Homily Two for the Second Sunday of Great Lent (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily Two for the Second Sunday of Great Lent

By St. John of Kronstadt

“Jesus entered Capernaum; and it was heard that He was in a house; and immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room even near the door; and He spoke the word to them. And they came to Him, bringing a man paralyzed in his limbs, carried by four” (Mark 2:1–3).

If an earthly king or the son of a king visits some city or village and stays in a certain house, then great crowds of people gather around that house, because everyone desires to see the clear royal eyes, carefully turned toward the whole vast kingdom and toward all the subject peoples; everyone desires to hear the merciful royal word.

So high is the rank of a king, so important on earth is his service to God and to people, that everyone feels toward his person an involuntary reverence; and often even the mere sight of him brings delight.

But there was a time when the King of heaven Himself, the King of the whole world, the beginningless God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the King of earthly kings, appeared on earth and lived with men, traveling from city to city and from village to village.

Oh, what happiness, what blessedness it was to see the King of heaven Himself — those most-radiant, ever-watchful eyes looking upon the whole universe, that gaze which gladdens the Angels and is terrible for the demons - and to hear from His most-sweet lips the words that grant life, rest, consolation, and joy to every sincere and upright soul!

You envy those happy people who lived during the time of the presence of Jesus Christ on earth. Do not envy them.

He is also now with us inseparably by His Divinity, by His grace, by His life-giving Mysteries, by His divine Body and most-pure Blood. In this respect we are not at all disadvantaged in comparison with the contemporaries of Jesus Christ; we have been deprived of nothing, and even have received more than they; because they did not have the blessedness of partaking of His life-giving Body and Blood, but we partake of them and are deified.

The Liturgy, during which this mystery is accomplished, portrays before us the whole life of Jesus Christ from His cradle to His ascension into heaven; and the Holy Mysteries reveal His personal presence, the immeasurable love of the Lord toward His rational creation. And the exalted manifestation of God in the flesh and in the form of a man shows, my brethren, the dignity of human nature, created according to the image of God but humbled, disfigured, weakened, and slain by sin.

It assures us that if a man will live on earth righteously and in holiness, then he will be equal to the Angels and will live with them forever and rejoice with them through endless ages; that with God, after the Mother of God and the Holy Angels, there is no one higher and dearer than man — man to whom He likened Himself, for whom He suffered, died, and rose again; that all heaven and the kingdom of heaven is the inheritance of man, and besides him there are no other heirs to whom it would be said: "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34).

But let us turn to what is said in the Gospel.

“Jesus entered Capernaum,” it is said, “and it was heard that He was in a house; and immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room even near the door.”

The Jewish city of Capernaum was located by the Lake of Gennesaret, not far from where the River Jordan flows into it, and it was one of the flourishing and populous cities of Galilee in the time of Jesus Christ.

During His three-year public ministry for the salvation of the human race, the Lord repeatedly had His dwelling in Capernaum, preached in the Jewish synagogues, and performed many miracles. Among other things, here the paralytic who had no ability to walk — about whom the Gospel read today speaks — was healed.

Here were healed: the servant of a certain Roman centurion; the mother-in-law of the Apostle Peter along with many others; the woman with an issue of blood; two blind men; a demoniac; and the daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, was raised from the dead.

Happy, a hundred times happy, you will say, were the inhabitants of this city in which Jesus Christ had His frequent dwelling.

But I will not say this. No, I cannot call the inhabitants of Capernaum happy merely because the Son of God often stayed among them; I cannot, because the inhabitants of Capernaum, who many times saw His miracles and His benefactions toward their fellow citizens, remained ungrateful before their Benefactor and Wonderworker — unbelieving, unrepentant sinners.

The Lord Himself reproached this city for its lack of repentance, saying to it:

“And you, Capernaum, which are exalted to heaven, shall be brought down to hades; for if the mighty works (that is, the miracles) done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day, that is, it would have repented; but I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of Judgment than for you” (Matt. 11:23–24).

Now you see that the inhabitants of Capernaum were unhappy people, because, though they often saw the miracles of the Lord and heard His teaching, they remained unrepentant sinners and were condemned to hades.

My brethren! Let us think about ourselves: are we less benefitted by the Lord than the inhabitants of Capernaum?

We have been born again in baptism by water and the Holy Spirit and have been adopted by God; in chrismation we have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit; in communion we are deemed worthy to partake of the most pure Body itself and the most pure Blood itself of the Lord; in repentance we are granted forgiveness of sins after sincere repentance for them; in the priesthood we have constant teachers of the faith and of the Christian life, celebrants of the saving mysteries and guides to God and eternal life; in anointing with oil we have a remedy for bodily illnesses through repentance for sins.

What then do we render to the Lord for all His mercies toward us, for all the wonders of His long-suffering toward us? — Ingratitude, evil conduct, hardness of heart, unbelief, distraction, sloth, and impenitence in sins.

But will it always be so? Will not the measure of God’s long-suffering toward us soon be fulfilled? Does not the sword of God already hang over our heads? Is not the axe of death already stretched out to the root of the tree, to our heart? Has not the outer hell already opened its mouth to swallow us?

Let us come to our senses, let us awaken, let us repent from the soul while we still have time for repentance. Let us study the word of God, diligently visiting the temple of God, and let us occupy ourselves with beneficence and almsgiving.

True, even among us during the Great Fast the church is sometimes filled with those praying, like that house in which Jesus Christ was — and the people scarcely fit within it. Glory to God! Oh, if only it would be filled with Christians more often! But still the theater is filled far more often.

