Проповедь на Евангелие о десяти прокажённых

Evangelist Luke writes: “When Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, entered a certain city, ten lepers saw Him from afar. They raised their voices and began to shout: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”” (Luke 17:13). The cry of the lepers evokes compassion, but their request for healing indicates that they are people who do not know that they are asking God Himself for healing. The Lord had mercy on them. He heals them of leprosy, saying to them: “Go and show yourself to the priests.” On the way, these unfortunate people were cleared of leprosy. So, the Lord commanded them to appear before the priests, and when they obeyed him, he granted them healing. A leper who received healing had to go to the priests so that they, making sure that his body was clean, would certify this, and he could be considered a full member of the people. Leprosy allegorically means sin. The need to show oneself to the priests means that none of those who commit sins before God, even having removed themselves from sin, even having balanced the committed sins with works of repentance, can receive forgiveness of sins from themselves. It is necessary that the sinner come to the one who has the power from God to forgive sins. The priest has such power, to whom the sinner, confessing his sins, must show his leper soul. Having confessed his sins, he will receive a certificate of forgiveness from the priest. For this very reason, Jesus sends the lepers to the priests so that they can examine them. Only one of the healed lepers, realizing the benefit received from Christ, returned to Him. He fell face down at the feet of the Lord to thank Him and glorify God. This healed man was not a Jew, but a Samaritan. The holy prophet and psalmist David said very correctly about the Jewish race that in that era “there was no person who understood or sought God. All turned away from Him, one was worse than the other” (Ps. 52:4). The nine Jews who did not return did not understand that Jesus is God. And one Samaritan, an Assyrian by birth, having seen a miracle, repays it with words, deeds of gratitude and faith, falls at the feet of his Benefactor and glorifies Him as God. Indeed, how great is the sin of ingratitude! We can see this now in our own example. Having been cleansed by Christ from the ancestral curse that we bore on ourselves, having received a pure nature through baptism into Christ, we do not cleave to Him through a virtuous lifestyle and thereby do not bring Him due glory. On the contrary, we move further and further away from Him through our proud and lawless deeds. Ungrateful lepers are like the entire human race. We have all fallen into sin. The Apostle Paul says: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” So, we must believe that keeping His commandments is necessary, we must live according to these commandments. By doing this, we will follow the path of God's peace, become wise and know the truth. We will perform righteous deeds, indulge in supplications and prayers, singing to God not only with our lips, but also with our hearts. Our flesh will begin to obey the spirit, our lifestyle will be in accordance with our conscience. Our thoughts will come into harmonious and noble harmony. We will treat each other with condescension and patience, showing compassion and love. I ask you, brothers, let us live in such a way as to be pleasing to God, to be worthy of His love. May the peace of Christ living in His Church be evident among us. And we, ministers of His inheritance and grace, who have come to you to serve the Church of Christ, preach peace to you. This is the commandment given by Christ to all his priests through the apostles. At the same time, He gave us the commandment to gather the scattered members of the Church to Jesus. By doing this, we free every believer from the disease of hatred and the disease of sin. You and I are in Christ, we are your representatives before Him. It is He who begs you with our voice: make peace with God! Understand that you are related to each other not only in soul, but also in body. In this way you will become children of the world and heirs of God. Peace is what Christ came to earth for. And He Himself left peace to His disciples, saying to them: “My peace I give to you, My peace I leave with you. Have peace among yourself and with everyone. From this - if there is peace and love between you - everyone will know that you are My disciples" (See John 13:35; 14:27; Mark 9:50). The apostles also begin their messages with the words: “Grace to you and peace from God.” The Apostle Paul says, “Pursue peace and sanctification, for without them no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). And therefore, brothers, let no one be deprived of the contemplation of the Lord. Having been reconciled and united together in peace according to God and love among ourselves, we will have among ourselves the sweet promise of our Lord Jesus Christ. He smooths out and corrects every unevenness and difficulty of this life and in due time bestows eternal life and the glory of His Kingdom.