This Sunday the Church recalls the parable of the healing of lepers to understand the meaning of thanksgiving.
The rector of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl, Vladyka Pavel, addressed the readers of Vesti with a sermon on this day.
The most powerful prayers: how to read and correctly light candles in church
“Living life is not a field to cross. There are all sorts of damages on the field, the soil is poorly plowed, the harrow is poorly laid, the grass is not collected properly, etc. And human life is filled with sorrows and sorrows. Why? Because sin has distorted everything. The Lord does not force a person to take any actions, but gives freedom of choice - to follow the path that a person has chosen for himself. And you and I, dear brothers and sisters, during the Sacrament of Baptism in the Holy Apostolic Canonical Orthodox Church, the Church recognized by the whole world and established by the Lord, write our name in the Book of Eternal Life. And everything else is tares, this applies to the clergy to some extent, as well as people who have shown stubbornness in sin, who want an easy way to reach the Kingdom of Heaven. There is no easy way. There is a path of suffering, a path of experiences, a path of death, resurrection - and then, as the Lord determines, that is what awaits the person,” the Metropolitan recalled.
And I will never go to church, everyone there is like that...” Remember that it is not the Church that needs us, but we who need the Church. It is not the Kingdom of God that needs us, but we need the Kingdom of God. Either we deserve it, or we go with the enemy of the human race - the devil. You and I have a distorted human nature. The Lord created us beautiful, healthy, but when sin entered, our body and soul received changes. And after this sin came illness, suffering and death. Therefore, today we are talking about the ten lepers and the meaning of thanksgiving.”
Where can you pray and why is it this way?
Parable about the healing of 10 lepers
And when Jesus entered a certain village, ten lepers met Him, who stopped at a distance and said in a loud voice: Jesus the Master! have mercy on us.
When He saw them, He said to them: Go show yourself to the priests. And as they walked, they purified themselves.
One of them, seeing that he was healed, returned, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell prostrate at His feet, thanking Him; and it was a Samaritan.
Then Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed?” where is nine? how did they not return to give glory to God, except this foreigner? And he said to him: get up, go; your faith has saved you.
Luke, 85, 17, 12-19
TEMPLE OF VLADIMIR THE HOLY MARTYR
Week 29 of Pentecost.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
It is difficult for us to accept the reproach of ingratitude to God, the reproach that was heard in today’s Gospel. Isn’t it you and I who go to the temple of God, isn’t it our hands that light candles, isn’t it our lips that pronounce the majestic words of prayer chants and hymns? And, finally, don’t the very churches on our land stand because they are built and maintained with our donations, with our labor and then earned money?
If all this is true, then why does the Lord remind us of ingratitude today? For this story about ten lepers is, first of all, a story about the ingratitude of people close to God. Ten sufferers of the terrible disease were cleansed of it, but only one of them, a pagan, that is, the enemy of the true faith, returned to Christ to give glory to God. And nine faithful children of God left, forgetting everything in the world with joy...
What does this Gospel story have to do with us, modern Orthodox Christians? After all, we regularly go to church not to stand there, warm ourselves, look at people, and show ourselves off. We go to the temple of God to pray. And yet, with all our prayerful attitude, with all our churchliness, it is precisely to us, Orthodox church Christians, that the reproach of ingratitude is addressed. It is precisely us who pray during the liturgy, and not just those present at it, us who regularly confess and receive communion, that the Lord reproaches for this terrible sin.
The fact is that a non-church person, a stranger to the Church, cannot be called a sinner, because sin is a concept that applies only to people who believe, are churchgoers, and accept the Christian law. These were the nine who were healed of leprosy and forgot to thank their Healer.
Our attitude towards God and the Church is sometimes striking in its amazing greed. After all, we really only pray that God would arrange our life here on earth in the best possible way. We hardly realize to ourselves that more than anything else in the world we want peace, wealth and eternal earthly pleasures. When all this is missing for some reason, we are convinced that unhappy days have come, that we are deprived by God of the most necessary things. If we are healthy, then we are poor, if we are rich, then everyone hates us. Summer is just around the corner - why is it so short? Is it winter outside – again, it’s not good, it’s very cold. This is how our life goes on in a stream of complaints, bewilderments and endless petty requests to God.
