Blindman Sunday 2022

I don't really understand what it means to say

someone is spiritual but not religious. But he

said, I think I know what it means because I'm

like that, religious but not spiritual. It's

no laughing matter. This is what we see in the

gospel today. Let me take you back to Holy Saturday

for a moment. Six weeks ago, This is the last

Sunday of Pascha time. So we're asking ourselves,

how have we been enlightened during this period?

What have we spiritually learned about ourself?

Have we gained any humility? Have we seen any

more of the providence of God in our life and

around us? Take you back to Holy Saturday. On

that day, we heard many Old Testament readings

at the Vesper liturgy. We heard a reading about

the Passover, about preparing for the Passover,

the Hebrew people being given the instructions

by God through Moses to prepare lamb. And then

at that last terrible plague that was visited

upon Pharaoh, and God says to Moses, I will overcome

the gods of Egypt. of which Pharaoh was a representative,

they're told to leave. The Hebrews were told

to leave in the middle of the night. Get out

of here. You're too much trouble. Of course,

not long afterwards, why do we say that? And

then they went to chase them. And they left in

the middle of the night. And they escaped the

slavery of Egypt. This is the Passover. And they

ate the lamb hurriedly. And they took all their

things, including jewels from the Egyptians.

They kind of plundered the Egyptians. Well, why

did we hear that? Is it just kind of Old Testament

history, something interesting? No, it wasn't

because of that. It was so that when we stood

in the dark, in the middle of the night, and

we went outside, with our candles, we would know

that we are participating in the Passover, the

Pascha of the Lord, and we have been saved from

death and sin and the slavery of all that darkness.

That's why we did that. And we held our candles.

And what happens when you hold a candle in a

dark room? The darkness recedes. And it's as

if there's this circle. of light that we are

in. That's Christ. That's our faith. There's

also a circle of darkness around there, and it

seems to get a little bit bigger as there is

more light. But remember what we heard in the

gospel on that night. The light has come into

the world, and the darkness could not overcome

it. Darkness and sin take so many forms. It's

always in this world because this world has fallen

away from God. You can blame other people if

you want, but our sin has contributed. My personal

sin has contributed to that darkness. It's heartbreaking.

unjust, horrific, indeed, events all over the

world, every day, things that we don't see that

are going on because we don't hear about it,

the sorrow, the violence, the darkness, the blindness,

these terrible events like what we witnessed

in the news this last week in Texas and the week

before in Buffalo and so on and so forth. And

brothers and sisters, it's not just here. There

are two kinds of evil amidst all these different

kinds of rebellion and darkness against God.

Prompted by the devil, the first kind is outright

violence and craziness. And that which we see

today in this gospel, the denial of the truth

when it's staring you in the face, wasn't that

a count? of the blind man healing, and then the

deposition of his parents coming in before the

judges, the fairies. Wasn't that just insanity?

Either way, whether the evil is outright violence

or crazy, whether it's this denial of the truth,

the gospel is telling us, and the newly illumined

from last week, that the world has fallen. There

is spiritual warfare. It's telling us that the

light of Christ is not overcome. The recent tragedies

don't, they do not change Christ's words, I am

the light of the world. This world can convulse

and turn on itself continually, yet it will be

only for a time because Christ is risen and God

is still acting as bookends in this world. He

is the Alpha and the Omega, St. John says in

the book of Revelation, quoting Christ. He is

the beginning and the end. And from his incarnation

and from his cross, his death and resurrection.

He is everywhere present with us. In between

all of that, this is a world where our free will

operates and causes so much pain and grief and

terror, but also, let us not forget, very frequently

joy. Not the kind that anyone can steal from

us either. The time is coming. May it come quickly,

Lord Jesus, when all this suffering will be concluded

and the love of God and his mercy and paradise

will reign. The former things will pass away.

Behold, I make all things new. But brothers and

sisters, you have been, as the prayer after the

baptism says you have been sanctified, you have

been illumined, you have been chrismated, you

have been washed in the name of our Lord Jesus

Christ and by the Spirit of our God. So the paradise

operates within your heart if you allow God to

illumine you. You can be like the apostles, Lord,

why, why, why, why, and be angry at God. This

happens so frequently, but it shows our immaturity

in the faith. Look at St. Paul. What happened

today in that epistle? He's preaching, and this

annoying person goes on and on and on, and then

Paul gets arrested with Silas. Their clothes

are ripped off. They're beaten with rods. They're

thrown into prison. What do they say? Oh, God,

I'm your servant. How could you let this happen

to me? I'm good. Why are you punishing me? Is

that what they did? No. They sang praises to

God. They sang hymns all night long. And an angel

came to them and opened the doors. And this prison

guard thought he was going to kill himself because

the prisoners had escaped. But he was baptized.

What must I do to be saved? Believe in the Lord

Jesus Christ. When Jesus... Secondly, when Jesus

was baptized, what happened? He went into the

desert and he was tempted. What happens to the

newly baptized? You receive all the spiritual

gifts. You are going to be tested, brothers and

sisters. Beloved, you exist to bring glory to

God. You exist to be continually enlightened

by God's light. You bring glory to God best,

not when everything is going well. Of course

we like that, and we're not looking for, as Father

Michael said in his sermon in 2015, which I listened

to yesterday, we're not looking for God to give

us another, as he said, punch in the gut. when

things are going well and when we're healthy

and we have pleasure, we should be giving thanks

to God. When things are not going well, when

we're persecuted, when we're afflicted, when

we're facing terror and tragedy and violence

and death, we don't accuse God. We cannot question

him for lacking care for his creation because

he himself is here. With us today. He is there

when someone's dying. He is there in the hospitals

when people are suffering. He is there in the

nursing homes. He is there in every tragedy.

When suffering intrudes and when sorrow comes,

God is there. Be enlightened. Do you have blindness

when it comes to God? When it comes to wanting

to pray, read the scriptures, or come to church.

Fellowship, reading spiritual books. The Pharisees

were pretty certain these were religious men.

They were pretty certain about certain things,

but it was willful ignorance. Become mature in

your faith. Accept the path that God has given

you. Be the presence of light and joy. In this

world. Carry that Paschal candle. Not just on

Paschal night. Let it stand as a reality in your

life. A candle of faith and flame and warmth

of faith. A candle of joy and trust in God. That

expands the light as you move forward. Because

the light shines in darkness. And the darkness

does not overcome it. The eyes of my mind. We

sang last night in the ex -apostle Aaron, blinded

by dark sin, do thou, O compassionate Lord, enlighten,

putting into my heart humility and washing me

with tears of repentance. Christ is risen.