Orthodox Sermons & Articles

The first miracle we read about today was the healing of two blind men. I want to draw your attention to that fact that to perform this miracle Jesus first asks for their faith. These two blind men had to believe in Him before He would perform this great miracle to them. This belief had to consist of deep faith in Jesus as Christ, as the Son of God. It was not easy because they saw Him walking the streets, eating food, sleeping, weeping just as the ordinary people do. He did everything we humans do because He is a real Man too. In the person of Jesus Christ two natures had met together: divine and human. These two natures were not mixed, nor joined, but they cannot be separated either. This is one of the greatest mysteries about Jesus Christ that two natures are together but they will not be separated ever. This is good news for us because our human nature after the ascension of Christ into Heaven is right beside the Father. It gives us strength to fight against our passions in order to inherit that place. This is now possible because of the incarnation of the Son of God.

 

But let’s go back to our Gospel reading. Two blind men heard about Jesus and after they discovered that He was passing by, they started to follow Him and ask for healing, "Have pity on us, Son of David." We can see that all they wanted of Him was pity. They were not looking for riches of this world, nor for food or drink. Food could be easily obtained by asking for it from regular citizens of the country. Knowing and believing that Jesus was not just a man but also the Messiah, and the Son of God, they were asking from Him something specific for the Son of God—pity. We always ask God for pity or mercy because He is the One Who could grant us these things by His own power and authority. As one could see, Jesus did not ask if they believed in Him but if they believed He could do this. Their belief in Him as the Messiah was expressed in their petition, "Have pity on us, Son of David." By recognizing Jesus as Son of David they acknowledged Him to be the Messiah, according to the prophecy that our Savior will be born from David’s lineage. So, their faith in Jesus as the Messiah was obvious. This is why Jesus asked only if they believed He could perform this miracle for them.

 

Why did Jesus ask this? He is the Son of God and He knew their thoughts. But for the sake of those who were present there, so that they understood that we have to have complete confidence in Jesus Christ in order to receive healing or any other help. The blind men as well had to confirm their respect to the Messiah so that their faith would be strengthened and fortified. So, Jesus acted wisely in order that everyone would receive a lesson. And look at how Jesus shows the deep faith of the blind men to all people present, "Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘Let it be done to you according to your faith." In other words, if you have faith, let it be done for you. We should remember these words of Jesus Christ because they were said not only to the blind men but also to all of us. God does everything in accordance to our faith in Him. There are however times when people ask for help and God appears not to be listening to their petitions. In this situation we have to remember that God loves us very much; He loves all of us without exception. We know it because He sent His Only Begotten Son to save us from eternal death. Christ suffered for every one and each one of us, humans. His love to us is immeasurable. But He wants us to use and strengthen our patience in some cases and compassion in others. Whatever God does, He does it for the sake of our salvation. We should remember this. I repeat, whatever God does, He does it for the sake of our salvation.

 

Why did Jesus ask the blind men not to tell anyone about the miracle? Through this example, He teaches us not to seek glory for ourselves, but rather to be humble and helpful for others. That was His mission and this has become our mission as well.

 

In the case of the second miracle we read about today, Jesus did not ask for faith in Him or even confidence in Him. He just casts out the demon and the dumb man begins to talk. The crowd was amazed! "Never has the like of this been seen in Israel," the people said. Why? Because they witnessed that Jesus cast out demons by His own authority. He actually commands them to leave the man. But look at the Pharisees. They were jealous of Jesus and they said, "By the prince of devils He casts out devils." They accused Him to be possessed with the prince of devils. What a blasphemy! But they did not care. They wanted glory and could not get it. They wanted people to bow down before them but instead people bowed down before Jesus Christ. This is why they were looking for a chance to kill Jesus.

 

Dear brothers and sisters, in our days we are used to many illnesses and to many infirmities. People forget to ask God for help while in trouble, people forget to thank God for everything, including misfortunes. We want everything to be done in our own way, and our own time, not understanding sometimes what  it is we really need. But God sees what we need for our salvation. And we receive exactly what is beneficial for us. We should be thankful for this. Our Lord takes care of us and leads us to eternal life. Eternity is our destination but people forget about it. We forget about it and we become angry if something happens to us. Look at today’s blind men. Their blindness was healed because of their faith not because of their anger. Let exercise ourselves in faith and be merciful to one another as Jesus is merciful to us. Let us pray that we will be lead by Him to His heavenly Kingdom. Amen.