Take care of those who are really bad

The Nativity Fast is a pilgrim's way, it requires both strength and vigor. Usually we immediately talk about the meaning of these fast days, about what to pay attention to, what obligations to take, but life shows that in some cases it is most useful to take a step back and allow yourself "angel therapy", to allow yourself to rest, gain strength before a long journey.
For strong and spiritually full-blooded people, this will be superfluous, but infirmities cover even the great prophets, reminding them not only of the limit of their strength, but also of condescension to the weak and haggard.

There is a remarkably accurate image in Scripture describing a person tired of life, reaching the very limit of fatigue. Antiquity did not know the word "depression", they simply said: "turned to the wall." The capricious king Ahab took offense at Naboth because of the vineyard:

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“And Ahab came home alarmed and grieved ... he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and did not eat bread” (1 Kings 21: 4).

King Hezekiah, learning that he had been diagnosed with a fatal diagnosis, also “turned his face to the wall and prayed to God” (2 Kings 20: 2).

The desire to “turn to the wall” overtakes not only sinners, but also saints. Fatigue is our human destiny, it does not look at virtues and vices, and therefore even the righteous need compassion and rest.

It is strange to talk and write about it, but, starting the business of lenient contemplation, maybe - not everyone, but many - should start with a sober and honest revision of your strength, and if at the beginning of this path you feel exhausted and dream of “turning away to the wall ”, shouldn't we resort to“ angelic therapy ”so that later there will be enough strength for the most important thing?

And if you don't need angel therapy, become an angel for the prophet yourself. Let your very first spiritual exercise in this fast not be restricting food, but condescending concern and all-forgiving responsiveness to those who are really bad, who are simply bending over without strength. Even very good people sometimes need encouragement for life, heart support and participation. Isn't this the very first Christmas gift to Christ? After all, a kind word and a smile can cheer and raise not only a person, but also ... a horse.

Vladimir Mayakovsky had a stern look, hiding an infinitely fragile and tender heart. He has a famous poem about a horse that fell in the middle of the street right in front of indifferent passers-by. But the poet did not pass by. He felt the endless longing in the eyes of this frozen creature, and it is so touching to read how he begs the horse to rise, how he shares with her the confidence that life is worth living.

Therefore, in difficult moments, when I myself think to “turn away to the wall” and even lose the meaning of encouraging someone in this gray and hateful life, I simply reread these life-giving lines of the Russian poet, invulnerable in their sacred rightness:

Horse
rushed
got up on my feet
rzhanula
and went.

She wagged her tail.
Red-haired child.
Cheerful came
stood in the stall.
And everything seemed to her -
she is a foal
and it was worth living
and work was worth it!

Angel therapy. Christmas letter # 1
Archimandrite Savva (Mazuko)