufferings can be diminished and can vanish only when they have brought their good fruits. You should be polite, attentive to your sufferings. If you fall ill, start a polite conversation with your illness, thank it to have visited you. If you treat it politely, it will leave you. Maladies are nothing but living beings, which torture people. Through maladies, people get education. When one turns to God with a plea to free him from those beings, he will get an answer to his plea. The answer to prayer is his recovery. Only God has power to command both good and evil beings. Through them people are put on trial and educated.

Say, you meet a young maiden beloved by mother and father, but you note she is discontented by her position, she wants to marry. Shortly after she finds a sweetheart and marries him. She marries prematurely. What then? Her sweetheart turns out to be a jealous man and starts to beat her because of his suspicions. She is discontent, she complains. Why does he beat her? Because she married prematurely. God disapproves of premature marriages. Because he disapproves them, he lets the evil spirits torture people. When people acknowledge their faults, when they wake up to all they did prematurely, they turn to God, restore their connection to Him. This is release, putting an end to the karma. To put an end to the karma means to fulfil the will of God.

I am going there to wake him up.You must wish Jesus to come to you too and wake your sleeping Lazarus. When doing good to somebody you wake this man. Then somebody will come to you and tell, as Mary told Jesus: There is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.Let him have been there four days, lift the stone of his tomb and shout loudly: Lazarus, come out!When Lazarus comes out of his tomb, tell him to go home. Do good to your fellow-men, wake them up and do not hesitate.

Make use reasonably of the life you are given. For whom? Use it for yourself, for your fellow men and for God. Fulfil the will of God as you understand it with your reason, your heart, with your strength and soul. Then, whatever happens to you say to yourselves: Everything is for the Glory of God. As long as you are aware that everything which happens is for the glory of God, your matters will go well. This is the true education. This is to awake what is great, what is beautiful in yourselves and to advance. It happens that a woman comes to complain of her husband. This is for the Glory of God. A man complains of his wife. This is for the Glory of God as well. Someone is ailing for the Glory of God. Someone has lost his job for the Glory of God. All that happens in the world is for the Glory of God. This is the right way to reason.

Now I repeat again: If you suffer, you will know that you suffer for the Glory of God. You are discontent for the Glory of God. You have quarrels for the Glory of God. You do good to somebody for the Glory of God. Everything happens for the Glory of God. Think thus, in order to improve your matters. This is the right way to educate man. Anything outside it is silvering or gilding. A silvered or gilded object wears off easily. One has to be aware that everything is for the Glory of God. Once he realizes that, the Divine principle awakes in him. He comes out of the tomb and returns to his home. Be awake and know that everything is for the glory of God.

I am going there to wake him up.Listen to me: Leave yourselves in the hands of God, let Him come to you in whatever way; let Him wake your sleeping Lazarus. How the awakening will be accomplished is His business. Do not give God advise how He should wake you. In whatever way He may wake you, thank Him and say as Christ said: Father, I thank you that you have heard me.Whatever may befall you, Good or evil, know that it is for the Glory of God and thank God for having listened to you.

For the Glory of God! All that happens in the world is for the Glory of God.

Meditation

9th Sermon held
on 20 September 1936, 5 o
clock a.m.
Sofia. On sunrise.

 

[1] John 11:11.

 

Translated by Galina Georgieva

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