86. Пластырь живительный

What a life-giving plaster is for an ulcer or a bodily wound, so is the Gospel for the sinful soul, through the fear of God’s Judgment and sorrow over sins. A bodily wound receives weakening of the disease and healing from a life-giving plaster. Thus, the sinful soul, trembling at the Judgment of God, crushed by fear of it and sorrow, receives weakening, living consolation and healing from the Gospel. This is what the psalmist sang about God’s love for mankind: “He who heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” * (Ps. 147:3). Do not be afraid, sinful, but repentant and painful soul! Believe only in the Gospel, and you will feel its vitality in your heart. Judge for yourself, for whose sake did Christ, the Son of God, come into the world? For the sake of sinners. For whom did he live and work on earth? For the sake of sinners. For whom did he suffer, die and rise again? For the sake of sinners, as the apostle, to our consolation, says: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). O immeasurable love of God! O great consolation to sinners! God and the Lord Himself came into the world for their sake to seek and save the lost. You are one of the sinners and lost, which means you came to seek and save you. Hold on only by faith to Him who came to seek and save sinners, and establish your hope in Him, then He will certainly seek and save you. And it is not said: for the sake of such and such sinners Christ came, but for the sake of everyone and everyone, no matter how great and grave their sins were. Only one thing is required of them: to give up their sins, repent, and have a contrite heart. And the spiritual and life-giving plaster of the Gospel will be applied to their wounds, and they will feel in their hearts the joyful news of God’s mercy towards them. For they are already beginning to make sacrifices to God on the altar of their hearts - their spirit is broken. “A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God will not despise a broken and humble heart” (Ps. 50:19). Sinful soul, crushed by fear and sadness! Imagine to your inner eyes how the compassionate father, mentioned in the parable of the Gospel, accepts his youngest son, who has returned from error! How kindly she looks at him from afar, how she meets him, how she falls on his neck, how she hugs and kisses him! How he commands his servants to bring the best clothes and clothe him, and give him a ring on his hand and boots on his feet, and commands his whole family to rejoice and be glad for him! “Ah, my son has returned to me! My son came to me safe and sound! This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:20–25). So God, the Heavenly Father, kindly accepts a sinner who repents and comes to Him with contrition of heart, but does not remember his sins and iniquities, and commands His entire heavenly family to rejoice over him. Thus, says the Lord, “there is joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). And truly it is. If for the sake of a sinner He did not spare His Son, but gave him up to death, how will He not accept a repentant sinner? “He did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all; how will He not with Him also freely give us all things” (Rom 8:32)? How will He not have mercy on us who ask Him for mercy? How will He not accept us turning to Him? How can he not forgive us our sins? How can he not save us? “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). “The God of our salvation, our God is God for salvation” (Ps. 67:20–21). This is not how a father, this is not how a mother is propitiated over her sick child, as the Merciful God is propitiated over a sinner who groans to Him in contrition and in heart disease. Then His womb is troubled over him, then mercy will have mercy on him. For as is His majesty, such is His mercy. Glory to His bounties! Glory to His goodness! Glory to His love for mankind! “Blessed be the name of the Lord from now on and forever! Praise the Lord, all nations, glorify Him, all people; for His mercy is established upon us, and the truth of the Lord endures forever. Come, sinners, let us fall down and weep before the Lord who created us; for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. For with the Lord is mercy, and with him is great deliverance, and he will deliver Israel from all their iniquities” (Ps. 116:1-2, 94:6-7, 129:7-8). From this you see, Christian, to whom the Gospel with its consolation is appropriate, namely, not fornicators, not adulterers, not thieves, not predators and robbers, and not other people living lawlessly. They are told: “Mourn, weep and lament; Let your laughter be turned to weeping, and your joy to sorrow” (James 4:9). When they do this, then they too will be comforted by the Gospel, as after fasting by food. Then the Gospel will be applied to their wounded hearts, like a life-giving plaster to a wound. To whom is the Gospel appropriate? Answer: sinners who have turned to God from their sins, who are sick for their sins, who fear God’s judgment, who are contrite with sorrow, who seek God’s mercy and who humbly approach Him. Therefore it is written: “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). We see that repentance is offered first, and then the Gospel. Without repentance, the Gospel will not bring any benefit. The Gospel brings us comfort. But what is consolation for someone who does not have a sad and contrite heart? And this is what Christ the Lord says about Himself: “He anointed Me to preach good news to the poor, and sent Me to heal the brokenhearted” (Luke 4:18). You see to whom Christ preaches the gospel. Repent and turn from your sins to God, and have a contrite heart. Then the Holy Gospel will be appropriate for you, like a life-giving plaster for a bodily ulcer. Translation by P. Yungerov – Editorial office of “The ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: