Sermon for July 16th, 2023
7th Sunday After Pentecost
St. Anthony of Kiev Caves
Matt. 9:27-35 (§33) & Matt. 4:25-5:12 (§10)
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
From the Old Testament to the present day, those who could see the path to God came from a wide spectrum of society: from the very poor to the very rich, from the simple to the educated, from the outcasts to those at the pinnacle of earthly power. However, contrary to the mentality of the world, it is the poor, the simple, and the outcasts that have every advantage. So, when a manenjoys worldly glory, such as for example King David did, and is nonetheless able to repent and depend on God, his sins which were severe, are forgiven. Attachment and reliance on the world blocks our path to God, and as a result, we lose the sense of who He is, what He teaches, and how we are to follow Him. What is good, what is beautiful, what is true – these things get distorted.
The first Gospel reading today shows us just how clear and just how distorted a man’s view of God can be, as well as how distorted a man’s view of himself can be. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” the Lord tells us in the Beatitudes, and it is no accident that the two men who see God are blind. They followed Jesus as He was walking and yelled “Thou son of David, have mercy on us.” Notice that before they had even witnessed what He had done, before they saw Him cast out devils or heal the sick or feed the five thousand, already they are confessing Him to be the promised Messiah. The Lord turns to them and asks, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?” and they say to Him, “Yea, Lord.” Then He touches their eyes, saying ‘According to your faith, be it unto you.’ And their eyes are opened. Now, let us pay attention to the fact that what restores sight to these men is not Christ in the sense that He is not forcing this on them. No, He says “according to your faith.” In other words, God is accessible to everyone. He is all around us and since these men opened their hearts to Him, since they let Him in, He will enter. Healing will enter. This is a very important concept for us to understand, brothers and sisters. The Lord’s hand is perpetually outstretched even in the worst horrors that this world which is hurtling into ever increasing darkness, can come up with. But, as the two blind men saw, there will always be a Light in the darkness.
Christ then turns His attention to a man possessed by the devil. He casts the devil out, and the man who had been mute, speaks. The multitudes marveled and saying, “It was never so seen in Israel,” but the Pharisees grumbled, “He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.”
Now, we have three different reactions to the Son of God: those who believe without seeing because their hearts are open, those who marvel only when they see signs, and those who even when they see miracles find the most ludicrous explanations for them. St. John Chrysostom writes, “The crowd exalted Him, but the Pharisees continued to disparage His works, contradicting themselves unashamedly. Such a thing is wickedness – which finds itself desperately saying, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
The Pharisees were educated, powerful, and enjoyed all of the glories of their position. Here, however, they are faced with the God who they hardly know, and they are desperate to discredit Him. Their desperation can perhaps be compared to many of those leading our modern, secular society who are doing everything they can to shape our lives as if God does not exist. The alternative, for both the Pharisees and our ruling elites, is of course, unthinkable.
From our perspective, what can we take away from today’s Gospel reading? What we need to be able to do, my brothers and sisters, is to recognize goodness when we see it, and especially to recognize Christ when we see Him. The Apostle Paul writes to the Philippians, “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, meditate on these things.” (Phil 4:8) My brothers and sisters, we should not only surround ourselves with goodness but also endeavor to see it in everyone. For if we can do this, we will be able to see Christ.
Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. Amen.