Don’t we remember that our main life is ahead, then, there, beyond the threshold of death, in the Kingdom of Heaven? No, we don’t need Heaven, but an improved earth with all the amenities. It is not Eternal Life that is important to us with the angels and all the saints, but the kind and warm company of old acquaintances, to whom we are accustomed, again, on earth. Our entire present life is a preparation, a threshold of the future Eternal Life, but we don’t care about the future, give us health in this one. Here and now. And when we think about Heaven, trying with our down-to-earth mind to imagine how everything will be there, then we cannot imagine anything other than absolute health and absolute idleness.
Compared to eternity, the duration of our earthly existence is insignificant, but we perceive it as the most important, the most important time. Well, what difference does it make, one might ask, whether we prosper or mourn in this short period of time, when there is eternal bliss ahead? In the end, “when a woman gives birth, she suffers sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to a baby, she no longer remembers the sorrow for joy, because a man was born into the world.” (John 16.21) So we too, in this sorrowful world, endure sorrow, and in this sorrow the Kingdom of Heaven is born, which, according to the word of the Savior, is “within us.”
So, from the moment of birth until the hour of death, all we do is make ourselves comfortable, as if we are going to live forever in this life. And when everyday circumstances are not so favorable, when sorrows surround us, then we grumble at God, then we cry out: “For what? Why me? Why am I worse than others?
Can a person looking for pennies in roadside dust see what a wondrous sky is above his head? Will it occur to him to thank the Creator for this beautiful sky? No, he, like the nine lepers, will find his coins and run away, overwhelmed with happiness! We do not thank God for everything in our lives, both good and bad, only because we cannot see beyond our own nose. We all sin with ingratitude, because we are extremely attached with our bodies and our passions to the earth. If only we set ourselves the task of devoting our entire earthly life to preparing for heavenly life, if we were not so attached, with all our soul, with all our heart, to that which must disappear, abyss, dissolve into oblivion, then, of course, we would not forget to thank our Lord for everything, then, of course, we would fall before our merciful God with a joyful feeling of the fullness of life, and then we would certainly hear the voice of our Savior: “Get up, go; your faith has saved you!” Amen.
December 20, 1998
Healing of 10 lepers: interpretation
“We don’t know who sinned (they or the parents), and it is not our lot to judge other people’s destinies. We can only be helpers in their grief and misfortune, because we don’t know what awaits us,” said the rector of the monastery.
So, 10 lepers came out to meet Christ and asked Christ: “Jesus the Mentor! Have mercy on us."
And they called the Lord by name - Jesus. “What does this say? This suggests that a spirit of malice and hatred lived in these people, but he also knows the Lord. Because I saw, heard and communicated with God to some extent when the Word was not yet Flesh. When it was still the Word that we were waiting for, and today it became Flesh in the form of Jesus Christ. They called Him Mentor. And this is higher than a teacher, this is the one who takes care of the soul and leads a person along the path of salvation,” Vladyka Pavel emphasized.
“But let’s also look at what leprosy is. From a medical point of view, it was an incurable disease. This is a terrible disease when the body falls away from the bone and at the same time the bone decomposes. This is a terrible pain and it is a contagious disease. Anyone who had such a disease could not live in villages or be among people. But for treatment there were no, there were no such drugs and preparations that could heal a person. This is what was written in the law: “The leper who has this ulcer must have his clothes torn, and his head must not be covered, and his mouth must be covered and shout: unclean! unclean! (Lev. 13:45). Clothes should be torn so that leprosy can be seen. He was closed to his mouth so that those passing by would know that he was sick. The head is not covered so that the disease is visible, since leprosy causes the hair to turn white and come out. And also, shouting “Unclean!”, he warned those around him of his approach. The man had no choice but to leave home; he was expelled from society. And they wandered in the desert, living in coffins,” the Metropolitan said.
The disease affects children. “We will soon see measles with a mortality rate of 1 in 20.”
And he added: “Imagine when there is unbearable heat outside, and also unbearable pain or some other manifestations of this disease - and a person alone must suffer until he dies.
And in addition to the terrible, incurable disease, the person found himself in complete isolation, abandoned by all people, with no one to say just words of support, and no one to turn to for consolation.
These people were rejected and despised by everyone. Their fate was worse than death. And just 10 such patients came out to meet the Lord.”
How could rumors about Christ reach such outcasts of society? “We can assume that the miraculous power of Christ was talked about everywhere and everywhere, and, probably, the one who threw them bread out of pity somehow mentioned the great Wonderworker,” suggested Vladyka Paul.
It does not say that the Lord healed them. He said: “Go, show yourself to the priests.” According to the law, it was the priests who declared lepers unclean and expelled from society, and those who were healed were declared healthy and returned to society.
“The Lord indicates that all the power of grace is in the temple, in communion with God. He didn't say you would be healed in that moment. But walking along the road, you can think like this, you will receive the healing you ask for. And here the lepers’ submission to the Word of the Lord and their faith are striking,” noted Metropolitan Pavel.
As they walked along the road, they saw that the leprosy had left them and they became healthy. One Samaritan, feeling himself healed, began to look for the Savior who healed him. This point also tells us that although the Jews despised the Samaritans, the Samaritans were sometimes superior to them.
And when he found it, he fell at His feet and thanked Him. Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed? Where is nine?”
“They had to thank the Lord. We can think that they showed themselves to the priest, made some kind of cleansing sacrifice, for sure. But a foreigner came to Christ to thank him, and the Lord said to him: “Get up, go. Your faith saved you." These words have deep meaning for you and me. The word “Get up” means that the illness is over, you already see that you are not sick, your body is clean. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself healed you of leprosy. You have already received a testimony before the Apostles and at the same time before the Heavenly Father,” explained the rector of the monastery.
What should a parent do if the child is sick and nothing helps?
Gospel of the Healing of Ten Lepers
Healing lepers
Luke 85, 17:12-20
Let us learn from the example of small things if we cannot immediately understand the great ones.
If we cannot understand how God sees all people, let's look at how the sun illuminates all objects on earth.
If we cannot understand how the human soul cannot live a single minute without God, let us look at how the human body cannot live a single minute without air.
If we don’t know why God demands obedience from people, let’s figure out why the head of a family demands obedience from his household, a king from his subjects, a commander from soldiers, an architect from builders.
If we don’t know why God demands gratitude from people, let’s think and understand why a parent demands gratitude from his children. But let’s dwell on this question for a while: why do parents demand gratitude from their children?
Why does a father demand that his son bow to him, take off his hat, and thank him for every big and small thing received from his parents? What does father need this for? Does filial gratitude make him richer, stronger, more respected, more influential in society? No, not at all. But if he personally has nothing from filial gratitude, isn’t it funny that he constantly teaches it to his child and teaches him to be grateful, and not only a pious parent, but even an unpious one?
No, it's not funny at all; it's noble. For this reveals the most selfless parental love, which forces parents to teach their child gratitude. For what? So that the child feels good. So that the child grows up like a garden fruit, and not like a wild thorn. So that he would feel good in this temporary life among people, among friends and enemies, in villages and cities, in power and in trade. For everywhere a grateful person is valued, loved, invited, helped and welcomed. Whoever teaches you to be grateful will teach you to be merciful. And a merciful person walks more freely on this earth.
Now let’s ask ourselves, why does God require gratitude from people? Why did He demand from Noah, Moses, Abraham and other forefathers that they bring Him thanksgiving sacrifices (Gen. 8:20; 12: 7-8; 35: 1; Lev. 3: 1)? Why did our Lord Jesus Christ daily set people an example of how to give praise to God (Matthew 11:25; 14:19; 26:26-27)? Why did the holy apostles do the same (Acts 2:47; 27:35), commanding all the faithful to always thank God for everything (Eph.5:20; Col.3:17)? Is it not reasonable that the great Isaiah exclaims: I will remember the mercies of the Lord and the glory of the Lord for everything that the Lord has given us, and His great kindness to the house of Israel, which He showed them according to His mercy and according to the multitude of His mercies
(Isa.63:7)?
Or what the touching psalmist advises his soul: Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His rewards
(Ps. 103:2)?
