Омилия XLII 208 .

For the 3rd Sunday of the Gospel readings according to Luke, which has as its theme the resurrection of the youth of the widow of Nain, whom the Lord raised; it also says that we must mutually forgive and have compassion for each other The great Paul, revealing the divinity and universal usefulness of faith and proclaiming its works and rewards and fruits and significance, begins from those ages, of which there is nothing ancient: “By faith,” he says, “we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that what is visible was made out of things that are visible” (Heb. 11:3); he ends with the future universal resurrection and then having to be revealed with the perfection of the Saints, which there is nothing more perfect; bringing among amazing things accomplished by faith and speaking about those people who testified to it, he also remembers the fact that “the women received their dead raised” (Heb. 11:35). These women were the Sareptite woman (1 Kings 17) and the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4); Elisha; each of them demonstrated her great faith by deeds. So, the Sareptan woman with faith awaited the increase in food supplies promised by the Prophet, and before feeding her child, she fed the Prophet from a handful of flour and a little oil, the only thing she had to eat and after that die with her son. But even when her boy, after the coming of Elijah, fell ill and died - because it is said: “his illness was so strong that there was no breath left in him” - she did not expel the Prophet, did not blame him, did not move away from the worship of God that she learned from him, but she blamed herself and believed that her sins were the cause of the trouble: in her very grief, calling Elijah “the Man of God”, more blaming herself and saying not so skeptically as convincingly: “What is it to me and to you, Man of God? You came to me to remind me of my sins and to kill my son." You are light, by participation in the Light,” she says, “as a servant of the Sun of Truth, and when you came, you brought my hidden sins to light, and these sins of mine killed my son. – Notice what kind of faith this foreign woman has; Notice how humbling! Therefore, and deservedly, she first received from God to become chosen, and was honored to become an example of the calling of the pagans and (their) faith, and then received her son alive. The Shunammite woman showed her faith both on the basis of what she told her husband regarding Elisha, and on the basis of what she prepared to receive the Prophet, and on the basis of the wisdom that she showed when her son died. Because steadfastly hiding her grief, she ran to the Prophet and drew him to her house, telling him: “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, if I leave it with you.” And for her faith she received her resurrected son from the hands of the Prophet; so no less amazing a miracle performed by these Prophets was the faith of those mothers who received their sons resurrected; as Paul also revealed, saying: “By faith he received women from the resurrection of their dead.” But although in this case the Prophets had, as it were, as their collaborators, the faith and godly pleasing of those mothers, Elijah was not content with this, but cried out to God with groaning: “Woe is the Lord, the witness of the widow, who am not with me now, who have embittered you to put to death her son,” and he called on the Lord and said: “Lord my God, let the soul of this youth return to him: and be so." Elisha not only prostrated himself over the child and walked back and forth in the upper room seven times, but also, as it is written, “prayed to the Lord,” and thus revived the son of the Shunammite. Our Lord Jesus Christ, - according to the Gospel words read today, - took pity on the widow whose dead son was being carried out, and without the slightest delay and without doing anything, not even praying, but with one command, giving the weeping mother her only son alive from the dead, thereby only showing that He is the Lord of life and death. For “it came to pass,” says the Evangelist, “therefore Jesus went into the city called Nain.” Without being called, but according to His will, the Lord comes to perform this great miracle of resurrection, to show that He not only possesses life-giving power, but also kindness and mercy. The Sareptan woman seems to mock Elijah, urging him to revive her child; The Shunammite woman, having learned in advance that Elisha did not foresee the misfortune, then forces him to come, saying: “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, if I leave it with you.” The Lord Himself foreknows and, not being called by anyone, goes to the city from where the dead youth was carried out. “He went,” they say, “after this.” And the Evangelist wisely points this out. Because the resurrection of the widow's son signifies the renewal of our mind. Because our soul was also a widow, which, due to sin, lost the Heavenly Bridegroom, having, as it were, an only son, its own mind, which, being wounded by the sting of sin, died, having lost true life. He too is carried out, having become completely far from God, driven by passions that drive him to hell and the abyss of destruction; but the Lord came to us and, having already appeared in the flesh at His coming, renewed and resurrected him; His coming to us in the flesh did not happen from the beginning, but later, in the end times. Therefore, the Evangelist did not miss to say this, saying that Jesus “went after this” to resurrect the widow’s dead son and turn her crying into joy. I ask you, brothers, listen to my words: because each of you, if you feel that you are carrying a dead person within you (that is, your dead mind), and cry with tears for your sins, and grieve in repentance, then the Comforter will come to him, giving life and eternal consolation. For, “Blessed,” they say, “are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” But “as Jesus walked,” says the Evangelist, “Jesus, and many His disciples walked with Him, and many people.” Elijah, preparing to resurrect the son of the Sareptus woman, secludes himself; and Elisha, going into the upper room where the dead man lay, shut the doors, as history says, behind both: the Shunammite woman and his disciple Gehazi. Because since they needed intense prayer, and people are designed in such a way that in solitude it is easier for them to concentrate their minds and stretch it all towards God, therefore they also moved away (then) from those close to them. The Lord, as truly having power over life and death and not at all in need of prayer in order to revive the youth, not only had His Disciples with Him, but also a multitude of people, both those whom He Himself brought with Him, and those whom He found near the dead man being carried out. And while everyone saw and heard, with a single command He revived the dead, according to His love for mankind, doing this clearly, so that by this He would lead everyone to saving faith in Him. For it is said: “As soon as I approached the gates of the city, I died from wear and tear.” Because foreknowing the very hour of removal of the body, He came on time. So, they carried out the dead only son of the mother, and she was a widow; and these circumstances, as at first enormously increased her grief, also contributed later to her receiving extraordinary liberation from this grief: for the Lord, having seen the mother, and then a widowed mother, who had placed all her hopes on her only child, and who lost him as a result of his untimely death, and who was seeing off the mortal remains of her son and pitifully beating herself on the chest, says: “have mercy on her.” And how could it be otherwise, when He is the Father of the orphans and the Judge of widows? And he said to her, comforting her and foreseeing the future together: “Don’t cry.” Because He knew what He was going to do. This woman did not know Him, much less what was about to happen. Therefore, she neither had faith, nor prayed to Him for anything, nor did He demand faith from her. But omnipotent and not in need of help from believers, He approached and touched the bed (on which the deceased was carried) - to show that His body, as deified, has life-giving power - and said: “Young man, I say to you, arise.” “And now he’s dead”; because I heard the insensible dust of the Caller of non-existence as being; He heard Him who bears all things by the word of His power; I heard the voice not of a God-bearing man, but of God made man. And not only did the dead man sit up, but he also began to speak. Because in relation to the son of the widow of Sarepta, when his soul returned to him, the boy, as history says, immediately “cry out.” This also served as evidence that his resurrection was not illusory, but real. So, Elijah, through prayer, raised up one dead person, and Elisha, while still alive, raised another dead person, testifying and demonstrating thereby the divine-human life-giving power (ἐνέργειαν) of Christ; The Lord, before the Cross, by His command raised three from the dead: this son of a widow, the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue and the four-day-old Lazarus; being on the cross, He raised up many, who also appeared to many (Matthew 27:22-23). Moreover, after dying on the cross for us, He resurrected Himself, or better yet, He rose for three days, the only One Himself, becoming the Head of eternal life. Because all the others, although they were resurrected, were then again participants in our mortal life; when Christ rose from the dead, death no longer possessed Him. Therefore, the one Lord became the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep,” i.e. - the faithful who depart from this life in the hope of resurrection and eternal life. So, He became the Firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep and the Firstborn from the dead, and He provided and promised us life, but not the kind we have now, mortal and perishable, in which the spiritual spirit reigns (i.e. animal impulse), but - life, kept for us in hopes, divine and immortal and eternal. Because she is His gift, a gift truly worthy of God. So, since now He does not yet grant it to those called to life, 209 but life here is interrupted by death, therefore, having raised the dead, He did it then not for the sake of those dead themselves, but for the sake of others, in order to lead them to faith, which is the giver of eternal life. And therefore He raised this youth then not for his own sake, but for the sake of his mother, taking pity on her, as the Evangelist clearly narrates. Therefore, having raised him up, He gave him to his mother. But note that the Lord, taking pity on the widow mourning her son, used not only comforting words, but also healed her grief in deed. So, according to our strength, we will act, and not only in words will we sympathize with those in serious need, but we will show our compassion for them with deeds. Because if we show good deeds with all our might, then God, in His turn, will show us good deeds in every possible way. But judge what is the advantage and superiority of this exchange: for as much as God surpasses man, so His power is human power, and the mercy flowing from this power exceeds the mercy we show to our neighbor. If someone asked for copper obols and gave gold staters in return, who would not be happy with such a deal? Nowadays, it is not copper that can be exchanged for gold, which are metals of almost equal value, but the human is given, but the divine is perceived, and then humanity appears to people, which is also a natural duty. Because, of course, we must show compassion and mercy towards each other on the basis of our very nature. And so when we see the manifold mercies shown to us by God, for which He demands from us nothing more than forgiveness of our neighbors, sociability and love for mankind, saying: “Let go, and they will let you go; give, and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:37–38), then is there really no urgent need for us, as far as we can, to repay our needy brethren with our mercy and condescension?! Since we have not only been pardoned by God, and have been favored by Him in so many ways that it is impossible to count, and have also received pledges from Him that we will receive from Him in good measure and shaken down for doing good to our brethren, then shall we not try as best we can? Wouldn’t we really lay down our very life, if necessary, for others, in imitation of the Master, in order to receive eternal life from Him? And this would even be our duty, if not in relation to our brothers, then in relation to Him who gave Himself to die for us, not only as Redemption, but also as an example and active instruction in deed and word and mind, the incomparably highest thing of all. For for this reason, as the Apostle Peter says, Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, so that we would follow in His footsteps (1 Peter 2:21) and be ready, if necessary, to lay down our souls to fulfill His commandments. Because in this way we will be participants in the everlasting life and kingdom that exists in Him, living forever with Him and being co-glorified (with Him). Do you see this Myrrh-Streamer, the coming memory of whose sacred torment, we today began to celebrate: the blood of his body, voluntarily shed for Christ, therefore produced an ever-flowing and inexhaustible source of manifold miracles, the sanctification of the soul and the most fragrant and sacred myrrh flowing from the relics. And although the soul of this Great Martyr, now deservedly enjoying in heaven, has eternal and unchangeable glory, his body has not yet been glorified with it, but the things happening at the present time are, as it were, a kind of destiny and image and symbol that has to reveal the most divine and heavenly glory that embraces him. If such are the plans and the image, then what can we say about the perfection that is to be?! Of course, it is ineffable and incomprehensible. May we also, through the prayers of the Myrrh-Bearer in the Martyrs, as here we perceive from the divine peace flowing from him, so also then be spectators and participants in this glory, by the grace and love of mankind glorified in His martyrs, Jesus Christ, the Existing God above all, to whom all glory is due in endless centuries. Amen. PG.151:525–536. Homilia XLII. In Evangelium secundum Lucam tertia Dominica recitatum; in quo de viduae filio a Domino suscitato, et quod mutua charitate et indulgentia nos invicem presequi debemus. Here we translate into Lat. lane Greek orig.: “those who exist under the roof of the Resurrection.” You might be interested in: