"Quo Vadis, Domine?"; "To be with the leper"- Reflections on the Gospel reading for the second Sunday of the Great Lent (Garbo Sunday).

Glory to the Triune God!

The Holy Gospel reading for the second Sunday of the Great Lent is from the Gospel of St Luke 5:12-16; 4:40-41. We will focus on the Gospel reading related to cleansing of leper.

“And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him. And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.”

However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” (St Luke 5:12-16; NKJV).

The Jewish Rabbis saw leprosy as the external manifestation of an internal spiritual decay and hence focused on a spiritual care than a medical one. In the Hebrew society, leprosy was 'tzaraat' and it encompassed a wide variety of skin diseases also including the now known leprosy/Hansen's disease. One of the earliest mentions of such disease in the Holy Scripture is the affliction of Miriam, Moses's sister. She speaks ill of Moses when he married an Ethiopian wife. This slander and gossip made Miriam to be stricken with illness that leaves her skin flaky white. (The story is in Numbers 12). 

Will we be more careful with our words if we the result of gossip gave us skin deformity? 

In today's times, gossiping and spreading rumours about others is so much so much prevalent that they no longer attract our attention. Gossiping /speaking ill against a person or community leads to making the human (s)- the Lord' creation, to an object of hate, anger and possibly dehumanize them.

We don't like to accept that we indeed have flaws and that we need help. For us, misgivings only exist in others. It is interesting to note that the disease syphilis was called the "French disease" in Italy, Malta, Poland and Germany, and the "Italian disease" in France. The Dutch called it the "Spanish disease", the Russians called it the "Polish disease", and the Turks called it the "Christian disease". These "national" names served to act as the propaganda against the countries seen as their political/national opponents. As stated earlier, it helped to ‘dehumanize’ the ‘other’ people.

We saw it happening earlier and we see it happening now. Genocide and riots start with hate speech fed into the minds for days, months and years. In the time of this Lenten season let us with tears and prayers, seek our Lord's help as we hear racist hate speeches being orchestrated against the marginalized communities.

The prescribed ritual as seen in the book of Numbers and Leviticus is that the leprosy afflicted person was quarantined for some days. In Jewish concept such separation is seen as the time for repentance. After the prescribed period, "the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall examine him" (Leviticus 14:3; NKJV).

As the 'chosen generation, a royal priesthood' (1 Peter 2:9), we are to go out and seek those who are sick (physically and spiritually) and bring them to the Church which the holy fathers have termed as a 'hospital'. In this Lenten season let us reflect how many times have we chosen to condemn a brother rather than help him to repent and come back!

Helping the physically and spiritually sick was a community task. “So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again” (Numbers 12: 15; NKJV) The entire Israelite community waited for Miriam before they could journey again.

Our Orthodox faith teaches us that 'we may be lost alone but are saved together'!

"The Messiah at the Gates of Rome" is a traditional story in the Jewish tradition wherein Rabbi Joshua ben Levi has a vision in which he asks Prophet Elijah "When will the Messiah come?" to which the response is  "The Messiah is at the gates of Rome, sitting among the poor, the sick and wretched/lepers".

The Holy Tradition tells us that St Peter was crucified in Rome. A story goes that he was asked by fellow Christians to leave Rome for safety. While St Peter was escaping, he saw a vision of Christ heading towards Rome. St Peter exclaims "Where are you going Master" (Quo Vadis, Domine). Jesus responds that He is going to Rome to be crucified again since St Peter is running away from martyrdom. St Peter repents and goes back to Rome to fearlessly face the physical death.

Weren’t we all outraged when a wall was built to cover the slums when the POTUS visited our country? Isn’t that the way we are? We hate to admit as ours what is not pleasing to ours and others senses. 

And in such times when we see the Lord walking away from us, we call to him and ask- Quo Vadis, Domine? He will respond- "to the leper and outcasts because you aren’t allowing them in your midst"!

The leper in the Gospel reading might have been forgotten by the people (whereas the healing and caring for the sick was a community calling) and he implores the Lord to make him clean. The Lord wills that the leper is cleansed but also tells to show himself to the priest and make an offering for his cleansing. This passage also expounds on the importance of the sacrament of Holy Confession. If we sincerely repent over our wrongdoings, we are instructed by the Lord to share it with the confession father/priest for getting absolution.

