Homily One on the Twelfth Sunday of Luke (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily One on the Twelfth Sunday of Luke
(29th Sunday After Pentecost)

By St. John of Kronstadt

“Were not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? How were they not found returning to give glory to God?” (Luke 17:17–18).

Today the Gospel was read about the healing of ten lepers by the Savior, of whom only one returned to thank the Lord for the healing. But what kind of disease is this - leprosy, from which the Lord healed the ten lepers mentioned? In our area there are no such diseases: they are found in the East in hot countries. However, we have a disease somewhat similar to leprosy - this is smallpox, when it is in its most severe form, or a disease that occurs from an unclean life. Those suffering from leprosy usually have their entire body covered with a kind of crust and wounds, their eyes become purulent, their entire face and tongue swell, and an unbearable stench comes from the mouth and the whole body. Finally, when the disease reaches its highest degree, all the hair on the head falls out; the wounds eat through the body to the bones and become covered with worms; the limbs fall off, and the sick, exhausted by suffering, dies. Anyone who showed signs of this disease was considered unclean and was required by law to immediately appear before the priest, who would decide whether he really had leprosy. If this was the case, then the sick, because of the extreme contagiousness of this disease, was excommunicated from his own family and driven out of the city or village. Those expelled retired to the forests, built huts for themselves there and lived, eating what their relatives brought them.

It was from such a terrible, malignant, contagious disease that the Lord healed the ten lepers mentioned, of whom only one Samaritan turned out to be grateful before the divine Miracle Worker. Astonished at the ingratitude of the nine healed, let us turn to ourselves and see if we are better than these nine and are we like the tenth? We all suffer from spiritual leprosy, that is, sins. Before the purest and brightest eyes of God, all people are full of spiritual leprosy and impurity, such as: pride, condemnation, vanity, worldliness, lack of faith, hard-heartedness, evil, deceit, fornication, intemperance, laziness, partiality, hypocrisy, envy, filthy, crafty and blasphemous thoughts. This sinful leprosy penetrates people to the bones and marrow, infects the whole nature of man, soul and body, infects constantly. We also have a Physician of this leprosy, the same Lord Jesus Christ, Who is always ready to heal us from it.

Are we better than these lepers who came to the Savior for healing and, stopping at a distance, loudly cried out to Him: "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us"? Do we have as much faith and zeal for our spiritual integrity, for our spiritual health, as these lepers? The Holy Church daily raises her voice on behalf of all of us who are afflicted with the sinful leprosy: "Lord, have mercy!" and sometimes many times at once. What then? Is it from the depths of our hearts that we also offer this short but necessary prayer? After all, the Holy Church took this prayer from the lepers and applied it to us, spiritual lepers. Yes, this prayer is necessary for all of us, like breathing, like food. Sinning continually, we must continually repent, acknowledge our guilt and ask the Lord for mercy and not become arrogant: "For God resists the proud" (James 4:6; Proverbs 3:34).

Each of us must be concerned about our salvation and not neglect our spiritual leprosy, not postpone our repentance for many days, which may end any day, but must diligently repent in secret before God, asking forgiveness, and at least once a year show all our leprosy in confession to the priest, who has been given authority from God to resolve and heal spiritual leprosy. This is one thing, but here is another obligation for us: when, after the prayer of repentance or after the mystery of confession, we feel that our spiritual leprosy has been healed, has passed, and we have become healthy in soul, we must be grateful for this to our Savior, Who now heals us unceasingly, and from a feeling of gratitude and from respect for the truth, we must guard ourselves in the future from sins and stumblings. This feeling of gratitude and this fear of sin will dispose the Benefactor to greater good deeds in the future and will make our soul softer, more sensitive, more vital, more righteous, and firmer in virtue. Let us imitate the tenth leper, who, feeling himself healthy at the word of the Savior, returned to the Benefactor and with deep feeling thanked Him and heard from Him that faith alone had saved him, and not any merit or virtue. 

 

Therefore, since we are all full of internal leprosy, then, like the ten lepers, let us all cry out from the heart: "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! Lord have mercy!" and let us secretly cry out unceasingly: "Lord have mercy!" Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.