So why does God require gratitude from people? And why do people pay him with gratitude? Out of His infinite love for people, God requires that people thank Him. Human gratitude will not make God greater, more powerful, more glorious, richer, or more alive; but it will make the people themselves greater, more powerful, more glorious, richer and more alive. Human gratitude will not add anything to the peace and bliss of God, but it will add peace and bliss to people themselves. And gratitude to God will not at all change the existence and being of God, but it will change the existence and being of the one giving thanks. Personally, God does not need our gratitude, just as He does not need our prayer. But nevertheless, the Lord, who said: Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him
(Matthew 6:8), at the same time teaches us
that we must always pray and not lose heart
(Luke 18: 1). So, although God has no need for our prayer, He still commands us to pray. And although He has no need for our gratitude, He still requires gratitude from us, which in essence is nothing more than prayer, a prayer of thanks. For gratitude to God raises us, mortals, from the corruption of mortals, frees us from attachment to that with which we will one day, whether we want it or not, will have to part with, and cleaves us to the Living and Immortal God, near Whom we will never be in life. eternal, if we do not cleave to Him in temporary life. Gratitude ennobles the thanker and touches the benefactor. Gratitude gives wings to charity in the world and refreshes every virtue. However, mortal language cannot even remotely depict the beauty of gratitude and the ugliness of ingratitude as clearly as they are presented in today’s Gospel reading.
During this time, when Christ entered one village, ten lepers met Him, who stopped in the distance and said in a loud voice: Jesus Mentor! have mercy on us.
Ten lepers! It’s scary to see one, much less a crowd of ten people. A body covered from head to toe with white ulcers, and then with white festering scabs that first itch and then burn like fire! A body rotting and disintegrating! A body in which pus is stronger than blood! A body that is a complete stench both inside and outside! This is a person with leprosy. And when leprosy covers the nose, mouth, and eyes, can you imagine: what is the air like that they breathe through the pus? What kind of food is eaten along with pus? And what does the world even look like when you look at it through pus?
According to the Law of Moses, lepers were forbidden to come into contact with other people in any way. However, this is still the case in those places where there is leprosy. To prevent anyone from coming close to the leper, he had to shout from afar: “Unclean, unclean!” This is literally what is written in the law: The leper who has this ulcer must have his clothes torn, and his head must not be covered, and his mouth must be covered and shout: unclean! unclean
(Lev.13:45)!
Clothes must be torn so that leprosy is visible. The head should not be covered - again, so that it could be seen that he was a leper, since leprosy caused the hair to turn white and come out. It should be closed to the mouth - again an identification mark for those passing by. And besides all this, lepers were also obliged to shout: “Unclean! Unclean! They were driven out of the city or village, and they lived worse than cattle - rejected, despised, forgotten. He is unclean
, says the law,
he must live separately, his dwelling outside the camp
(Lev. 13:46). They were considered dead, although their fate was worse than death.
Jesus, the Source of health, beauty and strength, walked past such tattered and stinking wrecks of life that day. And when the lepers found out that it was Him, they stopped at a distance and said in a loud voice: Jesus the Mentor! have mercy on us
.
How could these unfortunate people know about Jesus that He was able to help them if they did not enter into communication with people? Probably someone, throwing bread from the road, told them this news. Of course, from afar a voice reached their ears about the only news in the world that could interest them. Everything else that happened in the world: the change of kings and battles of nations, the construction and destruction of cities, entertainment, fires and earthquakes - everything was indifferent to them. Cloaked in pus, they could only think about these ill-fated clothes of theirs and, perhaps, about who could take these clothes off of them and clothe them in the robe of health. Having heard about our Lord Jesus Christ as an almighty Healer, they, of course, heard about special cases of Christ healing lepers like them (Luke 5:12-13). That is why they should have wished for a happy opportunity to meet the Lord. Somewhere on the edge of the plain of Galilee, where the road begins to climb the Samarina hills, they were waiting for Him. He passed through there on his way to Jerusalem. And here is a happy accident, not accidental, but arranged by God! They see Christ walking with His disciples. And seeing Him, they shouted with one voice: Jesus Mentor!
have mercy on us. Why do they call Him Mentor? Because this word is more significant and indicates greater dignity than the title of teacher. For “mentor” means not just a teacher, but also a counselor, who in word, example and care guides people on the path of salvation. Why then do they not call Him Lord, a word containing even more dignity and meaning than the word “mentor”? Of course, because they have not yet learned about this dignity of Christ.
