Sermon On The Gospel of St. Luke
Chapter 18, verses 35 – 43
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!
Beloved in Christ, brothers and sisters!
In today’s reading of the Gospel according to St. Luke, we heard about the healing of a blind man by our Lord, Jesus Christ.
"As He was coming near Jericho", -- as said in the Gospel -- "that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. So they told him that Jesus from Nazareth was passing by. An he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God."
Our Lord performs this healing miracle of the blind man not merely for the sake of the miracle itself, but for the sake that we could witness, even though while being en route on His journey, His actions and teachings were not futile and not without purpose to His followers, so that we in everything, always and everywhere can bring forth usefulness and purpose having no emptiness and absurdity in our lives. The blind man sincerely believed, that He, Jesus, is the awaited Messiah, the Christ, because, as a Jew, he knew, that Christ was a descendant from the seed of David, therefore shouting: "Son of David! Have mercy on me". What is most important is the blind man did not ask our Lord: "give sight to my eyes", but called onto Him: "have mercy on me". And with the words "have mercy on me", he expressed his recognition to His Divine strength and Divine power, and thus did not consider Him an ordinary man.
One supposedly could marvel, -- says Blessed Theophilakt the Bulgarian – "at the perseverance of his confession, despite being rebuked, he did not keep silent but shouted even louder; for his fervor from within moved him".
But what is most important is that this blind man not only received physical bodily sight, but spiritual sight, as his eyes begot sight "coming from the True Light, (John 1, 9), became the light for this sick man". (Blessed Theophilakt).
This example of our Lord’s healing of the blind man, motivates us to think of spiritual blindness, which is far more dangerous and deserves more pity than physical blindness.
Vision is a noble member of our body, and each of us realizes that to forfeit vision – means to forfeit half of our lives; not seeing anything around us, is the same as being buried alive. But, brothers and sisters, man, who is endowed from God a sapient soul, free will and a gift to recognize and differentiate the truth, which is the breath of our soul, to which he freely uses this great gift from God for wickedness, turns his God given wisdom into absurdity, calling good, evil, and evil, good, sweet as bitter and bitter as sweet – is he not an unfortunate blind man? There were in the time of our Savior’s earthly life the pharisees and scribes, the high priests and the elders among the people of Israel: witnessing His miracles, they attributed these powers as devil’s work; hearing His Holy teachings, they perverted its meaning; they defamed our Lord, calling Him mad, possessed, a flatterer and liar, and finally, like rebels and blasphemers, betrayed Him with a shameful death. (Even witnessing the resurrection of Lazarus by our Lord, they ordered to slay not only The Truth, but also to annihilate Lazarus – a living testimony to this Divine Truth). Is this spiritual blindness not worthy of abhorrence and bitter tears?
What parturiates such blindness in man? Where does it come from? St. John of Kronstadt says that it happens "from outmost self-love, pride and self-conceit, from a maligned arrangement of the heart, from envy and from habitual fullness and glut". "But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; you grew fat, you grew thick, you are obese! Then he forsook God who made him, and scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation.", (Deuteronomy 32, 15) – as is said in the Holy Scriptures.
These affranchised blind men, sons of iniquity, are many, in these times and as they have been always. Nowadays, from these affranchised or liberal blind men, springs forth an unfeeling stony heart, clamor against neighbors, indifference to the truths of faith, furious, and ridiculous aims insisting to its imaginary correctness and to carry out its lawless plans and aims, passion towards a strangers estate, the fear of loosing customary baleful comforts and dissolving in the spirit of the world.
As in its time, the Jewish Sanhedrin pursued and crucified our Savior, so too, presently, in these confused times in our Church, the New York Synod pursues and crucifies through libel, violent actions, and with endless court indictments, the legal Chairman of our Church Abroad, Metropolitan Vitaly. Cunning ungodliness, heartful and spiritual blindness of these persecutors, morally allows them to simultaneously declare their "love" for our persecuted First-Hierarch, and at the same time, not once (!) did they inquire about his health and well being, but increased their persecutions. Rebelling on truth, they imagine their actions are best and will bring forth salvation to their souls. Standing for unlawfulness, this UNECCLESIASTIC path they dream will be of some ecclesial usefulness. What kind of usefulness can we expect from them? A tree is known by its fruit, and these baiters of truth, by their roguish and depraved actions. Lord, save the Orthodox Christians from these afflicted leaders.
All of us, brothers and sisters, have not yet achieved sainthood, which all Christians are called to by God; each in our own way, appear spiritually blind, wishing to spiritually recover and to sublimate from our passions and sins. That is why we will try fervently and with fervency in our hearts, as did the blind man in today’s Gospel reading, not to remain in silence when requesting our Lord, Jesus Christ, that He with His omnipotent benevolence to grant mercy on us and give sight to our spiritual eyes. Nevertheless, we will impetrate and entreat Him to liberate us and protect us from the contaminations of blind persecutions to the Truth, for only the Truth and unhypocritic love to Her, will set us free from subjugated sin and the path of digression and destruction. Amen.
- Bishop Vladimir
Holy -Transfiguration skete
Mansonville, Canada