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Saturday 18 May 2013

Orthodoxy & Healing


The Orthodox Church has always viewed body and soul as inseparable thus stressing the necessity for preserving both in good health, following Jesus Christ’s exhortation to his disciples to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons” [Matth.10: 10].
This follows Christ’s ministry to “heal the broken-hearted, and to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind” [Luc.4: 18; see Isaiah 61: 1],
and to heal “all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease [Matth.4: 23].
In healing, the Church follows the procedure prescribed by the Apostle James:
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him,
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer of faith will save the sick,
and the Lord will raise him up.
And if he has committed sin, he will be forgiven
” [Jac.5: 14-15].

James here speaks of a priestly anointing with oil that leads to the physical and spiritual healing of a person, through the prayer of faith.
This sacred action has become a Mystery of the Orthodox Church and is known as Holy Unction [Gr. efchelaion, meaning prayer oil).
The Holy Unction is given to all who are sick, and not restricted to the dying.
The dying are usually given, as a preparation for death, Holy Communion.
Mystery [Sacrament] of Unction
Holy Unction begins with the chanting of hymns known as ‘Troparia’,

and the priest pleases:
O Lord Almighty, Healer of our souls and bodies, who puts down and raises up,
who chastises and heals also,
visit now in Your mercy our brother or sister, (Name), who is ill.
Stretch forth Your arm that is full of healing and heath, and raise (Name) up from this bed and cure this illness.
Put away the spirit of disease and every malady and pain and fever
“.

During the Mystery, the Grace of God
is entreated upon a person
to heal their infirmities of body and soul while the body is anointed with oil.
It is done by a gathering of priests, ideally seven in number, but can be performed
by a lesser number or even by a single priest.
The efficacy of the Mystery depends upon the promise and appointment of God;
however it benefits only those who receives it with a ‘prayer of faith’,
and with due preparation and disposition of mind.
The final prayer is for remission of sins:
And if (Name) has committed sins and transgressions, grant remission and forgiveness, because You love mankind“.
As Orthodox Christians we pray,
– neither commanding God to heal
– nor doubting His ability to heal,
– but pleading for His promised mercy
– upon all who are ill.
Healings throughout history
The Grace [gifts] of the Spirit or the miracles of Christ have always been active

in the ministry of the Orthodox Church.
The Church has never regards the Grace [gift] as ‘passed away’.
Saint Ireneaus during the end of the second century speaks of the miracles in his day:
Some drive out devils …
some have foreknowledge of the future …
others heal the sick through the laying of hands …
and even the dead have been raised up before now
and have remained with us for many years
“.

Later, in the fourth century, there are clear testimonies of it in Saint Basil the Great and Saint John Chrysostom who have given us prayers for healing which are used by the Church in the Mystery of Unction.
In the fifth century, Pope Innocent [I] said that the Mystery of Unction should be performed
upon believers who are sick“, and it should not be performed “on those undergoing ecclesiastical penance, because it is a Mystery. For how should it be supposed that one kind of Mystery be granted to those who are forbidden the other Mysteries“.
Saint Cyril of Alexandria also made reference to Holy Unction in “Worship and Adoration in Spirit and in Truth“.
The writings of other Church Fathers speak often of miracles of healing within the Church.
A recent example of such miracles are those which Christ performed through
a Russian monk called Saint Seraphim of Sarov [1759 – 1833].

Prayers in Time of Illness and Trouble




Prayer of a Sick Person
Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, You became man and died on the cross for our salvation. You healed people of sickness and affliction through Your love and compassion. Visit me, Lord and grant me strength to bear this sickness with which I am afflicted, with patience, submission to Your will and trust in Your loving care. I pray that You will bless the means used for my recovery and those who administer them. Grant that my sickness may be to my spiritual benefit and that I may live the rest of my life more faithfully according to Your will. For You are the source of life and healing and to You I give praise and glory, now and forever. Amen.

Prayers for a Sick Person
Heavenly Father, physician of our souls and bodies, Who have sent Your only-begotten Son and our Lord Jesus Christ to heal every sickness and infirmity, visit and heal also Your servant (name) from all physical and spiritual ailments through the grace of Your Christ. Grant him (her) patience in this sickness, strength of body and spirit, and recovery of health. Lord, You have taught us through Your word to pray for each other that we may be healed. I pray, heal Your servant (name) and grant to him (her) the gift of complete health. For You are the source of healing and to You I give glory, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Lord our God, Who by a word alone did heal all diseases, Who did cure the kinswoman of Peter, You Who chastise with pity and heal according to Your goodness; Who are able to put aside every sickness and infirmity, do You Yourself, the same Lord, grant aid to Your servant (name) and cure him (her) of every sickness of which he (she) is grieved; and send down upon him (her) Your great mercy, and if it be Your will, give to him (her) health and a complete recovery; for You are the Physician of our souls and bodies, and to You do we send up Glory: to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Both now and forever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
After an Operation
Holy Father, the only true physician of our souls and bodies, who cast down and lift up, accept me as I come in all humility to glorify you and thank you for preserving, by your grace, your servant (Name) through his (her) recent operation.
We thank you for blessing the attending physicians and the means employed for his (her) cure, and for restoring him (her) safe and sound to his (her) family and Church, having fended off every danger against his (her) body and soul.
Raise him (her) speedily, we pray you, from the bed of illness on which he (she) lies and return him (her) to his (her) home and peaceful pursuits. Grant that the suffering of his (her) body may avail for the purifying of his (her) soul and may lead him (her) to return, in thanksgiving, to the works of his (her) hands and to Christ Jesus, the Physician of soul and body.
Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Thanksgiving after Recovery<
Almighty God and heavenly Father, You are the fountain of life and healing. I bless Your holy name and offer to You thanks for having delivered me from sickness and restored me to health. Grant me Your eternal grace, I pray, that I may live a new life in true obedience to You. Guide me to do Your will in all things devoting my life to Your service. Thus living for You may I be found worthy of Your kingdom, where You dwell in glory with Your Son and Your Holy Spirit forever. Amen.

O Lord God Jesus Christ, the Life and strength of all that put their hope in You, Whose mercies are numberless, and the treasury goodness that is infinite, we give thanks to You for the blessings which You have bestowed., and we humbly beseech You to continue Your goodness toward us. As You have been well pleased to restore us to our bodily health, so do imbue our souls with all the heavenly graces, perseverance in good works, and prepare us by Your blessings in this life for the enjoyment of eternal happiness in the Life to come. For to You are due all glory, honor, and worship, as also to Your Eternal Father and Your All-holy Good and Life-creating Spirit, both now and forever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer for the Terminally Ill
Lord, Jesus Christ, Who suffered and died for our sins that we may live, if during our life we have sinned in word, deed or thought forgive us in Your goodness and love. All our hope we put in You; protect your servant (name) from all evil. We submit to Your will and into Your hands we commend our souls and bodies. For a Christian end to our lives, peaceful, without shame and suffering, and for a good account before the awesome judgment seat of Christ, we pray to you O Lord. Bless us, be merciful to us and grant us life eternal. Amen.

Prayers in Time of Trouble
Lord of the Powers be with us, for in times of distress we have no other help but You.
Lord of the Powers, have mercy on us.
Prayers in Time of Need
Almighty God, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, come to my help and deliver me from this difficulty that besets me. I believe Lord, that all trials of life are under Your care and that all things work for the good of those who love You. Take away from me fear, anxiety and distress. Help me to face and endure my difficulty with faith, courage and wisdom. Grant that this trial may bring me closer to You for You are my rock and refuge, my comfort and hope, my delight and joy. I trust in Your love and compassion. Blessed is Your name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

O God, our help in time of need, Who are just and merciful, and Who inclines to the supplications of His people. Look down upon me and have mercy on me and deliver me from the trouble that now besets me. Deal with us not according to our iniquities, but according to Your manifold mercies, for we are the works of Your hands, and You know our weaknesses. I pray to you to grant me Your divine helping grace, and endow me with patience and strength to endure my hardships with complete submission to Your Will. Only You know our misery and sufferings, and to You, our only hope and refuge, I flee for relief and comfort, trusting in Your infinite love and compassion, that in due time, when You know best, You will deliver me from this trouble, and turn my distress into comfort. We then shall rejoice in Your mercy, and exalt and praise Your Holy Name, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit, both now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen
Prayer Against Demonic Influence
Almighty God, Who delivered Your people from the bondage of the adversary, and through Your Son cast down Satan like lightning, deliver me also from every influence of unclean spirits. Command Satan to depart far from me by the power of Your only begotten Son. Rescue me from demonic imaginings and darkness. Fill me with the light of the Holy Spirit that I may be guarded against all snares of crafty demons. Grant that an angel will always go before me and lead me to the path of righteousness all the days of my life, to the honor of Your glorious Name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer for Our Enemies
Lord Jesus Christ, in Your great mercy You prayed for the forgiveness of those who crucified You, and You taught us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Lord, I pray that You forgive those who treat me unjustly and speak out against me, and that You bless them and guide them according to Your will. Take away any bitterness I may have in my heart against them. Lord, may Your forgiveness, goodness and love be revealed in all of us, to Your praise and glory. Amen.
Prayer for Peace
Almighty God and Creator, You are the Father of all people on the earth. Guide, I pray, all the nations and their leaders in the ways of justice and peace. Protect us from the evils of injustice, prejudice, exploitation, conflict and war. Help us to put away mistrust, bitterness and hatred. Teach us to cease the storing and using of implements of war. Lead us to find peace, respect and freedom. Unite us in the making and sharing of tools of peace against ignorance, poverty, disease and oppression. Grant that we may grow in harmony and friendship as brothers and sisters created in Your image, to Your honor and praise. Amen.