But let us continue the explanation of the Gospel.

“And He spoke the word to them.”

Everywhere the Lord appeared with a word — and this word was sweeter than honey from the comb; it healed souls and bodies; it inclined and transformed hearts, as in Saul; it raised the dead, cast out demons, cast the bold down to the ground, commanded all the elements, and they obeyed the voice of the Almighty; it transformed creation in a moment.

This word is heard in the church even now. Why then are there few who listen and fulfill it? Because of our distraction, because of love for the world, for vain goods and pleasures.

“You cannot,” said the Lord once and for all, "serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:24), that is, the world.

But remember: this word will judge us on the last day.

Therefore let us give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should fall away (Heb. 2:1) inwardly from God. For this reason the Holy Church requires our attention when the Gospel is read.

“And they came to Him, bringing a man paralyzed in his limbs, carried by four; and not being able to come near to Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was, and having dug through it they lowered the bed on which the paralytic lay” (Mark 2:3–4).

How pitiable a man is when, being in full consciousness, he himself cannot walk because of extreme weakness and must constantly use the services of others; he is a burden both to himself and to others.

Such was the paralytic mentioned in today’s Gospel; such are those among us who are afflicted with paralysis and certain other diseases.

But there is spiritual paralysis from sins, from passions, incomparably more dangerous and more worthy of pity than paralysis of the body, because it often leads to eternal death.

In this respect every sinner is a paralytic. Every sin is accompanied by paralysis of the soul, as a consequence of falling away from God, in Whom is our life and strength, like a fall into death. And since we all sin, we are all paralytics.

How can one be healed from this paralysis, from this beginning of eternal death? — Through sincere, deep, complete repentance for sins.

Therefore the reading of the Gospel about the paralytic has now been appointed, so that by his condition — which was the result of sins — our hearts might be moved and we also might be disposed to earnest repentance.

For this reason Jesus Christ healed the paralytic, first granting him the forgiveness of sins.

“But seeing their faith,” that is, the faith of the bearers, “He said to the paralytic: child, your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:5).

From this it is evident that the sick man suffered because of his sins.

My brethren! When you are sick, first of all bring repentance for your sins to God; have recourse to the all-powerful Physician; partake of His life-giving Body and life-giving Blood.

Between sin and illness there is a secret and close connection.

“But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts: why does this man speak blasphemies in this way? Who can forgive sins except God alone?” (Mark 2:6–7).

To the cunning, envious, and ambitious scribes — that is, the learned teachers of the Jews — the benefaction of Jesus Christ appeared to be blasphemy and disturbed them.

So also now, brethren, an evil man is scandalized even by good deeds: You go to church to pray to God, you read sacred books, you withdraw from entertainments, amusements, spectacles, and companies; they say: there is a hypocrite. You give alms; they say: he multiplies idlers. But would it not be better for these malicious people to look at themselves — what they themselves are like — rather than to judge and condemn others?

One must remember the words of the righteous Judge: “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matt. 7:1).

Jesus Christ, as the Knower of hearts, exposed the evil thoughts of His opponents. He said to them:

“Why do you reason in your hearts? Which is easier? To say to the paralytic: your sins are forgiven you? Or to say: arise, take up your bed and walk?” (Mark 2:8–9).

Indeed, is it not equally impossible for an ordinary man both to forgive sins committed against God by another man and to heal diseases by a word? Of course it is impossible.

For whom then is it possible? — Only for God.

Therefore, if the word of Jesus Christ was a deed — that is, if it absolved sins and healed every illness, as all people saw, including the scribes — how could they accuse the Lord of blasphemy?

Looking simply at the matter, they ought to have believed that Jesus Christ is God, because He forgives sins and heals all diseases by a word; yet they say: He speaks blasphemies.

What then did the Lord answer them?

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the paralytic: “I say to you: arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” And he immediately arose, and taking up his bed went out before them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying: "we never saw anything like this” (Mark 2:10–12).

You see: the word became a deed.

The sins were forgiven, the paralysis passed away, the man became completely healthy and strong. Both the forgiveness of sins and the healing of the illness showed that Jesus Christ is the Judge, the Giver of life, and God, and not a blasphemer as the scribes thought.

My brethren! The authority to forgive sins belongs to God alone, as Creator and Lawgiver. And which of you has not experienced in himself that Jesus Christ forgives and absolves us from every sin?

Oh, how light and peaceful and joyful the soul becomes when you repent with all your heart for your sins before the Lord and hear the word of forgiveness: “Child, your sins are forgiven you.”

How joyful the soul becomes when with faith and love you partake of His divine food — His most pure Body and His Blood!

Even now it often happens that the sick are healed soon after they confess before the priest and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

All of us have experienced countless times that Jesus Christ is our Judge, our Savior, the Giver of life, and God. Therefore let us always zealously have recourse to Him with faith, that we may receive from His customary and proven mercy forgiveness of sins, peace of soul, and together with it health for the body.

The treasury of mercy is always open for everyone: draw from it — even a thousand times a day; our innumerable sins will not overcome the infinite mercy of the Master, if only we sinners are sincerely repentant.

Glory be to Your mercy, O Lord, unto the ages of ages!

But we also, brethren, must be merciful to our neighbors. I again appeal to your love with a word about almsgiving for the poor of our parish charity. Be pleased to do this in the name of God:

“He who gives to the poor, by the mercy of God, shall not lack” (Prov. 28:27). Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.