Orthodox Christian Sermons

Sermon #10 - Sunday of the Man Born Blind

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Christ is Risen!

On this Sixth Sunday of Pascha we commemorate the healing of the man born blind as recounted in John, chapter 9. There are accounts in the New Testament of others whom Jesus healed of blindness. But according to ancient tradition, this was a most unusual miracle. The man in our story--whose name was Celidonius-- was not merely blind. He had no eyes at all--just hollow sockets. Jesus filled those empty sockets with clay and told Celidonius to go wash in the pool of Siloam where the clay was miraculously transformed into brand new eyes! This demonstrated that Jesus was much more than a prophet, but the very Creator who fashioned Adam from the dust of the earth on the sixth day.

As we have noted in previous weeks, the Gospel of John, which we read during the Paschal season, is replete with examples of the grace-bearing effects of water when it is acted upon by the Holy Spirit. The healing of the man born blind is clearly an allusion to water baptism. In Orthodoxy, we call baptism illumination or enlightenment, for the-Holy Spirit moves upon the waters and opens our spiritual eyes so that we can see the things of the Kingdom of God. It may be likened to the creation of the world in the beginning, when the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Then the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters and God said, Let there be light-- and there was light!

Some thoughts on today's Gospel Reading:

Verses 6 and 7 – "...he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" This illustrates how God uses lifeless matter as a vehicle to convey his grace to mankind. It is the basis of the Sacraments.

Water is lifeless matter, but when the Spirit moves upon it, the baptismal font is transformed into a regenerating bath.
Oil is lifeless matter, but by the action of the Holy Spirit it seals the newly baptized in the sacrament of Chrismation.
Bread and wine are lifeless matter, but when the Holy Spirit comes down upon them at the epiclesis, they become the very Body and Blood of Christ.
The Bibe is lifeless paper and ink, but when the Spirit speaks through it, its words become alive and powerful.
Icons are lifeless wood and paint, but when the Spirit acts upon them they become windows to heaven, conveying God's light and grace.
Incense is lifeless smoke, but when the Spirit acts through it, it becomes the sweet savor of Christ.

I once had an email exchange with a Mennonite. He thought it was absurd that Orthodox believe that the bread and wine becomes the body and blood of Christ. So I asked him, which is harder to believe--that God could make a loaf of bread into his body, or that he could make your sinful flesh a member of his body? "For ye are the body of Christ and members in particular" Or is Jesus speaking figuratively there, too?

Then he got cocky and asked me whether the bread tastes like flesh and the wine like blood. So I asked him in turn, when you became a member of Christ's body, did your DNA change? Did your complexion darken and your hair turn coarse and black like a Middle Easterner? That was the last I heard from him!

Again, verse 7--"Go, wash in the pool of Siloam," said Christ to blind Celidonius. What an incredible effort this would have required of the man with no eyes! He would have had to feel his way along the streets, grasping for something familiar, reaching out with his hands to touch the walls of the buildings in order to get his bearings. Or perhaps he would have to beg the help of some kind person on the street to lead him by the hand to the healing waters. Seeking God requires effort on our part. Acts 17:27 tells us that men "should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us, for in him we live and move and have our being...." God is everywhere present and fills all things, but our sins have hid his face from us. The god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of those who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ should shine unto them. Nevertheless, the Lord has promised that he will be found of us if we seek him with all our hearts. But are we willing to pay the price? Like blind Celidonius we must leave behind what is familiar and feel our way through the dark corridors of our inner landscape until we come to that place where the Light of God's gracious countenance shines deep within our hearts. As Paul writes:

"God, who caused the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." II Cor. 4:6

Think of it...the most beautiful sight in the entire universe, the very Light which radiates from the countenance of him who is "fairer than the children of men"--the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousness--is shining into our darkened hearts. Once our eyes have been opened and we have caught a glimpse of that Light, we will want nothing else than to fix our gaze inward toward the place of its in-shining and to bask in its rays in quiet contemplation:

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." II Corinthians 3:18

Just as the sun enlightens the earth and causes the snows to melt and the streams of water to flow, and life to spring forth anew, even so Christ the Sun of Righteousness will illumine our darkened minds and thaw our cold, hard hearts, and usher in a new springtime, to the glory of God. Amen.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

CHRIST IS RISEN!