Thanksgiving After Trouble
Almighty and merciful God, I most humbly and heartily thank Your divine majesty for Your loving kindness and tender mercies, that You have heard my humble prayer, and graciously granted me deliverance from my trouble and misery. I pray to you to continue granting Your helping grace, that I may lead a life pleasing to You, that I may continually offer to You a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Wisdom from the Gospel according to St. Matthew:

observations and deductions
by an experienced spiritual counselor and pastor
by Archimandrite Timotheos Pantelakos
(Athens, Greece)

We need the power of God to help us in our every day life. One way to obtain the power of God is to read the Scriptures together as a family, or even two or three families together. It does not require a lot of explaining. Just simply read it. A good way is to have each member of the family read a verse until a chapter is read. In this way we will acquaint our children with the Scriptures. If we succeed in doing this, these same children will grow up to be children of God.
In the first chapter of Matthew we read about how God accomplished the greatest work of the ages through the Virgin Mary. Yet we never hear the Virgin Mary boast or make a show of herself. The only times we hear her words are when she visits the mother of John the Baptist and again at the wedding in Cana.
From the Virgin Mary we learn that God does His work quietly and simply. We ourselves should not be concerned if we do not see our name or our picture in the newspaper, or do not achieve worldly importance. We can do God's work wherever we are, at work, among our friends, and especially in our family. The development and rounding out of character is the most important work in life.
In doing God's work we all stand on an equal footing: the sick and the healthy, the poor and the rich, the uneducated and the educated, because we all have an equal opportunity to serve Him. The things of God are concerned with principles and not external circumstances. Even sickness can serve a spiritual advantage if we meet it in the spirit of Christian faith. When we are sick, we experience a sense of humility before God and men because we realize how weak and impotent we are. When we are well and are fortunate enough to be making money or achieving success, we are always in danger of being proud and giving little heed either to God or men. Our bodily sickness heals this spiritual sickness. Hatred, anger, and jealousy depart: we forgive everybody and we love everybody. Sickness serves as a spiritual corrective, and we should accept it that way.
As we read the second chapter of Matthew, we ask ourselves why King Herod did not avail himself of the opportunity to see and worship Christ, as the wise men and shepherds did. The answer is: because Herod did not have the spirit of God within him. None of us can hear the voice of God unless we have within us the spirit of God. It is somewhat the same as with the radio or television. If we are tuned to a certain station, we receive the frequencies of that station and hear its program. We cannot receive the sounds of another station. So it is with us. If we are tuned to hear God's voice, we will feel His power and sense His beauty. The Grace of God is everywhere like the air around us, but we must have faith in order to be tuned in to it. God speaks to us in many ways in answer to our prayers: through a book, or another person, through a vision or a dream, or even through nature. Once a man told me that his prayer was answered as he was observing a bird outside his window.
In the third chapter of Matthew we read about the ancestry of John the Baptist. The Hebrews thought that the farther back one could trace his ancestry, the more important he was. St. John challenged the Pharisees and Sadducees who were powerful Jewish sects, calling them. "O generation of vipers!" and drawing their attention to the fact that the name alone was not enough to make them children of Abraham. Abraham stands for a type of character and a quality of life. Those who measure up to it are children of Abraham, not just those who are descendants in name.
The same can he said about us Christians. Most of us are Christians in name only. We do not see how foolish we are to cheat ourselves in this way. We alone are the losers because our lives are empty of what would give us strength, light, joy, freedom, and spiritual peace-the Christian life.
The end of chapter three tells us about the Baptism of our Lord when the doctrine of the Holy Trinity became known to us. The importance of this event is that it prevents us from thinking of God as a mere abstraction. In the Holy Trinity God reveals Himself in the form of a social relationship-a social Being like ourselves. This is as it should be, for we are created in His likeness as the Scriptures tell us. The revelation of the Holy Trinity in Three Persons tells us that the basic characteristic of God is love. In the form of love we shall understand the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, because love is never solitary, but is always a link between two persons. We cannot say that love ever existed by itself without the object with which it is bound together. If we put love in the place of the Father, we have the Son with Whom the love is bound together. The Two always existed, and in place of what binds the Two together, we put the Holy Spirit which flows from the Father as the Creed tells us. So the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the Three Persons of one Godhead, each person including within himself the whole of divinity.
The fourth chapter of Matthew tells us about the temptation of our Lord after He was baptized. Every one of us has to go through temptation. It is as much a part of life as the air we breathe. Young and old, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, healthy or sick; hermits, monks, or nuns; those who live together in towns and cities-all have to suffer temptation. No one is excepted. Why is this? It is because our mission here on earth is the development of our spiritual personality. The only thing that matters in the eyes of God is the degree of perfection we achieve in the likeness of Him. The spirit which we have received from God is the reason why we are called the children of God: this we must develop until it saturates our whole being and masters us entirely. To develop this spirit of God within ourselves is the purpose of our lives. If we fail in this, we have lost everything.
Our efforts to achieve the spirit of God are like the student at school. When he is registered, he becomes a student, but to acquire knowledge, he must work. We are called the children of God in the same way the student is registered in school-not because of our worthiness, but as a gift from God to us through His Son. This gift is called God's Grace. But to acquire the necessary knowledge and receive the diploma of the Holy Spirit in godliness which proves that we have become God's children, not merely by God's Grace, but by the test of life-this requires work.
The goal of school and the goal of spiritual perfection differ because the school develops knowledge while the life in Christ-that is to say, in the Church-develops holiness of character. Where can we work at becoming sons of God? Wherever we happen to be. We do not have to go here or there: it can be accomplished wherever we are.
Every time we choose the good, we become more godly, more Christlike. On the other hand, every time we choose the evil, we become more devilish, more evil in spirit. Therefore, whenever we do good or bad, we benefit or hurt our own selves. That is why St. John Chrysostom says that no one can hurt you spiritually unless you hurt your own self. The choice between good and evil is the spiritual gymnasium where the moral battle takes place and character is formed. We do not have to go here and there to accomplish perfection in the likeness of Christ.
Our earthly life serves two purposes: it infuses in us at birth the spirit of God and provides a place for the moral-spiritual battle and the development of character to take place. Where is the moral gymnasium? It is not in the mountains, the valleys, the trees, or the animals. Nature supplies for us only the needs of our bodies. The moral gymnasium is to be found in our social relationships. We are moral and spiritual beings. As we are called upon to choose between good and evil, a moral conflict takes place, and when we make the choice, we either help to perfect ourselves in the spirit of God, if we choose the good, or in the spirit of evil if we choose the bad.
The Gospel of Matthew tells us that after Jesus was baptized, He was led by the spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days, and naturally was very hungry. The Tempter came to Him and said, "If you are the Son of God, make these stones into bread." Jesus answered, "It is written that man is not to live on bread alone, but on every word that issues from the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:1-6)
Bread and hunger symbolize man's material needs. When one is hungry, he faces a strong temptation to steal, kill, or commit some evil. Our Lord teaches us by His example to place ourselves above the temptation for material needs. We should do as He did, and rise victorious over temptation. This means that we should prefer to die of hunger rather than to do what is evil. When we lack money and face strong temptation, then is our greatest opportunity for spiritual victory, to win our crowns as the sons of God. When I was in Connecticut, I heard of a man who was hungry and without money, but he decided that he would prefer to die rather than go and steal or do any other evil. What happened? Not only did he not die, but he was rewarded by God with the power to heal the sick.
We are still not a truly ethical society. The production and distribution of goods is not conditioned by ethical considerations. Hunger exists, although our storage houses are full of food supplies.
Christianity is not devoted, or we may say, shows no preference for this or that economic system. From the Christian point of view the root of the evil is not in the system but in the spirit. If our minds are occupied with material objectives, there will be injustice, exploitation, and suffering regardless of the system, because the spirit of materialism makes us consider only ourselves and not care for other people. With the spirit of God the opposite is true. A man with the spirit of God says. "Your life is my life; your advantage is my advantage: your progress is my progress. We stand or fall together."
If we follow the example of God, justice and equality will prevail here on earth in the jurisdiction of man as it does in the jurisdiction of God. For instance, in God's jurisdiction the sun shines alike for all; the air blows alike for all; death comes to all alike: the laws of nature work the same for everyone, and so does the moral and ethical law of God. If we violate the laws of nature, we will be punished, regardless of the person we happen to be. When we arrange our affairs to be like God's so that justice and equality prevail in the matters which are in our jurisdiction as they do in the jurisdiction of God, then we shall be truly the children of God as our Lord says, "that we may be the sons of our Father in Heaven." (Matt. 5:45) We can see that we have quite far to go yet to approach our Heavenly Father.
Once a man who was dishing out food for a party divided the food unequally, giving more to some and less to others. He explained this by saying that he did exactly as God does who makes some people rich and others poor. We see right away that this man's reasoning is not correct, because the economic system, regardless of what it is, is not in God's jurisdiction. The economic system is in our jurisdiction and of our own making. So also are education and the social and political systems.
Our Lord was victorious over the temptation of hunger. Next the Tempter tempted Him with vanity and the desire to show off. The spirit of vanity is a strong temptation; much more so than we realize. We all want to feel important; we like to see our name in the paper. When we are with others, we try to show that we know more than the others, or if we have a talent such as a good voice, we want to show it off, even if we are a priest or psaltes in the church. Temptation urges us to show off our special skill, whether it is cooking, making candy, doing handwork, singing, or engaging in sports. Perhaps more than anything else, we are tempted by the spirit of vanity to want to be better looking or better dressed than others. If we do not succeed, we fall into the temptation of being jealous of those who are better looking or do things better than we do. The temptation to vanity is a powerful temptation which destroys our spiritual balance and hinders us from becoming spiritually united with the Body of Christ.

Prayers for Sickness and Healing



Prayer for Healing

Merciful Lord, visit us in our time of need and affliction; and as you healed Jairus' daughter and raised her from her bed of infirmity, visit your servant, Master, and deliver him/her from sickness and pain. For you alone have born the sickness and affliction of our world and with you nothing is impossible. For you are all-merciful and to you we ascribe glory and adoration forever. Amen

Prayer Before Surgery

Heavenly Father, Creator and Comforter, who created me in Your image and likeness. You know every fiber of my being and have willed that I be born. I ask You, Lord, to guide the minds and hands of those who will operate on me so that I may be restored to health and well-being. Help me, Lord, to pray with all my heart and allow my burden of concern and anxiety and that of my family to be lifted up with the knowledge that You are with us now and always. And Lord, when I awake from surgery, take me by your hand and guide me to wards a life of thanksgiving and peace. Amen.

Prayer After Surgery

O Compassionate Lord, I offer thanksgiving to You because you have aided and guided my doctor and those who assisted in my surgery and eventual healing. Like the woman who touched the fringe of Your garment (Lk 8:40-56), I too have been freed from the anxiety and isolation of my illness. Like her I rejoice in the prospect of returning to my home, my family and friends. I look forward to all that Your world has to offer and when I leave this bed, may I go out as a more compassionate person. Bless me, O Lord, with the loving kindness which You so abundantly extended to me so that I may continuously bear witness to Your healing Grace. May Your Holy name be glorified now and forever. Amen
Blessed is our God, always, now and forever. Amen
All Holy Trinity, have mercy upon me. Lord, forgive my sins. Master, pardon my transgressions. Holy One, visit and heal my infirmities for your name's sake.

Another Prayer for Healing

Lord, at this moment, I pray that you will hear me and give heed to the voice of my supplication. Stretch forth your hand, touch me and heal me of my infirmity. Grant that I may understand the nature of my illness and sustain me as I deal with its effects upon my life. Strengthen me, O Lord, as I perceive my affliction, not as an overwhelming obstacle, but rather, as a challenge to be met and overcome.
Holy Father who in your infinite love created us in Your image and likeness; who formed my body out of the earth and breathed into it Your divine and life-giving breath; do You, Yourself, O Lord, look with mercy upon me, Your child and heal my spirit and body. Help me to endure the tribulations of my infirmity and keep my soul safe through all that has happened and will happen.
Yes, Lord, I know that you are present at all times, long in patience, great in mercy and compassion. Receive my prayer at this present time and direct my life according to your commandments. Sanctify my soul. Cleanse my body and set my mind aright. Deliver me from sorrow, evil and distress. Surround me with your holy angels, that guarded and guided by them, I may overcome this adversity.
Thank You, Lord, for hearing my prayer.
Amen.
Lord, have Mercy.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, according to your great mercy, I pray to You, hear me and have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Again I ask for your mercy; for life, health, peace and for forgiveness of my sins and transgressions.
Lord, Have mercy.
Visit O lord, and heal my infirmity and deliver me from pain and long suffering.
Lord, Have mercy.
Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, Physician of our souls and bodies, who for our salvation, became man and suffered death on the Cross; O Lord, visit me in my suffering and grant me grace and strength to bear this illness. Heal me, O Lord, not only in body, but also in mind and soul. So that I may please you in all things and praise your blessed name all the days of my life.
Amen.

Resentment and Forgiveness


by Hieromonk Damascene

A talk delivered at the Annual Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Western America, St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, San Diego, California, February 28, 2003.

1. The Misuse of the Incensive Power

Since we are approaching Forgiveness Sunday, I've chosen, with the blessing of His Grace Bishop Longin, to speak on the subject of Anger, Judgment, and Resentment, and on their cure: Forgiveness and Reconciliation. First I will speak about the problem and then I'll discuss the solution.
Anger, judgment, remembrance of wrongs, grudges, resentment: these are passions with which all of us struggle in one way or another. Why are we prone to them? According to the Holy Fathers of the Church, the power that causes anger was part of man's original nature, which was created "good" by God (cf. Genesis 1:31). The Fathers say that man's soul was originally created with three powers: the intellective or "knowing" power, the appetitive or "desiring" power, and the incensive or "fervent" power. Man was supposed to use his intellective power to know God, his appetitive power to yearn for God, and his incensive power to courageously repel temptation—beginning with the temptation of the serpent in the Garden.
Instead of using their incensive power to repel temptation, however, Adam and Eve succumbed to their first temptation: they ate of the forbidden fruit. According to the Holy Fathers, the essence of the serpent's temptation lies in these words: "Eat of this fruit and you shall be as gods" (cf. Genesis 3:5). St. John Chrysostom says that Adam "expected to become himself a god, and conceived thoughts above his proper dignity." [1] This is a key point which we'll keep coming back to.
When the primordial Fall occurred, man's original nature, created in the image of God, became corrupted. He acquired what the Holy Fathers call a fallen nature. He still had the image of God in him, but the image was tarnished: "buried," as it were, under the corruption of his nature. Now he had an inclination toward sin, born of his desire to be God without God's blessing. All of us share that fallen nature; there is a part of each one of us that wants to be God. In popular modern terms, that part of us is called the "ego."
When man fell, the three powers of his soul became subject to corruption, along with his body, which became subject to death and decay. Now man used his intellective power to puff up with knowledge and be superior to others; now he used his appetitive power to lust after other people, after the things of this world, after sinful pleasures, wealth, and power; and he used his incensive power, not against temptation, but against other people, against things, and sometimes against life and God Himself. The incensive power expressed itself as sinful anger and wrath. The first man born of woman, Cain, got so angry and jealous that he murdered his own brother, Abel.
So, here we are, all members of the family of Adam and Eve, possessing a fallen nature that wants to be God, and a corrupted incensive power that gets angry at the wrong things.
Very clear teachings on anger and the incensive power can be found in the first volume of The Philokalia, in the teachings of St. John Cassian, a Holy Father of the fifth century. According to St. John Cassian, all anger directed at other people—all such wrong use of our incensive power—blinds the soul. He writes: "We must, with God's help, eradicate the deadly poison of anger from the depths of our souls. So long as the demon of anger dwells in our hearts ... we can neither discriminate what is good, nor achieve spiritual knowledge, nor fulfill our good intentions, nor participate in true life.... Nor will we share in divine wisdom even though we are deemed wise by all men, for it is written: Anger lodges in the bosom of fools (Eccles. 7:9). Nor can we discriminate in decisions affecting our salvation even though we are thought by our fellow men to have good sense, for it is written: Anger destroys even men of good sense (Proverbs 15:1). Nor will we be able to keep our lives in righteousness with a watchful heart, for it is written: Man's anger does not bring about the righteousness of God (James 1:20)....
"If, therefore, you desire to attain perfection and rightly pursue the spiritual way, you should make yourself a stranger to all sinful anger and wrath. Listen to what St. Paul enjoins: Rid yourselves of all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, and all malice (Eph. 4:31). By saying 'all' he leaves no excuse for regarding any anger as necessary or reasonable. If you want to correct your brother when he is doing wrong or punish him, you must try to keep yourself calm; otherwise you yourself may catch the sickness you are seeking to cure and you may find that the words of the Gospel now apply to you: Physician, heal yourself (Luke 4:23), or Why do you look at the speck of dust in your brother's eye, and not notice the beam in your own eye? (Matt. 7:3).
"No matter what provokes it, anger blinds the soul's eyes, preventing it from seeing the Sun of righteousness.... Whether reasonable or unreasonable, anger obstructs our spiritual vision. Our incensive power can be used in a way that is according to nature only when turned against our own impassioned or self-indulgent thoughts. [2]
Here St. John Cassian is telling us that, when we use our incensive power against temptation—against impassioned or self-indulgent thoughts—we are using this power as it was originally intended to be used, according to our original, virtuous nature, created in the image of God. However, when we use our incensive power against anything else—especially against other people—we are misusing it, according to our fallen nature.

