Notes for  26 June 2026

That the word of God must sound to the ends of the earth was already known from the preaching of the prophets. They were the first to speak of the calling, in the days of the Messiah, of Gentiles who would join the remnant of the Jewish people in order to form with it the new people of God. Only no one expected that the formation of this new people would begin with recent pagans. Logic suggested that the Jews, of course, would be the first to recognize and accept their Messiah, especially since in Gospel times there were many messianic movements among the people, and the question of exactly which of the religious brotherhoods then existing was the true messianic remnant aroused the fiercest disputes. And nevertheless it turned out that it was precisely the Gentiles, those who sought truth in the Synagogue and worshiped the God of Israel, who accepted Him first.

A paradox of spiritual history? Yes, of course, though it had its reasons: unfortunately, religiosity itself turned out to be the heavy burden that made it hard for many Jews to come into the Kingdom. For recent Gentiles who were free from this burden, it was easier, and they overtook many of those who were sure that the Messiah would come to them and for their sake.

But the apostles had no reason to maintain the sequence expected by many of their fellow tribesmen and coreligionists. Of course, in preaching they addressed first of all the Jews, those who should have listened and heard first. But their refusal could not and must not stop the witness to Christ and the Kingdom entrusted to the apostles. For this was not a human matter but God's, and it was not for people to determine the order in which Jews or Gentiles would enter the Kingdom. The apostles' task was to bear witness to what the Savior Himself had already testified: the Kingdom has drawn near, and the way into it is now open to every seeker, whether a Jew or a representative of any other people. And who would go first depended both on God and on the people to whom the Kingdom was offered.

And the apostles were glad to see everyone entering the Kingdom, regardless of nationality or religion. For they were above all people of the Kingdom, and only afterward representatives of their people and their religious community, as witnesses of the Kingdom should be.

We live in a world where everyone is for himself. In our life the main thing is to become independent; we so love to speak about independence. In this world each of us is like a tiny particle going its own way. In this atomized society, the most important thing disappears, the thing that makes a person human: mercy, compassion, a sense of responsibility for those nearby. Somewhere something terrible is happening, people are dying, but our concern lasts exactly as long as a news broadcast. At best, another half hour; at the very best, a couple of days. After all, it is somewhere over there; it has no relation to us. More than that, the contemplation of someone else's misfortune, someone else's catastrophe, replaces compassion in us.

But however many walls we build to separate ourselves from other people, however much we try to shut ourselves up in our cozy little world, we will not cancel the fact that the Lord intended our world in a completely different way. In reality we are all connected with one another, and something terrible happening at the other end of the world still concerns us, because the death of each of us changes our world irreparably. More than that, the fact that our world presents such a sad sight is also our fault, our responsibility. This does not mean that we should tear our hair out or fall into depression, but it does mean that we must recognize the measure of our personal responsibility and try not to shift it onto others. And even in those moments when we can do nothing to help, we can always pray for others.

Which of us can call himself healthy, physically and spiritually? In each of us sits the "leprosy" of sin: in the corners of the soul that God's light has not reached, or more precisely, in those corners where we have not yet let Him in. But the Lord longs to fill us with this light completely; it is no accident that to the leper's words, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean," He answers, "I am willing; be cleansed."

And it is the Lord Himself who says that "the Spirit gives life" and that "the flesh profits nothing" (John 6:63), thus emphasizing what is most important in our life. This means that Jesus' words about His desire to cleanse the sick man can and must be applied to the healing not only of the body, but also of the soul. It turns out that the Lord addresses each of us with the words: "I am willing; be cleansed." To this only one more thing must be added: our own desire...

In life we are most often guided by human laws. So too God's relationship with people is described in Scripture as the relationship of a husband with a wife (compare Eph. 5:22-33). According to Old Testament law, a wife divorced from her husband can no longer return to him, and a woman who has betrayed her husband must be punished by death. But God Himself says incredible things in this prophecy: unfaithful Israel can return to God and receive forgiveness. Let us remember that His love is stronger than the law, and imitate Him in this.

When reading today's passage, a question arises: why does John the Baptist still give no definite answer to the question asked him about his ministry (vv. 19-23)? Indeed, he had every right to define his mission as prophetic, and such an answer would have fully satisfied the commission sent by the Synagogue to check him (vv. 24-25). But John refuses on principle to speak of his ministry as something having significance of its own. He sees his mission only as a preliminary stage necessary for preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah-Christ, and outside the context of this task John's ministry evidently loses all meaning, including for the prophet himself (vv. 25-27).

And it is precisely this view of his own mission that enables John to see and recognize the Messiah (vv. 29-34). For in order to recognize Christ, it is not enough simply to see Him physically. Outwardly Jesus differed little from an ordinary person. Of course, what He said was not something one could hear every day or from everyone, but the main thing was still not in the words. The main thing was in the Kingdom that He carried with Him wherever He went. Therefore, in order to recognize in Jesus the Messiah-Christ promised by God, one had to touch and share in the Kingdom.

But one can share in the Kingdom only on one very important condition: the one seeking it must forget his own importance, forget that he, as well as his deeds and ministries, can mean anything in themselves apart from the Kingdom into which he wants to enter. Perhaps this is why John does not want to testify about himself as a prophet: all the great prophets of Israel had their own mission, and each of these missions was, in a certain sense, self-sufficient. Each prophet was a figure in his own right, and those around him always noticed this, even when, as was most often the case, the prophets themselves wanted nothing of the kind. But in those times, the prominence of the prophet helped accomplish the main task entrusted by God to one or another of His servants. Now, however, the task evidently consisted precisely in pointing to the Messiah and remaining as unnoticed as possible oneself. John the Baptist succeeds in this: he disappears in the radiance of the coming Messiah, and in the radiance of the Kingdom that the Messiah carries with Him.

Why does Holy Scripture tell us the results of a census from many thousands of years ago? What do these lists of names and genealogical tables tell us? For an Israelite, belonging to his people, confirmed by such genealogies, meant participation in salvation, in the eternal promises God gave to Israel.

Can all those who belong to God's people now be counted, having believed according to His word? And is this even necessary? The Lord knows each of us personally.