Have mercy on us
, they shouted in a loud voice.
When He saw them, He said to them: Go, show yourself to the priests.
And as they walked, they purified themselves. In one of the previous cases of healing lepers, the Lord touched the sick man with his hand and said to him:
cleanse yourself.
And immediately the leprosy left him (Luke 5:13).
And in this case, He not only did not touch the lepers, but did not even come close to them. For they stood afar off
and cried out to Him.
Thus, He was forced to shout to them from afar. Why does the Lord send them to the priests? Because the priests had the responsibility to declare lepers unclean and expel them from society, and to recognize those healed as clean and healthy and return them to human society (Lev. 13:34,44). The Lord does not want to break the law, especially since the law did not interfere, but, on the contrary, helped His work in this case, since the priests themselves would have the opportunity to make sure that the ten lepers were healed, and they themselves would confirm and testify to this. So, having heard what the Lord told them and where he had sent them, they went to their village to do so. But, on the way, they looked at themselves, and there was no leprosy on them. And as they walked, they purified themselves.
And they looked at their bodies - and their bodies were healthy and clean, and they looked at each other and were convinced that they were all healthy and clean.
And the scab, and the pus, and the stench - everything disappeared, so that not a trace of the terrible leprosy remained on them. Who could say that this miracle of Christ is no greater than the resurrection of the dead? Think a little about the fact that with one powerful word, ten leprous human bodies, eaten away by illness, suddenly became healthy and clean! And when you think about it, you yourself will easily admit: truly, this word could not have come from a mortal man! This word had to be spoken by God through a human bodily organ. Indeed, the human tongue uttered it, but it came from the same depth from which the commanding word came, which entailed the creation of the world. There are words and words. There are words that are pure and sinless, which therefore have power. These words flow from the original source of eternal love. The gates of all things open before them; things, and people, and illnesses, and spirits submit to them. And there are words diluted with water, dulled, killed by sin, which produce no more effect than the whistle of the wind in a hollow reed; and no matter how many such dead words are spoken, they remain powerless, like the effect of smoke on an iron door. And just imagine what an incomparable consolation for us - to know what an omnipotent and humane Lord we believe in! Our God, in heaven and on earth, does whatever He pleases.
He is the Director of life, He is the Lord of diseases, He is the Ruler of nature, He is the Conqueror of death. We were created not by a thoughtless and dumb nature, but by Him, the all-wise. We are not slaves of natural conditions, but servants of the Living and Humane God. We are not a game of chance, but the creation of the One who created our elder brothers, angels and archangels, and all the immortal army of heaven. Although we suffer in this world, He knows the meaning and purpose of our suffering; although we are leprous by sin, His word is stronger than leprosy - both physical and mental; although we are drowning, His saving hand is near us; even though we are dying, He is waiting for us on the other side of the grave.
But let us return to the Gospel story about the healing of lepers and now look at the clear picture of gratitude and ingratitude. What did these lepers do when they noticed that they were healed of their illness? Here's the thing: only one of them returned to thank Christ, while the other nine continued on their way, forgetting about their Benefactor and Savior.
One of them, seeing that he was healed, returned, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell prostrate at His feet, thanking Him; and it was a Samaritan.
This only grateful person, seeing that the serious illness had left him, sighed with relief, as if the fierce snakes had stopped strangling him, and his first thought was to thank the One who saved him from indescribable misfortune.
And how he just raised his hoarse voice and cried out with purulent lips: Jesus Mentor!
have mercy on us - so now he raises a ringing voice from his healthy chest and loudly glorifies God with healthy and clean lips. But this was not enough for him, and he ran back to his Benefactor to express gratitude to him. And, returning to Christ, he fell on his face before Him, no longer on his ulcerated and sick knees, but on his healthy knees, and began to thank Him. The body is full of health, the heart is full of joy, the eyes are filled with tears! This is the true man. One moment he was a pile of pus, and now he has become a man again! Just now he was the discarded garbage of human life, and now he is again a worthy member of human society! One moment he was a sad trumpet, playing only one song: “Unclean, unclean,” and now he is a joyful trumpet of the praise and glory of God!
