Homily on the Fourth Saturday of Great Lent
On the Miraculous Power of Jesus Christ
By Fr. Daniel Sysoev
On the Miraculous Power of Jesus Christ
By Fr. Daniel Sysoev
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
On the fourth Saturday of Great Lent, we hear about the miracles of Christ the Savior. For the Church especially emphasizes the wondrous power of Christ, because without His miraculous, supernatural Power we cannot rid ourselves of sins, nor of passions, nor of the illnesses that afflict us. In this way, the Lord reveals His Power to us, so that we may place our hope in Him, and not reduce Christianity to merely a set of moral norms. The Gospel, in fact, says nothing about morality as such. It speaks of power — the power of God Almighty, the power of divine love, the power of divine justice, the power of divine mercy, and the power of divine judgment. So that we may understand that our task is not simply to become highly moral people, but that our task is to become children of God — those children who go to their Father beyond the bounds of the universe, who strive there with all their soul, who strive that the life of God may be within them, who strive to become like their Heavenly Father. For this reason the Church reminds us of the miracles of Christ that He performs. For mere morality cannot lead one to heaven. Even in ancient times Solomon said: what is grievous on earth? That the righteous and the sinner die alike: “The wise man dies just like the fool” (Eccl. 2:16). But the power of God raises the dead. It restores the afflicted and lifts up those who have fallen.
The Lord departed from the region of Tyre and Sidon and came to the shore of the Sea of Tiberias. And they brought to Him a deaf and mute man and begged Him to lay His hands upon him. And He took him aside from the crowd, put His fingers into his ears, and, having spat, touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, He sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha" — that is, "Be opened." "And immediately his hearing was opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly” (Mark 7:35). The Lord does not simply heal, but heals in a very particular way. He heals through a special sacred action. The Lord often healed by touch. Even now, in our churches, touch has great power. What happens at the remission of sins? The word is accompanied by the touch of the priest’s hand, who makes the sign of the Cross over the person’s head. How does Baptism begin? With the hand making the sign of the Cross on the forehead and the heart, and with the priest breathing upon the person. When we perform the Mystery of Holy Unction, at its conclusion the Holy Gospel is placed upon the head of the person, so that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself may touch him.
Here there is a very important principle: touch means that God is not repulsed. He created us Himself with His own hands, and with those same hands He restores us. The Lord touches us and by His touch pours life into us. He is the God Who first touched man and kindled life within him. And now He touches again and pours in life. You see — He places His fingers into the ears of the deaf man, and the ears awaken. He spits upon His finger and places it in the man’s mouth, so that this sacred saliva of the Lord may pour speech into his lips.
For the name of Christ is the Word of God. He is the eternal Word of God the Father. Therefore it is said that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). And this Word places His word into the mouth of man, so that he may speak in a divine manner. When people say that we do not need rituals, that all this is unnecessary — remember, this is not Christianity. Christianity is built upon the touch of God. God became man, appeared in the flesh, and we can see Him with our eyes even now; therefore icons are given to us, so that we may see the incarnate God with our own eyes, see all His sufferings, miracles, and resurrections which He performed. So that we may hear Him with our ears when we hear the Holy Gospel. We hear His word — we can even hear the very words, as when the Lord said “Ephphatha.” We hear this speech even in His own language, this wondrous and precious fragment that shows us how the Lord’s speech sounded then. We smell His fragrance — we perceive it spiritually with the heart, but also with our nostrils when we sense the fragrance of incense. The Lord touches us through the hands of the priest.
