All Souls Saturday; The Holy Hieromartyrs and Bishops of Cherson: Basil, Ephrem, Capiton, Eugene, Etherius and others; Blessed Hieromartyr Leonid Fedorov, Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church.
Day 20 of the Great Fast.
Hebrews 10:32-38; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Mark 2:14-17; John 5:24-30.
Read Mark 2:14-17
One of our greatest enemies in the spiritual life is our own pride, which holds us back from seeking help. Yet the spiritual life begins precisely when we acknowledge our weakness and illness before our Divine Physician. The scene in which Christ receives tax collectors and sinners reveals that divine mercy does not operate according to social standards, but is generously given to those in need. Those who imagine themselves to be something remain outside the work of God’s healing grace, while those who recognize their need for healing and their condition find an open door to approach the Divine Physician.
The coming and presence of Christ among us, who are sinners, is not merely for moral correction; the Law was given for that purpose, but Christ comes for therapeutic healing. Sin is treated as a disorder that requires restoration. The Lord’s words emphasize this: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). This statement exposes the deeper problem of the Pharisees: not that they lacked knowledge of the Law, but that through their pride they were blinded to the awareness of their own need for healing.
St. John Chrysostom explains that Christ intentionally associates with sinners because healing requires personal interaction: “Just as physicians spend time with the sick, so Christ also continually conversed with sinners in order to heal them” (Homilies on Matthew 30.2).
Similarly, St. Bede the Venerable emphasizes that the accusation against Christ misunderstands the purpose of His presence: “He who had come as the physician of souls did not avoid the sick, but sought them out in order to restore them to health” (Homilies on the Gospels I.21).
As we continue our Lenten season, this passage brings to our attention our need for the Divine Physician. We cannot judge ourselves as either “righteous” or “sinners,” but we must be willing to admit our brokenness and our desperate need for healing. Only when we truly recognize in our hearts that our lives are not as they should be can we approach the Divine Physician with faith and love and then receive his Divine healing grace.