Title: The Saint's Disease
Sunday, January 11, 2009 Sermon
Bible Verse: John 9:1-3
Sermon Title: The Saint's Disease
As Jesus was going on the way, he saw a man blind from birth. The disciples asked him, "Rabbi, whose sin is it that this man was born blind, or his or his parents? Jesus answered, Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God might be revealed in him. (KJV) / As he was going, he saw a man who was blind from birth. The disciples said to Jesus, "Teacher, whose sin was this man born blind? Is it this man's sin? Is it the sin of his parents?" asked. Jesus answered. "Neither this man nor his parents have sinned. This is so that the works of God may be revealed in him. (New Standard Version) [John 9:1~3]
<The Story of Nikos Kazantzakis>
There was one very good book I recently bought at a used bookstore. 『I will stand with the soul』 (Nikos Kazantzakis, Chungha). The most impressive part of this book was that Nikos Kazantzakis was suffering from what was called “the saint’s disease.” It's a saint's disease!!! Are you curious? Let's unravel that story well today.
By the time Kazantzakis was 39 years old, that is, around the end of May 1922, he had an antiseptic bandage all over his face and had to change the bandages every 30 minutes. Because of the eczema that spread all over my face. He couldn't eat anything without a straw, he couldn't shave, he couldn't even take a step out of the room. The eczema, which started on the lips and cheeks, spread to both eyes and forehead for a week. His face swelled all over, and his eyes looked as if they had been pierced by needles in the flesh. A yellowish pus-like liquid was dripping from his chapped lips.
But even worse, the cause of his illness was unknown. Neither a dermatologist nor a psychoanalyst could pinpoint the cause of the disease, and thus no cure. However, an 'anonymous professor of psychology' who had been observing Kazantzakis' disease from the beginning of the outbreak made a very impressive statement, and he diagnosed Kazantzakis' disease as a 'saint's disease'.
“Kazantzakis, you have a spiritual and mental energy that is beyond normal, and your body is suffering because of it. Because some mental and spiritual confusion is causing conflict in the body. Like the wounds of St. Francis. Your disease was common in the Middle Ages, but is very rare today. In modern times, I have only seen such a case of an illness other than the teacher. Your illness was once referred to as “the saint’s disease.” … You are suffering from the guilt of your soul.”
When you first hear the term ‘Saint’s disease’, you may be tilted your head, but as you continue reading the book, you will nod your head in sympathy with the meaning of the word. Because that book is a record of the bloody struggle of self-conflict and struggle in order to realize the eternal truth. In the book of Kazantzakis, in order to realize the eternal truth, or to grasp the source of the truth, he was undertaking the tremendous challenge of burning his soul.
But when I heard the phrase ‘the saint’s disease’, I ‘suddenly’ thought that it applies not only to Nikos Kazantzakis or to the saints in the Middle Ages, but to all of us. Let's talk more about that today.
<The Bible Story>
Now let's look at the scriptures. “As Jesus was going on the way, he saw a man blind from birth. The disciples asked him, "Rabbi, whose sin is it that this man was born blind, or his or his parents? Jesus answered, Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God might be revealed in him. (KJV) / As he was going, he saw a man who was blind from birth. The disciples said to Jesus, "Teacher, whose sin was this man born blind? Is it this man's sin? Is it the sin of his parents?" asked. Jesus answered. "Neither this man nor his parents have sinned. This is so that the works of God may be revealed in him. (New Standard Version) 【John 9:1-3】"
At the time of Jesus, the Israelites thought that it was because of sin that people were sick. Jesus' disciples felt the same way. That's why I'm asking the same question as the Bible verse today. “For whose sin is this man born blind?” But Jesus thought differently. So Jesus' answer was: “That the works of God might be revealed in him.”
What is ‘God’s work’ for a person who is born blind from birth? This can be said in two main ways.
The first hypothetical assumption is that he opens his physical eyes through faith to serve God. Then many people will acknowledge the existence of God, and an event that glorifies God takes place. Perhaps that is why Jesus actually healed many sick people, and miraculous events took place in Israel where countless people turned to God.
The second assumption we can assume is that he opens his ‘eyes of his soul’ through his faith in serving God. And this is an event that is so wonderful that it cannot be compared to the awakening of the eyes of the body. It is an event that will surprise the sky and shake the earth. This is because, if a naive person who is blind from birth opens their souls and ascends into the ‘class of saints’, he will be able to carry out the amazing work of the evangelist of the truth for a long, long time, not only in the present day when he is alive, but also forever in future generations.
<To the students who are ill>
Not only our alumni, but also many people around us are suffering from the disease. It has been, and will always be. I basically hope that every patient I know can be freed from the disease. I hope that you will be healed from that disease by the grace of God. For this, I pray whenever I have the opportunity. Whether it be a physical illness, a mental illness, or a social illness... We pray for the healing of any disease.
However, at the same time, I sincerely hope that all the patients I know will realize that the disease is actually the disease of the saint. Without a single exception, all diseases of all patients are 'the saint's disease'. It is a holy disease that God gave to make us children of God through that disease.
Therefore, if we are afflicted with a certain disease, we must talk with that disease, talk with God who is beyond the disease, and talk with the ‘self within me’ who is suffering with the disease and God. Through such quiet reflection, sincere prayer, and candid conversation, we open the ‘eyes of spirituality’ through which our souls and bodies are regenerated.
<End of sermon>
Now let's finish the sermon. I took the title of today's sermon 'The Saint's Disease'.
I hope you will have a precious time today to meditate deeply on the title of the sermon titled ‘The Saint’s Sickness’. And in this way, I sincerely hope that you and I will rise to the ranks of saints who are freed from 'sickness of the body' and at the same time freed from 'diseases of the soul'.
Let me pray for a moment.