One teacher, famous for his knowledge, long and earnestly prayed to God to show him a person from whom he could learn the straightest path that conveniently leads to Heaven. One day, when he, imbued with this desire, was sending up prayers more diligently than usual, it seemed to him that he heard a voice from above, commanding him to leave the cell to the church vestibule: “There,” said the voice, “you will find the person you are looking for.”
The teacher came out and found a poor old man at the church door, all covered with sores and wounds, in the most pathetic form. As he passed by, the teacher said the usual greeting to him:
- Good afternoon to you, old man!
And the elder answered:
“I don’t remember any day being bad for me.”
The teacher stopped and, as if correcting his first greeting, said:
- I wish God to give you happiness.
And the elder answered:
- I have never been unhappy.
The teacher was surprised and, thinking that he had not listened or understood his answer, added:
- What are you saying? I wish you to be well.
“And I answer you that I have never been ill-fated,” said the elder.
Then the teacher said:
- I wish you what you wish for yourself.
“I don’t need anything and have everything I want, although I don’t seek temporary well-being.”
“May God save you,” said the teacher, “if you despise worldly goods.” However, tell me, are you really the only lucky one among people? Therefore, Job’s words are unfair: a man is born of a young woman (Job 14:1) and his life is filled with troubles; I don’t understand how you alone managed to avoid misfortunes?
“Exactly as I told you,” the old man objected. - When you wished me a good and happy day, that I have never been unhappy or ill-fated, because God gave me what I have, I thank you for that. And my happiness lies in the fact that I do not desire happiness. The fear of happiness and unhappiness is dangerous only to those who fear them. But I do not care about happiness and never pray for it to the Heavenly Father, who controls everything, and thus I have never been unhappy, like the one whose desires are always fulfilled. Am I hungry? I thank God for this, as the Father who leads everything; we demand them (Matthew 6:8). Whether I am cold or suffering from bad weather, I also praise God. Whether everyone laughs at me, I praise Him equally, because I know that God does all this, and it is impossible for what He does to be bad. Thus, everything - pleasant and disgusting, sweet and bitter - is accepted joyfully, as if from the hand of a good Father. I desire only what God desires, and therefore everything happens according to my desire. The one who seeks happiness in the world is ill-fated, because there is no other happiness here than to rely in everything on the will of God. The will of the Lord is both completely good and completely just; she can neither become better nor become worse. She judges everyone, no one judges her. I try to adhere to it completely and only care about wanting what God wants and not wanting what he does not want. And therefore I don’t consider myself at all unhappy when I completely unite and harmonize my will with the will of God, so that I have only one desire or unwillingness: what God wants or does not want.
“Are you saying this out of conviction?” - the teacher objected. “Tell me: would you think the same way if God wanted to send you to hell?”
- Should God send me to hell? - the old man exclaimed. “But know that I have two shoulders of wondrous strength with which I would grab hold of Him in an inseparable embrace: one shoulder is my deepest humility, and the other is unfeigned love for God.” With these ramens I would hug God so tightly that wherever He sent me, I would take Him there with me, and, of course, it would be more pleasant for me to be outside heaven with God than in heaven without Him.
The teacher was surprised at the elder’s answers and realized that the shortest path to God is to agree with His will in everything. Wanting, however, to further test the wisdom of the elder, so hidden in the thin temple of his body, he asked him:
-Where did you come here from?
“From God,” answered the elder.
-Where did you find God?
— Where he left everything worldly.
-Where did you leave God?
- In purity of thoughts and good conscience.
-Who are you? - asked the teacher.
“Whoever I am,” answered the elder, “but I am so pleased with my position, which you see, that truly I would not exchange it for the wealth of all the kings of the earth.” Every person who knows how to control himself and commands his thoughts is a king.
- Therefore, you are a king: where is your kingdom?
“There,” answered the old man, pointing to Heaven. - He is the King to whom this Kingdom is proclaimed with undoubted features.
-Who taught you this? And who gave you this wisdom? - the teacher finally asked.
“I’ll tell you,” answered the elder, “that I spend whole days in silence and, whether I pray or exercise in pious thoughts, I always care about one thing, to be firmly united with God.” And union with God and agreement with His will teaches everything.
So the teacher, having learned by talking with the beggar and having taught him peace, returned to himself, praising and glorifying God, who hid this from the “wise and prudent” and revealed it to the poor old man, infantile in malice (Matthew 11:25).
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru