7^th Sunday of Matthew

 Matt. 9:27-35

July 27^th, 2014 

” According to your faith let it be to you”

In today’s Gospel we read about the healing of the two blind men. “When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, ‘Son of David, have mercy on us!’ And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord.’  Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith let it be to you.’ ”[1]

Generally speaking, a certain thought has permanently taken root within us. It is the certainty that these things happened once upon a time, that the Lord was present and conversed with the sick, and healed them. But that today things are different. But this reveals that we don’t have faith; and we have settled for this perception of things. It doesn’t eat us up that we don’t have faith.

The Lord healed many during his time, and in every age He is able to heal. But the point isn’t so much about human beings having their diseases healed as it is human beings being helped by their diseases to believe in Christ. Let’s believe that Christ is able – for me and you and anyone – to heal us from spiritual darkness, from spiritual blindness. In some way, Christ asks me and you and each person: “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

If we have faith that Christ is healing us, we will be healed. His coming to earth was for this purpose: to give us light, to give us His grace, to heal our soul, to regenerate us. And this is still the Lord’s goal. It wasn’t only for back then and for only some people. There isn’t a situation where someone could stand before Christ and say to Him: “But you didn’t want to make me holy. You didn’t want to illumine me. You didn’t want to heal me spiritually!” No one can say this.

It is a fact that the Lord addresses these words to each one of us: “Do you believe that I can make you holy, save you, heal you, forgive you, and make you exactly as I want you to be? Do you believe this?” And he waits for the moment in which we say ‘yes’. Just as simple as that. And when you answer in the positive, you are immediately brought to life, energized, and you follow after the Lord. It is impossible to answer ‘yes’ to Christ and remain as you are now. You will immediately be healed: you will start to think differently, start to live differently. That is, you’ll feel that now is the time – at each moment – of salvation.

[1] Matt. 9:27-29

Originally recorded: 11.07.2010

Transcribed talks by Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos

 From: Holy Hesychasterion “The Nativity of Theotokos” Publications.

Translated by fr. Matthew Penney