When I was ordained, I remember a completely extraordinary, otherworldly sensation; it was not only I, but many other priests as well who experienced it. When the bishop lays hands upon you, ordaining you to the rank of deacon or priest, there are special sensations. When a man becomes a deacon, he feels an angelic power entering him. And when hands are laid during priestly ordination, it feels as though a blazing flame descends upon your head, scorching it and descending within, transforming you through touch. There is a touch that spiritually refines a person. Many of us (especially those who were baptized as adults) remember that the touch of the priest during the Mystery of Baptism also has power. And these sacred waters of Baptism truly have tremendous power. Not without reason, according to the rule, a person is immersed three times in the water — not immersing himself, but being held by the hand of the priest, and through it another Hand acts. Above the priest’s hand is hidden the hand of Christ, which, by touching, opens his ears, his eyes, and gives him life. Thus we literally come into contact with God. We touch God — we have found God Who has come near, for one cannot touch someone who is far away; from afar one can see or hear, but when we touch God, it means He is very near. Therefore the Lord heals precisely through touch, showing that He is the Creator of matter and that matter is entirely obedient to Him. He opens ears and tongue because He wants people to hear His word and speak His words.
But there are people who are shaken even by the name of God. You have probably encountered people who cannot bear even the mention of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is because their ears are closed. As Scripture says: “This people has stopped their ears, closed their eyes, and hardened their heart, lest they should hear with their ears, see with their eyes, and turn with their heart, and I should heal them” (John 12:40). So it is even now: people’s ears are closed, and their tongue is bound. There are people who cannot even speak without foul language. And it is interesting that this inability is connected with mortal sins — drunkenness, fornication, hatred, malice. A person truly becomes inarticulate, like that unfortunate sick man — but that man was bound by the devil through illness; these people also are bound by the devil, but voluntarily, though they remain in similar bondage.
The Lord can heal them, if they are brought to Him. If a person desires to come to God, makes even a small step toward the Creator, then the Lord will come near, touch him through the hands of the priest in confession, place His life-giving fingers into his ears, touch him, and place His living Word upon the tongue of the person and say: “Ephphatha!” — “Be opened!” And immediately the person’s ears are opened. But the Lord also sighs. It is said that He looked to heaven, because He is obedient to His Heavenly Father and does everything according to His Father’s will. Why does He sigh? Because in sighing, He breathes out the life-giving breath of the Holy Spirit. He revives the person. When someone has drowned, artificial respiration is given — and so God also revives the person who has drowned in sins, breathing into him His life - giving breath. He is not repulsed — like a rescuer, He touches the body, expels all the inner corruption, and restores the person. He restores the body (as in the case of the healed man), and He restores the soul in the same way, through the body, because in man nothing occurs that is foreign to bodily existence. Even our spiritual virtues — prayer, mercy — are connected with the body: with the tongue, with speech, with the raising of hands, with the sign of the Cross, with prostrations, with the giving of concrete alms. Our soul acts through the body, and the Lord heals the soul through the body — and the body through the soul. For He restores the whole person — He created the whole person, and He restores him.
The Lord forbade everyone to speak about His miracles. Yet the more He forbade it, the more people spoke of them. And all were exceedingly amazed at His deeds: the deaf became hearing, and the mute speaking. Why does the Lord forbid speaking about miracles? To teach us not to boast about our good deeds. He says: do your works for the sake of your Heavenly Father, and then you will receive a reward in heaven. But if you boast, nothing will come of it. Yet if others praise you apart from your will, do not worry — it will not harm you in any way.
The Lord teaches us everything wisely. Learn from Him, turn to Him, listen to His word, so that the blockage in your ears may be broken — the blockage of vanity and of constant dissatisfaction, that everything is bad, everything is terrible, which prevents the ears from hearing the Word of God. And ask the Lord that He may say: “Ephphatha!” Open, O ears, that we may hear the living Word of God, that we may finally understand His will. As Blessed Augustine said: “My soul, my heart, how long will you murmur? Be silent! Otherwise you will not hear the quiet voice of the Creator.” And let us ask God to touch our tongue with His life-giving finger, to moisten our dried tongue, so that we may learn not to curse, not to quarrel, but to proclaim the Word of God. As the Apostle Peter said: “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God.”
And after this, let us go and do good works, and like the Lord, let us forbid others to speak of them; and if the Lord glorifies us, let it be according to His holy will. And then we shall come alive and walk with joy on the straight path of the Lord, and the Life-giving Spirit will give us life.
Lord, save us!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
