The Lord wrote with a finger on the earth;
Meshulam - the kidnapper of church treasures,
Asher - committed adultery with his brother's wife;
Shalum - an oath-violator;
Eled - hit his father;
Amarnah - appropriated the estate of a widow;
Merari - committed Sodom sin;
Joel - worshiped idols.
...
And when He finished writing, he again leveled the dust and what was written disappeared.
And the good Saviour bowed again and wrote something on the earth again.
"And they which heard
it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at
the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman
standing in the midst." ( John 8:9 ).
- the sinner and the Sinless.
"Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." - ... the words of the Lord - neither do I condemn thee, mean the same as the words - "your sins are forgiven you. Go, child, and continue not to sin.”
Here is joy unspeakable! This is
the joy of the truth, for the Lord revealed the truth to the lost. This is joy of justice, for the Lord will create justice. This is the joy of mercy, for the
Lord has shown mercy. This is the joy of life, for the Lord has preserved life.
All this is the Gospel of Christ, all this is the Good News, one of the pages of
the Book of Joy.
If someone wants to taste this joy, [which is] unfamiliar to the Pharaoh of Egypt and to Caesar of Rome, then one must stop sinning. For sin is the cause of sorrow and the killer of joy. Particularly dagerous is the carnal sin committed by the female sinner. What is carnal sin? It is that sin which puts itself at the service of all the other sins - perjury, slander, theft, disrespect for parents, murder, denial of God and, finally, suicide. He who commits carnal sins honors his body and does not worship God, the Creator of the body. Will there be an insane ruler all over the world who would use the most expensive chariot to transport garbage? Our body is the most precious chariot that the Lord created on earth and out of the earth so that royal children, royal souls, may travel in them. He who commits carnal sin, in his madness, uses this precious chariot to transport garbage. ...
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Who will bring us joy to this valley of tears?
- Behold, joy comes from the truth. Who will reveal to us the truth among the traps of lies that we fall into at every turn?
- Behold, joy comes from justice. Who is he who can establish justice from earth to heaven, so that it shines with all that is born of a woman, so that it shines with light and makes them happy?
- Still joy comes from mercy. Who will bring mercy from the kingdom of fairy tales and human dreams and make it a reality that is stronger than anger and cruelty?
- Still, joy comes from life, where is that true witness of life better than this slow dying, which has only arrogated to itself the title of life?
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There is one clear lake in America, which the Indians called the Water of Laughter or the Water of Joy. This lake is very famous and sung in many verses. The water in it never resents and never stands, but it always trembles, trembles, trembles, quietly and gently, as if laughing. Therefore, the Indians call it the Water of Laughter. The sun likes to look at it, the stars and the moon are more clearly visible in it. Forests around the lake acquire magical beauty in the sparks of water. ...
But we know, children of God,
another lake, Which is called the Water of Life. That which grows on its shores
will never fade. The one who drinks its water will never grow old and die. Everyone
who bathes in its water will be clean and bright. Everyone who bends over it will
see himself as an immortal angel, and not a mortal man. He will see in his reflection
the whole creation indescribably beautiful, as no fairy tale could describe. - “whosoever
drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst” ( John 4:14 ).
Blessed are you, children of the king, when you leave the muddy waters, the waters of sorrow and death that sinners drink and poison and die spiritually before they die physically. Blessed are you if you fall to this eternal lake of the Water of Life to drink from Him in this and in other worlds. The smile of eternal joy and the light of eternal life shines in him, four rivers of joy fall out of Him and nourish the whole universe, visible and invisible. One river is called the Joy of Truth, the other is the Joy of Justice, the third is the Joy of Grace, the fourth is the Joy of Life.
St. Nikolai Velimirovich,
Bishop of Ochrid and Zhicha
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