Homily Four on the Sixth Sunday of Luke
By St. John of Kronstadt
By St. John of Kronstadt
“Then Jesus asked him (the demon-possessed man), saying, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Legion,’ for many demons had entered into him. And they besought Him that He would not command them to go into the abyss” (Luke 8:30–31).
You have heard today, my brethren, the Gospel account of the healing of a demoniac by Jesus Christ, and how the Lord cast out of him a whole legion of demons, that is, six thousand: for the Roman legion contained so many. That is how many evil spirits had gathered to torment one man, by God's permission, of course, for some of his sins. This demoniac is, brethren, an image of the entire human race, tormented by the devil. This torment is infinitely varied, but in all its forms it is fierce. Take any human passion, any sin or vice you like: at times it can be extremely tormenting, brazenly demanding satisfaction; it struggles, it coerces, it tyrannizes, and often kills both soul and body. Especially in the present evil and difficult times, one need not look far for examples of this kind: suicides and murders abound everywhere. Let us recall, for example, the countless tyrannies of sin over drunkards, madmen, that is, over the carnal, over the misers and money-lovers, over the angry, irritable, envious, wayward, suspicious, and so on and so forth. How many torments the devil inflicts on people; how he mocks those subject to sin, the slaves of sin, but not over the true slaves of God, who serve Him constantly with a pure heart, over whom he has no power. But how many of these true slaves of God are there, living not for themselves, not for the flesh and the world, but for God and their neighbors? And of course, in such torment of the devil over us, it is not God who is to blame, but we, we sinners, slaves of sin and the devil. And so, the Lord clearly shows us with His own eyes through this demon-possessed man how cruel, tormenting, and destructive sin is, and the author of all sin, the devil, and to whom we must resort to be delivered from the torment of sin.
Now, let every sinner reflect upon themselves, upon the deadly dominion of sin within, and strive to renounce their union with sin; through this, they will deliver themselves from its temporal and eternal torment, yes – and eternal: for sin will not only tyrannize a person in time, but will continue to torment them eternally if one does not sincerely repent here, renounce sin, and change their heart and life. But some of you will say that it is extremely difficult to rid yourself of sin, of sinful inclinations, of the habit of sin, and so we spend our entire lives entangled in sin and tormented by it. True, it is extremely difficult, but with God's help, everything is easy and convenient. Just make a firm resolve not to sin. The Holy Church, possessing all grace, all the powers of grace, is always ready to help you, and will surely help you if you resort to her. The Lord granted her all His authority, all His power. Who, then, forbids you from turning to her mighty intercession? The Lord remains the same (Hebrews 13:8), now as He was then; He continually drives out from people the legions of sins of those who repent – He casts out demons who craftily manipulate humans in various ways. For this reason, the Lord came to earth: to destroy the works of the devil. Glory to His mercy!
Look, consider how many years the demons tormented the unfortunate man, from whom, as you have heard, the Lord expelled as many as 6,000 demons: and what did they take in the end? The wretched demons left the man, and the man was saved – not just temporarily, but eternally: for, certainly, after this, the Lord made him a vessel of grace, and he completed his days in peace and virtue, pleasing to God. Thus the Lord will also deliver us from torment and the mockery of the devil if we turn to Him, our merciful Savior, with faith and repentance. How many sinners have been saved by Him in ancient and present generations! How many are continually being saved! How many vessels of the devil have become vessels of God, in which the Lord has dwelt forever! And the works of the devil are being destroyed: fornication and sinners, truly repenting, enter the Kingdom of God, leaving behind the proud, self-righteous. Woe to those who are unbelieving, unrepentant, and scornful of the Church; but to the faithful and repentant, there is blessing — they shall not perish, and sooner or later they will be delivered from the sins that ensnare and torment them. Glory to God our Savior forever and ever. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
