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News
and Announcements
Remember
to Study the Scriptures:
Have you had a chance to read the 10 questions about the Myrrh-bearing
Women? Last week, I asked everyone to sit down together at home and read
through them. There is a lot to learn, and so little time in our life to
learn what is really important. I am trying to make it a little easier.
I know the Scriptures and Traditions of the church can be overwhelming
- where does one start? The reason for the 10 questions is to give us a
place to start, in a way that is "painless". My writing will do nobody
any good unless they take these things and study them at home. Please make
sure to do this every week - perhaps you can relax on Sunday afternoon
and do this.
Christians must know the Scriptures well. Many times, the knowledge
of the Scriptures will drive off despondency, or keep us from committing
a sin. We must recognize this source of grace that we too often ignore.
Let us make a serious resolution to learn from the scriptures. Let the
"10 questions" be a starting point for those who have not started, or perhaps
get stopped often along the way.
"Great is the profit of the divine Scriptures, and all-sufficient
is the aid which comes from them. And Paul declared this when he said,
"Whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written aforetime for our
admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come, that we through patience
and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." (Romans 15:4, and 1
Corinthians 10:11) For the divine oracles are a treasury of all manner
of medicines, so that whether it be needful to quench pride, to lull desire
to sleep, to tread under foot the love of money, to despise pain, to inspire
confidence, to gain patience, from them one may find abundant resource."(St
John Chrysostom, Homilies on John, HOMILY 37 (JOHN 5:6,7)
All
this month:
We do not say "O Heavenly King" but substitute "Christ
is risen..." 3 times, until the Apodosis of Pascha (May 14/27).
After this, until Pentecost, we omit "Christ is risen...". Wherever
you see "O Heavenly King..." just skip over to the next prayer.
Make
plans for Ascension
Ascension Thursday is May 20th (according to the civil calendar).
We will have Vigil the evening before at 6:30 PM and Divine Liturgy Thursday
morning at 6 AM. YOU CAN DO IT! Please make plans to attend these
services.
Questions
about the Sunday of the Paralytic
QUESTION 1
In the Scriptures, physical afflictions like paralysis, blindness, and
leprosy often indicate or point to an even more serious problem. What is
it?
QUESTION 2
According to the Scriptures, the witness of the Fathers, and the overall
mind of the Church, what are at least two causes or reasons for physical
infirmities?
QUESTION 3
What was the reaction of the Jews when Jesus healed the paralytic? Why?
QUESTION 4
Tell the story of the healing of the paralytic by the sheep's pool in
your own words.
QUESTION 5
The healing took place during a feast. Speculate as to which one it
may have been. In the services, the answer seems to have been given.
QUESTION 6
Why and how long did the paralytic wait for healing at the sheep's pool?
Why is this pool so called? What made the water have healing properties?
QUESTION 7
What is pointed to by the healing in the water?
QUESTION 8
Who was the angel who "troubled the water"? Why do we know this?
QUESTION 9
What is significant about the paralytic's explanation for why he was
not healed?
QUESTION 10
Compare and contrast the healing of the paralytic at the sheep's
pool with the paralytic healed at Peter's house.
Is Cassie
Bernall a Martyr?
An
Orthodox Christian answer
Background:
This is a response to a private question
about the heroic actions of Cassie Bernall, who was one of the victims
in the Columbine high school massacre. According to an article in the Boston
Globe on 04/24/99 (written by Eileen McNamara): "She walked into Columbine
High School on Tuesday morning, a promising student. She was carried out
more than 24 hours later a Christian martyr. ''Do you believe in God,''
one of the heavily armed gunmen asked the shy blond girl reading her Bible
in the library while her school was under siege. ''Yes, I believe in God,''
she replied in a voice strong enough to be heard by classmates cowering
under
nearby tables and desks. The gunman in the long black trench coat laughed.
''Why?'' he asked mockingly. Then he raised his gun and shot and killed
17-year-old Cassie Bernall. "
Dear .......
Christ is risen!
I am just getting back to you about your question. There is no doubt
that her story is inspiring, and should warm the heart of all Orthodox
Christians. To determine whether Cassie should be supplicated as a martyr,
we must cautiously look at church tradition. The faithful are slow to absolutely
declare such things, unless there is overwhelming evidence. God reveals
His righteous ones in His time, and we Orthodox Christians wait patiently
for His will to be done.
Cassie was not in the Church when she died after her heroic confession.
