WEBVTT 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:13.599 Glory to Jesus Christ. What an amazing story. 00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:21.239 And so frustrating for this poor man who has 00:00:21.239 --> 00:00:24.660 been enlightened. Today we have so many things, 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:30.160 such riches to consider and meditate upon. Today 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:34.840 is St. Columba, the Enlightener of Scotland. 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:40.280 This fresco is back there. It's also St. Cyril 00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:45.159 of Alexandria, the great theologian and patriarch. 00:00:47.420 --> 00:00:50.280 But we have this fresco here of the blind man, 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:54.320 and we really ought to focus our attention on 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:57.079 that healing. It's right there on the north side, 00:00:57.119 --> 00:01:00.259 that last arch. I think it's important that we 00:01:00.259 --> 00:01:04.019 also notice that the last, including today, the 00:01:04.019 --> 00:01:09.140 last three gospel accounts are about a healing, 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:14.900 not just physical healing, that comes from baptism, 00:01:15.099 --> 00:01:20.079 which we call holy illumination. The Samaritan 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:23.120 woman is there, and there's the well. It looks 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:26.390 like a baptismal font. The paralytic is there 00:01:26.390 --> 00:01:28.810 with the five porches and the water in there. 00:01:29.209 --> 00:01:34.730 The blind man is there. And again, the well, 00:01:34.890 --> 00:01:38.829 the pool of Siloam, which he goes to, looks like 00:01:38.829 --> 00:01:44.109 a baptismal font. We have all these three frescoes 00:01:44.109 --> 00:01:48.709 here and these wonderful gospel accounts to help 00:01:48.709 --> 00:01:52.959 us to teach the newly illumined, yes. baptized 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:57.140 just a month ago, just as much as Lent was about 00:01:57.140 --> 00:01:59.659 the cleansing of the heart to prepare to receive 00:01:59.659 --> 00:02:03.599 Christ, to celebrate Pascha, to have the grace 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:10.259 of God in us. So this time after Pascha is for 00:02:10.259 --> 00:02:15.669 us to acquire that grace more fully. As we understand 00:02:15.669 --> 00:02:17.810 the holy mysteries, the sacraments, particularly 00:02:17.810 --> 00:02:21.490 baptism, this is important for the newly illumined, 00:02:21.509 --> 00:02:24.750 but also, of course, this is also for those of 00:02:24.750 --> 00:02:27.870 us who were baptized long ago, some time ago. 00:02:28.830 --> 00:02:33.430 Maybe the aperture, the eye of the soul, the 00:02:33.430 --> 00:02:36.830 heart, which is to receive God's grace and his 00:02:36.830 --> 00:02:40.949 love, his activity, maybe that eye has gotten 00:02:40.949 --> 00:02:47.139 smudged. Tarnished, clogged by our sins with 00:02:47.139 --> 00:02:50.840 many, many distractions. This reading calls us 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:56.780 back to see the incredible, literally, I use 00:02:56.780 --> 00:03:01.139 that word on purpose, change from one state to 00:03:01.139 --> 00:03:04.840 the other of this man's life. Jesus is passing 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:07.800 by. St. John tells us. I'm not going to tell 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:09.500 you the whole story. There's so many aspects 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:13.740 of this account. I yearn to do a Bible study 00:03:13.740 --> 00:03:16.199 for you on this, but I'm not going to do it today. 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:22.240 Yesterday, in our sessions on St. John of Chrysostom, 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:25.460 we heard at one point that St. John spoke sometimes 00:03:25.460 --> 00:03:30.219 in his sermons for an hour. I won't do that, 00:03:30.340 --> 00:03:33.860 I promise. People also clapped. Also, I don't 00:03:33.860 --> 00:03:38.219 expect that. Jesus is passing by, as St. John 00:03:38.219 --> 00:03:43.960 says, and he comes to a man. Who was blind? He 00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:47.460 had no eyes in his sockets. There's a medical 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:52.219 term, anophthalmia. No eyes, anophthalmia. Like 00:03:52.219 --> 00:03:55.740 in Genesis then, when God takes the dust of the 00:03:55.740 --> 00:04:02.099 earth, which he created from nothing, and made 00:04:02.099 --> 00:04:06.960 clay, and breathed into that dust a living soul 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:14.240 to make the human. To make us. What a sign