Suffering and the Physician

'Κύριε ὁ Θεός μου, ἐκέκραξα πρός σὲ, καὶ ιἀσω με.' Μακαρος ὁ τὴν ἐν τῷ βάθει πληγὴν ἑαυτοῦ γνωρίζων, ὥστε δύνασθαι τῷ ἰατρῳ προσιέναι καὶ λέγειν· Ἴασαι με, Κύριε, ὅτι ἐταράχθη τὰ ὀστᾶ μου· καὶ, Ἐγὼ εἶπα, Κύριε, ἐλέησόν με, ἴασαι τὴν ψυχήν μου, ὅτι ἥμαρτον σοι. Ἐνταῦθα μέντοι εὐχαριστία ἐστὶν ὑπέρ τῆς ἐπαχθείσης αὐτῴ ἰατρείας· Κύριε γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁ Θεός μου, Οὐ πάντων Θεὸς ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλὰ τῶν οἰκειωθέντων αὐτῷ διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης. Θεὸς γὰρ Ἀβραὰμ, και Θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ, καὶ Θεὸς Ἰακὼβ. Εἰ δὲ πάντων ἦν Θεὸς, οὐκ ἄν ἐκείνοις ὡς ἐξαίρετον τοῦτο προσεμαρτυρείτο. Καὶ πάλαιν ὁ Ἰακώβ· 'Ἐδοήθησέ σοι ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ἐμος.' Καὶ Θωμᾶς μετὰ τὴν πληροφορὶαν κατασπαζόμενς τὸν Δεσπότην,' Ὁ Κύριός μου, φησὶ, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς μου,' καὶ πρὲπουσα τῇ προφητικῇ καταστάσει. 'Ἐκέκραξα πρὸς σὲ, καὶ ἰάσω με.' Οὐδὲν ἐγένετο μέσον τῆς ἐμῆς φωνῆς καὶ τῆς σῆς χάριτος, ἀλλ’ ὁμοῦ τε ἐκέκραξα, καὶ προσῆλθεν ἠ ἴασις. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΚΘ’

'Lord my God, I cried out to you and you cured me.'  Blessed the man who knows that he has suffered a wound within himself, so that he might be able to go to the physician and say, 'I have spoken, O Lord, be merciful to me, cure my soul, because I have sinned against you.' Here indeed there is thanks that for this suffering in himself there is a physician; for he said 'Lord my God' . God is not the God of everyone but of those living with him through love. He is the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. But if he were the God of all, not thus to those just mentioned would his presence had been something extraordinary. Of old Jacob said: 'My God aided me.' And Thomas, fully satisfied, embracing the Lord, said, 'My Lord and my God.'  And what was apparent to the Prophet came to be: ' I called to you and you cured me.'  May nothing come between my voice and your grace but when I have cried out, let the cure be brought. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 29