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14th Sunday in Luke December 2, 2007 "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Luke 18:38 If possible, --- let us try for a moment to conceive the anguish of the blind man, who in today's Gospel lesson was pleading with all the power of faith and hope in his heart, that the miracle would come from the Great Teacher and Miracle Worker. Let us attempt to envision his agony, expressed by his outstretched arms, --- the echo of his pleading voice, crackling under the tremendous emotional strain, --- believing firmly, that moments only were separating him from complete darkness to radiant light! There is no doubt, that his faith was as strong as it could possibly be. True, he was totally blind. But, his faith and hope gave him a much greater vision and perception, than those, who had eyes and were able to see. It was his undaunted faith which gave him complete confidence, to openly confess his faith to Jesus, when he repeatedly cried aloud: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." After hearing this most fervent plea, and knowing through His omniscience the depth of the blind man's faith, the Lord touching him, expresses His therapeutic words: "son, your faith has made you whole!" Immediately, his eyes are opened, just as bright, as when a darkened theatre's stage-curtains are drawn, to bring forth the illumination of the bright lights. One marvels at the undying faith of this blind person. It is this measure of faith and perseverance, which brought about the miracle, and which is asked of all Christians; but, how many Christians do possess even a trace of this measure of faith and perseverance? Countless Christians have eyes, yet, they are spiritually blind, and while they have ears, they do not hear, and do not perceive the lifegiving teachings of our Lord! The Lord, on so many occasions proclaimed, that true and unshakable faith had the power to move even mountains of pressure and worry. Testimony of this, is the recorded history of men and women of great faith, who scored unbelievable and seemingly impossible feats, as a result of their great faith. Without question, we are living in difficult and trying times. Therefore, because of trials and tribulations, it is an imperative need, that we should have a counter balance, which in fact, is nothing less, than unshakable faith! Faith in God is veritably a tremendously generating power, which gives us the necessary strength and courage, to face many of life's adversities. Life is similar to a ship on the seas. We all know, that the waters are not always the same. At times, they are calm, and oftentimes turbulent. In the calm waters of life, we have no trouble handling our ship. But, when the sea rages, the enormous waves of life's difficulties, may even endanger our ship. The fact remains, that during the times of turbulence, we, as captains of our life's ship, are called upon to be true masters over our situation --- that is, to maintain our courage and to keep the rudder of our life sturdy. If, on the other hand, we permit ourselves to panic, and to be overcome by fear, then, most assuredly we shall become helpless as a ship is, without a rudder, and thereby is left at the mercy of any adversity. But, the Christian of unshakable faith, is like a good captain, who firstly has a strong faith in God, confidence in himself, and in his ship. He has faith, that he will survive any of life's storms. Armed with the invincible weapon of faith, the master of the ship is successful over any turbulence. St. John the Evangelist portrays faith so vividly and eloquently in his 1st Epistle, when he states: "This is victory, that has won over the world, verily our faith." (1John 5:4) Our troubled world today, needs a resurgence to unshakable faith. Faith, of the type confessed by the agonizing father in the New Testament, when he asked Jesus to cure his ailing son, possessed by the demons. When the Lord asked him, if he truly believed that this could happen, the father replied: "Yes Lord, I do believe, but please help me in my unbelief, so that I can believe, even more steadfastly!" Yes indeed. Life has many problems, and we often face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But, there is a difference, of how we choose to look upon these situations. Are these problems and obstacles completely over-powering, or, do we accept them as challenges in life? History has recorded the lives of great men and women, who accepted their problems and obstacles as challenges. They persevered with faith, and overcame. As a result, they conquered, and for all time their names have been indelibly inscribed in the pages of history. Our Lord repeatedly stated, that if we had faith, even as minute as a mustard seed, we would be able to move mountains of adversities. When the average Christian is asked if he or she has faith and believes in God, the answer will be in the affirmative. But, experience often proves, that faith can be ascertained only, when a person is put to a test, suffering some trauma in life. For instance, when one suffers the loss of the one loved most, especially untimely, there is a choice, to either walk with God, seeking understanding and consolation, and resigning one's self to God's will, as the Giver of life, or, one chooses to rebel and refute God by saying: "How could God have done this to me, if He was a Good God --or if truly there is a God?" Somehow, we take things for granted, and we tend to forget, that nothing, really nothing belongs to us, and that everything is given to us, as a trust by God, for our use and pleasure, never forgetting, that we are God's stewards! Over the past 6 and one half decades, that I have been serving the Lord, I have witnessed cases of men and women, who stood undaunted in their faith, even though they were severely tried. Also, I witnessed those, whose faith crumbled, as any house would crumble in an earthquake. In our times, what better example of faith and perseverance do we have than that of Helen Keller? She was born, not only blind, but deaf and dumb. As we all know, in spite of her impediments, or handicaps, she not only met the challenges, but she has been immortalized, and will always constitute a Beacon, as well as a faith generator, for all ages. This instance of Helen Keller, that is, the seemingly injustices of her being born with the basic incapacities, is proof, hat God has an ultimate purpose for everything in life, regardless of how things appear on the surface. We must truly believe this. The immortal poet John Milton was blind. Yet, he bequeathed to humanity so many treasures for all time! Conscious of the fact, that he could not see, he chose to use the powerful light of his soul; --- a power, which so many Christians neglect. Describing perhaps his own particular reflection on life, he wrote: "The person, who has light within his or her soul, even though it is enveloped in the cloak of darkness, has the feeling, that he or she is exposed to bright sunlight! Conversely, the person with eyes, which give, him or her, vision, but who harbors evil thoughts within his or her heart, is in complete darkness, even though, he or she, may be under the blinding rays of the noonday sun. As a result, he or she will continue to fumble and stumble in this darkness." Without question, blindness is a major trial, and a seemingly insurmountable hurdle in life, but without comparison, there is a greater danger, when a person's soul is blind! The closing message then remains: If, as we most assuredly take great care of our physical vision, lest we lose our eyesight, we must take extra pains, lest we permit the spiritual cataracts, or spiritual glaucoma, which are nothing short of sinful acts, to damage the vision of our soul. As we try to take care and nurture our body, even to a greater degree, we must strive to nurture our eternal counterpart, --- our soul. Let us always remember the words of the agonizing father, which we mentioned today: "Yes Lord, I believe; but please help me in my unbelief." Amen. + Fr. George Papadeas
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