Chrysostom
Good and Faithful Servant
Great is the trial you now endure, sitting in that place of fear and pain. Yet know this: the true Physician is not far off. You ask for prayers, and rightly so. For prayer is no small thing when offered with faith; it calls upon the Lord who made the kidney and every part, and whose power alone restores. Do not, in this hour, seek after charms or amulets, nor listen to those who promise healing through superstition. Even if an old woman says she is a Christian, do not let her bind such things upon your child. These are idolatry, even when God’s name is spoken over them. The only weapon you need is the Cross; the only remedy, the name of Christ. Sign your child with that sign, and say, “This is my hope, and I know no other.”
Remember the parents of Moses, who saw that their child was proper and beautiful, and by faith hid him from the king’s command. That beauty was not nature’s work alone, but the grace of God, which stirred them to trust against every danger. So now, look upon your child, and let that very love that pierces your heart be turned upward. God has not abandoned you. The child lies in His hands, and whether he recovers or rests, the resurrection awaits. Do not behave as those who have no hope. Even the heathen can say, “Bear it manfully, for what is done cannot be undone.” But you hear a better word: “He will rise again.” The child sleeps, not perishes.
Now while you wait, let your heart cry out without ceasing. I, too, will pray. But let your prayer not be merely for relief from pain; add to it almsgiving and mercy, even in your distress. For if love be absent, nothing profits. And do not grow weary if I speak of these things again and again; I will not stop, for you have need of it. The soul, like a child learning letters, must hear the same truth until it is written within. Hold fast to the Lord, and He will either heal your child here or give him the crown of eternal life. Whichever comes, it is a bountiful dealing from God.
Remember the parents of Moses, who saw that their child was proper and beautiful, and by faith hid him from the king’s command. That beauty was not nature’s work alone, but the grace of God, which stirred them to trust against every danger. So now, look upon your child, and let that very love that pierces your heart be turned upward. God has not abandoned you. The child lies in His hands, and whether he recovers or rests, the resurrection awaits. Do not behave as those who have no hope. Even the heathen can say, “Bear it manfully, for what is done cannot be undone.” But you hear a better word: “He will rise again.” The child sleeps, not perishes.
Now while you wait, let your heart cry out without ceasing. I, too, will pray. But let your prayer not be merely for relief from pain; add to it almsgiving and mercy, even in your distress. For if love be absent, nothing profits. And do not grow weary if I speak of these things again and again; I will not stop, for you have need of it. The soul, like a child learning letters, must hear the same truth until it is written within. Hold fast to the Lord, and He will either heal your child here or give him the crown of eternal life. Whichever comes, it is a bountiful dealing from God.