Wishing all a blessed season of fasting and repentance.

In Christ,

Rincy John

A short biblical study on Onesiphorus- Sunday commemorating all the departed.

Verses for reflection: 2 Timothy 1:15-18 and 2 Timothy 4:19

Icon of Onesiphorus taken from oca.org

In the run-up to the great journey called the Great Lent we remember all the departed ones before the Sunday commemorating the miracle at the wedding at Cana. In relation to that let us study about a courageous man named Onesiphorus.

The name ‘Onesiphorus means "bringing advantage/beneficial". He is mentioned in the New Testament in 2 Timothy 1:16-18 and 2 Timothy 4:19. The passages are as below:

“This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.” (2 Timothy 1:15-18; NKJV)

“Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus” (2 Timothy 4:19; NKJV)

It is in the former verse that we get a small glimpse of this heroic figure named ‘Onesiphorus’. We understand from this passage that Onesiphorus was from Ephesus. He was not only a kind-hearted man but also a very courageous fellow. To be a helper to St Paul was easier said than done. St Paul says that Onesiphorus ‘was not ashamed of my chain’. St Paul was treated like a criminal in the Roman justice system. To be associated with a criminal was extremely dangerous. Perhaps that could be the reason that many deserted the apostle, fearing their own lives.

St Paul also says “he sought me out very zealously and found me”- this shows how brave Onesiphorus was. Imagine looking for and inquiring with people about a man who has been branded as a notorious criminal!  Onesiphorus own life would have been in grave danger, but instead of being ashamed and scared about association with St Paul, Onesiphorus’ servant heart reached out to the apostle whenever he needed it. His trusted friends had deserted him, and in these testing times, St Paul found a helping hand in Onesiphorus. St Paul vividly says ‘for he often refreshed me’. In the dark period of abandonment- Onesiphorus revived St Paul like a breath of fresh air. True to his name, Onesiphorus brought spiritual comfort to St Paul. It is worth thinking as how many of us would bring spiritual comfort in the lives of others?

There is another aspect worth noting in these two verses.

1) Onesiphorus’s household/family is mentioned twice by St Paul in the second letter to Timothy. In the second instance, St Paul doesn’t ask Timothy to greet Onesiphorus. Instead, he says: “Greet Prisca and Aquila and the family of Onesiphorus” (2 Timothy 4:19).

2) Secondly, all of Onesiphorus’ earthly actions are spoken of in the past tense. On a quick note it may seem that the apostle is narrating Onesiphorus’s service when St Paul needed it, but St Paul further adds and praises Onesiphorus for “the services he rendered in Ephesus,” without referring to any services that he is currently rendering.

3) Thirdly, note the difference in St Paul’s prayers for Onesiphorus and his household.

• For  Onesiphorus’ household: “The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus” (verse 16).
• For Onesiphorus-  “The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day” (verse 18)

St Paul prays about Onesiphorus’s family in the present tense, whereas only for Onesiphorus, it’s something to do with future.

All these points demonstrate that Onesiphorus has departed from the earthly life while this letter was written. If not, why isnt St Paul asking Timothy to greet Onesiphorus; instead he asks to greet his family. If not, why are only past earthly actions of Onesiphorus spoken of and there is no mention of his current ministry while St Paul is writing the letter. If not, why is the prayer for Onesiphorus and his household different?

“The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day”.

St Paul prayed that the Lord has mercy on Onesiphorus’ soul on His Second Coming. Praying for the departed ones is entrenched in the Holy Scripture- it’s a biblical reality.

‘Onesiphorus’ name meant "bringing advantage/beneficial". In his earthly life, Onesiphorus was beneficial to St Paul in joy and in chains. Truly, St Paul’s prayer for his beloved departed friend would have indeed been a source of comfort for Onesiphorus.

May the intercessions and prayers of the holy apostles, saints and martyrs be a source of comfort for us and our departed ones.

Lord have mercy!

In Christ,
Rincy John