Chrysostom
Humble Servant of All
You have brought before the church the bodily afflictions of your mother and father, and it is fitting that we entreat the Lord for their health. Yet as we ask for relief from these pains, we must recall that the body's distress often serves to wake the soul from slumber. The physician treats the flesh, but God alone heals both soul and body, and His mercy endures forever.
Your mother suffers under diabetes and a fungal darkness in the lungs. Weakness of the frame is no strange thing among the saints; even Timothy, that faithful disciple, was often infirm in his stomach, and the Apostle did not chide him for it but counseled a little wine for his relief. So we are not wrong to seek remedies and to pray for the easing of her breath. But let her and you together look past the physical mending to the greater healing. The blood of Christ, which He gave for the life of the world, purges away every stain of sin and imparts a wholeness that no earthly medicine can match. If the blood of calves and goats under the old covenant could bring a shadow of cleansing, how much more will the very blood of the Son of God, shed for the remission of sins, bring true and lasting peace? Encourage her, as she lies on her bed, to draw near in spirit to that altar where the Lamb is offered, and to whisper not only for the lungs but for the soul. For He who said, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ye have no life in you,” taught us that eternal life is bound up in Communion with Him. That is the health that cannot decay.
For your father, you name a host of troubles: eyesight dimming, head throbbing with pain, the urinary passages obstructed, feet swelling, blood pressure rising. The body groans under the weight of years and weakness, and the cares of this world press in like thorns choking the word. But recall the woman with the issue of blood, who had spent all she had on physicians and grew worse. Aware of her uncleanness, she trembled yet came to Him, not with loud demands but in secret hope, touching the hem of His garment. She sought only the body’s healing, yet Christ gave her more than she asked, He called her “daughter” and sent her away in peace. So too bring your father before the Lord, not as one commanding, but as one trusting. Cast all these infirmities upon His tender care, for He is not a man that He should be weak, but God all-powerful. The same Lord who looked upon Peter in his fall and melted him into tears of repentance also looks upon every sufferer with a mercy that restores.
Yet do not let these petitions become entangled with the deceitfulness of riches or the vain worry of this world. The body will return to dust; it is the soul that lives forever. We ask for good health, as Paul did for Timothy, but we ask with this condition: that whatever befalls, the inner man be renewed day by day. Even if the eyesight fails, Christ is the light of the world; if the feet swell, the path to heaven is trodden by faith; if the blood pressure surges, the blood of the New Covenant speaks a better word than that of Abel. All these physical trials may be permitted to draw your parents away from trust in themselves and closer to the One who alone can say, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk.”
So let them not be anxious, but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let their requests be made known to God. Let them, if possible, partake of the holy mysteries with a contrite heart, for therein is the medicine of immortality, not a type or shadow, but the true body and true blood which purge the conscience from dead works. As they taste that cup, they taste the love that conquers death, and every earthly affliction grows lighter.
May the Lord of mercy, who foreordained redemption through His Son, grant them patience in suffering, wisdom for those who treat them, and, if it be His will, a restoration of bodily strength. But above all, may He grant them that eternal life which is in His Son alone, and make their souls whole and spotless to stand before His throne. Commit them, therefore, not to the skill of physicians only, but to the tender hands that were pierced for our transgressions. That is the truest healing, and that is the hope that does not disappoint.
Your mother suffers under diabetes and a fungal darkness in the lungs. Weakness of the frame is no strange thing among the saints; even Timothy, that faithful disciple, was often infirm in his stomach, and the Apostle did not chide him for it but counseled a little wine for his relief. So we are not wrong to seek remedies and to pray for the easing of her breath. But let her and you together look past the physical mending to the greater healing. The blood of Christ, which He gave for the life of the world, purges away every stain of sin and imparts a wholeness that no earthly medicine can match. If the blood of calves and goats under the old covenant could bring a shadow of cleansing, how much more will the very blood of the Son of God, shed for the remission of sins, bring true and lasting peace? Encourage her, as she lies on her bed, to draw near in spirit to that altar where the Lamb is offered, and to whisper not only for the lungs but for the soul. For He who said, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ye have no life in you,” taught us that eternal life is bound up in Communion with Him. That is the health that cannot decay.
For your father, you name a host of troubles: eyesight dimming, head throbbing with pain, the urinary passages obstructed, feet swelling, blood pressure rising. The body groans under the weight of years and weakness, and the cares of this world press in like thorns choking the word. But recall the woman with the issue of blood, who had spent all she had on physicians and grew worse. Aware of her uncleanness, she trembled yet came to Him, not with loud demands but in secret hope, touching the hem of His garment. She sought only the body’s healing, yet Christ gave her more than she asked, He called her “daughter” and sent her away in peace. So too bring your father before the Lord, not as one commanding, but as one trusting. Cast all these infirmities upon His tender care, for He is not a man that He should be weak, but God all-powerful. The same Lord who looked upon Peter in his fall and melted him into tears of repentance also looks upon every sufferer with a mercy that restores.
Yet do not let these petitions become entangled with the deceitfulness of riches or the vain worry of this world. The body will return to dust; it is the soul that lives forever. We ask for good health, as Paul did for Timothy, but we ask with this condition: that whatever befalls, the inner man be renewed day by day. Even if the eyesight fails, Christ is the light of the world; if the feet swell, the path to heaven is trodden by faith; if the blood pressure surges, the blood of the New Covenant speaks a better word than that of Abel. All these physical trials may be permitted to draw your parents away from trust in themselves and closer to the One who alone can say, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk.”
So let them not be anxious, but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let their requests be made known to God. Let them, if possible, partake of the holy mysteries with a contrite heart, for therein is the medicine of immortality, not a type or shadow, but the true body and true blood which purge the conscience from dead works. As they taste that cup, they taste the love that conquers death, and every earthly affliction grows lighter.
May the Lord of mercy, who foreordained redemption through His Son, grant them patience in suffering, wisdom for those who treat them, and, if it be His will, a restoration of bodily strength. But above all, may He grant them that eternal life which is in His Son alone, and make their souls whole and spotless to stand before His throne. Commit them, therefore, not to the skill of physicians only, but to the tender hands that were pierced for our transgressions. That is the truest healing, and that is the hope that does not disappoint.
