Homily One for the Second Sunday of Great Lent
By St. John of Kronstadt
“Son, your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:5)
By St. John of Kronstadt
“Son, your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:5)
The paralytic was brought to Jesus Christ obviously for healing from the disease of paralysis that held him. And Jesus Christ first heals his soul from sins, and only then his body from the disease. "Son," He says to the paralytic, "your sins are forgiven you," and after the remission of sins He said to him: "Rise, and take up your bed, and go to your house" (Mark 2:5, 11). What does this method of healing mean? It means that the diseases that befall us are the consequences of our sins and that it is impossible to completely get rid of diseases without first cleansing ourselves of sins, just as it is impossible to destroy the consequences without destroying the cause. Since even now there are often many sick people among us who seek remedies for illness, then for the common edification and benefit, let us now talk about the close connection of our sins with bodily illnesses.
Is there really such a close connection between sins and bodily illnesses and sufferings that bodily illnesses, more or less severe and prolonged, are the consequences of sins? Truly, there is such a connection between illnesses and sins: sin, which is fatal to the soul, is at the same time destructive to the body. The Holy Apostle says of sin: "For the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23), i.e., sin, like a cruel tyrant, collects tribute from people who work for it, and everyone works for it. This tribute is death. Thus, death is our necessary tribute to sin, and death is almost always preceded by illnesses, more or less prolonged. Hence it is obvious that there is a very close connection between sin and illnesses. When there is no sin, then there will be no illnesses and death. That is why there are no illnesses in the age to come. "There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain" (Rev. 21:4), testifies the seer John, in divine revelation. Often, for human sins, God Himself directly sends illnesses, for example, "deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh" (1 Cor. 5:5), as was the case with the incestuous person mentioned in the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, or deprives them of the use of certain senses and limbs, or subjects them to various other illnesses. In this case, illnesses are the work of the goodness of the Lord, Who "does not desire the eternal death of the sinner, but that the wicked turn from his way and live for Him" (Ezek. 33:11). People are extremely tempted by the temporary sweetness of sin and perish, but God, in His goodness, does not desire our eternal destruction, but wants to make everyone participants in blessedness. But how can this be done when a person does not want to pay any attention to future blessedness or eternal torment, and when his whole being is devoted to earthly entertainment and pleasures? He feels full of strength within himself and thinks that he must live here as he wishes, while he lives. How can he be made to think about God, about the eternal life for which he was created, how can he be made to resort to faith and virtue so that they become the life of his heart? Illness and suffering in this case are the best means. One has only to look at a sick person or one subject to some other misfortune to be convinced how beneficial illness and misfortune can sometimes be for us here. A person comes to his senses during this visitation from God, enters into himself, sees that he is insignificant and fleeting, “like grass, like a flower of the field” (Isaiah 40:6), that everything earthly is dust and vanity, that only God and virtue are eternal, that a person needs to serve God in spirit and truth in this life, and stock up on good deeds for eternal life.
Brethren! We are all sick or unhappy in some way, and we all desire, according to the natural law of self-preservation, to be healthy and prosperous. Let us remember that our illnesses, being often the fruit of our iniquities, our own carelessness or intemperate life in their origin, are very often God's punishment in their strength and duration for our sins. If we want to be free from illnesses, we must first destroy their internal cause - sins. Then the external misfortune will pass by itself. Let us remember that illness and death would not have existed in the human race if sin had not entered the world through the first man. Let others imagine what causes of illnesses they want, but if they delve deeper into the essence of the matter, then in their explanation they will come to the same main reason for them, namely, that the physical nature of man was once greatly damaged and is now damaged by some internal, hostile force, and that is why it is so sensitive to the slightest elemental changes, that is why it has become so weak and easily destroyed.
Now is the time for spiritual healing. Let us move away from the sins that painfully afflict the soul, and “our healings will soon shine forth” (Isaiah 58:8). Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
