Homily for the Sunday of the Blind Man
On Spiritual Blindness
By St. Cleopa of Sihastria
“For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind” (John 9:39).
Christ is Risen!
On Spiritual Blindness
By St. Cleopa of Sihastria
“For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind” (John 9:39).
Christ is Risen!
Beloved faithful,
We can draw many teachings of every kind from today’s Holy Gospel if we examine its text carefully. One of these teachings concerns the spiritual blindness of the man enslaved by sins.
How much spiritual blindness there was in the minds of the scribes and Pharisees, who not only did not believe in the miracles beyond nature performed by Christ the Lord, but even greatly blasphemed Him, saying that “by Beelzebul, the ruler of demons, He casts out demons” (Mark 3:22). Such blindness filled their minds that though they had eyes, they did not see, and though they had ears, they did not hear. Therefore the Lord calls them “blind Pharisees” (Matthew 23:26).
Concerning this spiritual blindness of the scribes and Pharisees, the chief priests and teachers of the Jews, and the punishment awaiting them for it, the Prophet David says through the Holy Spirit: “Let their eyes be darkened so that they may not see, and bend their backs forever” (Psalm 69:23). And the great Prophet Isaiah prophesied concerning the spiritual blindness of the people of Israel, saying: “God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day” (Isaiah 29:10). And again: “The heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and return to Me and I should heal them” (Isaiah 6:10).
But from what is spiritual blindness born in the mind of man? It comes upon a person from several causes. First, as a consequence of evil deeds. The Savior shows this when He says: “The Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than Light because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the Light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:19–20). Spiritual blindness comes from the devil.
Spiritual blindness also comes from unbelief and opposition to God. The Prophet Isaiah says: “All day long I stretched out My hands to a disobedient and contrary people” (Isaiah 65:2). Therefore God gave them a spirit of hardness so that they should not see with their eyes nor hear with their ears to this very day (Deuteronomy 29:4). Spiritual blindness also comes from unbelief and hardness of heart, as Holy Scripture says: “Go and tell this people: Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown hard, their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and return to Me and I should heal them” (Isaiah 6:9–10).
We have shown that one of the causes of spiritual blindness is sin. Now let us see why sin brings blindness to the soul and darkening to the mind of man. Here is why. According to Holy Scripture, sins are called “works of darkness” (Isaiah 29:15; Romans 13:12; Ephesians 5:11). As works of darkness, sins of every kind bring darkness, confusion, sickness, and spiritual blindness into the mind of man. By what can we drive out from our minds the darkness of sin? By abandoning sin, by listening to the words of God, through fasting, prayer, repentance with tears, sincere confession to one’s spiritual father, and the practice of God’s commandments. Through these good works every person, no matter how sinful, comes to the light of knowledge and draws near to God, becoming from a darkened and sinful person a chosen vessel of God and a son of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Spiritual blindness sometimes also comes upon a person through the permission and power of God. This has been shown in many people chosen by God. But we see it most clearly in the calling of the great Apostle Paul, who before his conversion was called Saul and greatly persecuted the Church of Christ (Acts 9:1–22).
Beloved faithful,
Let us now turn our attention to spiritual blindness in our own times. We have all seen blind people, whether blind from birth, from accidents, or from serious illness. Whenever we see a blind person, each of us is moved with compassion, and sometimes even to tears. He cannot walk alone; he cannot see the sky, the sun, or the beauty of flowers. He cannot gaze upon the icon and the cross before which he bows, nor upon the face of his mother, his children, and his fellow men. A blind person cannot read a holy book, can hardly do any work, and feels himself a burden to family and society, for he lives mostly from the mercy of others.
Such a man, blind in bodily eyes, is worthy of pity and compassion from all. Yet God comforts those without sight with other gifts: much wisdom, beautiful speech, humility, the gift of tears, and often the gift of beautiful singing. For the Creator of all things, through divine providence, has mercy upon His creation. Therefore the Holy Spirit says through the Psalmist: “The Lord gives wisdom to the blind!” (Psalm 146:8).
But far heavier and more worthy of lamentation is the blindness of the mind, heart, will, and conscience. For the soul is far more precious than the body. Therefore the Savior says: “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36–37). Since the soul was created eternal by God, spiritual blindness is one of the gravest diseases, leading to the loss of the soul and its eternal condemnation. Therefore the healing of this disease is much more difficult and important than the healing of bodily blindness.
