Conversation on the 27th week after Pentecost

In the gospel we are reading today, we see the healing of one unfortunate woman. The healing is remarkable in terms of the disease and the effect of the healing, and especially in the consequences of the healing. “And I taught alone from the congregation on the Sabbath. And behold, the woman had been sick in spirit for eighteen years, and was weak and unable to lift herself up at all” (Luke 13:10–11). What a pitiful condition of the poor patient! She was slumped - hunched over and could not get up to stand straight. Therefore, she could neither walk straight nor lie freely; I couldn’t see the faces of anyone passing by, bent to the ground. How much ridicule of frivolity she had to endure for her position! How many other troubles! And she remained in this position for 18 years. Of course, it didn’t happen without her trying to help herself with medical means. But her position did not change. Her illness was of a special kind, which cannot be alleviated by human medicine. She was possessed by an illness from the spirit, says the evangelist. “Satan bound her,” the Lord testifies (Luke 13:16). Why is this so? Is it not a punishment for sins? But the Savior, healing her, did not say: “Your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5, Luke 7:48) as He said when healing those suffering from sins; He only said: “You are free from your illness” (Luke 13:12). He even calls her “the daughter of Abraham” (Luke 13:16) and, of course, not just by her carnal descent from Abraham, but by the qualities of her soul. The very ones who did not look peacefully at her healing did not say anything unfavorable about her life; and these righteous people would not fail to expose to everyone the stains of her life, if there were any. – Do not ignore the fact, listeners, that the Savior found her in the synagogue listening to the Sabbath service (Luke 13:10-11). This means that, despite her suffering state, she diligently devoted the Sabbath day to prayer and listening to the word of God. So, there is no doubt that this sick woman in body was not sick with any spiritual passion, and that’s it. Her illness was not a punishment for her sins. And yet she was bound by Satan for 18 years! (Luke 13:16). How to explain her situation? Her position is that of Job. Was it because of Job’s sins that the Lord allowed Satan to strike Job with a terrible illness and a number of different troubles? No, and Satan did not dare to point out any grave sins in Job. He only said that Job was pious because he was happy; let, he said, be allowed to test him with misfortunes - then they will see whether he will bless God? And the Lord allowed his servant to be tested for his glory (Job. 1:8-12) This was also the situation of the wife who suffered from the spirit. A serious illness was sent to her only to test her love for God, so that her soul would be perfected through sorrows, grown and strengthened in virtues. And she patiently endured the ordeal for 18 years. Blessed “daughter of Abraham”! My listeners! We often happen to see various kinds of sick people, as well as other unfortunate people. – Let us beware of pronouncing a reproachful judgment on their lives. Perhaps the unpleasant-looking sufferer whom we pass by with contempt is the chosen favorite of heaven and secretly prays for us. - In no case will we make a mistake in our attitude towards the unfortunate only when we look at the unfortunate with humility in our hearts and with sincere love. “When Jesus saw you (the sick woman), he invited her and said to her: Woman, you have been released from your illness. And lay your hand on her: I have stretched out your arms” (Luke 13:12–13). How much love there is in our Savior! As soon as He saw the suffering woman, His first glance at her was a look of compassionate love; He told the sick woman to go to the heavenly doctor. Poor “wife!” He says to her, “you are freed from your illness.” What majestic simplicity in the action of the Almighty! These are the words of the Creative Word. “And he laid his hands on her. And she straightened up immediately” (Luke 13:12-13). Why do you think it was necessary to lay hands on the sick woman? What did it mean? The word of the Son of God in itself is a powerful word. But in order to peacefully His action passed on to the sick woman, it was necessary to accept this action with the quiet faith of the sick one; but the action of the word was formidable for the meek soul and its acceptance was made difficult by the trembling of the soul. That is why the Lord adds the action of His love to the action of power - it is then that the suffering one straightens up and ends its work with love, and not following the word of the Almighty. “And glorify God. The elder answered the council, indignant, and on the Sabbath Jesus healed him, saying to the people: “There are six days, but there is time to do what is right for you: aim at what is coming, and not on the Sabbath day” (Luke 13:13-14). This is one and the same work of the Savior - the healing of a sick soul with one soul is accepted with reverent gratitude, and by the leader of the synagogue - with indignation. - Strange human hearts! And the healed woman glorified God. And how could you not praise God? The work that happened to her was the work of God. She who suffered from an incurable disease for 18 years was healed with one word: isn’t this the work of the Almighty? Is it not a visit to heavenly goodness? Who would not reproach the healed woman if she remained ignorant of God’s unexpected blessing? The healed woman was grateful, she praised the Lord out loud to everyone. She praised her Savior in the synagogue, although she knew how hostile the synagogue was to Jesus. Such sincere gratitude! But the elder of the synagogue is very indignant. He is shown to be offended that the sick woman was healed on the Sabbath. The peace of the Sabbath has been disturbed! And where! In the synagogue, where he is the leader, in the