"As a merchant from various lands gathers various goods, and brings them into his house and treasures them there, likewise a Christian can collect from the world soul-saving thoughts, and, by collecting them in the treasury of his heart, can form his soul." Such is the opening line of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk's book, A Spiritual Treasure Gathered From the World.
"Some deacons and priests seem to be unable to read the Scripture properly. It is evident that they either do not possess bibles, or are unfamiliar with them and do not read them, neglecting thus their own salvation and that of the people entrusted to them. The will of the Heavenly Father is revealed to us in the New Testament through His beloved Son ... without knowing it, one cannot fulfill it." "God will not ask you whether you taught your children French, German or Italian or the politics of society life – but you will not escape divine reprobation for not having instilled goodness into them. I speak plainly but I tell the truth: if your children are bad, your grandchildren will be worse ... and the evil will thus increase ... and the root of all this is our thoroughly bad education.''After 7 years of intense labors in the Lord's harvest, his health was undermined and his spiritual strength exhausted. He begged to be relieved of his episcopal robe which he said was "too heavy for him" and in 1768 he retired to Zadonsk Monastery, where he lived until his death in 1783. Literally thousands of people, both lay and monastic, began to come to him for counsel. Here also he continued his literary career which he had begun in answer to the crying need of his flock. It is both from the life of this extraordinary man of God and from his writings that we can gather pearls to enrich our our impoverished spiritual lives, as we struggle against the same evil tide of worldliness which was threatening to engulf St. Tikhon's flock in 18th century Russia. "St. Tikhon's teaching on true Christianity in each walk of life opened new vistas before every struggling soul. He left no precise spiritual method, but he was the first Russian writer to deal with the obstacles and progress of the Christian soul in its bearing on everyday life. ... He sought salvation not in dogmatical speculation or through certain techniques of contemplation, through ritualism or unusual deeds of asceticism, but through meditation, prayer, love and the practice of the gospel of Jesus Christ." One of his best-known literary legacies is his book, A Spiritual Treasure Gathered From the World, a collection of short essays, or sermons, on various aspects of the spiritual life. Simple images from the world are used as metaphores and expounded upon to produce clear and vivid illustrations of basic Christian principles which are more accessible and more easily remembered than abstract dogmatic or moral teachings. In many ways they may be compared to the New Testament parables. For example, one of his teachings on humility is entitled, "Water flows from high mountains onto low places." In it he writes: "We see that water gravitates from the mountains to low-lying areas; so too, the grace of God is poured out from the Heavenly Father upon humble hearts." He goes on to explain what is needed to acquire such humility. "Try to know yourself, your own wickedness. Think on the greatness of God and your wretchedness. Meditate on the suffering of Christ, the magnitude of whose love and suffering surpass our understanding. Ascribe the good that you do to God alone. Do not think about the sin of a brother, but about what in him is better than in yourself. ... Flee from glory, honors and praise; but if this is impossible, be sorry that such is your lot. Be benevolent to people of low origin. Be freely and willingly obedient not only to those above you but to those below. ... The lowlier we are in spirit, the better we know ourselves, and without humility we cannot see God." "Just as the body has an ear, so also does the soul. Not everybody has an ear that is open, nor does every soul. God commands the soul: Do not kill, do not steal, do not commit adultery, turn away from evil and do good, etc. The soul whose ears are open, hears and listens to God speaking and does what God commands. Truly, such a soul cannot but hear God and obey His commandments if it has its ears open. Men listen and carry out the commands of earthly kings and lesser authorities; will not a soul listen to God speaking if it has its ears open? Of course! And with what fervor and delight will it not listen and say to Him: Ready is my heart, O God, ready is my heart! (Psalm 107:2) "For love does not seek its own. It labors, sweats, watches to build up the brother: nothing is inconvenient to love, and by the help of God it turns the impossible into the possible. ... Love believes and hopes. ... It is ashamed of nothing. Without it, what is the use of prayer? What use are hymns and singing? What is the use of building and adorning churches? What is mortification of the flesh if the neighbor is not loved? Indeed, all are of no consequence. ... As an animal cannot exist without bodily warmth, so no good deed can be alive without true love. It is only the pretence of a good deed." At the end of his earthly life, St. Tikhon would restlessly spend nights on end walking in desolate places, begging God to let him know what awaits those who are seriously concerned with their spiritual life. One night, suddenly, the whole sky was opened and the monastery was bathed in heavenly light; and there came a voice saying, "See what is prepared for those who love God" - and he beheld the unutterable blessings of that other world for which the Christian lives. The above text is a slightly corrected version of an article that appeared in Orthodox America; itself a recension of materials first found in St. Tikhon of Zadonsk by Nadejda Gorodetsky; and "St. Tikhon of Zadonsk and His Spiritual Legacy" in The Orthodox Word, July-August 1966; as well as other materials. |