The best answer I can give to your question, therefore, is that God knows
about her. We do not judge one way or the other, because the fate of those
who die outside the Church is unknown to us. I personally think it is a
great temptation to dwell on the state of righteous people who die outside
the Church. I leave the question alone - I have found that people tend
to look at things in an overly emotional way, and make great compromises
about the faith because of their emotional state.
The demons who push ecumenism are always present when we ponder such
questions, ready to pounce like a lion, and obliterate the very real lines
that exist between the True Faith and false religion. As a minister of
the true Gospel, I must try to make sure that those I teach live rightly
and believe rightly in all things. I try to encourage balance on issues
such as this, because there is much to be lost if a person compromises
their faith because of external evidences. Unfortunately, too many Orthodox
already have lost the ability to discern where the Church is and where
it is not, and this lack of ability imperils them greatly.
Cassie is a HERO, and I rejoice because of her confession. As a pastor,
I pray that my flock would make such a confession. I cannot pray to her
as a martyr, and I cannot deny that she is a martyr, and is blessed. I
simply (as an Orthodox Christian, obedient to the Church), cannot answer
the question, and am content with this. God knows.
The
Purpose of pain
As we have seen, man broke the moral law and rebelled against the moral
order. To punish man, God permits pain and physical evil. However, He has
another reason. God, who is good, gives pain a
purpose.
The purpose of pain is the healing of the soul. God permits pain,
not only to punish the transgressor and the rebel, but also to heal him--primarily
to heal him , to save him, to do him good.
What do doctors do, in order to counteract bacteria, to neutralize a
sickness, to restore a human organism to health? They give drugs, many
times bitter and unpleasant tasting. They perform
operations, which are often painful and exhausting. They impose diets,
many times long and rigid. God also uses such methods; or rather, the wisdom
and goodness of God present an incomparably wiser combination for the chastising
affliction. It looks like He punishes sin, because pain is, of course,
punishment. It establishes the prestige of His law, which the sinning person
violates. With pain, however, He also heals the soul, poisoned by sin.
His intervening love gives pain a healing quality. He changes it into a
drug which draws the poison from the soul. He uses it as surgery, which
removes the malignant tumor of sin from the soul, and destroys the death-bearing
microbe and saves the soul from eternal death. He uses it as a kind of
spiritual diet which hinders the advance of sin. He nails the sinner to
a bed of sickness, in order to prepare his repentance, his conversion,
his restoration to spiritual health. Thus pain, even though it comes from
sin, is changed by the wise educator, by the unique physician of the soul,
by God, into a medicine of the highest quality, for the healing of sin.
But does God really need to use pain, grief, privation, and tears, to
draw the sinner to repentance?
Here is another torturing perplexity for men who don't know the wisdom
and love of God. How shall we answer it?
We answer that for most men pain is the only means by which they will
repent and be saved. For others, it is the superior, invigorating medicine
which will make them perfect. Even experienced doctors can make mistakes
and use drastic therapy, when milder and gentler means would bring the
same results. The infallible physician, however, the all-wise God, never.
He is always right. Undoubtedly, when the prodigal son announced his decision
to rebel, his father gave him advice and warned him. He used all the means
of pressure which are applied to free men in order to make them willingly
obey the law of God. But these methods are weak and feeble, when sin fills
the mind with the fruits of egotistical rebellion, when it hardens the
heart with its lust and poison, when it imprisons the will with its demonic
impulses. Then, only "the discipline of the Lord, openeth the ears." Only
pain softens the heart, as fire softens iron, only pain makes the heart
long for repentance; it clears the mind so that it can see and hate the
trickery of sin; it frees the will so that it can decide to make its return.
Only when the prodigal lost his riches, only when he became a wretched
slave and a debased swine herder, naked and hungry, only then did "he come
to himself"; he realized that he was lost and he made the heroic decision:
"I will arise and go to my father, and I will say unto him, Father, I have
sinned." If the paralytic of Capernaum, whom they lowered through the roof
in order to reach the Lord, had not been thrown into bed as a living corpse,
by a painful disease, it is doubtful if he ever would have left sin, and
if he ever would have approached the Savior. Finally, purified by disease
and repenting, he heard the Savior say, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."
If the other paralytic of Bethesda, who was bed-ridden for 38 years, had
not been purified in the furnace of pain, from the corrosion of sin, he
never would have known the Savior and heard the saving commandment (which
also applies to us): "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."