of 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:18.699 God's power and love. This is Christ. By whom 00:04:18.699 --> 00:04:22.660 all things were made as we heard on Pascha. He 00:04:22.660 --> 00:04:25.759 was in the beginning with God. All things. were 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:28.699 made through him, and without him was not anything 00:04:28.699 --> 00:04:32.160 made that was made. In him was life, and the 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:35.160 life was the light of men, and the light shines 00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:37.519 in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:40.920 it. And this man, miserable state, a beggar, 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:46.079 blind from his birth. Christ takes clay and his 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:49.199 saliva, his spit, and he puts it in this, imagine 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:52.790 the man's surprise. He hears his conversation 00:04:52.790 --> 00:04:56.370 about sin and whose fault it is and so on. And 00:04:56.370 --> 00:04:59.029 then all of a sudden, someone is putting something 00:04:59.029 --> 00:05:07.550 in his eye sockets. Note that the blind man, 00:05:07.730 --> 00:05:12.269 when he was told by Christ, go wash in the pool 00:05:12.269 --> 00:05:18.540 of Siloam. Pretty much all he heard. Note. that 00:05:18.540 --> 00:05:22.620 he did not respond to Jesus with questions and 00:05:22.620 --> 00:05:26.680 reservations driven by anxiety about the future 00:05:26.680 --> 00:05:32.100 course of his life. He obeyed the Lord because 00:05:32.100 --> 00:05:37.319 the Lord is good and loving and knows what each 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:43.139 one of us desires and needs to be joyful, to 00:05:43.139 --> 00:05:47.189 be fulfilled as a human being. to be his servant, 00:05:47.350 --> 00:05:51.230 to be his image in this broken and dark world. 00:05:52.629 --> 00:05:57.209 We need to respond to Christ with joy and quickly. 00:05:57.970 --> 00:06:02.250 He obeyed, he washed, he saw, and then he moved 00:06:02.250 --> 00:06:04.810 forward to encounter challenges that he could 00:06:04.810 --> 00:06:08.290 not ever have anticipated. For him, we might 00:06:08.290 --> 00:06:12.129 think, well, he conceived. Life is wonderful 00:06:12.129 --> 00:06:15.990 now. Everything is good. Everything should be 00:06:15.990 --> 00:06:21.089 going his way. Lovely, easy, and beautiful seeing 00:06:21.089 --> 00:06:29.069 what God has made, his creation. He went to the 00:06:29.069 --> 00:06:31.930 pool of Siloam. He washed the pool called Scent 00:06:31.930 --> 00:06:36.269 by the one who was sent by the Father, and he 00:06:36.269 --> 00:06:41.269 saw. And he knew the truth and the light from 00:06:41.269 --> 00:06:44.970 that moment. But what was the first thing this 00:06:44.970 --> 00:06:50.410 man saw? Was it congratulations from others? 00:06:50.490 --> 00:06:53.810 Well wishes? Glory to God for what happened. 00:06:55.110 --> 00:06:58.589 What he saw first, as you heard in the story, 00:06:58.829 --> 00:07:04.009 38 verses of chapter 9, almost the entire chapter, 00:07:04.149 --> 00:07:07.149 there were just two verses left. What he saw 00:07:07.149 --> 00:07:09.430 first, what he encountered first upon receiving 00:07:09.430 --> 00:07:12.509 his sight, was to be called into the authorities 00:07:12.509 --> 00:07:16.930 to give a deposition. And he met with resistance 00:07:16.930 --> 00:07:23.970 about what he experienced. Is this the man? Well, 00:07:24.129 --> 00:07:28.350 he looks like the man. He can't be the man. He 00:07:28.350 --> 00:07:32.970 met with disbelief, insults, and... shunning 00:07:32.970 --> 00:07:37.110 and denial of what he knew to be the truth from 00:07:37.110 --> 00:07:41.310 his experience and he was dismissed. And the 00:07:41.310 --> 00:07:44.829 man who was formerly blind now sees is speaking 00:07:44.829 --> 00:07:47.329 to those who ought to be able to see but are 00:07:47.329 --> 00:07:50.389 totally spiritually blind and he responds to 00:07:50.389 --> 00:07:55.110 the insanity of his accusers like a prophet, 00:07:55.290 --> 00:07:59.930 like a theologian, like a philosopher magnificently. 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:06.160 which is to say he said the truth. After so much 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:10.480 harassment, he confesses that Jesus can't be 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:14.959 a sinner. He must be a prophet. And then this 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:19.560 man is told to get lost. You shun. His parents 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:26.149 are afraid. He's told he's a sinner. No words 00:08:26.149 --> 00:08:29.389 of glory to God for the tremendous gifts of sight. 00:08:29.509 --> 00:08:31.509 No, this happened on the Sabbath. This man must 00:08:31.509 --> 00:08:35.070 be a sinner. And Jesus sums it up at the end 00:08:35.070 --> 00:08:37.950 in a verse which the gospel does not call us 00:08:37.950 --> 00:08:40.389 to read today. But I will tell you, this is the 00:08:40.389 --> 00:08:45.870 last verse of chapter 9. Jesus sums up the whole 00:08:45.870 --> 00:08:49.590 thing. For judgment I came into this world. What 00:08:49.590 --> 00:08:53.149 is judgment? To set things right as God intends 00:08:53.149 --> 00:08:57.159 them to be. Justice. From God's point of view. 00:08:57.259 --> 00:08:59.899 For judgment I came into this world that those 00:08:59.899 --> 00:09:05.120 who do not see may see. And those who see may 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:09.580 become blind. Some of the Pharisees near him 00:09:09.580 --> 00:09:12.019 heard these things and said to him, are we also 00:09:12.019 --> 00:09:16.679 blind? Jesus said to them, if you were blind, 00:09:16.899 --> 00:09:21.200 actually blind, you could not see, you would 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:26.210 have no guilt. But now that you say, We see, 00:09:26.409 --> 00:09:29.990 as in, do you see what I mean? You understand? 00:09:30.250 --> 00:09:34.730 We see your guilt remains. The blind see, the 00:09:34.730 --> 00:09:39.850 seeing become blind, and they prefer, I suppose, 00:09:39.929 --> 00:09:44.070 what we would call these days, their truth. You 00:09:44.070 --> 00:09:47.950 know that phrase, my truth. We've all heard that 00:09:47.950 --> 00:09:51.450 phrase. Also, you've heard this phrase. You will 00:09:51.450 --> 00:09:53.649 know the truth, and the truth will set you free. 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:59.379 But it's just a meaningless phrase by itself. 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:05.059 More like, my truth and I will do what I want. 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:10.480 That's the way it gets used by most people for 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:14.440 anything they want to justify. But Jesus didn't 00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:17.600 just say that. He said these words here now. 00:10:17.659 --> 00:10:20.440 Jesus spoke to the Judeans there saying, if you 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:26.059 abide in my word. You are truly my disciples, 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:31.179 and you will know the truth, and the truth, who 00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:34.740 is Christ, not an idea, the truth will set you 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:38.580 free. Abide in my word, meaning to be in Christ, 00:10:38.779 --> 00:10:42.220 to live according to Christ, to think, to act, 00:10:42.299 --> 00:10:46.080 to plan, to meditate, everything according to 00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:49.539 Christ. Once again, we have clarity and hope 00:10:49.539 --> 00:10:53.120 and encouragement that we need from the one who 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:58.929 said, I am the truth. And finally, finally, the 00:10:58.929 --> 00:11:03.149 man sees Jesus, sees the one who healed him, 00:11:03.289 --> 00:11:06.850 sees his Redeemer, and I'm reminded of that wonderful 00:11:06.850 --> 00:11:10.789 phrase from the prophet Job, that in my flesh 00:11:10.789 --> 00:11:14.230 I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, 00:11:14.610 --> 00:11:20.450 and my eyes shall behold, and not another, how 00:11:20.450 --> 00:11:24.259 my heart yearns within me. Those beautiful words 00:11:24.259 --> 00:11:28.059 of the prophet Job. And the man worships Jesus. 00:11:29.580 --> 00:11:32.279 You all know the famous song, of course, Amazing 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:36.980 Grace, inspired by this gospel. What can I say? 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:42.340 God's power can overcome all blindness, darkness, 00:11:42.700 --> 00:11:47.399 ignorance, all sin. Since when the light comes, 00:11:47.620 --> 00:11:50.820 the darkness goes away. You turn on your flashlight, 00:11:51.059 --> 00:11:54.330 the room becomes light. But when that darkness 00:11:54.330 --> 00:11:59.129 is self -inflicted, stubborn, prideful, which 00:11:59.129 --> 00:12:01.669 denies the truth, like those in the gospel, when 00:12:01.669 --> 00:12:05.389 it's right before you, when you have heard it, 00:12:05.509 --> 00:12:11.230 that can't be overcome. It's also important to 00:12:11.230 --> 00:12:13.809 say to you that have been newly illumined just 00:12:13.809 --> 00:12:16.169 a month ago and to those that will be baptized 00:12:16.169 --> 00:12:20.690 next week and to all of us, you will meet resistance 00:12:20.690 --> 00:12:23.960 against the faith. That you have been given. 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:28.000 It's been given to you. Not just to hold. But 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:35.120 to live. Beloved ones. You exist. To manifest 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:37.500 the glory of God. As Jesus said at the beginning 00:12:37.500 --> 00:12:40.320 of this. The works of God. You bring glory to 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:43.899 God in all circumstances. Not just when things 00:12:43.899 --> 00:12:48.139 are going well. And you are healthy. When you 00:12:48.139 --> 00:12:51.019 have questions about faith. and life that trouble 00:12:51.019 --> 00:12:54.899 you, then that's when you can bring glory to 00:12:54.899 --> 00:12:58.139 God. And perhaps you can bring glory and honor 00:12:58.139 --> 00:13:00.639 to God when you show fidelity and love toward 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:03.100 him and your neighbor during those difficult 00:13:03.100 --> 00:13:06.559 times when you face rejection like this man, 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:10.879 when suffering seems to intrude and it just comes 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:15.659 upon you, when sorrows come. Perhaps we needed 00:13:15.659 --> 00:13:20.100 it as a gift from the Lord. And then we call 00:13:20.100 --> 00:13:26.159 out to the Lord in our faithfulness. All authentic 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:29.220 Christians, brothers and sisters, for all authentic 00:13:29.220 --> 00:13:33.220 Christians, St. Paul says, there will be persecutions 00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:36.500 of some sort. It might not be government persecution 00:13:36.500 --> 00:13:40.320 or religious persecution, but it will be something. 00:13:42.259 --> 00:13:44.399 Today's reading from Acts, think about that. 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:48.580 The apostles... The Apostle Paul and Silas are 00:13:48.580 --> 00:13:52.340 preaching. This incident occurs with this girl 00:13:52.340 --> 00:13:56.940 who has this demon. It's cast out. St. Paul and 00:13:56.940 --> 00:14:00.740 Silas are beat up. They're put into a prison. 00:14:00.899 --> 00:14:04.340 In the darkest, deepest part of the dungeon, 00:14:04.600 --> 00:14:08.980 they are chained to the walls. There's no prisoner 00:14:08.980 --> 00:14:11.840 rights. There's no bathroom breaks. This is a 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:20.090 place of darkness and stench. And fear. And what 00:14:20.090 --> 00:14:26.110 do they do? They sing praises to God. They sing 00:14:26.110 --> 00:14:29.990 praises to God. What else can they do? As we 00:14:29.990 --> 00:14:32.730 heard yesterday, speaking of St. John Christom, 00:14:32.789 --> 00:14:35.990 they don't want to be victims of somebody else's 00:14:35.990 --> 00:14:39.669 evil. So they say, we're here, Lord. And they 00:14:39.669 --> 00:14:43.110 start to sing praises. This is the best way maybe 00:14:43.110 --> 00:14:50.059 to show fidelity. Elder Joseph of Vatopedi on 00:14:50.059 --> 00:14:52.220 the Holy Mountain said to his monks once, he 00:14:52.220 --> 00:14:56.659 says, guys, that's what he said, guys, God didn't 00:14:56.659 --> 00:15:01.899 leave us when we didn't know him. When we insulted 00:15:01.899 --> 00:15:06.399 him with our deeds, our words, our sinful immoral 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:12.059 life, our forgetfulness of God. Despite all that, 00:15:12.139 --> 00:15:14.440 God didn't leave us. And now, when we've come 00:15:14.440 --> 00:15:20.460 to know him somewhat, When we've somewhat become 00:15:20.460 --> 00:15:24.840 acquainted with him and are clumsily seeking 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:28.539 our salvation, even though our sins are so great 00:15:28.539 --> 00:15:31.080 that they prevent us from proving that we truly 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:33.799 desire to be saved, we're making some steps, 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:37.299 more or less, compared to how we lived before. 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:40.179 Is it really possible, he says, that God would 00:15:40.179 --> 00:15:45.470 abandon us now? God will not abandon you. St. 00:15:45.549 --> 00:15:48.529 John Chrysostom says of the blind man, he was 00:15:48.529 --> 00:15:51.570 not ashamed of his former blindness, nor did 00:15:51.570 --> 00:15:54.250 he fear the wrath of the people, nor did he decline 00:15:54.250 --> 00:15:57.470 showing himself in public that he might proclaim 00:15:57.470 --> 00:16:01.230 his benefactor. Remain faithful to the faith, 00:16:01.450 --> 00:16:09.009 to the truth, who is Christ. This gospel account 00:16:09.009 --> 00:16:13.690 is the last of the Paschal Seasons. Now, we prepare. 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:17.379 for ascension. To our Lord be glory, honor, and 00:16:17.379 --> 00:16:20.039 worship, now and ever, two ages of ages. Amen. 00:16:20.539 --> 00:16:22.720 Christ is risen. He is risen.