Homily 70: For the Fourth Sunday after Pascha: A Teaching of the Blessed Kyril of Turov on the Paralytic at the Sheep Pool, and how our Lord Jesus Christ healed him by His word. #

Unmeasurable is the height of the heavens, unsearchable the depths of the abyss, and incomprehensible is the mystery of God’s providence. For great and ineffable is His mercy toward the human race—by which we ourselves have been shown mercy. Therefore, brethren, we ought to glorify, sing, and praise the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, proclaiming His mighty wonders, however many He has wrought. For they are beyond the understanding not only of men but even of angels.

Let us now speak of the paralytic, of whom the Lord Himself made mention today—whom He beheld and had mercy upon—he whom the physicians had abandoned, whom the attendants charged with immersing the sick in the pool had forgotten. When the waters would stir, they would hasten to aid the rich, pushing aside this man, whom today Christ the good and merciful Lover of mankind healed by a single word—for He is the physician of both souls and bodies, and His word is a deed.

The Evangelist says: Jesus came to Jerusalem at the midpoint of the Jewish feast, when, according to custom, a multitude from every city gathered there. Then too the Lord came, aiding His servants in every way and reproving the madness of the disobedient Jews. Truly, He came to seek the lost and to save those who were perishing. Throughout all of Palestine He wrought many miracles, yet they did not believe Him, and in return for His grace they reviled Him, calling Him a deceiver and a liar. Therefore, He came at the time of the gathering of the people to the pool of Siloam, which is called Bethesda—or the Sheep Pool (for there the entrails of the sacrificial sheep were washed). Over it stood a portico with five porches, where lay a great multitude of the sick, the lame, and the blind, and those suffering from various ailments, awaiting the stirring of the waters. For an angel of the Lord would descend and trouble the waters, and the first who stepped in afterward would be made whole.

This was a prefiguring of holy baptism. That water did not always heal, but only when stirred by the angel. Now, however, it is the very Lord of angels, the Holy Spirit, who descends into the baptismal font, sanctifying it, granting healing to souls and bodies, and cleansing from sins. If a man is blinded in mind, or crippled by unbelief, or withered through despair because of many transgressions, or paralyzed by heretical teaching—baptismal water makes them all whole. That ancient pool received many but healed only one, and even that only once a year—whereas the baptismal font every day gives life to many and makes them whole. Indeed, even if people from the entire earth were to come for baptism, the grace of God, which grants healing from the sickness of sin, would not be diminished.

Let us therefore speak of the Lord’s grace: how He came to the Sheep’s Pool and beheld a man lying upon his bed of affliction for many years, and, calling out to him, said, “Wilt thou be made whole?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “I have long desired it, but I have no man to cast me into the pool when the angel stirs the water. Yet, since Thou, O Master, hast asked me concerning my health, graciously hearken to my reply, that I may tell Thee of my affliction and my torment. For thirty-eight years I have lain, nailed to this bed by sickness; my sins have paralyzed every limb of my body, and my soul, even before the judgment, is tormented with reproach. I pray to God, but He does not hear me, for ‘my transgressions are multiplied above mine head.’ I have given to the physicians all that I possessed, but gained no help—for there is no remedy that can undo God’s judgment. My acquaintances abhor me, for the stench of my corruption has driven away all peace. My own kin are ashamed of me, so that through my illness I have become a stranger to my own brethren. All men curse me, yet not one has been found to comfort me. Shall I call myself dead? But my belly craves food, and my tongue is parched with thirst. Shall I consider myself alive? I have not the strength to rise from my bed, nor even to shift my limbs. My feet cannot walk; my hands not only cannot labor, but I cannot even touch my own body. I deem myself an unburied corpse, and this bed is my grave. I am a dead man among the living and a living man among the dead, for I take food like the living, yet perform no deeds, like the dead. The reproaches of those who mock me torment me like the torments of hell; I am the scorn of youths who jeer at me, and before the elders I lie as an object of instruction. All mock me, and I suffer doubly: within, the pain of disease tears at me; without, the rebukes of those who revile me torment my soul. I am covered in spittle from all. Yet a further grief oppresses me: hunger torments me more than my affliction; even when I find food, I cannot lift it to my mouth. I beg all, that someone might feed me, and at times I must share my meager portion with those who feed me. I groan in tears, tormented by my affliction, yet no one comes to visit me; I suffer alone, unseen by all. And when the remnants of the meals of pious men are brought here, the servants of the Sheep’s Pool rush in and devour it more greedily than the dogs who licked Lazarus’ sores. I have nothing to give even a single man to care for me, for I have squandered the wealth given to me in paradise. The serpent has stolen from Eden the robe of my purity, and I lie here stripped of the covering of God. There is no man who, without revulsion, would minister unto me! Enoch and Elijah are no longer upon the earth, taken up in the fiery chariot and dwelling where God alone knows. Abraham and Job, who briefly ministered to such as I, have departed to eternal life. Lord, there is no man found faithful before God! Moses, the God-seer and lawgiver, sinned at the end and entered not into the Promised Land; Solomon, the wise, who spoke thrice with God, in old age turned against Him and, seduced by women, was lost. Lord, there is no man to place me in the pool! All have turned away and brought no aid; there is none who doeth good—no, not one; and none of the workers of iniquity understands this!”

And when the Lord, our gracious Physician, heard all this from the lips of the paralytic, He replied to him:

“How canst thou say, There is no man? It is for thy sake that I became man—merciful and compassionate—without renouncing, by deceit, the promise of My Incarnation. Didst thou not hear the prophet proclaiming that a child is born unto us, a Son of the Most High, given unto us, and that He shall bear our infirmities and diseases? For thy sake, I abandoned the scepters of the heavenly kingdom and walk among those below, ministering unto them—for I came not to be ministered unto, but to minister Myself. For thy sake, I, though bodiless, clothed Myself in flesh, that I might heal every affliction of soul and body. For thy sake, I, who am invisible even to the angelic hosts, have revealed Myself unto men, for I will not leave My image lying in the dust—I desire to save it and to bring it to true understanding.

And dost thou say: There is no man? I became man, that man might become God! Did I not declare, Ye are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High? And who is a truer servant to thee than I? For thy sake I created all things to serve thee: heaven and earth minister to thee—the one with rain, the other with fruit. The sun serves thee with its light and warmth; the moon and stars illumine thy night. For thee the clouds water the earth with rain; and the earth brings forth every seed-bearing herb and fruit-bearing tree to serve thee. For thee the rivers bear fish, and the wilderness sustains the beasts.

And dost thou say, There is no man? Who is more truly man than I? For I have not broken My vow to take on flesh. I swore to Abraham and said: In thy seed shall all nations be blessed; and in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And I, being born of that seed, abolished circumcision and established the living water, which begets many children through baptism—of which Isaiah prophesied, Waters have broken forth in the wilderness. Let him who thirsts come to the living water! I am the lake of life! And behold—I pour forth upon thee from My lips a living stream, and thou still thirstest for the Sheep Pool, which shall soon dry up!

Arise, take up thy bed—let Adam hear My voice and be renewed with thee now from corruption, for in thee I now heal the curse brought by Eve’s first transgression. I, with a word, raised up Lazarus, though he had lain rotting in the tomb for four days. And to thee I now say: Arise, take up thy bed, and walk into thine house!”

And immediately the paralytic leapt up from his bed, filled with strength and made whole in every limb. And taking up the bed upon which he had lain, he began to walk among the people.

Now it was the Sabbath day. And when the Jews saw him, they did not rejoice in the recovery of the infirm man, nor did they give glory to God, who had raised up the paralytic from his bed of weakness. They did not ask, How is it, brother, that thy sinews and limbs were made strong? Instead, like beasts attacking a man bearing arms, they charged him, recoiled, and, like arrows loosed against stone, began to utter blasphemous speech and to shatter themselves in rage. For they preferred to speak falsehood rather than truth, and began to threaten the man who bore his bed: It is the Sabbath day—it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed! Why didst thou rise from thy infirmity? Why didst thou recover from thy affliction? Why didst thou cease from illness? It is not proper for thee now to bear thy bed!

