Orthodox Sermons & Articles

There were many people lying by the pool when Jesus came by, but only this man received full recovery. He was trying to get into the pool every year when an angel of the Lord stirred up the water, but without success because somebody else would always be able to jump into it sooner and receive the instant healing. That stirring of water by an angel to enable healing, was a gift from God. This healing was an act that was intended to make people understand about the healing power of the Baptism in the name of the Lord.

 

So, the Lord had compassion for this poor but hopeful and faithful man and He performed this great miracle by His Divine Power that He had as the Son of God. Indeed, the Lord is great because He gave this same power to heal the sick and to raise the dead to His beloved Apostles. Without doubt, this power was used by the Apostles to help people to find their way to Jesus Christ by witnessing these great miracles.

 

Today’s Epistle reading proves that Christ’s Disciples were full of grace and power granted by God. The reading from the Acts of the Apostles today opens for us the knowledge that we humans might be granted many powers from God if we would confidently use it for our salvation.

 

In those days, the Apostles used to visit from time to time all the Christians who lived in different parts of the world. During one of these visits to the town of Lydda, St. Peter the Apostle found a paralyzed man who needed his help. St. Peter healed him from his eight-year paralysis by the power of Jesus Christ. This event was the best sermon for the inhabitants of that area, as "all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord" (Acts 9:35). Therefore, we can conclude that this exceptional power to heal the sick was given to the Apostles as a witness of true worship to God. Many people turned to Jesus Christ because they saw these signs performed by the Apostles in His name. Such news was spread quickly in the surrounding villages and towns and as such other people wanted to hear the word about Christ the Savior.

 

Shortly after this miracle, Peter was called to another town. The citizens of Joppa were in grief because one of the Christians Tabitha "who was full of good works and charitable deeds" (Act 9:36) had died. They prepared her body for burial, laid her in the upper room and many widows who had been looked after by Tabitha brought with them the tunics and garments she had previously made. When they heard that Peter is in the nearby town of Lydda they sent for him immediately. Upon his arrival in Joppa, Peter witnessed weeping, mourning and deep sorrow, and immediately went up to the room where the body of Tabitha lay. He knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the body and said: "Tabitha, arise." The Lord heard this prayer and the woman opened her eyes and sat up. She came to life once again and continued to do her charitable works in the town. This event of raising Tabitha from the dead also served as a sermon for many just as all the other miracles performed through the power of Jesus Christ by His Apostles. The number of Christians was increasing daily and the name of the Lord was glorified everywhere.

 

These two examples from the Gospel and the Epistle reading are strong proofs that Jesus Christ came to this world because He loved us all. The fact that the Apostles could perform miracles confirms the words of Jesus Christ: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do…" (John 14:12). No religion, except Christianity can say that their God is willing to share His Divine Power with His people. We are called to be as perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. This is very important to know and understand that in Christianity the relationship between God and His people is based on love versus fear. All we have to do if we love our God is to follow His steps to perfection by exercising love to all without exception. When He was amongst us He showed us the way of love and compassion, and taught us to follow His example. After His Ascension He did not leave us alone with our illnesses, troubles and problems but sent us the Holy Spirit Who worked and is still working His miracles among us humans in order to warm our feelings towards God and to each other. Through this work of the Holy Spirit we learn that our salvation is possible only by increasing our love to one other.

 

So, let’s rearrange out priorities, dear brothers and sisters; let’s start to think in terms of what we need for our salvation and try to do only good to others. We cannot fulfill our Christian obligations without keeping our faith and hope strong and by being uncorrupted by sins. Let’s come together each Sunday morning to exercise Christian love to one other and to share our prayers for each other just as early Christians did in their small communities. Listening to the Epistle reading, you must have noticed that the entire town was praying for the one person who most needed this prayer. We do the same in our churches regularly. Therefore, let’s make Church, love and prayer our priorities and a normal, natural part of our lives. Without this, we will not learn what true love and life in Jesus Christ the Savior is. May the Lord God help us to rearrange our priorities and stay firm on the path of following Christ. Amen.