synagogue - before his eyes! Can he tolerate this? He addresses instructions to the people. But why doesn’t he turn to Jesus with reproof? If the peace of the Sabbath is broken by healing, then the Physician has broken it; deal with Him. – A straight conscience, a clear conscience, speaks about guilt directly to the guilty person. And the leader of the synagogue speaks about Jesus’ mistake to other people’s ears. Apparently, the zealot of truth felt that his conscience was not clear. And look how strange the instruction to his people is. He repeats the words of the Sabbath law faithfully (Ex. 20:10). But how he applies them to his work! “In these days,” he says, “heal the day that comes, and not on... the Sabbath.” What does this mean? Should the sick stay at home on the Sabbath? Should they not be in the synagogue to hear the law? Why is there such disfavor for the sick? “In the days that come, take care” (Luke 13:14). But does it depend on the will of the patient to be healed on the second or fourth day of the week? And if the sick person was healed on Saturday: according to the commandment of the synagogue teacher, he must say: no, I am not healed yet, only tomorrow can I praise God. It cannot be said that the Jewish teacher speaks nonsense. It's a pity! “The Lord answered him and said: O hypocrite, does not every one of you on the Sabbath separate your ox or donkey from the manger and water your shed? But this daughter of Abraham, who was bound by Satan for the tenth year, was she not worthy to be delivered from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” (Luke 13:15–16). The Savior exposes the defender of the Sabbath rest by his own actions. If, he says, the law on the Sabbath does not prevent you from showing compassion to livestock, it allows you to water a donkey or an ox on the Sabbath when they are thirsty: shouldn’t you have shown compassion to a sick woman who has been tormented by Satan for 18 years? Notice, listeners, that no one told the Savior how long the sick woman had been suffering; and He speaks about this with such certainty: “it is eighteen years since Satan bound her.” He also knows the unusual origin of her illness - she was “bound by Satan” (Luke 13:16). Thus, the people, out loud to whom the denunciation of the zealots of the law was spoken, had to recognize in Jesus both the great miracle worker and the wondrous seer, from whom the past is not hidden and before whom the world of spirits is open. “And I said this to him, all who resisted him were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced over all the glorious ones who came from him” (Luke 13:17). And the people - people simple in heart and sincere in piety, accepted the teachings of the Savior with an open heart and rejoiced at His triumph: The very enemies of Jesus were ashamed of their untruth, feeling the irresistible power of His words: but for how long? Let us turn again to the head of the synagogue. "Hypocrite!" , Jesus tells him (Luke 13:17). What is the name for? He was zealous for the law, for the glory of God. Even if he was wrong, he misunderstood the Sabbath law. But for a mistake, it was enough to tell him: you, friend, are mistaken. Why is he a hypocrite? You see, listeners, the Lord knows the heart. Could he see what was going on in the soul of the leader of the synagogue? Evil lurked there, just like people like him. The leader of the synagogue was annoyed not for the Sabbath, but for himself; He was sad that behind the greatness of Jesus, his name, the teacher of the Jews, was not visible; Beneath his zeal for the law was hidden envy of the glory of the Nazirite Teacher. As often happens between us too! Like the leader of the synagogue, one loses his temper by pointing out the mistakes of another. “How,” he says, “can one tolerate such things? This is a blatant injustice! This is a temptation! And others, listening, think: what a noble man! How bravely he defends the truth! But - in fact, our defender of honesty stands not for honesty, but for himself; he cares about his name. Poor thing, he himself doesn’t see what’s in his soul; and if sometimes he notices, he closes his eyes to open them to something pleasing to his vanity. ABOUT! Why do they defile the truth with the wickedness of the heart? Why do they captivate the soul, forcing it to serve sin under the guise of good? How they spoil, how they destroy the soul! It can get to the point where she completely loses her taste for the truth and begins to accept as truth only what pleases one passion or another. Envy is the most subtle and most disturbing pride. How much poison she spills around herself! How much destruction he builds for others! Not understanding themselves, not understanding the secret movements of their sinful soul, they persecute talents useful for society, denigrate the actions of noble hearts, persecute the innocent, and sometimes to the point that he, exhausted in soul, goes to the grave. They do not understand that in their imaginary jealousy there is a fight with good and truth, and so on. warfare with God, the source of truth and goodness. “You, who are so indignant at the lies of others, look around, aren’t you worth more than the indignation of others?” Look around: shouldn't you say about yourself: a hypocrite! The name is unpleasant, but believe me, it is a useful medicine for your sick soul; take it more often, repeat to yourself about yourself: a hypocrite! Then you will not be carried away by vanity and envy to insult innocence. Then, when you encounter the real mistakes of another, you will either cover them with condescending silence, or you will say a few necessary words with meek love, with prudent sympathy. Then you will not only not stand up for yourself when defending the truth, but for the sake of the truth you will willingly endure the unpleasant. God! guard our hearts from envious pride. Let them, like the strings of a harmonious psalter, sing praise to Your wondrous deeds. Amen. You might be interested in: