Seventh Sunday After Pentecost

(Matthew 9:27-35)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Gospel we heard how Jesus was passing by two blind men, and they cried out, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”

This scene set before us in today’s Gospel illustrates this essential three-part interaction between God and mankind.

First, we have mankind’s recognition of his blindness and his calling out to God. We must admit that we are indeed like blind men, having lost our spiritual vision to see the obvious workings and blessings of God occurring every day, every hour, and every minute in our lives. We are extremely limited in our spiritual vision and so often we go about this life as blind men and women, reacting to the ups and downs of this earthly life as if this were all there is… only occasionally ‘seeing through a glass darkly’ at the magnificence and benevolence and eternal perspective of God. So, step one is recognizing our spiritual blindness and having the humility to call out to God for help.

And what is God’s response to our cries? Our Lord Jesus Christ is a God of compassion and mercy. He cares for us and wishes for our salvation. As Christ tells us in His sermon on the mount: ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!’ Step two, then, is God’s compassionate and merciful response. We reach up to Him and He reaches down to us.

‘And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”’

‘According to your faith, so be it unto you'… these words of the Lord contain profound spiritual truth and instruction. How will it be for us?… it will be according to our faith.

God pours out His grace and His love to us according to the measure of our faith. This does not mean that God is stingy with His grace and love and that He only meters this out to us in reward for however much faith we demonstrate. No - His loving mercy rains down generously upon the just and the unjust alike… God does not limit His compassion on us… it is we who set the limitation. We are only capable of receiving the love of God according to the measure of our faith. This is the third and essential part of our interaction with God.

We call out to God for His mercy, He responds with the love and mercy characteristic of Him, and we receive this love and grace according to the measure of our faith.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate one who was blessed with tremendous grace according to the measure of his faith – St Anthony of the Kiev Caves. St Anthony was born in 983, just five years prior to the baptism of Rus initiated by Grand Prince Vladimir. He was a pious youth, greatly attracted to monasticism, and set out while still a young man to Mt Athos, where he intended to live out the rest of his days. But this was not God’s plan… The abbot of the monastery, recognizing Anthony’s great asceticism and zeal, and being inspired by God, directed Anthony to return to the lands of Rus, which had just embraced Orthodox Chistianity, in order to enrich the good soil of this new Christian land.

Anthony obeyed and returned to Russia where he eventually settled in Kiev, digging out a cave along the banks of the Dnieper River. Here he began his struggle in prayer, vigil, work, and fasting. Soon, people began to come to him for his blessing and counsel. Some who came decided to stay with him. Anthony's renown spread throughout the land, inspiring many to the monastic life. After twelve men had gathered with Anthony, the brethren dug a bigger cave, and within it made a church and cells for the monks. As the community became larger, Anthony appointed Barlaam as abbot of the monastery and then withdrew to another place to dig a new cave where he secluded himself. Nevertheless, monks began to settle around his new cave of seclusion. Thus, were formed the Near and Far Caves monasteries.

The Kiev Caves monastery has been a beacon of Orthodoxy and a consolation of grace for a thousand years. I had the great blessing and privilege to visit the Kiev Caves when I was working in Ukraine about 15 years ago. The monastery buildings are a real citadel upon the banks of the river and to wander through the network of caves and to behold the hundreds of incorrupt relics of the saints, some of them exuding myrrh, is a soul-stirring experience. The grace there is absolutely overwhelming!

I ask everyone to pray especially for the monks and for the preservation of the sacred relics of the Kiev Caves which are undergoing terrible persecution today. The churches are being closed, the abbot has been arrested, and the holy relics are being threatened to be moved to museums. I will not go into the sad politics surrounding all this, but instead focus on our calling as Orthodox Christians to pray for our brothers and sisters and to show love and concern for our holy things.

So, let’s bring this back to today’s Gospel… let us have the humility to recognize our blindness regarding our own sins and the sins of others that bring conflict and sorrow upon our world. None of us know the whole story, but we do know the spiritual roots of all conflict and hatred – which is the Evil One himself. Let us realize our need to call out to God for His help. And God, in His goodness and love for mankind, will hear our prayer. Then we must work on increasing the measure of our faith so that God’s grace and peace and love can find a place to land within us and upon our world.