Homily for the Fourth Sunday of the Holy and Great Fast - The Sunday of Saint John Climacus (St. Cleopa of Sihastria)

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of the Holy and Great Fast 

The Sunday of Saint John Climacus 

On Faith and Doubt

By St. Cleopa of Sihastria

Beloved faithful,

Let us understand that firm and perfect faith is one thing, and doubtful and weak faith is another. Through right and perfect faith, a person can, by the power of God, work miracles and attain both temporal and eternal blessedness. Perfect or complete faith is the faith preached by the Orthodox Church and briefly confessed in the Symbol of Faith (the Creed). This holy and right faith, together with the practice of good deeds, with the aim of pleasing God alone, brings a person the salvation of the soul (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Know, my brothers, that there are many kinds of beliefs on earth that do not bring salvation to the soul, but rather lead it to destruction. Such are pagan beliefs, the distorted beliefs of those who believe in spells, incantations and sorceries, in false dreams and visions, and many other kinds of beliefs foreign to the truth, which lead those deceived by them to ruin. Only the perfect and right faith, which the Orthodox Church confesses and proclaims, is saving, being founded upon Holy Scripture and Holy Apostolic and Patristic Tradition. It has an unshakable foundation in Christ, the cornerstone (Matthew 21:42).

The Holy and Divine Fathers, like the Holy Apostles, were the greatest defenders of the right faith at the Seven Ecumenical Synods and the local ones. Through their written teachings they have left us illumined the paths of salvation, which lead to Christ only according to the rule of the Orthodox faith. When Saint Basil the Great was urged by the governor Modestus to accept union with the heresy of Arius, the great hierarch said to him: “No! The Church has received her teaching from Christ God, and this teaching I am bound to defend even at the cost of my life. Therefore I will not allow even one word, or even a single syllable, of this divine tradition to be set aside or changed. But as a guardian appointed by God through grace, I will stand here faithful and unshaken at my post, even if I must pay for this resistance with my life. I will not cease to defend the priceless treasure of the faith against all injuries coming from unbelievers and heretics. The truths of the right faith have been preserved in their entirety and purity through many human sacrifices and great waves of Christian blood.”

When millions of people — men and women, children, young and old, learned men and philosophers — from the first centuries of Christianity gave their lives for the Christian teaching, so as to leave it to us as a pure inheritance in Jesus Christ, no Christian of our day has the right to spoil the beauty and adornment of the right faith, which contains the truth. All who make changes in the words of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition will have no part in Christ and will not inherit the heavenly kingdom together with His saints.

Perfect and firm faith is that which works through love (Galatians 5:6), that is, faith followed by good deeds. But faith without love — that is, without good works — is vain and useless. This is shown by the Holy Apostle Paul, who says: “Though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2). Furthermore, let us know, brothers, that our right, perfect, and firm faith, which works through good deeds, must remain steadfast until our last breath. In this regard we have thousands and millions of examples left to us by the saints of God, who confessed Him and, for the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, laid down their lives for the Gospel, enduring terrible sufferings unto death. To confirm this about the steadfast faith of the saints of God, I will bring a few examples from the life of the Church.

The first example of total sacrifice for the salvation of the world and for the preaching of the Holy Gospel on earth was our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He revealed to us the eternal truths of the right faith. He taught us how to believe in the true God, worshiped and glorified in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Christ, the Savior of the world, revealed to us that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and sent Him to us on earth as Comforter and Lord of life. He sanctified the Virgin Mary through His incarnation and entrusted her to all of us as the Mother of God and our mother, saying to her: “Behold your son!” and through His beloved disciple John the Evangelist, to whom He said: “Behold your mother!” (John 19:26–27), He made us her children.

Among human beings, the most perfect faith, full of Spirit and power, was that of the Mother of God, the first intercessor for us all before the Most Holy Trinity. She believed the words of the Archangel Gabriel and through him accepted to bear Christ in the flesh, when she said: “Be it unto me according to your word!” (Luke 1:38).

But what shall we say of the great faith of the Holy Apostles? Did they not sow the right faith and the Gospel throughout the whole world? Did they not travel through Asia, Europe, and Africa, proclaiming the coming of the Savior into the world and the nearness of the Kingdom of Heaven? Did they not endure so much persecution, imprisonment, and martyrdom for Christ and for the Gospel? Did they not heal the sick and all kinds of sufferers by the power of faith, calling upon the name of Christ? Did they not overthrow idol temples and in their place raise Christian churches?

Thus, what shall we say of the fervent faith of Peter, to whom Christ said: “Truly I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18)? Was he not crucified upside down for the love of Christ? What shall we say of the faith of the Apostle Paul, the mouth of Christ? The Savior made him, from a tyrant and persecutor, an Apostle to the nations and a martyr. How then shall we praise the fiery faith of Saint Paul, his love for the salvation of pagans and Jews, his courage and manliness, his wisdom and patience, the beatings, imprisonment, and chains he endured for the Gospel, being counted worthy to be lifted by the Holy Spirit up to the third heaven? Was it not he who said that after my departure savage wolves — that is, heretics — will enter among you, not sparing the flock? (Acts 20:29).

Who can tell with what love and fervent faith the Apostles served Christ and His Gospel? Or who knows how many beatings, tortures, and chains the holy martyrs suffered for Christ? For the more the pagans tortured them, the stronger they became in faith, and they gladly accepted death for Jesus rather than deny Him. Who among mortals knows the number and names of all the saints of God? Or who can praise worthily their faith, their love, their humility, their courage, and the holiness with which they lived the Gospel and fulfilled the commandments of God? Did they believe in Christ only with their lips, or for reward? Or did they serve the Church for ranks? Or did they confess the Gospel of the Resurrection for money and gifts?

No, never. Did they fear men more than God? Did they quarrel over precedence? Did they accuse one another, or pursue wealth and earthly goals in the Church? Did they doubt in faith and change the teaching of the Gospel according to their own will and understanding, as sects do today? No. Rather, their right and steadfast faith in God was strong as iron; their faces and hearts shone with the light of the Spirit like torches because of the holiness of their lives; their hands did not tire of giving alms, their feet did not cease running to churches and to the preaching of the Gospel; their mouths did not stop praying to God, and their souls, white as snow, awaited with joy their release from the body and union in heaven with Christ.

The same strong faith, even unto sacrifice, and an angelic life were lived on earth by all the saints and venerable Fathers of the Orthodox Church. Through their prayer and faith they worked many miracles; with their tears they sanctified deserts and monasteries; with their hearts they gave rest to God; and with their wisdom and counsel they wrote useful books, defended the right faith in the world, opposed heretics, and cast out demons from people. Therefore they are counted as saints in the calendar, and we ask their help.

What can we say of our fathers and forebears who preserved the Orthodox faith with such holiness and strength in the land of our country? Let us recall the great ruler of Moldavia, Stephen the Great, who defended Orthodoxy for nearly half a century and built 48 churches and monasteries. Let us also remember the martyr prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, with his four sons, who shed their blood for Christ far from their homeland. Let us recall also the confessing hierarchs and defenders of the right faith in Transylvania, and the hermits and venerable saints who labored in the Carpathians, in our forests and monasteries.

Nor can we forget our good parents and faithful peasants from the villages. Were there many more faithful than they? Who prayed with more faith and tears than they — our peasants and our gentle and pious mothers in the villages?

All this, my brothers, I have said so that we may realize that in our country as well, faith in God has always had holy men, true livers in Christ, and defenders of the pure faith against all sects and against those who are doubtful and weak in faith.”

Beloved faithful,

Against true and strong faith in God, throughout the two thousand years of Christianity, all kinds of obstacles, temptations, and tares have arisen, as Jesus Christ calls them in His parables. And what were these? At the beginning of Christianity there arose Judaizing Christians, who wanted to mix the pure faith in Christ with the religious practices of the Old Law. Then pagan Roman emperors rose up against the faith preached by the Savior and the Apostles, who through harsh and bloody persecutions sought to turn Christians back again to idolatry.

From the 4th century, the devil raised up against the apostolic faith all kinds of heresies, sects, and pagan philosophical currents, such as Arianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism, Monothelitism, Iconoclasm, Gnosticism, Manichaeism, Montanism, and many others. Later arose the Lutheran reformers, the Calvinists, the Hussites, and the newer sects of our own day. All these aimed at weakening the true faith and converting the Orthodox to their heresy. Some succeeded more, others less in their proselytizing, diabolical aim of fragmenting the Church of Christ, while others disappeared without a trace.

The ship of Christ’s Church continues its course on the sea of life, but the devil does not cease to attack it with ever new weapons and temptations. The strongest weapon, after sects, is unbelief in God, which, taking the place of paganism, seeks to weaken firm and pure faith in God. Yet the sacrifice of the devoted shepherds of the Church, the writings of the Holy Fathers, and the prayers of monks and faithful have weakened the attack of unbelievers.

Then the devil invented a new weapon against living faith active in Christ — namely, doubt. Doubting Christians are becoming more and more numerous. They believe in God, but they doubt eternal life, the power of prayer, and His grace. They pray, but with doubt, just as the father of the sick child in today’s Gospel prayed. Doubting Christians go to church only when they are sick, when they have enemies, troubles, or examinations. Otherwise, they say they have no time, that they can pray at home, or that the priests pray for them. These doubt eternal life, the power of prayer, the grace of the priesthood, and the holiness of Holy Communion. The spirit of doubt is a terrible demon that torments many believers and casts them into despair, dark thoughts, sects, and even suicide. For even those Christians who go to sects do so because of doubt in the faith. That is why doubters and sectarians are always troubled, anxious, ready at any moment for quarrel and even revenge.

A clear image of our doubt in faith is presented in today’s Gospel. A father brought his epileptic child to Christ to be healed. First he asked His disciples to heal him, but they could not. Then, falling at Christ’s feet, he told his sorrow and asked Him to heal his child. But the Savior delayed performing the miracle. Why? Because of the unbelief of the child’s father. For see how he prayed: “Lord, if You can do anything, help us, having mercy on us!” Then Christ answered him: “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” The father of the child, burdened by his son’s illness, cried out with tears: “I believe, Lord! Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:22–24). Then immediately Christ cast out the evil spirit from the child and healed him.

How many of our Christians murmur before God when they are in suffering and trouble? How many come to church and pray more out of earthly interests, saying almost the same doubtful words: “Lord, if You are good, help me! Lord, if You have forgiven me, have mercy on me! Lord, if You can and if You will, heal me and punish my enemies!” But this is not prayer accepted by God!

Beloved faithful,

If we want to be saved and to receive mercy from Christ, let us have firm, living, pure, and steadfast faith. Otherwise, God does not hear us quickly. Or He answers us as He did the man in today’s Gospel: “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes!” Let us have strong faith, and we will obtain all things.

Doubt in faith has brought the world here, to the edge of the abyss. Doubt in faith has created so many sects and has brought division into the Church, into the family, and everywhere. How can we strengthen ourselves in faith so as to escape doubt and its terrible consequences? Only through prayer and fasting, through frequent confession and communion, and through the reading of holy books. For thus the Savior answered His disciples when they asked Him: “Why could we not cast it out?” — “Because of your little faith” (Matthew 17:19–20). “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting!” (Mark 9:28–29).

Do you see what Christ answers us? Do you see the power of prayer aided by fasting? Do you see the power of fasting aided by prayer? In vain do some speak ill of fasting. In vain do others pray if they do not wish to fast. Join prayer with fasting, go regularly to the Holy Liturgy, confess sincerely — especially now during the Holy and Great Fast. Be reconciled, help one another in the hardships of life, and raise your children in faith and in the fear of God, so that they may not be enslaved by the devil through the sins of youth. For you see how many parents suffer because of their sick, disobedient, and wayward children.

If we pray with faith and fasting, we will obtain our requests and will be able to say with profit the prayer of the man in today’s Gospel: “I believe, Lord! Help my unbelief!” Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.