Then said the man who had been healed of his affliction:

“What say ye, Pharisees? Ye who are wise, have become mad from envy! Were ye not satisfied with the thirty-eight years that I lay upon this bed, half-dead before your eyes? And now, when I have risen by the word of God, ye are blinded in mind and, limping, stumble upon your own falsehoods. If it was not a good thing, then at least it was not evil that I rose up. If ye do not rejoice in a great miracle, at least do not envy the healing given unto me! Be not like the senseless mules who have no understanding! The Lord helped me upon the bed of my illness and turned all my sickness into health. Tell me, ye elders and judges of Israel—who among you had your health stolen that ye now grieve and rage against me? Has anyone been wronged, that my healing should offend you? He that healed me said: Arise, take up thy bed, and walk! And behold—I am wholly made whole!”

Then the scribes answered him, saying: Who is He that healed thee? But the man who bore the bed did not know—for Jesus had withdrawn Himself into the crowd. Yet he answered them:

“He is no sorcerer, nor magician, nor messenger, nor angel, but the very Lord God of Israel. For He touched me not with His hands, nor did He apply ointment to the wounds of my limbs; but His word itself was the deed. He said unto me, Arise and walk!—and immediately His word was followed by the deed and my body was made whole. Therefore, seek not the face, nor blaspheme the grace of God; but judge rightly, and say unto God: Great are Thy works in Israel! Honor the Sabbath by this miracle of the Lord, and glorify God, and adorn the feast!”

But the Jews would not be silenced, and said, “Who healed you on the Sabbath? Show us who told you to carry your bed on the feast day!”

Jesus then found him again in the temple and said to him, “Behold, thou art made whole. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.”

And let us not think that Christ said this to him alone—no, He said it to us all who have received the grace of Baptism, by which we are cleansed from the defilement of our forefather and healed from the corruption of sin that devours us. As though speaking to the healed man, the Lord says: “Behold, I have healed in thee the sores of all Adam. I have raised up the one who fell by transgressing the commandment. I have abolished the curse which, through him, lay upon the whole race of man. I have washed away the uncleanness of every sin by Baptism. I have sought and found him who had gone astray upon the evil path of idolatry. I have bound up the wounds of the one who was beaten by demonic robbers. I have poured upon his sores the wine and oil of My blood. I have laid him upon the beast of My own body and brought him to an inn—that is, to the holy Church. I have given two denarii to the keeper of the inn—that is, I have entrusted the Old and New Testaments to the bishops—that with diligence they might instruct the people. And I have promised a reward upon My return to those who save sinners. Behold, thou art made whole. Sin no more, for woe,” He said, “unto the man who sins knowingly!”

Understand, then, all of you, the meaning of these words: that the Lord does not permit us to sin after Baptism, lest we again corrupt the man whom God has renewed. And woe unto those who sin after receiving any sacred ministry! Woe, I say, to monks, to priests, and even to bishops—if they do not fear God!

But that man proved faithful, for after his healing he did not return to carnal defilements, nor did he revile Jesus before the Jews, but remained in the temple—where Christ found him. And recognizing the One who had healed him, he said: “Righteous art Thou, O Lord, and true is Thy word! Henceforth I shall be numbered among all who fear Thee and keep Thy commandments.” And he went throughout the land, proclaiming the good news that “It is Jesus who made me whole!”

Let us therefore also glorify Jesus Christ, our God, brethren—He who hath healed us of our sinful infirmities—and let us draw near to Him with faith, crying: “Remember not our former transgressions, and cleanse our present iniquities—for Thou art the God of all, both heavenly and earthly. Have mercy on us who trust in Thee—Thou, the Creator of man, Maker of angels, King of all the world, Lord of the archangels, Creator of the cherubim, Adorner of the seraphim—that, saved by Thee, we may glorify Thee with the Father and the Most Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages!” Amen.