For, in addition to the persistent diseases and life long afflictions of
earth, there are even worse pains which the unrepentant person might finally
experience. So there is no medicine more beneficial than
pain, and no higher purpose than repentance and return to God. This
is the target which pain aims at and sorrow works for. There is no knowledge
more useful to man, and especially to the Christian, than this knowledge
about the purpose of pain.
How many tears would be wiped away, how much darkness would be made
light, how many hearts would be comforted, how many sufferers would more
quickly find the solution to their pain, if only they wanted to learn about
God's beneficial purpose, and to believe in it. Surely then they would
see that pain is the beneficial knife of the Surgeon-Physician. Not only
would they suffer patiently, but they would gratefully thank the Good Physician.
They deserted Him, but He did not desert them. They forsook Him, but He
visited them through pain; He called them through pain, He guided them
with pain to the sorrowless and blessed life.
Quoted from the book "For the Hours
of Pain" by The "ZOE" Brotherhood of Theologians Athens Greece.
Gleanings
from the Fathers
Let
us become like Christ…
"Let us become like Christ, since Christ became like us. Let us become
Gods because of Him, since He for us became man. He took upon Himself a
low degree that He might give us higher one. He became poor, that through
His poverty we might become rich (II Cor. Viii.9). He took upon Himself
the form of a servant (Phil. ii.7) that we might be delivered from slavery
(Rom. viii.21). He came down that we might rise up. He was tempted that
we might learn to overcome. He was despised that we might be given honour.
He died that He might save us from death. He ascended to heaven that we
who lie prone in sin may be lifted up to Him.
We
must know what Pascha Is
Now since you are celebrating the holy Pasch, you should know, brethren,
what the Pasch is. Pasch means, the crossing-over; and so the Festival
is called by this name. For it was on this day that the Children of Israel
crossed over out of Egypt, and the Son of God crossed over from this world
to His Father. What gain is it to celebrate the Pasch unless you imitate
Him Whom you worship; that is, unless you cross over from Egypt, that is,
from the darkness of evildoing to the light of virtue, and from the love
of this world to the love of your heavenly home? (St
Ambrose)
For there are many who celebrate this holy festival, and honour this
solemnity, and yet do not so unworthily and because of their own wickedness;
because they will not cross over from this world to their Father, that
is they will not cross over from the desires of this world, and from the
bodily delights, to the love of heaven. O unhappy Christians, who still
remain in Egypt, that is, under the power of the devil, and taking delight
in this evil! Because of these things I warn you, Brethren, that you must
celebrate the Pasch worthily, that is, that you cross over. Whosoever among
you who are in sin, and celebrate this festival, let you cross over from
evil doing to the life of virtue. Whosoever among you are just living,
let you pass from virtue to virtue; so that there shall be none among you
who has not crossed over. (St Ambrose)
O
man!
Be heedful to your soul, because there is only one in you, and there
is only one time for your life, and the end is unknown, which is death
and the spaces of the air are impenetrable and filled with your enemies.
There will not be then another helper but good deeds. Pay heed to yourself
so you will not be repenting for endless ages. Pray ceaselessly, and spend
day after day in heedfulness unto the salvation of your soul.
St. Paisius Velichkovsky, Little Russian
Philokalia, Vol. IV.
I
have no man…
In Solomon's Porch there lay a multitude of sick. And at Mid-feast Christ
found there a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight and thirty years.
To him He called out with a voice of authority: Wouldst thou be made whole?
And the infirm replied: Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled,
to put me into the pool. And He saith unto him: Take up thy bed. Behold,
thou art become whole, sin not again. By the intercessions of the Theotokos,
O Lord, send down to us Thy great mercy.
Glory of the Aposticha of Vespers for
Sunday of the Paralytic.
Answers
to Questions about the Sunday of the Paralytic
ANSWER 1
Physical afflictions are often an indicator or reminder of the more
serious afflictions that beset all men - sins, and the passions which are
the major cause of them. Our passions are like blindness or paralysis,
because they impair our ability to live a righteous life, and cause us
to miss the knowledge of God, as a blind man cannot see and a paralyzed
man cannot go where he wants. This connection between the passions and
sin and physical afflictions is well known in the mind of the church. This
is not to say that sin always CAUSES physical afflictions. This is possible,
however, in every case, afflictions are a reminder of our primary affliction
and need for God.
Our Lord makes the connection between sin and afflictions repeatedly.
In many cases, He forgave a man's sins before he healed him of his physical
infirmity, to affect a complete healing and regeneration of the man. In
other cases, he healed someone of their physical infirmity first, then
later enlightened them concerning Himself (such as in the case of the man
born without eyes), or reminded them about sin, which is their major affliction.
One could say, and reclaim a highly charged word, that he is a "holistic"
healer. The whole concept of healing and well being is profoundly different
in the mind of the church than anywhere else. Physical infirmity is recognized
as sometimes grievous, and sometimes as a great blessing, but healing from
any infirmity is tied closely with the entire healing of soul and body
that all Christians should seek.
As of old Thou didst raise up the paralytic, O Lord God, / by Thy
God-like care and might, / raise up my soul which is palsied / by diverse
sins and transgressions / and by unseemly deeds and acts, / that, saved
I may also cry out: / O Compassionate Redeemer, O Christ God, // glory
to Thy dominion and might. (Kontakion
for the Sunday of the Paralytic, Tone 3)
Let us site some examples of how Christ ties physical healing to the
entire spiritual healing of a man.
Healing from sins, then physical infirmity:
"And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying
on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy;
Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. ... {6} But that ye may
know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith
he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine
house. (Matthew 9:2,6, also recounted
in Mark and Luke)
Healing from physical infirmity, then enlightenment:
"And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through
the midst of Samaria and Galilee. {12} And as he entered into a certain
village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off.
{14} And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the
priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. {15}
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with
a loud voice glorified God, {16} And fell down on his face at his feet,
giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. {17} And Jesus answering said,
Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? {18} There are not
found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. {19} And
he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole."(Luke
17: 11,14-19)
"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
... {6} ... He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he
anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, {7} And said unto him,
Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He
went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. ...{35} Jesus heard
that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him,
Dost thou believe on the Son of God? {36} He answered and said, Who is
he, Lord, that I might believe on him? {37} And Jesus said unto him, Thou
hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. {38} And he said,
Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. (John
9:1-38, parts)
"After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
{2} Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called
in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda ... {5} And a certain man was there, which
had an infirmity thirty and eight years. {6} When Jesus saw him lie, and
knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him,
Wilt thou be made whole? ... {8} Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy
bed, and walk. {9} And immediately the man was made whole, and took up
his bed, and walked... {14} Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple,
and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse
thing come unto thee". (John 5:1-15,
parts)
ANSWER 2
It is clear that physical infirmities are sometimes because of a man's
sins. The story of the healing of the paralytic shows this truth, as Jesus
warns the man about his sins when He finds him in the temple. Some sins
directly cause infirmity, such as smoking or alcohol abuse or promiscuity.
Sometimes sins cause physical infirmity in a less direct way, and the Fathers
understand these afflictions to be a call to repentance for the erring
man.
In some cases, however, there is no sin in a man's life, but the affliction
is present for his edification and enlightenment, and sometimes to show
the glory of God, whether the man is eventually healed, as was the case
in the man born blind, or bears up under his infirmity with courage, patience
and thanksgiving, as was the case in Lazarus, who lay at the gate of the
rich man.
"A FEARFUL thing is sin, fearful, and the ruin of the soul, and the
mischief oftentimes through its excess has overflowed and attacked men's
bodies also. For since for the most part when the soul is diseased we feel
no pain, but if the body receive though but a little hurt, we use every
exertion to free it from its infirmity, because we are sensible of the
infirmity, therefore God oftentimes punisheth the body for the transgressions
of the soul, so that by means of the scourging of the inferior part, the
better part also may receive some healing." (St
John Chrysostom, Homily 38 on John)
"'What then,' saith one, 'do all diseases proceed from sin?' Not
all, but most of them; and some proceed from different kinds of loose living,
since gluttony, intemperance, and sloth, produce such like sufferings.
(Ibid.)
ANSWER 3
The Jewish leaders were incensed when they saw Jesus heal on the Sabbath
day, because of jealousy and hardness of heart.
"...And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay
him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. (John
5:16)
"A word alone made strong the paralytic, / since it had been uttered
by the universal Word, / Who had appeared upon the earth out of His love
and compassion. / Wherefore, he departed hence and went forth bearing his
own bed, / and the scribes, although they saw / this great deed which was
brought to pass, / since they were held by evil and palsied in soul by
their envy, // they endured not." (Sessional
Hymn after the third ode of the Canon at matins for the Sunday of the Paralytic,
sung in tone 3, special melody "Awed by the beauty")
ANSWER 4
During a particular feast of the Jews, Jesus went to Jerusalem, and
encountered a paralytic who had been laying for 38 years by the "sheep's
pool", which was a place where the sheep were washed before sacrifice.
Once a year, an angel would stir up the water, and the one person who reached
the water first was healed of his infirmity. The paralytic waited for healing,
even though he had no one to help him get into the water. Jesus healed
him, and told him to take up his bed and walk. He was healed on the Sabbath
day, and the wicked Jewish leaders interrogated the man concerning this,
and were greatly angered. Later, Jesus found the man in the temple, where
undoubtedly he was thanking God, and warned him to take care to sin no
more, lest a worse thing befall him.
There is much meaning in this small, simple story. We can see a pointer
towards a great Christian mystery, and we see Jesus as the only "man" who
we can have to heal us of our infirmities - physical and spiritual. We
also see the outrageous inhumanity (or, shall we say, ungodliness, since
man is made in God's own image) of man, when he is consumed by jealousy.
ANSWER 5
The Jews celebrated three main feasts, Passover (or Pascha), Pentecost,
and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Evangelist does not mention which feast,
but the proximity of the commemoration of healing of the paralytic to Mid-Pentecost
in the Paschal season, causes one to surmise that it was at Mid-Pentecost
that the paralytic was healed. The Jews celebrated Pentecost as a "feast
of weeks" being 50 days in duration, and Mid-Pentecost was celebrated at
the midpoint of this time. Christians have continued this practice. The
services for this Sunday mention Mid-Pentecost:
"In Solomon's Porch there lay a multitude of sick. / And at Mid-feast
Christ found there a paralytic / who had been bedridden for eight and thirty
years. / To him He called out with a voice of authority: / wouldst thou
be made whole? / And the infirm replied: / Sir, I have no man, / when the
water is troubled, to put me into the pool. / And He saith unto him: /
Take up thy bed. / Behold, thou art become whole, sin not again. / By the
intercessions of the Theotokos, // O Lord, send down to us Thy great mercy."(Glory
at the Aposticha, Vespers for the Sunday of the Paralytic, Tone 8)
ANSWER 6
The paralytic waited for thirty-eight years beside the sheep's pool
for healing. This pool was used to wash the sheep destined for sacrifice.
Every year, an angel would "trouble the water", and whoever entered the
water first after this event was healed of whatever infirmity he had. Of
course, the water had no special properties. It was the power of God that
gave the water healing power, and the angel was merely the servant of His
holy will.
"And 'an Angel came down and troubled the water,' and endued it with
a healing power, that the Jews might learn that much more could the Lord
of Angels heal the diseases of the soul. Yet as here it was not simply
the nature of the water that healed, (for then this would have always taken
place,) but water joined to the operations of the Angel; so in our case,
it is not merely the water that worketh, but when it hath received the
grace of the Spirit, then it putteth away all our sins." (St
John Chrysostom, Homily 36 on John)
ANSWER 7
The healing of one man every year in the sheep's pool clearly points
to the Christian mystery of baptism. As in all "types" which point to Christian
realities and mysteries, this one is deficient. Only one man was healed
at the sheep's pool, and he needed a helper so that he would reach the
water first. All men can be healed by holy baptism, and Christ Himself
will help everyone to have all that he needs. It is important to understand
that baptism is not only the entrance into the church, and not only a cleansing,
but it is the way in which a man is made whole and healed of all his infirmities.
The healing of bodily infirmities in the sheep's pool only points to the
total healing offered by God through baptism and the subsequent living
of the Christian life.
"Of old an Angel came down to the sheep's pool and healed one man
every year; but now Christ doth cleanse endless multitudes by divine baptism"(Canon
of the paralytic, Ode 1, Troparion 4)
"What manner of cure is this? What mystery doth it signify to us?
For these things are not written carelessly, or without a purpose, but
as by a figure and type they show in outline things to come, in order that
what was exceedingly strange might not by coming unexpectedly harm among
the many the power of faith. What then is it that they show in outline?
Baptism was about to be given, possessing much power, and the greatest
of gifts, a Baptism purging all sins, and making men alive instead of dead.