And this only grateful man was not a Jew, but a Samaritan. The Samaritans were not Jews, but either purebred Assyrians, or descendants of Assyrians and Jews. These are the same Assyrians whom the Assyrian king Shalmaneser once settled in conquered Samaria, having previously resettled the Israelites from there to Assyria (2 Kings 17:3-6, 24). That this grateful man was a purebred Assyrian is evident from the fact that the Lord Himself calls him a foreigner:
Do you hear how gently the Lord rebukes the ungrateful? He only asks about them - weren’t they healed too? And why didn’t they come back to thank? He asks not because he doesn’t know that they have all been cleansed. No, he knew they would be healed before he met them and saw them. But by asking this question, He reproaches. And what a mild reproach this is, isn’t it? Like any of us, when he gives a coin to some poor fellow, he screams and rages if he doesn’t thank him! Imagine how each of us would expose nine sick people in the most formidable way, if he, suppose, managed to restore their health, and they would not even express gratitude for such an unpaid service! How all the days are filled with human screams at the ungrateful! How heavy the air is with anger and curses, pouring out of people’s lips on the ungrateful every day from morning to evening! Meanwhile, how insignificant is everything done to man by man in comparison with the good deeds that God does to people, He does tirelessly and incessantly, from the cradle of man to the grave! But still, God does not shout, does not scold, does not curse the ungrateful, but only gently reproaches them, asking those who pray to Him privately or in church: where are my other children? Didn’t I give health to thousands of them, but behold, only hundreds of you giving thanks? Have I not adorned the fields with harvest, and have I not filled everyone’s pens, but behold, only a few of you kneel before Me and give praise? Where are my other children? Where are the mighty and strong who rule the nations by My power and with My help? Where are the rich and prosperous, enriched by My wealth and prosperous by My mercy? Where are the healthy and cheerful, filled with health and joy from My source? Where are the parents whose children I help grow and become stronger? Where are the teachers to whom I add wisdom and knowledge? Where are the numerous sick people healed by Me? Where are the many, many sinners and sinners whose souls I cleansed from sin, like leprosy?
Then Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed?” where is nine? how did they not return to give glory to God, except this foreigner?
How did they not return to give glory to God except this foreigner?
He was the only one who returned to say thank you. But do foreigners really exist for Christ? Did He not come to save all people, but only the Jews? The Jews boasted of their being chosen by God and the fact that their knowledge of God surpassed all other peoples of the earth. But here is an example showing the dullness of their minds and the hardness of their hearts! The Assyrian, a pagan, turned out to have a more enlightened mind and a nobler heart than the boastful Jews. But, unfortunately, this story is repeated to this day with the chosen and the unelected. And today some of the pagans have a mind more open to God and a heart grateful to Him than many, many Christians. Many Muslims or, say, Buddhists, with their zeal in prayer and warm gratitude to the Creator, can shame other Christians.
Finally, this story ends with the words of the Savior addressed to this grateful Samaritan:
And he said to him: get up, go; your faith has saved you.
See how great the Lord is in humility, as well as in goodness!
It is His joy to call people co-workers in His great and good works. By this He wants to raise the dignity of the humiliated and humiliated human race. Being above human vanity and pride, He desires to share His merits with others, His wealth with the poor, His glory with the unfortunate and pitiful. Your faith saved you.
Indeed, this Samaritan believed, as did the other nine lepers;
for if they did not believe in the power of the Lord, they would not shout: Jesus Mentor!
have mercy on us. But what was the cost of this faith?
They could shout with the same faith to thousands of the most famous doctors on earth: “Have mercy on us and heal us!” But it would all be in vain. Even suppose that one of these thousands of earthly mortal doctors would cure them: do you think that he - any of them - would attribute this healing to the faith of the patient, and not to himself, solely to himself and his abilities? Is it not the custom of earthly mortal doctors to deliberately hush up the role of patients in recovery, in order to highlight themselves and their merits as clearly as possible? This is how people treat people. But our Lord Jesus Christ treats people differently. Christ placed His cart of wheat, and the leper Samaritan threw one of his grains into this cart. Christ's load of wheat is His Divine power and authority, and the leper's grain is his faith in Christ. But the just and philanthropic Christ does not want to hide even this one grain; on the contrary, he gives it greater honor than His cart. That is why he does not say, as all mortals would say in such a case: “My cartload of wheat fed you,” but: “Your grain fed you!” He does not say: “I saved you!”, but: Your faith saved you.
Oh, how much generosity there is in these words! And what a lesson for all of us! And what a reproach to human self-love and pride!
Let all those who hide the grain of someone else's merit and bulge their own cart come and learn with shame from the righteous Christ. They are kidnappers and thieves no less than the rich man who annexes the poor man's small field to his big one!
Let all the generals who hide the contribution of their soldiers to the victory, but loudly trumpet everywhere about their exceptional merits, come and learn with shame from the just Christ!
Let all merchants and industrialists who gloss over the role of their workers and assistants in their success come and learn with shame from the humble Christ and attribute it only to their own hard work, wisdom and luck!
Let the entire human race, in its proud blindness, attribute all the good, all the skill, all the successes exclusively to themselves, but silence the lion’s share of God in all this or forget about it, and learn with shame from the philanthropic Christ! Let him come and learn, seeing how the just God does not suppress a single grain of human merit in the whole cart of His merits, but, on the contrary, hides His merits and is silent about them, but emphasizes the merits of people!
Is it possible to imagine a stronger blow and a more terrible reproach to people for their theft, embezzlement, rudeness, lack of love for humanity and love of God? Truly, he who has shame will be ashamed at the sight of such humility of Christ. He who has one unquenched spark of conscience within himself will repent of his rude and stupid self-praise and display of himself and will become grateful to God and people. And gratitude will teach him justice, righteousness and humility.
Oh, if we Christians knew what spiritual leprosy Christ heals us from every day, we would immediately return to Him, fall prostrate at His feet, glorifying God with a loud voice, and would thank Him from this hour until the hour of death - until the hour a mortal who is not far from each of us! To our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be honor and glory, with the Father and the Holy Spirit - the Trinity, Consubstantial and Indivisible, now and ever, at all times and unto ages of ages. Amen.
***
From the collection of works of St. Nicholas of Serbia (Velimirovich), published by the Sretensky Monastery publishing house.
Why thank God
Jesus Christ is the Lord Almighty. Icon
“Unfortunately, only one came to thank God, and nine did not return. This suggests that the Jews who knew Christ knew God all their lives - but they did not accept, they rejected Him. And they did not thank God for the grace-filled time that came to them in order to receive their sight and be healed of their ailments. And for us, the pagans, who had the good fortune to be a Samaritan, enlightenment came with Divine Light and Grace. And we, like the Samaritan, came to God and worshiped because the Lord healed us from the leprosy of ignorance, from the leprosy of the rudeness of our character, from the leprosy of ignorance. And the light of Christ’s teaching shone in our hearts,” noted Metropolitan Pavel.
But, unfortunately, we have spiritual leprosy - ingratitude towards God and people, he added. “And this disease can become the cause of all the troubles and disasters in the life of every person. The Lord pleases everyone with sunshine, warmth, rain, some with wealth, some with friends...
But of all those to whom the Lord sends mercies, several dozen come to the temple. Where are the others? Doesn't everyone have something to thank God for?
If everyone went to the temples in one impulse, overcoming disbelief and despair, then a miracle would happen along the way. Everything would change in our lives! Many go to the temple, but ask for help in their own trouble, hoping for a miracle - but not even trying to find the Greatest Miracle in the life of mankind - Christ! – said Vladyka Pavel.
Many people wonder, why thank God? “I would like to remember the words of St. Nicholas (Velimirović): “Human gratitude will not make God greater, nor more powerful, nor more glorious, nor richer, nor more alive. But it will make the people themselves greater, more powerful, more glorious, richer and more alive. Human gratitude will not add anything to the peace and bliss of God, but it will add peace and bliss to people themselves. And gratitude to God will not at all change the existence and being of God, but it will change the existence and being of the one giving thanks.”