2. Playing God

Often anger is evoked in us because of our pride. This again is a function of our fallen nature: that part of us that wants to be God. As would-be gods, we want to be in control, we want things to go our way. When things don't go our way, when other people don't follow our lead and go along with our program, we get angry. This leads us to judge others. Judging others is one way of playing God.
God is King, and He is Judge. Of course, it's best to be a King. Therefore, in trying to play God, our ego first of all tries to get above others and above life itself by playing King. We can try to be King in many ways. It may be by trying to run the show and get our own way. It may be by seeking acceptance, approval, praise, respect, popularity, earthly security, or an important position. It may be through our achievements and abilities, which are used toward ultimately selfish ends. It may be through vanity over our looks, our intellect, and so on.
Even if we were to have the world at our feet all the time, and thus confirm our King-status in our own mind, we would eventually feel conflict—for we're not meant to be King. You can see this vividly in the lives of celebrities, many of whom, having risen to the "top" in the eyes of the world, are filled with inward conflict.
Most of us, however, find it impossible to play King all the time. The world is not at our feet. We try so hard to get our own way and make things work out exactly like we want, but it just doesn't happen that way. People don't want to cooperate with our own way of doing things. We don't get enough of the respect and admiration we need in order to keep up the illusion of our Kingship. On the contrary, we often experience the exact opposite: rudeness, disrespect, neglect, abandonment, injustice.
What is the ego—our fallen nature—to do in this case? How can it still play God? How else than by judgment? As we said, God is King and He is Judge. When we can't be King, we take the loser's way of playing God: we become the Judge. No matter what happens to us, or what people have said and done to us, we can always seem to get above them by being their Judge. For a time it feels great! Other people and the circumstances of our life made us feel less like a god; they have hurt and humiliated us. But we can still be a god in our own mind by judging!
Judgment brings with it an exhilaration of false power. Its energy comes from the wrong, prideful use of our incensive power. But, like playing King, playing Judge eventually leads to inward conflict. If we are setting ourselves up in God's place, our soul cannot fulfill its original purpose of worshiping, serving and loving God. Thus, each time we judge, we're placing a barrier between ourselves and God. A wall immediately goes up.

3. Resentment

If left unchecked, anger and judgment will pass into what the Holy Fathers call "secret anger," "remembrance of wrongs," or "resentment."
Resentment—prolonged anger—is deadly to the soul. St. Tikhon of Zadonsk says: "Just as fire if it is not extinguished quickly will swallow many houses, so anger if it is not stopped right away will do great harm and will cause many troubles. [3] The Holy Apostle Paul tells us: Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil (Eph. 4:26-7). "If we take St. Paul's saying literally," writes St. John Cassian, "it does not permit us to keep our anger even until sunset. What then shall we say about those who, because of the harshness and fury of their impassioned state, not only maintain their anger until the setting of this day's sun, but prolong it for many days? Or about others who do not express their anger, but keep silent and increase the poison of their anger to their own destruction? They are unaware that we must avoid anger not only in what we do but also in our thoughts; otherwise our mind will be darkened by our anger, cut off from the light of spiritual knowledge and discrimination, and deprived of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. [4]
Why is resentment such a deadly sin? The Holy Scriptures tell us that God is love. Therefore, explains the Russian Holy Father St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, "Resentment or rejection of love is rejection of God. God withdraws from a resentful person, deprives him of His Grace, and gives him up to spiritual death, unless the person repents in good time so as to be healed of that deadly moral poison, resentment. [5]
If for whatever reason we do not forgive someone and hold onto our anger, it will truly be to our own destruction. It can poison our entire lives, make us the captives of the devil, and eventually prevent us from entering the Kingdom of Heaven. To help us not to lose our salvation due to resentment, God allows us to feel inward conflict. This inward conflict helps us to become aware of the fatal danger of the malady of resentment, and to seek to be cured by the Supreme Physician, Jesus Christ.
The inward conflict may take many forms. We may feel weighed down, unable to breathe lightly or freely, as if we are captives. We may experience irrational fear, commonly known as anxiety. We may become susceptible to physical ailments. In most cases, we will feel an inward emptiness. That emptiness comes from the fact that, by holding onto our anger and judgment, we have separated ourselves from God. We no longer have His Grace, His Life, inside us, and without that we are just hollow vessels.
Our spiritual emptiness may express itself in a generally dissatisfied and cynical attitude, in which we're always attracted to negative thoughts and words about others. We may try to fill the void with drugs or the excessive use of alcohol. Interestingly, the Alcoholics Anonymous "Big Book" says: "Resentment is the 'number one' offender. It destroys more alcoholics than anything else. From it stems all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically. [6]
Sometimes our resentment hurts the person we are resenting, sometimes it does not. However, in either case we gain nothing; we only lose, for in either case we are the ones who are hurt the most. Let's say someone has actually wronged us. If that person repents, he will be forgiven by God. But if we hold onto our anger, we will not be forgiven and will suffer the consequences.

4. Forgiveness

Having looked at the malady of anger, judgment, and resentment, let's go on to look at the cure. What are we to do to be freed of this sickness?
Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us clearly: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. And to him who smites you on the one cheek, offer also the other (Luke 6:27-29).
Rather than resenting those who wrong us, we are to love them, and we express this love by blessing them and praying for them. We do this because we are commanded to do so by Christ. He has commanded this for our own sake, for our own salvation, because He loves us; and we do it for His sake, because we love Him. Our fallen nature rebels against this: "What? Bless and pray for that person who wronged me?" But for Christ's sake, we go against our fallen nature, and force ourselves to pray. We ask God to bless and have mercy on the person who hurt us, we wish good things for him, we wish his salvation, just as our Lord wishes his salvation. In this way we begin to become like God Himself, Who, according to the words of Christ, is kind to the unthankful and the evil (Luke 6:35). In going against our fallen nature, we return to our original nature—the image of God in us—and we grow in the likeness of God.
Abba Dorotheus, a Desert Father of the sixth century, says that we can be healed of the sickness of resentment "by prayer right from the heart for the one who has annoyed us. We can pray such words as, 'O God, help my brother, and me through his prayers.'" "In this," says Abba Dorotheus, "we are interceding for our brother, which is a sure sign of sympathy and love, and we are humiliating ourselves by asking help through our brother's prayers. [7]
When we continually force ourselves to bless and pray for others in this way, we will find that our Lord Jesus Christ will change, renew, and refresh our hearts. It may take some time and persistence, but gradually, almost imperceptibly, we will be changed. The poison of resentment, by the Grace of Christ, will leave our system.
Again our Lord has told us: Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven (Luke 6:37).
The cure for anger, judgment, and resentment is forgiveness, pure and simple. No matter what terrible afflictions and unspeakable injustices have befallen us, we can be free of their negative effects on us through forgiveness.
I once asked a Romanian Orthodox priest named Fr. George Calciu about this. For twenty-one years he had been locked in Communist prisons, where he had endured the most unimaginable horrors ever perpetrated by human beings. And yet when I met him here in America, he was happy, joyful, like a child, totally free of any negative effects of this torture on his soul. He had found the secret of forgiveness. I asked him, "How can people overcome judgment?" He looked at me, almost with astonishment, and answered, "It's simple. Just don't judge!"
It's truly simple. But we must keep in mind that we can't do it on our own: We need God's help to heal our fallen, wounded nature, to humble our pride. Therefore, as we pray for those who have hurt us, we should pray that God will help us to forgive, that He will soften our hard hearts, warm our cold hearts, and grant us a loving, merciful, and forgiving spirit.
Elder Sampson (Seivers) of Russia, who reposed in 1979, was a man well-equipped to speak on the subject of forgiveness. As a young novice monk, he was arrested by the Communist authorities, shot in a mass execution, and thrown into a common grave. By Divine Providence he survived the shooting, and was pulled out of the grave still breathing by his brother monks and nursed back to health. Later he was arrested again and spent nearly twenty years in Communist concentration camps. But he never held onto bitterness and resentment: He completely forgave both his executioners and his torturers. In his later years, when he was serving as a spiritual father to many people, he was especially tough when his spiritual children refused to forgive someone, even for some petty annoyance. He said: "I've always concluded: this means that they still have not gotten the point, that the whole secret, that all the salt of Christianity lies in this: to forgive, to excuse, to justify, not to know, not to remember evil.
"The Holy Fathers are the children of the Grace of the Holy Spirit. The result of this action of Grace is when the heart excuses. It loves, it can speak well of someone and pray for him. It does not remember offense or evil.
"Therefore," said Elder Sampson, "it is impossible to forgive and not excuse. This is a psychological fact. The heart is made this way. It was not the brain, not the nervous system—as science attempts to teach, and the psychiatrists especially—but it was the heart that was made this way by God. It is called a Christian heart. It excuses, it does everything possible in order to justify and excuse. Isn't that so?! That is a Christian quality!
"The pagan or the Moslem does not know about this ... the action of the Grace of the Holy Spirit.... Try telling a Moslem to justify and excuse, to love his enemy. He will kill you. [8]
Once Elder Sampson was asked, "What can an angry person do?" He replied, "He must pray and pray for healing. For the sake of his faith, for the sake of his insistence, the Lord will change his heart." [9]

5. Watchfulness and Prayer

The Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers affirm that, as we pray for spiritual healing from passions like anger and resentment, we must also practice constant watchfulness or attention over our thoughts. Christ spoke much about watchfulness, both directly and in parables. At the conclusion of one such parable, He said: What I say to you I say to all: Watch (Mark 13:37). Later, as He was going to His final Passion, He told His disciples: Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation (Mark 14:38).
Watchfulness and prayer are closely connected. St. Symeon the New Theologian explains this connection as follows: "Watchfulness and prayer should be as closely linked together as the body to the soul, for the one cannot stand without the other. Watchfulness first goes on ahead like a scout and engages sin in combat. Prayer then follows afterwards, and instantly destroys and exterminates all the evil thoughts with which watchfulness has already been battling, for attentiveness alone cannot exterminate them. [10]
The evil one wants to trap us. He tempts us with evil thoughts against our brothers and sisters, trying to sow the seeds of judgment and resentment against them, inciting our fallen nature so that we will stray far from our first-created image and be separated from God. We must not take the bait. Whether our anger arises from our own fallen nature or from the suggestions of the evil one, we need to cut it off at once. And to recognize it at once, we must practice watchfulness over our thoughts.
St. Theophan the Recluse writes: "The passions and desires rarely attack by themselves—they are most often born of thoughts. From this we can make a rule: cut off thoughts and you will cut off everything. [11]
In The Philokalia, the growth from a thought to a passion is described with scientific precision. First comes the provocation of the thought, then the conjunction of the thought with emotion, then the joining or agreement of the will with the thought. If the soul does not pull back at this point, the thought becomes a habit, and the mind is constantly preoccupied with the object of the passionate urge. Finally the person falls into the captivity of the urge, and rushes to satisfy it. [12]
From this it can be seen why it is so important to cut off angry and judgmental thoughts at the time of their provocation. St. John Cassian writes: "If we wish to receive the Lord's blessing, we should restrain not only the outward expression of anger, but also angry thoughts. More beneficial than controlling our tongue in a moment of anger and refraining from angry words is purifying our heart from rancor and not harboring malicious thoughts against our brethren. The Gospel teaches us to cut off the roots of our sins and not merely their fruits. [13]"
The more we entertain thoughts of anger, the more they will grow and harden inside of us, making it harder to uproot them later on. Abba Dorotheus uses the analogy of a tree to explain this: when the tree is young and small, it is easy to pull out of the ground; but when it matures, it is much more difficult to uproot. In another place, Abba Dorotheus uses the analogy of a spark on tinder, which, if it is not put out, can grow into a raging flame. He writes: "Someone who is lighting a fire first sets a spark to the tinder. This is someone's provoking remark, this is the point where the fire starts. Of what consequence is that person's remark? If you put up with it, the spark goes out. But if you go on thinking, 'Why did he say that to me, and what should I say back to him?' and 'If he did not want to annoy me, he would not have said that,' then you add a small bit of wood to the flame, or some bit of fuel, and you produce some smoke: this is a disturbance of the mind. This disturbance floods the mind with thoughts and emotions, which stimulate the heart and make it bold to attack. This boldness incites us to vengeance on the person who annoyed us.... If, therefore, you put up with a sharp retort from someone, the little spark is extinguished before it causes you any trouble. Even if you are a little troubled and you desire promptly to get rid of it, since it is still small, you can do so by remaining silent with a prayer on your lips and by one good heartfelt act of humility. But if you dwell on it and inflame your heart and torment yourself with thoughts about why he said that to me, and what should I say to him, you are blowing on the embers and adding fuel and causing smoke! From this influx of thoughts and conflicting emotions the heart catches fire and there you are—in a passion." [14]
When a thought of anger or judgment arises in our mind, therefore, we are to cut it off or repulse it at once. In this way we use our incensive power in the way it was intended to be used: to cut off temptation.
Cutting off thoughts does not mean arguing with them or struggling against them. St. Silouan of Mount Athos affirms: "It is best of all not to argue with thoughts. The spirit that debates with such a thought will be faced with its steady development, and, bemused by the exchange, will be distracted from remembrance of God, which is exactly what the demons are after. [15]
Our struggle should not be against thoughts, but towards remembrance of God. It is enough just to observe our thoughts through the practice of watchfulness. We will thereby recognize our angry and judgmental thoughts right away. We see them, we know that we don't want them because they separate us from God, and we simply let them go. If we do not align ourselves with the thoughts, they will naturally disappear. The fifth-century Desert Father, Abba Pimen, says: "If we do not do anything about thoughts, in time they are spoiled, that is to say, they disintegrate. [16]
The thought may come again and again, but each time we are to cut it off in the same way. When the thoughts are continual, it is especially important to turn to God in prayer, asking for His forgiveness and for deliverance from the continual thoughts. This prayer, as mentioned earlier, should include a prayer of good will for the person at whom we are angry or irritated.
In the practice of watchfulness and prayer, we have no better tool than the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." There is no more powerful name on earth than the name of Jesus Christ to oppose the proud fallen spirits. And, in the words of the Holy Apostle Peter, There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
When we ask Christ to have mercy on us, we are also humbling our proud fallen nature. We are admitting that we are not God, and that we need God's love, mercy, and forgiveness. In seeking God's forgiveness, we are acknowledging the infirmity of our nature, and this helps us to forgive and have mercy on others who share our fallen, wounded nature.
Since the Jesus Prayer is so short and single-pointed, it lends itself to the practice of watchfulness. We can keep our attention on the words of the Prayer more easily than we can with other prayers. This helps us to learn how to repulse or cut off intrusive thoughts, and to keep our attention raised to God. It helps us to develop the habit of inward attention. At the same time, by means of this Prayer we are calling down Divine Grace into our hearts, for we are calling upon the Source of Grace, Jesus Christ.
As we seek to forgive people for whom we feel bitterness, we should also call upon the Mother of God to help us forgive. When Elder Sampson was once asked how he was able to forgive his executioners and torturers, he said: "One need only pray to the Mother of God and the offense is taken away. It is taken away if you only ask the Mother of God. It is enough for your heart to have some kind of direct contact with the Mother of God, and that horror, offense, injury, sorrow and slander will be taken away." [17]

6. Reconciliation Through Self-Accusation

Now we've looked at the sickness—anger and resentment—and we've looked at the cure: forgiveness and the cutting off of angry thoughts by means of watchfulness and prayer. But what if anger and resentment have already poisoned our relationship with someone else? What then are we to do? Both the Gospels and the Holy Fathers tell us that we are to humble ourselves and seek reconciliation. Christ says: You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder,' and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother will be in danger of the judgment.... Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift (Matt. 5:21-24).
The Holy Fathers tell us that, in order to be reconciled to someone with whom we are at odds, the first thing we are to do is to accuse ourselves, not the other person. If we do not accuse ourselves, we will never find rest, and we will never make true and lasting peace with our neighbor. We will always be holding onto our pride. Abba Dorotheus provides us with a good example of this from his own experience as the Superior of a monastery. He says: "Once there came to me two brothers who were always fighting. The older one was saying about the younger one, 'I arrange for him to do something and he gets distressed, and so I get distressed, thinking that if he had faith and love towards me he would accept what I tell him with complete confidence.' And the younger was saying, 'Forgive me, reverend father, but he does not speak to me with the fear of God, but rather as someone who wants to give orders. I guess this is why my heart does not have full confidence in him, as the Holy Fathers say.' Notice that each blames the other and neither blames himself. Both of them are getting upset with one another, and although they are begging each other's pardon, they both remain unconvinced 'because he does not from his heart show me deference and, therefore, I am not convinced, for the Fathers say that he should.' And the other says, 'Since he will not have complete confidence in my love until I show him deference, I, for my part, do not have complete confidence in him.' My God, do you see how ridiculous this is? Do you see their perverse way of thinking? God knows how sorry I am about this; that we take the sayings of the Holy Fathers to excuse our own will and the destruction of our souls. Each of these brothers had to throw the blame on the other.... What they really ought to do is just the opposite. The first ought to say: 'I speak with presumption and therefore God does not give my brother confidence in me.' And the other ought to be thinking: 'My brother gives me commands with humility and love, but I am unruly and have not the fear of God.' Neither of them found that way and blamed himself, but each of them vexed the other.
"Don't you see that this is why we make no progress, why we find we have not been helped towards it? We remain all the time against one another, grinding one another down. Because each considers himself right and excuses himself, all the while keeping none of the Commandments yet expecting his neighbor to keep the lot!" [18]
Abba Dorotheus points out a possible objection to this teaching on self-accusation. Someone might say: "Suppose a brother troubles me and I examine myself and find that I have not given him any cause, how can I accuse myself?" To this Abba Dorotheus replies: "If a man really examines himself, in the fear of God, he will usually find that he has given cause for offence, either by deed or word or by his attitude or bearing. But if, in scrutinizing himself, he sees that he has given no cause in any of these ways at that moment, it is likely that at another time he has offended him either in the same circumstances or in others, or perhaps he has offended another brother and he would want to suffer on that account or for some other wrongdoing. If he examines himself in the fear of God and gropes about diligently in his own conscience, he will always find cause for accusing himself." [19]
Here is a recent example of what Abba Dorotheus was writing about. It comes from the wonderful book Counsels for Life: the Life and counsels of a modern Greek Elder, Fr. Epiphanios Theodoropolos, who reposed in 1989. In this book we read: "A former spiritual child of the Elder, acting aimlessly and against the counsel of the Elder, was ordained. Fr. Epiphanios was deeply grieved and declared this to him. Of course, the Elder's grief was misinterpreted by that youth. Thus, one day, the young man came to the Elder's house and, full of anger, without controlling himself, started scolding Fr. Epiphanios and calling him passionate, bitter, envious, egotistical, etc. Bowing and speechless, the Elder listened to him. And while we awaited from moment to moment for the Elder to cut him off like a rushing stream and make him recover from this misbehavior, the Elder suddenly lifted up his eyes and in tears told him, 'Thank you, my child, for all you said. And, furthermore, if you open my heart, you will see that I am worse than what you call me.'" [20]
From this account we see that, according to Abba Dorotheus, "The habit of accusing ourselves will work out well for us and bring us much profit, and nothing else that we can do will bring this about. [21]"
It sometimes happens that, after a quarrel, one person will come to the other and say, "Forgive me, but ..." and then go on to justify himself. In other words, "Forgive me, but I'm right after all." This is not good enough. Yes, the outward form of saying "Forgive me" is there, but behind that outward form is a heart that is still refusing to accuse itself. Our apology should rather be unconditional. We need to acknowledge our own sins, not call attention to the sins of another. We're not responsible before God for the other person's sins, we're only responsible for our own.
As the above examples indicate, if we are at odds with another person, we should not wait for the other person to come to us in repentance before we ourselves apologize. It sometimes happens that a person who is older or of a higher rank will think that his inferior should apologize first. But our Lord Jesus Christ has never said that the lesser one should first ask for forgiveness. If the younger one does not have the sense to take the first step toward reconciliation, then by all means the one who is older or in higher rank should be the first to humble himself. A moving example of such humility is found in the Life of St. John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria, who lived in the seventh century. Once, when St. John was serving the Divine Liturgy, he suddenly remembered that one of his subordinates from the lower clergy was angry with him for something. Then St. John, the Patriarch, left the holy throne, called the lower clergyman to himself, and fell at his feet, asking him for forgiveness. The clergyman was disturbed and ashamed by the great humility of the Patriarch, and himself fell at the Saint's feet and cried with tears, "Forgive me, Father." In this way, St. John showed by example that even those with higher status can ask first for forgiveness and that the humility of the greater affects their subordinates very powerfully. [22]
Yet another example of the power of humility and forgiveness comes from the Life of the above-mentioned Greek Elder, Fr. Epiphanios Theodoropolos:
"Someone thought that the Elder had treated him unjustly. He did not want to accept his explanations for anything. So he went to the Elder, full of anger, and showered him with a storm of accusations and curses. As he peeled an apple, the Elder listened to him silently till the end. As soon as the angry one finished cursing, the Elder offered him a piece, telling him, 'Would you like, my child, a little apple?'
"A second shower of cursing: 'Not from you, hypocrite!'
"The person got up abruptly to leave. Then the Elder stopped him and told him: 'I will only tell you one word. Life has many changes. If you ever end up in need and think that I might be able to help you, don't hesitate to knock on my door, fearing that I will remember these things you told me today. I have already forgotten them. Go with God's blessing, my child!'
"Sure enough, a few years later, the person knocked on the Elder's door—a plain shipwreck of life. Not only was he then aided and supported, but, crushed and humble, he also became a frequent visitor of the Elder's confessional." [23]

7. Endurance

All of the stories I've related so far have ended in the mutual reconciliation of the parties involved. It happens in life, however, that no matter how many attempts one person makes to be reconciled to the other, the other person remains hardened in his malice and will not be reconciled. What is one to do in such cases? The Holy Scriptures and Holy Fathers clearly tell us: Endure. He that shall endure to the end will be saved, says our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 10:22). Our Lord has given us the ultimate example of endurance and forgiveness when He, the Incarnate God, suffered without complaining on Golgotha and prayed on the Cross for his enemies: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). St. Stephen the Archdeacon acted in the same way by praying for his murderers while they were stoning him: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge (Acts 7:60).
According to the Holy Fathers, when we endure injustices without harboring bitterness—this is a kind of martyrdom. It is unto our salvation. Our Lord has told us: Blessed are you, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy: For behold, your reward is great in heaven (Luke 6:22-23).
In his book Strife and Reconciliation, Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev points out: "If we make peace with our enemy, our success is double: we have snatched both ourselves and him from the claws of the evil one. If we do not succeed in persuading our enemy to be reconciled, we should not continue in our spitefulness toward him. We should not hate him as he hates us, so that the loss will not be doubled and our soul not perish together with his. In such cases, the wisest thing to do is to forgive him, so that if he perishes at least we will not be devoured by the devil." [24]
In The Prologue of Ohrid, St. Nikolai Velimirovich relates a profitable tale that powerfully illustrates this point. In the entry for February 9, the Life of the Holy Martyr Nicephorus, we read:
The biography of this martyr clearly demonstrates how God rejects pride and crowns humility and love with glory. There lived in Antioch two close friends, the learned priest Sapricius and the simple layman Nicephorus. Somehow their friendship turned into a terrible hatred for each other. The God-fearing Nicephorus attempted on many occasions to make peace with the priest. However, at no time did Sapricius desire to be reconciled. When a persecution of Christians began in the year 260, the presbyter Sapricius was condemned to death and brought to the place of execution. The sorrowful Nicephorus followed after Sapricius, beseeching him along the way to forgive him before his death, so that they might depart in peace.
"I beseech you, O martyr of Christ," said Nicephorus, "forgive me if I have sinned against you!" Sapricius did not even want to look at his opponent, but quietly and arrogantly walked toward his death. Upon seeing the hardness of the priest's heart, God did not want to accept the sacrifice of his martyrdom and crown him with a wreath, so He mysteriously withheld His Grace. At the last moment, Sapricius denied Christ and declared before the executioners that he would bow down before the idols. So it is with blind hatred! Nicephorus implored Sapricius not to deny Christ, saying, "O my beloved brother, do not do that; do not deny our Lord Jesus Christ; do not forfeit the heavenly wreath!" But all was in vain. Sapricius remained adamant. Then Nicephorus cried out to the executioners, "I too am a Christian; behead me in place of Sapricius!" The executioners informed the judge of this, and the judge ordered the release of Sapricius and beheaded Nicephorus in his place. Nicephorus joyfully lowered his head on the block and was beheaded. Thus, he was made worthy of the Kingdom and was crowned with the immortal wreath of glory. [25]

8. The Law of Forgiveness

Our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a spiritual law: If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matt. 6:14-15).
Elder Sampson affirms that this Divine law is absolute: "No virtue," he says, "can atone for the lack of forgiveness. No podvig [ascetic undertaking], no almsgiving can atone for the refusal to forgive.
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors (Matt. 6:12). That is the only condition for being heard by God, for salvation. You cannot buy off God with formalities. The law of God is an absolute law! That is why it is so painful and difficult for us when we meet souls which are not Christian, that is, souls which have no intention, or even the desire, to forgive." [26]
In the Lives of the Saints, there are many accounts which show that Christ's law regarding forgiveness is truly absolute. For example, in The Spiritual Meadow we read the account of the Desert Father, Abba Isaac:
"Once," says Abba Isaac, "a demon approached me in the form of a youth. 'You are mine,' the demon said. I asked him how he could say that. 'Because three Sundays running you have received Holy Communion while being at daggers-drawn with your neighbor,' he said. I told him he was lying. But he said, 'Are you not harboring a grudge against him because of a plate of lentils? I am the one who is in charge of grudges, and, from now on, you are mine.' When I heard that, I left my cell, went to the brother and prostrated myself before him in order to be reconciled with him. When I returned to my cell I found that the demon had burned my mat on which I prostrated myself, because he was so consumed with jealousy for our love." [27]
An even more sobering tale is found in the Russian Lives of Saints for February 27: the Life of St. Titus of the Kiev Caves, who lived in the twelfth century:
In the Russian monastery of the Kiev Caves there lived a hieromonk by the name of Titus. He and the deacon Evagrius loved each other very much and got along very well. Everyone marveled at their sincere friendship, but the devil then embroiled them so badly that they could not stand each other. When one of them was censing the church, the other one ran away from the incense; and even if he could not escape in time, the first one did not cense him. A long time passed and they lived constantly in this sinful darkness, and thus irreconciled they dared to take Holy Communion. The brothers pleaded with them to make peace, but they would not hear of it.
It was God's Providence that the priest Titus should fall fatally ill. He then began to cry bitterly for his sin and sent people to ask the deacon Evagrius for forgiveness on his behalf. The deacon not only did not forgive him, but he cursed him with bitter words. The brothers, when they saw that Titus was already in agony, brought Evagrius by force to reconcile them. The sick man stood up with great difficulty, fell at the feet of the deacon, and begged him with tears in his eyes, "Forgive me, Father!" But Evagrius callously turned his face away from him and said, "I do not want to forgive him, either here or in the life to come!" As he said these words, he tore himself from the hands of the brothers and fell to the ground. They wanted to lift him up, but they found him dead. At the same time, the blessed Titus was immediately healed. Everyone was terrified by the occurrence and began asking Titus what it meant. Then he told them what he had seen with his spiritual eyes: "When I was ill and I did not give up my anger towards my brother, I saw that the angels were withdrawing from me and were crying over the death of my soul, and that the demons were rejoicing at my anger. That is why I asked you to go to the brother and implore him for his forgiveness for me. When you brought him to me, and I bowed before him and he turned away from me, I saw an angel who was holding a fiery spear and who struck the unforgiving one with it. Immediately, he fell dead. But to me the same angel gave his hand and helped me up, and here I am healthy again." [28]
In the book Strife and Reconciliation, Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev comments on this story:
"How often in life it happens that embittered and irreconciled Christians suddenly leave this world and set out for the Kingdom of Eternity with anger in their souls! What pardon can they expect from God if they themselves have not forgiven those who have sinned against them?! It is terrible to live irreconciled, but it is even worse to die irreconciled! Bitterness and strife make the soul unfit to bear Divine Grace, and thus they destroy it....
"In the Life of St. Basil the New it is said that the last trial with which souls passing to the other world are tested is the trial of mercifulness. This is not by accident, but in accordance with God's law. If we have observed and fulfilled all the commandments and avoided all sins, but we have remained irreconcilable and bitter towards our personal enemies, we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only the merciful will be shown mercy. The man who has been lenient towards others will enjoy God's lenience toward his own weaknesses. The spiteful will remain unforgiven. St. Tikhon of Zadonsk says clearly: 'The doors of God's mercy open before the thieves, murderers, fornicators, publicans, and all other sinners, but they close before the spiteful.'" [29]
In his monastery in Romania, St. Paisius Velichkovsky commanded that, if some disturbance were to occur among the brethren, there must be true reconciliation on that very day, according to the Scripture: Do not let the sun go down on your anger (Eph. 4:26). And if someone were to grow hard in heart, not wishing to be reconciled, he was not allowed over the threshold of the Church, nor allowed to say the "Our Father" until he became reconciled. [30] How could he say without hypocrisy the words, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, unless he had truly forgiven?
By not allowing irreconciled brothers into the church, St. Paisius made them aware that their prayers would not be heard, and they would not be allowed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, if they held onto their resentment. As we enter the church, and especially as we approach the Holy Chalice, let us remember this. Let us remember everything that the Holy Scriptures, the teachings of the Holy Fathers, and the Lives of Saints have told us about how necessary it is to shed our resentments and have a forgiving heart. If we forgive our neighbors their transgressions, then and only then will God forgive us. Then and only then will we be able to pray boldly: And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, because He Himself has said: Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.

9. Offenses as Blessings

If looked at in the right way, the offences that come to us are actually blessings in disguise. They offer us an opportunity to forgive and thus receive God's blessings and Grace. As St. Ignatius Brianchaninov affirms, "All the sorrows and sufferings caused us by other people never come to us except with God's permission for our essential good. If these sorrows and troubles were not absolutely necessary for us, God would never allow them. They are indispensable, in order that we may have occasion to forgive our neighbors and so receive forgiveness for our own sins.... Let us force our heart to accept from our neighbor all kinds of offences and injuries that they may inflict upon us, so as to receive forgiveness for our countless sins." [31]
When we forgive, then our hearts, once darkened and weighed down by the sin of resentment, are made light and free. We receive the ability to attain true, pure prayer, undistracted by any cares or anxieties about ourselves, or by any fears and apprehensions. We live in simplicity of heart, free from care, for, as the Scripture says, Perfect love casts out fear (I John 4:18). This simplicity, this peace and lightness, is a foretaste of the heavenly blessedness that awaits all those who follow the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ: Forgive.
I would like to conclude now with a poem by St. Nikolai Velimirovich, entitled "Forgiveness," which well sums up everything that has been said thus far:
That God may forgive us, let us forgive men.
We are all on this earth as temporary guests.
Prolonged fasting and prayer is in vain
Without forgiveness and true mercy.
God is the true Physician; sins are leprosy.
Whomever God cleanses, God also glorifies.
Every merciful act of men, God rewards with mercy.
He who returns sin with sin perishes without mercy.
Pus is not cleansed by pus from infected wounds,
Neither is the darkness of the dungeon dispelled by darkness,
But pure balm heals the festering wound,
And light disperses the darkness of the dungeon.
To the seriously wounded, mercy is like a balm;
As if seeing a torch dispersing the darkness, everyone rejoices in mercy.
The madman says, "I have no need of mercy!"
But when he is overcome by misery, he cries out for mercy!
Men bathe in the mercy of God,
And that mercy of God wakens us to life!
That God may forgive us, let us forgive men,
We are all on this earth as temporary guests. [32]

