Homily Two for the Seventh Sunday of Matthew
(7th Sunday of Pentecost)
By St. John of Kronstadt
(7th Sunday of Pentecost)
By St. John of Kronstadt
"Then Jesus touched their eyes (the two blind men), and said, 'According to your faith be it done to you.' And their eyes were opened" (Matt. 9:29–30).
The Gospel story of today tells us, beloved brethren, about the miraculous healing by the Savior of two blind men and a mute demoniac whose tongue was tied by a demon. This happened in the outskirts of the city of Capernaum, after the resurrection from the dead of the daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the Jewish synagogue. These two blind men followed Jesus Christ and cried out: "Have mercy on us, Jesus, son of David!" "And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to him. And Jesus said to them, 'Do you believe that I can do this?' They said to him, 'Yes, Lord.' Then He touched their eyes and said, 'According to your faith be it done to you.' And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly said to them, 'See that no one knows it.' And they went out and spread word of Him throughout all that land” (Matthew 9:27–31). The matter is clear: the blind men suddenly received their sight at one word of the Savior, the Creator of man; the Light and Giver of light Himself, spoke a word – and the word became a deed. He said something creative: "Be it done to you" – and the former blind are now able to see. And He gave such a wonderful gift for the faith of the blind men alone, without any merit on their part: "According to your faith be it done to you." So pleasing to God in man is one simple, sincere faith in the omnipotence of God! Faith works so powerfully! Such miracles happen through faith! Do you and I have faith? If we do, then we too cannot help but see in ourselves the wondrous works of God, both in our souls and in our bodies. The Lord is with us even now, according to His Divine promise: “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20), He said to the disciples before His ascension into heaven. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). I see the wonders of His mercy and power in me every day and I praise His mercies daily, for they are without number.
Speaking of the blind men of the Gospel and of their miraculous healing by Jesus Christ for their faith, I am transported in my thoughts to the blind of another kind, namely, to the blind who are seized by spiritual blindness, which is much more dangerous and fatal than physical blindness. This is, firstly, the blindness of the half-educated or completely overeducated of some people of our time, who in the wise structure of the world do not see the finger of God, who created and controls everything, and regard it as a product of chance, as do they themselves, treating their lives as a kind of plaything or diversion, and when this plaything becomes tiresome for some reason, they mercilessly break it, that is, they inflict harm upon themselves; or they engage in a series of wicked deeds against others, taking pleasure in human suffering. This blindness is all the more fatal for themselves and for society, as people of this kind believe themselves to be sighted, intelligent, and almost good-hearted individuals, while considering all others – those not of their clique – to be ignorant and base. When reading the daily news about various incidents, we frequently encounter murders, suicides, alcoholism, debauchery, the most audacious embezzlements of public funds, and arson of towns and villages. In summarizing all these occurrences, we draw the necessary conclusion that these people have turned away from God, from faith, from the Holy Church; that they are blind, wandering in darkness, unaware of what they seek or what will come of it all. Oh, wretched times! Oh, times of unbelief! Oh, times that foretell the approach of the dreadful day of Judgment! Beware, brethren, of this blindness, of disbelief, of tyranny. Forgive me for this expression, but I cannot describe people who act so shamelessly and recklessly in any other way. Where is the light of reason and conscience in people? How have they lost the light of faith?
Secondly, the blindness of the soul is the blindness of division and superstitions.
Thirdly, spiritual blindness is the blindness of the common people, who are unaware of the most essential truths of their faith and the rules of Christian life. However, this blindness is more forgivable than the one we spoke of earlier: it is involuntary.
Hold fast, brethren, to your holy faith, to the Church of God which teaches you all that is good, useful, holy, and soul-saving; do not listen to the present tyrants who have the devil as their teacher and endeavor to corrupt your simple, Christian, and Russian understanding. Maintain the fear of God throughout your life; remember the second dreadful Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and the terrible Judgment of the entire universe, and diligently fulfill the commandments of God and the works of your calling. Learn about faith and its duties; be enlightened, sanctified, corrected, and saved.
Another miracle recounted in today's Gospel was the casting out of a demon from a mute, suffering man. The Lord cast out the demon, and the mute began to speak. Glory to Your Divine authority, Christ God! You command the evil spirits, and they tremble in obedience to Your command, though with a common malice in which they remain unrepentant. O Lord! Cast out from us the spirit of muteness: for we too are subject to it; when it is necessary to earnestly repent to You, we become mute and know not what to say; when it is essential to fervently pray, we again fall silent and know not how to pray, what to ask for, for what to give thanks, and how to give thanks; when it comes to discussing worldly matters, our tongue moves freely and sometimes speaks without ceasing, but when it is a matter of the Divine, of the salvation of the soul, our tongue becomes mute. Where in society is it customary to speak of the Divine, of the salvation of a sinful soul, of eternal life? Almost nowhere. Here we are silent. O Lord! Deliver us from the spirit of muteness and teach us what to say and what to do that is pleasing to You, our God and Savior. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