“In prayer and thanksgiving to God, a person frees himself from earthly attachments, life’s worries, is freed from mortal corruption and cleaves to the Lord Jesus Christ. Gratitude gives wings to mercy and encourages a person to do deeds of mercy, and Divine grace strengthens him on all paths of life. Therefore, after each of our spiritual and physical healings, we will try to rush to the temple and thank God for His greatest mercies. And at the same time, to show those gifts of Divine love that are perfected over us. The Lord has never refused anyone. Even to foreigners and people of other faiths, the Lord shows His mercy so that they understand and come and worship the Lord and glorify Him and His greatness,” the rector of the monastery emphasized in conclusion.
How to forgive an offense and let go
Healing a leper
When Jesus came down from the mountain, many people followed Him.
Then a man with leprosy approached Him, bowed to Him and said: “Lord, if You want, You can cleanse me.”
Jesus reached out and touched him, saying:
- I want to cleanse myself!
At that very moment the man was healed of leprosy. Jesus then said to him:
“See that you don’t tell anyone about this, but go, show yourself to the priest and sacrifice the gift, as Moses commanded.” This way your healing will be confirmed before people.
Officer's Faith
When Jesus came to Capernaum, a centurion came to Him and asked for help.
“Sir,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and suffers terribly.”
Jesus answered him:
- Okay, I will come and heal him.
The centurion answered Jesus:
“Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under the roof of my house.” Just say the word and my servant will be healed. After all, I myself obey orders, and I also have warriors under me. I tell one: “Go!” - and he goes to the other: “Come to me!” - and he comes. I say to my servant: “Do it!” – and he does.
When Jesus heard this, he was surprised and said to those who followed Him:
“I tell you the truth, that even in Israel I have never encountered such a strong faith.” I tell you that many from other nations will come from the east and the west and will feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven. The sons of the Kingdom will be thrown out into darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And Jesus said to the centurion:
- Go! According to your faith it will be for you.
And at the same hour the servant recovered.
Healing the sick
Arriving at Peter's house, Jesus saw that his mother-in-law was lying in a fever. He touched her hand, and the heat left her, she stood up and began to set the table for Him. As evening fell, many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was the fulfillment of the words of the prophet Isaiah: “He took away our infirmities and bore our sorrows.”
Future Followers of Jesus
When Jesus saw a large crowd gathered around Him, He told the disciples to cross to the other side of the lake. Then one of the teachers of the Law came up to Him and said:
- Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.
Jesus answered:
“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
And another man, one of His disciples, said:
“Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
But Jesus answered him:
“Follow Me, let the dead bury their own dead.”
Jesus calms the storm
Jesus entered the boat and the disciples sat down with Him. Suddenly, such a strong storm arose on the lake that the boat was overwhelmed by waves. And Jesus was sleeping at that time. The disciples woke Him up, saying:
- Lord, save us! We are dying!
Jesus answered:
- You people of little faith, why are you afraid?
He stood up, blocked the wind and waves, and there was complete calm. The students asked in surprise:
– Who is He, that even the wind and waves obey Him?
Jesus casts out demons into a herd of pigs
When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the land of the Gadarenes, two men possessed by demons came out of their tombs to meet Him. They were so violent that no one dared to pass that road.
– What do you want from us, Son of God? - they shouted. -Have you come to torment us even before the appointed time?
Not far from them a large herd of pigs was grazing. The demons asked Jesus:
- If you drive us out, then send us to this herd of pigs.
Jesus said to them:
- Go!
Coming out of the people, the demons entered the pigs. The entire herd rushed off a cliff into the lake and died in the water. And the swineherds ran to the city and told everything, including what happened to the possessed. Then all the inhabitants of the city came out to meet Jesus and, seeing Him, asked to leave their area.
a) 8:4 See Lev. 14:1-32.
b) 8:17 Isa. 53:4.
c) 8:20 Son of Man – lit.: “Son of Man” is one of the titles of Christ given by the prophet Daniel (see Dan. 7:13-14). Jesus always used this title to refer to Himself. He did this to hint that He is the very One about whom Daniel speaks - the King over all nations, whose Kingdom will be eternal.
d) 8:21 In the first century, there was a burial custom in which the body of the deceased was placed in a cave for a year. After this time, when nothing remained of the body except bones, they were removed and buried in an urn. This verse can also be translated as: Lord, allow me to remain with my father so that when he dies, I can bury him.