What do we mean by spiritual blindness? We mean the darkening and enslavement of the soul through all kinds of spiritual and bodily sins: pride of mind, hardness of heart, weakness of will and conscience, unbelief, doubt in the faith, sectarianism, despair, pride, suicide, spiritual and bodily murder, abortion, hatred and anger among people, divorce, fornication, lying, love of wealth, greed, gluttony, drunkenness, laziness, and many others. All sins are diseases of the soul that cast it into blindness and insensibility, while throwing the body into grave and incurable illnesses. And if we do not abandon the sins that enslave us through repentance, confession, and spiritual renewal, the blindness of the soul, like every disease, leads to spiritual death and the condemnation of the soul in the torments of hell.
What is the Christian who changes his faith in God and abandons the Church founded by Christ and the Holy Apostles to go after various religious sects, if not blind in soul? What is the Christian who does not come to church for years, does not pray, does not read holy books, and postpones repentance and confession until the hour of death, if not spiritually sick and blind? What is the man who calls himself a Christian only in name and wastes his time, wealth, and health on passing cares and mortal sins, if not an unhappy man blind in soul? What is the Christian who has not read even once Holy Scripture, especially the New Testament and other Christian books of instruction that guide and enlighten the mind and soul toward Christ, if not a miserable man deprived of the light of knowledge and spiritual joy? What is the Christian who wastes his life in drunkenness and immorality, in quarrels and divorces, in lawsuits and hatred, if not a man weak in faith and deceived by demons, a blind and spiritually sick man walking on the road to destruction and no longer able to rise from sin, repent, and save his soul?
How much blindness and unbelief there is in those spouses who marry only for pleasure and sin and do not wish to bear children, or if they have them, scandalize them by their lives and do not give them a healthy Christian upbringing. And we see how many misunderstandings and divorces, how many abortions, drunkenness, and lack of religious education are destroying today the unity of our families, these living cells of life and society. And all these sins enslave us because of our spiritual blindness—because of indifference, unbelief in God, lack of Christian education, lack of knowledge of the Gospel, absence from the life of the Church, postponement of confession, lack of a good spiritual father, and because many have forgotten death and the judgment awaiting us.
Behold, then, what spiritual blindness is and how greatly it enslaves us all. Some through bodily sins, others through spiritual sins, and all through hardness of heart, lack of prayer, forgetfulness of God, and the multitude of earthly cares. Before the Savior Who will judge us, there is no one good, no one righteous, pure, or worthy of the life to come.
What then must we do? How can we be healed from this terrible insensibility of heart, from the slavery of passions and the blindness of our souls? By abandoning the sins that enslave us, by returning again to Christ, to the Church, to prayer, to humility and repentance. That is, we must do what the blind man in today’s Gospel did, the one whom Christ asked: “Do you believe in the Son of God?” And he answered with all his heart: “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him! (John 9:38).
Christ asks us also today: “Christians, do you firmly believe in Christ, the Savior of the world? Do you keep His commandments? Do you believe in the Holy Gospel so as to have eternal life? Do you believe that God created the world, that He has mercy on it, and that He alone can save it from destruction and death?” Upon the answer we give depends the salvation or condemnation of each one of us.
And if we truly believe in the Son of God, then let us fulfill His commandments and do what the blind man in the Gospel did. After Christ put clay upon his eyes, He sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam nearby, and immediately he was healed and could see. The clay upon the eyes of the soul is the impurity of our sins, from which we are cleansed through the bath of tears and confession. Let us obey Christ and do what He commands. Let us wash our spiritual eyes—that is, our mind, heart, and will—through prayer, repentance, and almsgiving, and then our souls will be healed just like the blind man in the Holy Gospel.
Beloved faithful,
Earthly life is short, full of suffering, and deceptive, while heavenly life is blessed and full of eternal joy. Let us abandon the sins that blind us and kill our souls, and let us return to Christ. It is not enough to make the sign of the cross and say: “Lord, Lord!” We are called to a deep spiritual renewal of life. We are called to cast from the eyes of our soul the clay of our passions, washing ourselves in the water of Siloam — that is, in the bath of confession — and then to enter into obedience to Christ and to the Church He founded on earth. By humbling ourselves, praying, reconciling with one another, attending church regularly, giving alms according to our ability, and raising our children in the true faith and in love for God, we become good Christians, true sons of the Orthodox Church, and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.
Christ is Risen!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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