The Healing Word of God – Week 4 – Day 2 – Holy Fifty Days 2025

Gospel Reading: John 8:51–55 (NKJV)

“Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”
“Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.”
(John 8:51, 55)

Meditation: The Healing Word of God

“The Church is not merely a gathering place; it is a spiritual hospital.”
— St. John Chrysostom

Beloved,

Today’s Gospel is more than a promise—it is a prescription. Christ speaks of a Word that gives life, a Word that cures the death that sin brings.

Just as St. John Chrysostom teaches, the Word of God is medicine, not for the body, but for the soul. And this medicine:

  • Is not crafted by human hands, but issued from the mouth of Christ Himself.
  • Is never outdated, never spoiled by time, never defeated by any illness.
  • Costs no silver or gold, but is freely given to the humble, the attentive, the sincere.

Saying of the Fathers

“The divine Word retains its healing power through all generations. It enters the soul without fanfare, mends without exposure, and comforts without condemnation.”
— St. John Chrysostom, Homily on the Power of the Word

Whether rich or poor, each person may take this medicine equally. Yet the poor, who often come with fewer distractions and greater hunger, tend to receive it with more readiness than the wealthy, who may be weighed down with pride or comfort.

“The fault is not in riches or poverty, but in how they are used.”
— St. John Chrysostom

Spiritual Diagnosis & Healing

The beauty of the Word is that it heals in secret. Like Christ said in Matthew 18:15, correction should often happen “between you and him alone.” Why? So the wound may be treated, not shamed.

In the same way, the sermon today is a general medicine—each soul knows its own wounds. The Spirit convicts. The Word operates. The conscience receives. The Church does not embarrass but restores through the whisper of grace.

Practical Practice

  • Sit with today’s Gospel and read John 8:51–55 again in silence.
  • Ask: “Do I keep His word, or just hear it?”
  • Choose one verse to obey actively this week: forgiving someone, arriving early to liturgy, or praying a neglected Psalm.

May the Lord bless us, transform our hearts and minds,
that our homes may stand on the Rock, our hands serve in the harvest,
and our hearts long for Heaven. Amen.