These things then are foreshown as in a picture by the pool, and by many
other circumstances." (St John Chrysostom,
Homilies on John, Homily 36, on John 4:54; 5:1)
ANSWER 8
The Holy Archangel Michael troubled the water at the Sheep's pool each
year. The canon for the paralytic makes mention of Michael (who is known
by the church as the "Supreme Commander" of the Heavenly Hosts)
and asks his intercession several times. It is a shame that so many Orthodox
and even priests eschew this holy service and deprive themselves of its
mellifluent teaching. In so doing they deprive themselves of the heartfelt
acknowledgement of the constant and powerful intercession of the Archangel
Michael, the grandeur of the incarnation, pious and joyful meditation on
the resurrection, and countless other "food for the soul". Truly, we are
in the last days if Christians barely pray even on the weekend, and consider
their "duty" to have been fulfilled by a scant hour on Sunday morning,
and do not know even the simplest things.
"Together with the Hosts on High, O Archangel of God, make supplication
for us who praise thee with faith, preserving and protecting us from falling
into the passions of life" (Canon
of the paralytic, Ode 3, Troparion 4)
"O leader of the Angels and guide for the erring, O Supreme Commander
of the Lord, come into our midst at this hour, and bear the prayers of
us all unto the only creator and Master. (Canon
of the paralytic, Ode 4, Troparion 5)
ANSWER 9
The paralytic told the God-man that he had "no man" to help him. The
priest, whose temple he was near, could not help him, nor would the Levite
come near. Only the God-man could help him. The same exact meaning is also
conveyed in the parable of the "Good Samaritan". The man who is attacked
by robbers, who represents all of humanity, is left half dead on the side
of the road. The priest and the Levite pass by, because they cannot help
the man. Some take this "passing by" to be an indication of their lack
of charity, but the fathers have mined a deeper and more powerful meaning
from their passing. Neither the law nor the prophets, not any mortal man
or teaching can save us. Only the God-man, Who is the Samaritan who helps
the half-dead man, can effect our complete healing.
At the Sheep's Pool, a man lay in illness; / and on seeing Thee,
O Lord, he cried; / I have no man, that, when the water is troubled, /
he might put me therein. / But when I go, / another preceedeth me and receiveth
the healing, / and I lie in illness. / And straightway, taking compassion
on him, / the Savior saith unto him: / For thee I became man, / for thee
I am clothed in flesh, / and sayest thou: I have no man? / take up thy
bed and walk. / All things are possible to Thee, / all things are obedient
to Thee, / all things are subject to thee. / Remember us all and have mercy
on us, O Holy One, // since Thou art the Friend of man. (Vespers
for the Sunday of the Paralytic, Glory from the Litya)
ANSWER 10
Here are several differences and similarities between the two stories:
-
Sins mentioned at different times. The paralytic at Peter's house was healed
of his sins first, and the one at the sheep's' pool was reminded concerning
his sins after he was healed of his physical infirmity.
-
Both had faith. The one on the pallet had to endure much to get in the
presence of Jesus, the one at the pool waited a long time.
-
The one on the pallet had the help of four men, the one at the pool had
"no man" to help him.
-
Both were healed by a word by Jesus.
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Both healings were on the Sabbath.
-
The wicked unbelieving Pharisees were angry both times.
-
Both stories are read during the Divine Liturgy on the Sunday of the Paralytic,
which is the Fourth Sunday of Pascha.
-
Look at these two stories yourself - don't just read the answer!
Something
to think about for Next Week
Questions
about the Samaritan Woman
QUESTION 1
Who was the Samaritan woman? Tell something of her life after meeting
Jesus.
QUESTION 2
Who were the Samaritans? Describe their religion and relationship with
the Jews.
QUESTION 3
Compare and contrast the reaction of the Samaritan woman and townspeople
and the townspeople in the region of the Gadarenes when Jesus visited them.
QUESTION 4
What two revolutionary things did Jesus do by even talking to the Samaritan
woman? The proud Pharisees would have judged Him on at least two accounts.
QUESTION 5
What time did Jesus meet the Samaritan woman at the well? Is there anything
odd about this time? Why do you think she drew water at this time?
QUESTION 6
Water plays a big role in the story of the Samaritan woman. Cite at
least five other places where water is used to describe or point to our
salvation.
QUESTION 7
The Sunday of the Samaritan woman is more complicated liturgically because
of the multiple commemorations this day. Name them. List how many stichera
for each commemoration are sung at 'Lord I have cried', and explain why.
QUESTION 8
There was a significant prophesy concerning salvation which Jesus made
when He spoke to the Samaritan woman. What was it? Approximate when it
was understood by the entire church to be fulfilled (or being fulfilled).
QUESTION 9
The conversation between Christ and the Samaritan woman mystically is
actually another conversation between what two parties?
QUESTION 10
Tell the story of the Samaritan woman. Don't look at the Bible when
you do it. |
