Sermon on 4th Sunday after Pascha
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
The paralytic who was healed by the Lord Jesus Christ at the Sheep pool offers us an example of patience.
As the Gospel narrates, there was a Sheep pool in Jerusalem, having 5 porches, where lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. Once a year an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. (John 5)
There was one man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. Since his disease hindered him from reaching the pool quickly enough after the stirring of the water, someone else always stepped into the pool before him and was healed. But the paralytic stayed there to wait for the next year, and this happened for many years.
Nevertheless, he hoped against hope, and his hope was not disappointed. He was healed from his sickness, yet not in the way he expected it. The Lord Jesus Christ, as God knew the suffering and the exceptional patience of this man. He found him among all the other sick people and healed him.
From this example we can see that often the Lord sends His mercy after many years of waiting. That’s why we should be patient and never give up hope. Usually, God’s help comes when all human means have proven useless. Then God starts to show His wonders, as it happened with the paralytic in today’s Gospel.
However, very often God gives relief to those who suffer, not by taking their illness away from them, but giving them strength to bear it, strength of patience. Therefore, the misfortune which caused unbearable suffering becomes tolerable.
Patience is the most needful quality since it gives strength to the soul. But it is especially needful in the times of misfortune. Patience teaches us to bear misfortunes with faith in God’s Providence, in hope that He will not allow us to be tested beyond our capacity and will give us strength to endure. No misfortune, even the least, can happen to us without God’s will; He lets it happen only because He knows that it will serve for our benefit.
It is difficult for us to accept when misfortunes come to us: when our expectations have been dashed, when our efforts turn out to be fruitless, when we or our family members fall ill. It’s difficult to accept, because we know from our experience that the Lord is merciful, that He sends His blessings endlessly upon us. “God is Love” and it is difficult for us to understand how such a terrible blow as an incurable illness or a sudden death can come from Him.
We get perplexed because we don’t understand God’s will and His plans in our regard. The Lord in His mercy wants to bestow on us the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal joy, but we aspire more to temporal happiness on earth.
We would wish to have constant happiness in this life and to receive the Kingdom of Heaven on top of that. But it is impossible. The way to the Kingdom of Heavens is the way of sorrows. The Apostle says: “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22) and again “If we suffer with Him (i.e. Jesus Christ), we shall also reign with Him” (2 Timothy 2:12). All the saints followed the Lord on this path of sorrows and reached the Kingdom of Heaven.
Sorrows are vital for us on the path of salvation. A man in full happiness becomes self-confident and light-minded. His heart imperceptibly fills with pride. On the contrary, when misfortunes come, they change us at once. They show us our weakness and lead us to humility.
Every sorrow which happens to us is a true sign of God’s visitation, a visible action of His Providence. God’s mercy is contained in every misfortune, as a plant is contained in a seed. That’s why the Scripture says: “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Ps. 125, 5)
Amen.
