A HOMILY FOR THE SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
About the Lessons Taught by the Gospel Lection
Brothers and sisters!
Our Holy Orthodox Church, the original and true Church of Christ, has ordained that at every Divine Liturgy one or more lections be read from the apostolic epistles or the Book of Acts, and the same number from the Holy Gospels to console us, rebuke us, teach us, and strengthen us in Christian faith and life. So doing, she ensures that we do not remain forever in our ignorance, but come to at least a basic understanding of the law of the Lord, and are ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh a reason of the hope that is in us.[1] Likewise, she arms us with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,[2] so that we can do battle with the enemies of our salvation, and against our sinful habits and passions. And so, dear brothers and sisters, possessing this general understanding of the purpose of the liturgical readings of Scripture, let us now turn to today’s Gospel lection and consider what it relates and what particular lessons it teaches us regarding faith and our spiritual struggle.
What the lection relates is that the Lord healed two blind men simply by touching their eyes; that He drove a devil out of a dumb man, thereby enabling him to speak; that the Pharisees reacted by slandering Him, saying that He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils; and that afterwards, Jesus went about all cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
As for what the lection teaches, let us consider first of all the faith of the blind men and their insistent entreaty. The Lord left the home of Jairus, ruler of a synagogue in Capernaum, where He had just raised from the dead the daughter of the ruler; whereupon, the blind men, who had of course not seen, but only heard about the miracle, attached themselves to Him. They began following Christ and crying, Have mercy on us, Son of David! which meant that they were acknowledging Him as the Messiah. When the Saviour entered the house where He was staying, they followed Him inside and dared to come even closer to Him. Jesus did not ask them, “Do you believe that My Father is able to heal you?” but demanded, Believe ye that I am able to do this? and they answered, Yea, Lord, thereby acknowledging with simple faith that Jesus is Himself not only the Messiah, but the Lord God, Who alone possesses sovereign power to work miracles; and they threw themselves upon His mercy. Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you, and they both received sight. Such, beloved Christians, is the reward of faith – of simple, strong, guileless faith! In exchange for two words, the men received perfect vision, for as the Lord said on another occasion, All things are possible to him that believeth.[3]
But as remarkable as is the power of real faith, no less remarkable is the power of unbelief. The Pharisees saw with their own eyes some of Christ’s miracles and heard about the others from eyewitnesses; they heard also the divine teaching of the great Wonderworker, yet they shut their eyes and ears, and were scandalized. Pride and prejudice can completely seal shut the inner eyes of man; they can blind him utterly. And it turns out that spiritual blindness is a more bitter thing even than physical blindness, because a physically blind man is often innocent of any wrongdoing in connection with his condition, which can greatly further his salvation, if he accepts it humbly; whereas spiritual blindness is caused by the perverse will and crooked heart of the one afflicted. And so guard your faith, your will, and your heart attentively, dear Christians, lest ye perish from the righteous way.[4]
After Christ healed the blind men, they brought to Him a dumb man possessed with a devil. The Lord cast out the demon and the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. But the Pharisees reacted in the opposite manner and scoffed, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.
Whence such naked slander? From pride, envy, and ill-will: all wretched passions, which blind the eye of the soul. But as Christ says, If thine eye (meaning, your conscience) be single (meaning, simple and pure before God), thy whole body (meaning, your entire being) shall be full of light.[5] If your conscience is pure, then you will see others as pure, unless their deeds are manifestly wicked; or at least you will not exaggerate or weave fantasies about their possible ill motives, nor will you give credence to idle talk about others. In their writings, the saints frequently remind us that the good tend to regard others as good, to the degree both possible and wise. In other words, if you do not really know “the whole story,” you will extend to others the benefit of the doubt, as you would hope they would do for you, if the situation were reversed. You will act in accordance with your Master’s command: As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.[6]
But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness![7] If you have darkened the light of your conscience by repeatedly failing to obey its promptings, then you will generally think of others as ill-intentioned, wicked, and despicable; you will turn things inside-out and upside-down, even when they might be adequately explained in a better light. Unto the pure all things are pure, as the holy Apostle Paul says; but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure, but even their mind and conscience is defiled.[8] Woe to us, on account of our defiled conscience! Therefore, dear Christians, let us be simple and purehearted before the Lord, as was the multitude that saw Christ’s miracle in today’s Gospel, and let us entreat the Lord honestly and fervently every day praying, Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.[9]
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever,[10] the holy Apostle Paul reminds us. Even today He continues to work miracles for people of faith: either directly, Himself; or through His immaculate Mother, the Virgin Theotokos, Queen of Heaven; or through His saints. Every day He heals the blind eyes of my heart, in response to my repentant prayer. For every day I blind my own eyes by sin: by responding to His goodness with my coldness; by my dry, distracted prayer; by my unjust, ruthless condemnation of others; by my vainglory and pride. But no sooner do I turn to Him in true repentance than He wondrously cleanses, heals, and enlightens me.
Thick cataracts of sin lie upon the eyes of our souls, dear brothers and sisters, but many who are so afflicted are quite unaware of their condition. The drunkard does not realize his plight, nor the fornicator, nor the adulterer, nor the thief. The avaricious does not understand that money not only blinds him spiritually, but prevents him from understanding that he is blind. Every sinner, until he repents of his sin and amends himself, is a spiritually blind man and does not perceive where he is headed.
And so, let us take to heart the lessons today’s Gospel lection teaches. Let us beseech the Lord to grant us a heart pure and simple before Him, a heart full of faith; and let us repent fervently and continuously, that our blindness may be healed. Amen.
[1] I Pet. 3:15
[2] Eph. 6:17
[3] Mark 9:23
[4] Ps. 2:11
[5] Matt. 6:22
[6] Luke 6:31
[7] Matt. 6:20
[8] Titus 1:15
[9] Ps. 50:12
[10] Heb. 13:8
