Беседа на 12-е воскресение Евангельских чтений по Луке, имеющая своим предметом чудесное исцеление десяти прокаженных

It also talks about peace with God, peace with oneself (inner peace) and peace with each other 573 1. Everything that belonged to the Old Testament Law was symbolic, as an image and as a shadow: therefore, this Law considered leprosy a sinful, nasty and repulsive state, and called “unclean” lepers, gonorrheals and generally those who come into contact with them, as well as everyone who touches any dead body, - allegorically denoting by this the uncleanness of those who sin against God, as well as those who they are facilitated and communicated with. And so, by “lepers” allegorically meant deceivers, cheats, angry and vindictive people: because just as leprosy makes the skin of the body rough and spotty, so deception and guile, anger and rage, make the rational part of the soul unstable and cruel. So, behold, under “lepers” he (the Law) introduced such diseases of the soul, which are much more painful than leprosy; under “gonorrheal” he showed a libertine; “those who touch the corpse” - those who in one way or another take part and have communication with those who sin, this Law called “unclean”. 2. So, the Lord, having appeared on earth as a Man, according to the indescribable abyss of His bounty, in order to heal our spiritual illnesses and take away the sin of the world, healed those diseases that the Law called “unclean”, so that if anyone considered that these diseases were truly uncleanness and sin, he would recognize that He is God who delivers a person from them; If, however, I would consider in a wonderful way that they are only symbols of true uncleanness and sin, then, based on what Christ did in relation to these symbols, I would understand in Him the One who is able to forgive and cleanse the sin of the world. Another thing can be beautifully cited, which I also accept as true; namely: as the Lord commanded us to seek spiritual things, because He says: “Seek (...) the kingdom of God and his righteousness”; when we seek this, which is beneficial to the soul and saving, He promises to give material blessings, “and these,” saying, “will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33), - so He, bowing to the heavens and descending, as He deigned, to our evil, in order to bring a cleansing sacrifice for our sins, added to this (and now blessings), granting correction to the maimed, the blind enlightenment, cleansing for lepers, and in general, as one rich in mercy, he healed every bodily ailment and every infirmity. 3. So, as the Evangelist Luke narrates today: “I went to Jesus to Jerusalem and on the way I entered into a certain city 574, and found Him ten lepers who stood afar off, and they lifted up their voices” (Luke 17:11-12). The Evangelist notes beautifully, saying not: “when He entered,” but “when He entered the city,” He was met by lepers: because, as “unclean,” they were expelled from cities and villages, and lived in their environs. But they also “stayed at a distance,” it is said: because they, existing outside the villages, were not allowed to mingle with the healthy. “I lifted up my voice,” i.e. They cried out because of the distance between them and the Lord, saying: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us” (Luke 17:13). “Look at our suffering; look at our shame, look at our ugliness and vileness and the unnatural color (of our sick flesh): because this is leprosy: look at the distortion of nature itself in us, the disgust of people towards us, our inexorable loneliness, and, having mercy, grant us healing!” 575 “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” - It seems that in this cry there was an element to evoke compassion in oneself, but these were not the words of people who truly believe and are conscious: because they call Him “Mentor,” which was not suitable to say in relation to the Autocrats and Dominant Lords; on the other hand, the prayer of people who dare to ask for healing would be inappropriate if the One who could fulfill their prayer, and then at a distance, were not God. 4. Since, according to the Law, the people around Him were not allowed to have contact with lepers, the Lord, in order to lead them to faith through teaching and miracles, without demanding anything from them, shows them mercy and cleanses them from leprosy, so that by removing the obstacles to their living together with people, they would have the opportunity to stay with people and prosper. How does he cleanse them? - By saying to them: “Come on, show yourself to be a priest; and those who walked were purified” (Luke 17:14), when with the word of His power He who holds the whole world commanded them to obediently leave and granted them purification along the way. Because just as for our sake, keeping the Law, the Lord of the Law did not call the lepers to Himself, and did not even allow them to approach Him, so after He bowed to their lamentable cries, granting them healing, He sends them to the priests - again acting as the Law required: because the Law prescribed that the one who has been cleansed from leprosy should not testify to this on his own, but should go to the priests and present it to them. eyes the entire part of the body (healed from the disease), and through them accept confirmation of the right to be recognized as clean. 5. Since “leprosy” allegorically means sin, the fact that cleansing from it had to be presented to the priests as a demonstration completely means that no one who sins against God, even if he apostates from sin, even if he makes up for it by works of repentance, will be able to accept absolution from Him and be numbered among the innocent, unless, having come to the one who has the power from God to absolve sins, he reveals to him, by Confession, his soul, sick with leprosy - due to sin - and will not accept from him a full certificate of forgiveness (of his sins). Thus, for our sake, fulfilling the symbolism of the Law, He, for this reason, sends lepers to the priests for examination; At the same time, I also have something more in mind: because this miracle was sufficient to free the priests themselves from unbelief (in Christ). Thus, once upon a time, Moses’ sister Miriam fell ill with leprosy, for the reason of which now is not the time to talk about 576; She fell ill with leprosy, and Moses, stricken with grief, in prayer asked God for healing of his sister, and, although he received what he asked, it was after seven days had passed. Please note: what a great superiority of Christ over Moses this miracle testifies: thus, in response to the words of the leper to Him: “Lord, if you are willing, you can cleanse me,” saying: “If I am willing, be cleansed” (Matthew 8:2-3), He immediately freed him from leprosy; here, ten in number, were lepers, begging from afar for cleansing. Without telling them, but only by agreeing to their request, He granted them healing. So, is it really not clear to all who have reason that He is the very One to whom Moses prayed and whom he begged as God to deign to cleanse Miriam (from leprosy)? Therefore, therefore, these lepers, thus cleansed from the disease, were sent to the priests, so that on the basis of the miracle they too would know the power of Christ, learning from the lepers that by His will, having such power, they came to fulfill the Law, and they would understand that it was according to His will that they accepted the Law given through Moses, and thus would believe in this One God, the Same Being God, both in Law and Grace, and seeing the lepers cleansed, they themselves would come to faith in Him more perfectly. Because this is what He should have done, even if they senselessly did the opposite of what should have been done. Even if they did the opposite of this, however, Christ did not leave anything behind that could attract them to salvation: because His long-suffering and love for mankind are inexhaustible and invincible, and His generosity could not be defeated by their malice. 6. And at the time when the lepers, going to the priests, were healed along the way, “One of them, having seen that he was healed, returned, praising God with a great voice: and he fell on his face at His foot, giving Him praise: and he was a Samaritan” (Luke 17:15-16) 577 .. The Psalmist-Prophet said beautifully regarding what happened at that time of the Jewish people: “Thinking not to understand, not seeking God: all having turned aside, they were together without keys” (Ps. 13:2-3, 52:3-4). Because if these nine, who received such a great benefit from Christ and saw such a miracle happen, did not understand that Jesus is God, and did not return to find Him, and did not give Him all the glory and gratitude they could, then what, in fairness, can one think about the others? But the Samaritan, an Assyrian by birth - because that's where their origin came from - being one of the ten lepers, seeing a miracle and receiving the desired benefit, came to know God in Jesus Christ and became ripe for faith, and, having returned, expresses his gratitude and faith, accompanying this with appropriate actions: before everyone, falling on his face at the feet of the Benefactor and glorifying Him as the True God who gave him cleansing The Lord said to the people present here: “Were not ten cleansed, but where are nine? How was it not possible to return to give glory to God” (Luke 17:17), although for this purpose He healed them, namely: so that they would perceive freedom of action and have fellowship with His followers and, as a result of this, receive healing of souls and glorify the Healer of both souls and bodies; but they were not found to give glory to God. 7. But, oh, what a disaster! Because you can see that we now suffer from the same thing. - Because, cleansed by Christ from that first curse, which lay on us like leprosy, and even more destructive and vile than any leprosy, - since the disease, along with the body, passed on to the soul itself... So, cleansed from this by Christ and having received from Him our nature again as pure as it was in the beginning (before the Fall), we, however, do not join Him, giving Him glory through a virtuous life, but again, as a result of cursed and lawless deeds, we move away from Him, as David tells Him: “The wicked will not abide before Your eyes” (Ps. 5:6). Therefore, the Lord, again regretting that they are such, and as if mourning them, and after them, us like them, as he once turned to Adam when he lost his divine glory, asking him: “Adam, where are you?” (Gen. 3:9), and to these later: “Where are nine? Have they not been found to give glory to God except this foreigner?” Saying: “Except for this foreigner,” He showed the ingratitude and hard-heartedness of the Jewish people, and that the pagans were ready for conversion, while the Israelites were completely indifferent to the matter of salvation. Therefore, to the one who returned (the Samaritan), He justly and graciously grants spiritual salvation, which prefigured the salvation of the pagans through faith, saying to him: “Arise, go: your faith will save you: go in peace” (Luke 17:19) 578 (Mark 5:34); those who did not return, condemning with very silence (about their salvation), He showed that they had lost the salvation of their souls. 8. These ten lepers resemble the entire human race: because we all fell ill with leprosy, like all those who submitted to sin; as the divine Paul says: “All who have sinned and come short of the glory of God are justified by His grace” (Rom. 3:23–24); so we all thus fell ill with leprosy; The Lord, descending from heaven, and taking on our nature, freed him from the sentence for sin. But the Jews showed themselves stubborn towards such a (great) benefit; those who turned from among the pagans from their foolish ways and their former evils, familiar to them, gave glory to God, not only confessing (acknowledging) salvation and proclaiming the great mercy of Him who exhausted Himself before us for our sake, according to the ineffable abyss of His love for mankind, but also by submitting to His commandments and living according to them, and because of such a way of life, walking in the world, i.e. being at peace with oneself and with each other and with God; in relationship with God: doing what is pleasing to Him, being chaste, doing righteousness, “enduring with prayers and supplications” (Acts 1:14), “singing and singing in our hearts” (Eph. 5:19), and not just with our lips; in relation to ourselves: subduing the flesh to the spirit and choosing a way of life according to conscience and having an internal order (or: peace) of thoughts in us, well-ordered and reverent; in relation to each other: - “Accepting one another and forgiving, if anyone has a reproach (complaint) against someone, just as Christ forgave us” (Col. 3:13), and - showing mercy to each other, arising from mutual love, just as Christ, only out of love for us, had mercy on us and for our sake came down to us. 9. Let us, brethren, we too, I pray, have such peace, and demonstrate it by deeds and a virtuous and pleasing way of life to God; because for the sake of this world we have been appointed for you, the Church of Christ, and appointed by Him to be ministers of His inheritance and grace - and first of all, we preach peace to you, according to the command of our Savior Himself, given through the Apostles (John 14:27; Mark 9:50), and by gathering this world, we gather together the cut members of each other, and cast out from your souls the illness that arose due to hatred, and a painful state. So, you and I are one in Christ, and for Christ’s sake we pray to you, as if He were asking you through us: be reconciled to God! Know the kinship with each other, the kinship not only in the soul, but inherent in your body; because in this way you will become sons of the world, and this is the same as saying: sons and heirs of God. Because He is our Peace, creating both as one, and destroying the mediastinum of the fence and abolishing enmity on the Cross and planting peace in our hearts. Because the whole work of His coming is expressed in reconciliation, and for this purpose, bowing to heaven, He descended to earth; why David also predicted about Him: “In His days righteousness and abundance of peace will shine” (Ps. 72:7); and in another psalm, again, this is what he says about Him: “For He speaks peace against His people, and against His saints, and against those who turn their hearts to Him” (Ps. 84:9). And the song of the Angels, which was during His Nativity, shows that in order to bring us peace, He came down to us from heaven: “Glory” to those who said, “to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). And having already completed the saving economy, He left the world as an inheritance for those close to Him, saying to them: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27); and also: – “Have peace among yourselves” (Mark 9:50); and: “Of this all understand, for you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). And the last prayer (blessing) that He gave us, ascending to His Father, affirms our love for each other: “Give to them,” he says, “that they may all be one” (John 17:21). 10. So, let us not fall away from the Father’s prayer (blessing) and let us not lose the inheritance of the Heavenly Father, nor the seal and sign of belonging in relation to Him, so that we do not lose adoption, and blessing, and discipleship in relation to Him, and do not lose to us the promised (eternal) life, and do not become cut off from the spiritual bridal chamber of the Prince of the World, the Father, Who is for So that we do not happen to suffer from this, He sent peace to the whole world through His Disciples and Apostles. Why, in their conversations and writings, did they put it before all other words, saying as an introduction: “Grace to you and peace from God.” And we, as executors of their ministry, now preach this gospel to you, and together with Paul we say to you: “Have peace and holiness with all, for no one else will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). But let none of us be deprived of the sight of the Lord, nor fall away from the divine glory radiating from there, but let all be reconciled and gathered into one thanks to the mutual peace of God, and love and unanimity, to have in our midst, according to His sweet promise. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who eases the burden of this life for us, and in due time bestows eternal life and glory and the kingdom, which may we all receive through the grace and love of mankind of the Author and Giver of the world, our God and Father - the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom befits glory, honor and worship, with His Father without beginning and the Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. In the 1861 edition it is listed as No. 61. pp.260–269. In the original: “to one village.” To a small extent - free translation. Rus. trans.: “thanks to Him”: “Go in peace” is not found in the Gospel, but is taken from the words of the Savior to a woman who was healed of a hemorrhage: “Your faith has saved you: go in peace.”_ You might be interested in: