Homily

Two blind men are following Jesus, crying out after Him, “Son of David, have pity on us!” It’s a remarkable thing, first of all because, since they were blind, someone had to help them follow after Jesus, and secondly, because they called Him, “Son of David,” a title that was fit only for a messiah. This, along with their answer to Jesus when He asked if they believed that He could cure them was a sign of great faith. They were blind, but they saw something more in Jesus than just another Jewish teacher. The Pharisees saw the same man as these two hoped to see, but they came away with a very different opinion about Jesus. He is an agent of Satan!

The faith of the blind men gave them something more than the Pharisees had. It gave them the ability to see the truth beyond what some others might see. It gave them the power to understand a truth, a reality, that was beyond the limits of this material world, beyond the mortal limits of human intelligence and comprehension. Their faith led them to a truth that could not be discovered by any person; a truth that could only be accepted or rejected when it was revealed to them. Their faith in Jesus gave them more, made them more, offered them more and promised more than that which they could have hoped to find on their own. The cure of their blindness was nothing in comparison to this great revelation. The cure was only a sign of the goodness that their faith had opened up for them. Being able to see Jesus was a great thing, but believing in Jesus and following Him was a life-changing choice.

Because of their faith they had more than some other people, and certainly more than the Pharisees. Because of our faith we have more than those who do not believe. That usually doesn’t sound very democratic, does it, to think that we have more than some other people? The general cultural opinion is that we do not have more, we are simply different than some other people. We should not think that our faith is any better than the beliefs of the Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Wiccans, Voodoo-people, Buddhists, Jainists, Santerians, Baha’I, or Jehovah’s Witnesses, nor should we think our faith gives us anything better than what atheists or agnostics have. The cultural idea is that all beliefs are of equal value and importance, and none should be considered superior to any other. That’s the American way today. And, increasingly, slowly but surely, many are coming to think that no faith is the best way to live, because believing in God and doing what He asks gets in the way of my personal freedom. Of course, we recognize the freedom of all Americans to worship, or not worship, as they choose, and to believe or not believe as each person sees fit. All religious faiths are to be treated as equal under the law.

But that does not mean all religions are equal. We would never think that celebrating the Divine Liturgy is spiritually the same as sacrificing a chicken to some pagan god in a backyard in Haiti. We don’t think that living according to the Beatitudes is not any better than following the impersonal rules of the god of Mohamed. And why would we ever want to be such sad people to say that any sign of religious faith in public causes us “emotional distress” as some atheists claimed in a lawsuit a few years ago?

Dear Friends – we have more than some others. We have faith in Jesus Christ. That does not necessarily make us better people. Having more does not mean that we are using it well or living in it as we ought to be. Having more does not mean we should not respect the rights of others to believe according to their consciences. Yet, because we do have more, our faith in Christ, there is more that we must do.

How important it is to understand that the faith which was given to us was not made up by any human person but was revealed to us most perfectly by, and in the person of Jesus Christ. The danger in thinking that all religions are kind of equal, or that it really doesn’t matter what a person believes is showing itself more and more in our present-day life in America. More and more Christian churches which used to uphold most of the basic teachings of Christ have thrown out some of the truths given to us by our Lord. More and more people have abandoned any active participation in faith and live their lives without any thought or reference to God. And I certainly believe that the huge changes we are seeing in our national life are the result of the changes that have taken place in what Americans believe…or what they don’t believe. People who have given up faith in Christ have filled that empty spot with idols.

Pope Benedict once wrote:

“Idols exist, we begin to see, as a pretext for setting ourselves at the center of reality and worshipping the work of our own hands. Once man has lost the fundamental orientation which unifies his existence, he breaks down into multiple desires… Idolatry does not offer a journey but rather a multitude of paths heading nowhere and forming a vast maze. Those who choose not to put their trust in God must hear the din of countless idols crying out ‘Put your trust in me!’”

What we believe really and truly matters. That’s why the first six ecumenical councils were so important. What we believe will tell us how we should live according to a truth that comes from the Creator of All Who made heaven and earth and all things visible and invisible. That’s why it’s important that we know and understand our faith correctly, as the teachings of the councils and of the Church explain for us. And that faith should then guide our daily lives. Even though we sometimes fail to live up to what the Lord asks of us because we are sinners, we know how we ought to live and we ask for the grace to do that. Living according to faith is so important for us and for our family life. It’s important that we bear witness to Christ by the way we live, the choices we make, the prayers we pray, so that others may be attracted to the truth of Christ and the blessing of living in Him. The two blind men in the Gospel went off and spread the news about Jesus through the whole area where they lived. We should use every opportunity to share our faith in Jesus as well. And I think it is also important that we support one another in living as Christians, because it is increasingly more difficult to do that in these times. And finally, let us today sincerely give thanks to Christ our Lord for the gift of faith and ask Him to help us grow in the love and knowledge of God.