Incarnation And Healing

Πάλιν ἔφη Θεὸς πρὸς τὸν ἱερὸν δηλονότι Μωσέα· Εἰσένεγκαι τὴν χεῖρα σου εἰς τὸν κόλπον σου. Καὶ εἰσήνεγκε τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοὺ εἰς τὸν κόλπον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐγενήθη ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ λεπτρῶσα ὡς χιών. Καὶ εἶπε πάλιν· Εἰσένεγκαι τὴν χεῖρα εἰς τὸν κόλπον σου. Καὶ εἰσνήνεγκε τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ εῑς τὸν κόλπον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξήνεγκε τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐκ τοῦ κόλπον αὐτοῠ, καὶ πάλιν ἀπεκατεστάθη εἰς τὴν χρόαν τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ. Θεοπρεπὲς γοῦν ὅτι μάλιστά γε τὸ ἁπαλλάξαι δύνασθαι λέπραν. Τὰ δὲ εἰς τοῦτο λοιπὸν ἀγριότητος ἀφιγμένα τῶν παθῶν, ὡς μηδὲ αὐταῖς εἴκειν ἀνέχεσθαι ταῖς τῶν ἰατρῶν ἐμπειρίας, δέοιτ' ἂν ἤδη πως ἐν τοῖς καθ' αὐτὰ μόνης τάχα που τῆς ἄνθεν ἐξουσίας, ᾖ τὸ ἀντιστατοῦν οὐδὲν, πάντα βάσιμα καὶ εὐήνυτα· ἀνίατον δὲ νοσημάτων ἡ λέπρα. Ὅτι τοίνυν τὰ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἀπεγνωσμένα, καὶ τὰ παρ' ἡμῖν ἀδύνατα, παρ' αὐτῷ δυνατὰ, καὶ οὐδὲν ὅλως τὸ ἄναντες ἐφῆκε νοεῖν ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς, διὰ τοῦ τὴν Μωσέως χεῖρα θεραπεῦσαι λελεπρωμένην· ὡς ἂν εἰδεῖεν ἐντεῦθεν οἱ κεκλημένοι, τουτέστιν, οἱ ἐξ αἵματος Ἰσραὴλ, ὅτι κἂν δυσδιάφυκτον ἔχοιεν τὴν συμφορὰν, ταῖς Αἰγυπτίων μοχθηρίαις ὑπιζευγμένοι, καὶ νόσον ὥσπερ τινὰ παθόντες ἐσχάτην, τὴν ὑπ' ἐκείνοις δουλείαν· ἀλλ' εὐμήχανος ὁ ἰατρὸς, καὶ τὰ πολὺ δυσεξίτητα τῶν παθῶν παρενεγκεῖν εὐκόλως εἰδὼς καὶ δυνάμενος, καὶ τοῦτο ἀμογητὶ καὶ οὐκ ἐν χρόνῳ μακρῳ. Ἅμα γὰρ εἰσήνεγκε ὁ Μωσῆς τὴν χεῖρα ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ, καὶ ἀπήλλακται τοῦ νοσεῖν. Ὑπῃνίττετο δέ τι ἕτερον ἡμῖν, καθάπερ ἐγῷμαι, τὸ χρῆμα. Μακροὺς γὰρ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ τρίβοντες χρόνος οἱ ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ, ἐξέθορον μὲν τῆς ἄνωθεν καὶ ἐκ πατέρων αὐτοῖς ἐντριβοῦς ἐπιεικείας, ἔθεσί τε μᾶλλον τοῖς ἐπιχωρίοις ἐνιζηκότες, καὶ βαθύνοντες λίαν εἰς κάθεσιν, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ προφήτου φωνήν· Λελατρεύκασι μὲν τῇ κτίσει, παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα. Κατωλισθήκασι δὲ καὶ εἰς πᾶν εἰδος ἀκαθαρσίας, μονονουχὶ δὲ τεθνεῶτα λοιπὸν καὶ ἀπεψυγμένον ἐσχήκασι νοῦν. Ἀκαθαρσίας γὰρ καὶ νεκρότητος σημεῖον ἡ λεπρα. Μεμυσταγώγηκε δὲ διὰ τοῦ θαύματος, ὡς εἰ παραδέξοιτο Θεὸς αὐτοὺς, μονονουχὶ δὲ καὶ ἐγκολπώσοιτο πάλιν, οὐ δυσαπότρεπτον ἔξουσι τὴν ἀκαθαρσίαν, διακρούσονται δὲ καὶ μάλα ῥᾳδίως τὸν ἐκ τῆς νοητῆς νεκρότητος μολυσμόν. Καὶ οὑτωσὶ μὲν ἡμῖν ὁ ἔν γε τούτῳ λόγος. Ὅτι δὲ τε Χριστροῦ μυστήριον ἐσκιαγραφεῖτο πάλιν ὡς ἐν τῇ Μωσέως χειρὶ λελεπρωμένῃ τε καὶ κεκαθαρμένῃ, διειτεῖν παιράσομαι. Οὐκοῦν, ὅτι Πάντα γέγονε δι' Υἱοῦ καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν, ὁ θεσπέσιος ἡμῖν εὐαγγελιστὴς Ἰωάννης εὖ μάλα διαμαρτύρεται. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ πρὸς πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ἐνεργὸς ὁ Πατὴρ δι' αὐτοῦ, ταύτῃτοι καὶ ἡ θεόπνευστος Γραφὴ χεῖρα τε ἡμῖν, βραχίονα τε καὶ δεξιὰν ὀνομάζει τοῦ Πατρὸς τὸν Υἱόν. Καὶ γοῦν ὁ θεσπέσιος Ἠσαῗας, Κυριε, φησὶ , τίς ἐπίστευσε τῇ ἀκοῇ ἡμῶν; καὶ ὁ βραχίων Κυρίου τίνε ἀπεκαλύφθη; Μεμενήκασι γὰρ σκληροὶ καὶ ἐξήνιοι, καὶ πολὺ νοσοῦντες τὸ ἀπειθὲς οἱ τάλανες Ἰουδαῖοι. Καὶ τῷ μὲν λόγῳ Κυρίου καὶ αὐτοὺς ἔφη τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ἐστερεῶθαι Δαβιδ· διά δὲ γε φῶνῆς προφητῶν ὁ Θεὸς  καὶ Πατήρ διισχυρίσατο λέγων· Ἐγὼ τῇ χειρί μου ἐστερέωσα τὸν οὐρανόν. Προσπεφώνηκε δὲ καὶ ἑτέροις· Ἐγὼ γὰρ ὁ Θεός σου ὅς ἐνίσχυσά σε, καὶ ἐβοήθησά σοι, καὶ ἠσφαλισάμην σε τῇ δεξιᾷ τῇ δικαίᾳ μου. Χεῖρα δὴ οὖν ἔθος τῇ θεοπνεύστῳ Γραφῇ τὸν Υἱόν ἀκοκαλεῖν. Ὅρα τοίνυν την Μωσέως χεῖρα κρυπτομένην ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ αὐτοῦ, εἶτα πρὸς τὸ ἔξω φερομένην, καὶ ὀρωμένην ἐν λέπρᾳ· καὶ πάλιν εἰσφερομένην ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ παραχρῆμα τοῦ πάθους ἀπηλλαγμένην. Ἐννοοῦντες δὲ τὸ μυστήριον καὶ τὸν τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τρόπον, ὅπη τε καὶ ὅπως ἂν ἔχῃ καταθρεῖν σπουδάζοντες, τοιοῦτο τι γεγονὸς εὑρήσομεν. Ἢν μὲν γάρ πως ὁ Υἱός ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς, καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ τὰ πάντα πεποίηκεν ὁ Πατήρ. Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐστιν ὁ βραχίων ὁ ὑψηλὸς, ἡ πάντα ἰσχύουσα χεὶρ, ἡ ἀξιοθαύμαστος δεξιά. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τρόπον τινὰ εἰς τὸν ἴδιον ἐκβέβηκεν τόπον, γενόμενος ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τὰς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν ἔλαβε, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ προφήτου φωνὴν, ἐν ὑπολήψει γέγονε καὶ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ. Ἀκάθαρτος γὰρ ἡ ἀνθρώπου φύσις πρὸς Θεὸν, εἴ γε ἀληθὲς ὅ φησιν ὁ προφήτης Ἠσαῗας, ὅτι Πᾶσα ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἡμῶν, ὡς ῥάκος ἀποκαθημένης' Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Γλαφψρων Εἰς Την Ἐξοδον, Βιβλιον Β' Migne PG 69 472-476

And again God said to the blessed Moses, 'Place your hand into your lap.' And he placed his hand in his lap and it was made leprous like snow. And He said again, 'Place your hand in your lap.' And he placed his hand in his lap and he drew it out and it was restored to the color of flesh.' 1 And indeed very befitting it is that God is able to provide a cure for leprosy. And those who are afflicted with diseases which no medical skill seems to be able to relieve, are left needy of all else but the Divine power which nothing can resist, but to which everything must bow and serve. Thus irremediable is the disease of leprosy, and truly a desperate thing, to men, but things which appear to us to be impossible are easy for God, 2 Thus God himself when he cleansed the leprous hand of Moses not only taught that nothing should be judged irremediable, but they were called to understand, that is, the Israelites, that even if they suffered from some unavoidable evil, while they were subject to the shameless Egyptians, and they were touched by the worst disease, and I speak here of the servitude in Egypt, a most capable physician may be prepared for them, one who best knows how and is quickly able to cure even the worst types of evils, and that without toil and in brief time, for at the moment Moses took his hand into his lap it was healed. And this also subtly speaks to us about something else, I judge. Because the people of Israel had spent a long time in Egypt, they turned from the fair ways of heaven and their fathers during their stay and fell into the ways of the people in whose land they were dwelling, and as the Prophet's voice says, 'They served the creature rather than the Creator.' 3 And they fell into every sort of uncleanliness and dead and lifeless were the souls of those touched. For leprosy is a sign of uncleanliness and death and thus they were taught by the miracle that God would not only call them back to Himself but in his lap establish them afresh, not only cleansing ingrained filth, but effortlessly scouring the depths of their dead hearts. And thus this to you is spoken. But again in this infection of Moses' hand with leprosy which was then made clean, is also foreshadowed the mystery of Christ, of which I shall speak of in addition. 'Everything was made through the Son and without Him not one thing was made,' 4 as the blessed Evangelist John has given good witness to you. Now since the Father works everything through the Son, thus Sacred Scripture names for us the Son of the Father the hand, and the arm and right hand. So even the blessed Isaiah says: 'Lord, who believes in our report? And to whom is revealed the right hand of the Lord?' 5 For the Jews endured hard and grievous misery, laboring excessively in unbelief. And David testifies that by the word of the Lord the heavens are made, and with the speech of the same Prophet God the Father thus confirms it: 'My hand has established heaven.' 6 And addressing others, He says, ' For I, your God, have strengthened you, and helped you, protecting you with my just right hand.' 7 Divine Scripture, then, is accustomed to name the Son the hand. And thus consider the hand of Moses which was hidden in his lap, and being drawn out was infected with leprosy, and again in the lap placed and drawn out again it was clean. 8 See here the mystery and the manner of the Incarnation, how it may be and the likeness it may have, for if we look deeply into it we shall grasp what shall become plain. For the Son was in the lap of God the Father, and through Him the Father made all things. He is the exalted arm, and the flawlessly strong hand, and the wondrous right hand. Then after He had come out of His own place, being made man, He took on our infirmities, 9 according to the voice of the Prophet, being judged obnoxious and filthy, for every human state compared to God is unclean, and so Isaiah says, 'As a cloth stained with menstrual blood is all our righteousness.' 10 Saint Cyril of Alexandria, from Glaphrya on Exodus, Book 2 1 Exod 4.6-7  2 cf Lk 18.27  3 Rom 1.25  4 Jn 1.3  5 Is 53.2  6 Is 48.13  7 Is 41. 10  8 Exod 4. 6-7  9 Is 53.4 10 Is 64.6