The Final Judgment


Every man will stand judgment before God for his life in this world. Each person will be judged according to his words and his works.
I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every idle word they utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:36)
For the Son of Man is to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay every man according to his works. (Matthew 16: 27, cf. Revelation 2:23)
The judge will be Christ Himself, for He is the one who, by His suffering and death, has received the power to judge. It is the Crucified One who will call men to account at the end of the ages. He has won this right as a man through the perfection of His human life.
For the Father… has given Him the authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man. (John 5:27)
Christ will judge all men exclusively on the basis of how they have served Him by serving all men - the least of the brethren.
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate them one from an- other as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and He will place the sheep at His right hand, but the goats at the left.
Then the King will say to those at His right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’
Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry and feed Thee, or thirsty and give Thee drink? And when did we see Thee a stranger and welcome Thee, or naked and clothe Thee? And when did we see Thee sick or in prison and visit Thee?
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’
Then He will say to those at His left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire pre- pared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to Thee?’
Then He will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’
And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25: 31-46)
All spiritual life is fulfilled in this one parable of Christ, for the heart of it is love, both for God and for man.
In commenting on this teaching about the final judgment, Saint Augustine has said that Christ Himself is truly the one who is found in all of these conditions, just as He is the one who is the Savior in each of them.
He Himself was hungry; who is the “bread of life,” which if a man eats of it, he will never hunger again. (John 6:35)
He Himself was thirsty, crying out “I thirst!” (John 19:28); who gives the “living water,” which, if a man drinks of it, he will never thirst again. (John 4:13, 6:35, 7:37)
He Himself was a stranger with “no place to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20, Luke 9:58), who “came to His own home, and His own people received Him not” (John 1:11); who brings all men home to the heavenly house of the Father. (John 14:1-2)
He Himself was naked, in the manger in Bethlehem, in the streams of the Jordan, and on the cross of Golgatha; who clothes all men with Himself (Galatians 3:27), and with the “robes of salvation.” (Isaiah 61:10, Revelation 6:11)
He Himself was sick, “wounded for our transgressions” and “bruised for our iniquities,” left alone hanging on the cross (Isaiah 53:5, Matthew 26:56); who Himself heals all the wounds of men, for “with His wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
He Himself was in prison, arrested as a criminal and thrown into jail, forsaken by His disciples (Matthew 26:56, 27); who Himself proclaims “liberty to the captives” (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18), setting men free from everything that binds them, and forgiving their crimes.
Since Christ has identified Himself wholly with every man, in every one of his sad and most sorrowful states, the person who “does it to the least of his brethren” does it to Christ Himself - not “as if” to Christ, but to Christ in reality, for Christ is most truly within every man, and every man is the bearer of Christ, the “image of the invisible God.” (Colossians 1:15)
St. Simeon the New Theologian gives the following teaching about the parable of the final judgment:
The Son of God has become the Son of Man in order to make us men sons of God, raising our nature by grace to what He is Himself by nature, granting us birth from above through the grace of the Holy Spirit and leading us straightway into the Kingdom of heaven, or rather, granting us the Kingdom of heaven within us….
A man is not saved by having once shown mercy to someone…for “I was hungry” and “I was thirsty” is said not of one occasion, not of one day, but of the whole of life. In the same way, “you gave me food,” “you gave me drink,” “you clothed me,” and so on, does not merely indicate one incident or action, but a constant attitude to everyone always. Our Lord Jesus Christ said that He Himself accepts such mercy…in the persons of the needy.
...it is Him whom we feed in every beggar…Him whom we have left to die in our neglect…Our Lord was pleased to assume the kindness of every poor man…in order that no one who believes in Him should exalt himself over his brother, but seeing his Lord in his brother, should consider himself beneath him…and honor him, and be ready to exhaust all his means in helping him, just as our Lord exhausted His blood for our salvation.
A man who is commanded to love his neighbor as himself should do so…for his entire lifetime…A man who loves his neighbor as himself cannot allow himself to possess anything more than his neighbor; so that if he has more and does not distribute them without envy…he does not fulfill our Lord’s command exactly.
If he who possesses…disdains even one who does not…he will still be regarded as one who has disdained Christ our Lord.
His words, “you have done it unto me,” are not limited only to those to whom we have been unkind, or whom we have wronged, or whose possessions we have taken, or whom we have harmed, but include also those whom we have disdained. - This latter alone is sufficient for our condemnation for, in disdaining them, we have disdained Christ Himself.
All this may appear too hard for people and they may think it right to say to themselves: “Who can strictly follow all this, satisfying and feeding every- one and leaving no one unsatisfied?” Let them listen to St. Paul: “For the love of Christ compels us…” (2 Corinthians 5:14)
...a man who gives all…has fulfilled the particular commandments in one stroke…as he who prays constantly has fulfilled the rules of prayer…and he who has God in himself…has accomplished everything…(Practical and Theological Precepts)
It is also the teaching of the spiritual masters that what must be given to all men is Christ Himself: the Bread of Life, the Living Water, the Home of the Father, the robes of salvation, the healing of wounds, the liberation and forgiveness of all sins. In this sense every man, no matter how rich or how righteous, is poor, hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, sinful and imprisoned by evil and death. Thus to “do it to the least of the brethren” is to offer Christ to all men, to give them the eternal and unending satisfaction of all their needs and desires: bread which is never consumed, water which eternally satisfies, a home which is never lost, garments which do not grow old, healing which never suffers again, liberation which can never revert to captivity. Thus, “to do it to the least of the brethren” is to bring them the Kingdom of God. In doing this one offers to all men and so to Christ Himself what already belongs to them from God; as in the liturgy of the Church we offer to God that which already is His. In every case, this is Christ Himself.
We offer to Thee, what is already Thine, on behalf of all, and for all. (Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom)
This, therefore, is perfect love; the love of God and the love of man, the love for God and the love for man, becoming one and the same love. It is accomplished in Christ and is Christ. To love with this love is to love with the love of Christ and to fulfill His “new commandment” to “love one another even as I have loved you.” (John 13:34-35, 15:12) In this is the whole of spiritual life. In this, and this alone, man will be finally judged. It is the crown of all virtue and prayer, the ultimate and most perfect fruit of God’s Spirit in man.

Sunday 12 May 2013

3rd Week of Pascha – MONDAY. The Healing of the Nobleman’s Son, JOHN 4:46-54




How does one glean deep and subtle meanings from scripture?
The superior faith of the Samaritans
Signs and Wonders
The Nobleman compared to the Centurion

The meaning in Scripture is often very subtle, and not immediately obvious on the surface. Today’s reading is especially subtle in one of its important messages.

Blessed Theophylact comments that St John made a point to remind us about the miracle in Cana (a ciy of the Jews) to underscore the superiority of the faith of the Samaritans, as he had just finished recounting the story of the woman at the well, and how the Samaritans gladly received Jesus and believed in Him even though He did not do any miracles in their presence:

So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.  (41)  And many more believed because of his own word;  (42)  And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. (John 4:40-42)

The superiority of the Samaritan’s faith to that of the haughty Jews (who hated the Samaritans and considered them to be unclean heretics and inferiors) is further emphasized by our Lord’s rebuke, spoken to a Jew (for the nobleman was certainly a Jew in good standing among his people):

48. Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

The nobleman’s weak faith  also shows a marked contrast with that of the Samaritans:

49. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.

He could not believe that Jesus could heal without seeing his son, and blessed Theophylact further tells us that he was very afraid that his son would die, and that Christ would be unable to raise him. He only believed Jesus power to heal after he heard from his servants, who met him as he went back to his home:

51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. 52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

Of course, it is wonderful that the man’s weak faith was made strong by the incident, and his entire household believed.

At the end of this incident, St John again stresses the weak faith of the Jews, by again mentioning that Jesus had done two miracles among the Jews. The Samaritans had believed with no miracles, and the Jews needed two miracles, and only a few believed.

54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.


There is nothing in the Gospel which explicitly exalts the faith of the Samaritans over that of the Jews, but in several ways, the Gospel makes this point strongly, although subtly.

How does one glean such deep meanings from the Scripture? There are several ways; we must do them all.

We must be students of the Scriptures; it must be familiar to us because of long time association with its content. In other words, we must read it, a LOT.

We also must be “doer’s of the law and not hearers only” – no amount of reading the scripture divorced from trying to follow it will give us understanding in things that matter.

Of course, anybody who reads and studies something enough will know much about it, but the knowledge that saves is only available to those who read and attempt to follow the scripture! 

We also must be liturgical people. Our services explain the hidden points of the scriptures every day. A person who reads the scriptures for understanding and neglects frequent, attentive worship in as many services as possible is like a man who studies physics but does not understand algebra. The services explain everything, either explicitly, or by framing and shaping our minds in a way which make us able to understand the Scriptures.

It is also very helpful the read the Holy Fathers, but without the first three, above, reading the Fathers is an endeavor that can only lead to deficient knowledge and boasting.


A few other things about this scripture selection.

A “sign” is something that does not contradict the usual laws of nature, such as healing the sick. A “wonder” is a miracle that appears the contradict the usual laws of nature, such as making the blind see, or raising the dead.

This healing is similar to the healing of the Centurion’s servant (Mat 8:5-13), but it is not the same. Blessed Theophylact goes to some pains to explain this. The differences are many. The nobleman was a Jew; the centurion, although a man of faith, was an officially pagan Roman soldier. The nobleman’s son was ill with a fever, the centurion’s servant with paralysis. The location of the healings was different: the centurion encountered Christ after he had come off the mountain following His transfiguration and entered Capernaum, and the nobleman saw Christ after He left Samaria and entered Cana. The most important difference, of course, is that the centurion had stronger faith, which the Lord praised:


The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.  (9)  For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.  (10)  When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” (Mat 8:8-10)



JOHN 4:46-54  46 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. 48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. 49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. 50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. 52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. 54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.