Sickness and death
In order for us to approach and understand the Church’s view towards sickness and death, I think it is important to first examine and understand how Christ approached and treated sickness and death. Christ spent a good majority of his time ministering to the people by healing, raising people from the dead, forgiving sins, and the performing of miracles all towards that end. For Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, the healing of the body, the destruction of the devil, and also the raising of the dead are all one and the same act of salvation. Jesus’ ministry of healing was a healing of the whole person, body and spirit. He showed us that death could be defeated. Jesus showed us that He is Christ the Messiah, the fulfillment of the prophets who brings the Kingdom of God into the world.
“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
James 5:14-16
Death grows within us by means of physical illness and decay. Our sufferings of sickness and illness are not normal, but are direct consequences of the ancestral sin, when Adam first rebelled against God, and thus rebelled against life, because God is life. Adam’s rebellion against Life brought suffering, sickness, decay, and death upon himself and Eve, as well as all their progeny. As such, human nature is fallen and is subject to death, and “Death is the enemy to be destroyed.” The one inescapable and unavoidable reality is that each and every human being born into this world, death is now before each and every person.
Death is not a natural part of this life, but something abnormal and truly horrible, and it is something that humanity, the world, strives daily to overcome. The world attempts to avoid death, to avoid the concept of death, even at funerals. Others choose to embrace death, developing a preoccupation with death in all its forms, some believing and treating death as the one true freedom; the one thing they can know with certainty. This latter stance may be one reason that suicide has become so prevalent today. Yet, if death is the enemy, then each person must find a way to combat that enemy. Despite the fact that it is now an inevitable part of life, death is not natural, and is what humanity strives to overcome. It is a endemic condition on humanity, one that is ever present and taking humanity in a way that was never intended.
“The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 5But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:56-57
Understanding that death is not a natural part of life, and is a plague upon this world, upon humanity, God offers us an answer to this plague of death through Christ. Christ came to earth to redeem man, and to fully restore within us the image of God that we were fully intended to grow into, as witnessed in the Transfiguration of Christ upon Mount Tabor, which was to us a prefiguration of His resurrection. The incarnation of Christ redeemed all of creation, for all of creation fell into disarray when man fell from grace. Christ took on death and overcame it victoriously. He gave himself up to death so that he could take death captive and free all of humanity from the grip death had upon it, and therefore removed the separation of humanity and God in our death. It is for this reason that the Church proclaims in faith “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs, bestowing life,” all through the Paschal season.
Christ has triumphed over death, but death still exists in this world. Man is still subject to physical death. Christ “does not ‘abolish’ or ‘destroy’ the physical death because He does not ‘abolish’ the physical world…by abolishing death as a spiritual reality, by filling it with Himself…He makes death…into a shining and joyful passage” So, Christ has destroyed the spiritual aspects of death, but we are not free from the bonds of a physical death. “We all share the same fate, saint and sinner, young and old.”
Recognizing Christ’s role in overcoming death, we can better understand the role the Church, the body of Christ, plays in dealing with sickness and death. The Church must be properly seen as being a part of medicine, and her minsters and clergy its healers. The Church, in all reality, is a spiritual hospital. For Jesus said, ““Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Human beings, as sinners, are considered to be sick; as such, the Church is concerned with the ultimate fate of all human beings, which is their salvation through the forgiveness of sins, which can only be found within the Church, and sin being the root cause of all illness and suffering in the world. Whereas Christ defeated death, the Church is here to reveal it, not reconcile it like so many religious and religions of this world. No, the Church reveals death because it is the revelation of Life.
The Church understand and approaches sickness and death in a holistic manner, healing the root of all illness, and not merely the symptoms. While modern medicine has made many advances in technology and practice, it does not fill the need which are part of the whole of healing and health. The human person requires a healing which does not merely address the physical needs and condition, but healing that deals with the whole human being, both body and spirit. The Church realizes this need, and focuses on the entire person: mind, body, soul, and spirit. Disease may be temporarily addressed the modern medicines of this world, but it is only a temporary fix until the root cause of the problems are cured. So, the Church approaches sickness, death, and healing within the context of sin and redemption.
When one falls ill, they must recognize that whatever illness they may have, it is caused by sin, their own sin or the sins of the whole world. There is no blame for God for their ailment. God does not wish for his children to be sick. If God so wills it, one can be healed of his infirmities, allowing him more time to live in service to both God and man here on earth, fulfilling whatever He has planned. The sickness as well can serve as a means towards serving God, and it should be accepted in this way, offering ones faith and love unconditionally, for there is no greater witness to one’s faith than enduring sickness in love and faith, courage and patience, hope, happiness, and joy. Such a life lived, even to one’s death by such illness, is incomparable to any offering man can provide.
I myself have been witness to the healing mercies of our Father. January 11th of 2016 would see me in the hospital, and slipping into full respiratory failure through pneumonia, and a culmination of other issues. After I was put on life support, Holy Unction was administered. The only thing I can remember from that day was waking briefly two times throughout that day, and hearing the psalms being read to me. The woman from the Church took turns, and sat in my room, reading the entirety of the Psalter to me. I eventually regained consciousness, and at the end of the week was the first person Chrismated into the Orthodox Church in Mountain Home, Arkansas, at my home parish. I have witnessed, believe, and understand the healing power and need of the Church in its role as a spiritual hospital of sorts for the whole and holistic healing of man.
The sacrament of healing is performed for the healing of body and soul, and for the forgiveness of sins, though it is not performed for the sake of the sick alone, but also for the physically healthy. While it may not have the focus importance equal to the rite of Baptism or the ongoing celebration of the Holy Eucharist within the life of the Church, it still addresses a fundamental need in human life. “Healing is a sacrament, not healing as such, the restoration of health, but the entrance of man into the life of the kingdom, into the joy and peach of the Holy Spirit.” As such, the prayers of the Sacrament of Healing are penitential in nature, asking for the forgiveness of one’s sins. The body is anointed, invoking the grace of God upon the ill and infirmed, because it is the grace of God that heals all illnesses, both body and soul.
Despite the importance of the Sacrament of Healing, this emphasis on spiritual healing and wellbeing does not mean that one should forgo any attempt at physical healing. All things can be used to the glory of God. All healing, both spiritual and physical should be brought to God with prayer. Faith does not stand in opposition to science, nor science to faith, but science confirms what faith has already revealed. God is the source of both, and all things, and as such the two are not in opposition to one another. Just as theosis is achieved through cooperation with God, so is healing a cooperation of human effort, and prayer, with God and His will.
Ultimately not all people are physically healed, some slipping from this life into the next through whatever illness was plaguing them. It is here we transition from the rite of healing, into the funeral rites of the Orthodox Church. The service helps those in attendance develop a greater understanding of the meaning and purpose of life. It assists us with the emotional response we develop at the time of death, as well as the time that passes after. It also places an emphasis on the fact that death is not the end, and helps to affirm our hope in salvation and life eternal. The funeral rite, by the prayers, hymns, and readings that take place, is a dialogue between God and the people, as well as God and the dearly departed. The service also recognizes the realities of our human existence, our frailty and finite time in this world, and the vanity of this world and all the things in it. We bless the departed and say goodbye with a final kiss of peace, with our pain of separation and the tragedy of death being acknowledged in the hymns that are sung. We pass from this life with both prayers and tears, but are soon welcomed into the joy and gladness of the Lord.
Our sins, our illnesses, and our eventual death are all related one to another. By Adam’s sin both sickness and death were ushered into this world, and it is through Christ and his resurrection that humanity is redeemed and released from the grip of death. The nature of sin and death are recognized within both the rites of healing and the funeral service, yet so is the fact that Christ has conquered all of these things for the redemption for the whole of mankind. He is an offering of truth and life for those within the body of Christ, which is the Church, forgiving all of our sins to the betterment of all mankind. Christ, truly, is the life of the world.
