|
|
|
10th Sunday in Luke December 9, 2007 The Lord saw the crippled woman and said to her: "Woman, you are freed of your infirmity." Luke 13:10 Our Lord entered various Synagogues quite often, where He would preach His Gospel and heal the sick. On one of these visits, there was a certain woman in the congregation, who was suffering for 18 years, with a crippling situation, that she was unable to erectly straighten her body in the normal position. She was constantly stooped over, and it was almost impossible for her to look up. Our omniscient Lord knew what she had been through in her life. He also sensed her deep faith, in spite of her life-long sufferings. Jesus asked her to come forth. He touched her and said: "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity." Immediately she stood erectly and praised God. Everyone was astonished and amazed. Tears of joy and happiness flowed from most people's eyes. All were so elated, at something they never could have envisioned, but yet, did witness with their own eyes. Everyone was happy, --- except one. The ruler of the Synagogue, who indignantly attempted to minimize the Lord's work. He was indignant only because Jesus had healed on a Sabbath, and arrogantly declared to the people: "There are six days in which one should work. So come and be healed only on those days, and not on the Sabbath." The Lord sought to publicly chastise him for his hypocrisy, that is, because he equated a miracle within the confines of the Synagogue, with common labor. The Lord answered him: "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it out to give it water? Then, should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free, even on the Sabbath day, from what had bound her?" After the Lord had exposed their hypocrisy, his opponents were humiliated before the public, who in turn were extremely delighted by all, that they heard from the Lord, and unexpectedly experiencing the miracle, which had taken place before their eyes. Fanaticism is such an evil trait. It blinds people to the point that they seek to promote something, that not is only contrary to the human logic, but also, is against every proven principle. The distortion of their thinking, enthrones them on the false throne of being everyone's judge. The chastising statement of the Synagogue's leader, was surely not in line with God's Commandments. He was not moved, as was all the congregation, but came forth with words of hate, thinking that he would be able to minimize the Lord's work. He only knew one road. The road, which was paved with envy, jealousy and hate. I feel confident, that even in hearing the response of the Lord, which was so befitting the lives of the hypocrites, it must have had no effect upon the ruler of the Synagogue. This miracle took place about 2000 years ago. But, I ask you, is this something that happened then, without any repetition? Of course not. Leaders, such as the one in the Synagogue, are people who have been blinded by envy and hate. They are in all walks of life, as well as from the highest to the lowest strata. We see them in families, in groups, in relationships, in organizations, and even in Church organizations. They chime in with notes of disharmony, and seek every opportunity to minimize, to condemn, to ridicule their fellow humans, only because, they live under the delusion that they are superior, and everyone is beneath them. For them, they feel that they have no equal. There is no question, that envy and hate are very condemnable sins. There are so many occasions, where these unfortunate souls bring nothing but catastrophe in any work, in which they may be involved. The envious individual feels great pain, when he or she sees a fellow human excel and achieve happiness. Also, when the envied individual suffers some great tragedy, the person who envies, gloats and oddly senses joy. What a deplorable way to be, which always reaps nothing but a great harvest of misery and unhappiness. Envy and jealousy is a horrible sin, to which an individual can fall into, if a person does not cultivate love within one's heart. You may remember, that when the Prodigal son found his way to return to his Father's house begging forgiveness, the happy Father decided to throw a big party, because his son was dead and came to life again. The elder brother was returning from working in the fields and hearing the music, asked what was happening. Hearing that his prodigal brother was being honored, he voiced loudly to his Father, that he was always faithful, and that he never threw a party for him. "Son" the Father says: "you were always with me, and all that I have is yours, but you should be thankful, that your brother who was dead, has returned to life." Envy has its roots in egotism, in arrogance, and in false pride, which makes one feel, that he or she is the best and the most important person in one's circle. The envious person has permitted himself to develop spiritual cataracts, so that they cannot see things, as they should be. It is easy to gradually fall into envy, only because true and selfless love does not have a place in one's heart. St. Paul states that: "he or she who thinks that they stand firmly, should be very careful, lest they fall!" 1 Cor. 10:12 I remember reading a story some time ago of two friends, who were enjoying dinner with their wives. One made a statement to the other, that no one is free from the evil of envy. His friend disagreed with him, saying that he had been happily married for 20 years, and that he never once heard from his wife, that she wanted material things or jewelry, just because her friends possessed them. Their life was blessed in every way. However, his wife was obsessed with sending their talented son to an Ivy League University, which was a little beyond their means. Along with other obligations, they began to feel the economic squeeze to the point, that they might have to look into a more economic University. The wife's obsession got the best of her, and her psychological, as well as her physiological condition was steadily deteriorating. When she went to the Doctor, it was ascertained, that her chief agony, was to give her son the best, and that she dshould never deprive him of anything, that the rich young men had. Her fixation was steadily paving the road to catastrophe of this formerly happy family. Everything changed. She became a nervous wreck, as we say. She started accusing her husband that he wasn't earning enough, and that he had to do something to keep up their status. She pushed her husband to the point that he had a massive heart attack and died. Having lost her husband, she came to the realization that envy had taken over, and that she was the cause of their catastrophe. As a result, melancholy set in, and she became an inmate of a psychiatric institution. This story, and other similar ones, could fill many books. The cause that sets into motion the evil of envy, is the catastrophic "ego!" People envy, because they see others in a position, that they believe they should be in; or, that others have possessions, that they think they should have etc. This is so sinful and surely most catastrophic. Can envy be cured? Most assuredly, but it requires great spiritual force. Humility, as the Lord emphasized is the power, that can land us on the plain where one belongs. In other words, one should use the measure, which was a meter for the ancient Greeks: "Know thyself!" To live one's life with the proper recognition of the talents, God has given all people, and to labor to increase them for one's benefit and the benefits beyond one's self. The greatest antidote for envy and hate, is Christian love. It is the only saving medicine. The more we increase the level of love of Christ in our heart, the less chance envy has, to root in our life. Now especially, since we are approaching the world-Saving Event of the Birth of our Lord, everyone is offered an additional opportunity, to cultivate that love much more to all our fellow human beings. Amen. + Fr. George Papadeas
|
|
Back to home page
Send mail to
epantaz@yahoo.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
|