Speaker 1: Welcome to Hill Country Homilies. Weekly homilies from Holy Annunciation
Speaker 1: Orthodox Church in Liberty Hill, Texas. Holy Annunciation is an
Speaker 1: old calendar Orthodox church sharing the faith of the Apostles
Speaker 1: and the love of Christ with all who seek His truth. Now,
Speaker 1: let's listen to this week's homily.
Speaker 2: I'm the name of Father and Son the Holy Spirit
Speaker 2: Lord to Jesus Christ. I have a seat if you
Speaker 2: all wish. Our gospel reading today is Luke's account of
Speaker 2: the healing of the blind beggar on the road to Jericho.
Speaker 2: As Jesus was drawing near to Jericho, a blind man
Speaker 2: sat begging by the roadside, and hearing the noise of
Speaker 2: a great crab passing by, he he asked what is happening,
Speaker 2: and he was told that Jesus of Nazareus was passing by,
Speaker 2: and he began to cry out with all his heart, Jesus,
Speaker 2: son of David, have mercy on me. And though the
Speaker 2: people around him tried to silence him and push him aside,
Speaker 2: it just made him cry out all the more. Lord, Jesus,
Speaker 2: son of David, have mercy on me. And the Lord
Speaker 2: stopped and commanded that the man be brought to him
Speaker 2: and He asked him, what do you want me to
Speaker 2: do for you? And the blind man answered, Lord, that
Speaker 2: I may receive my sight. And Jesus said to him,
Speaker 2: receive your side. Your faith has saved you. And immediately
Speaker 2: the man's eyes were opened, and he followed Christ and
Speaker 2: glorified God. And all the people who saw this miracle
Speaker 2: gave praise to God. Now I want to say a
Speaker 2: few words about this reading, starting with the person of
Speaker 2: the blind man, because there are actually two different interpretations
Speaker 2: from the church fathers about who the blind man represents.
Speaker 2: Saint Ambrose of Milan, for example, says that in the
Speaker 2: blind Man, we have a type of the gentile people
Speaker 2: who received by the sacrament of our Lord the brightness
Speaker 2: of the light which they had lost. So to Ambrose,
Speaker 2: the blind man represents the gentile race blind because of
Speaker 2: the lack of their knowledge of God. Saint Augustine of Hippo, however,
Speaker 2: says that the one blind man in Luke's account represents
Speaker 2: the Jews alone, to whom Christ's commander the gospel be taught.
Speaker 2: This is a man he encounters as he approaches Jericho.
Speaker 2: Now Jericho they interpret as the end of his days.
Speaker 2: And then when he's leaving Jericho in Marx. In Matthew's account,
Speaker 2: he encounters two blind beacers, and what Augustine says is
Speaker 2: these are different encounters. And the second time, when he
Speaker 2: encounters two, that's leaving Jericho after his death and resurrection symbolically,
Speaker 2: and so those two represent both the Jews and the
Speaker 2: Gentiles now being the subject of the gospel. So it's
Speaker 2: kind of an interesting question whether these accounts in Matthew
Speaker 2: Luke are the same other different healings, But I'm not
Speaker 2: sure it makes a difference in how we understand the
Speaker 2: healings themselves, given that the facts of the two healings
Speaker 2: are essentially the same. In both cases, you have a
Speaker 2: blind man who cries out to the passing Lord Jesus,
Speaker 2: son of David, have mercy. I mean, in both cases
Speaker 2: the crowd rebukes him and he cries out. All the
Speaker 2: more so, the first thing that we can say about
Speaker 2: this blind man is as blessed the out black rights.
Speaker 2: Let us marvel at his staunch confession. Although rebuked by many,
Speaker 2: he did not keep silent. He cried out all the
Speaker 2: more are urged on by the fervent seal within him.
Speaker 2: The blind man represents or demonstrates unwavering persistence and calling
Speaker 2: out to Christ, refusing to be silenced by the crowd
Speaker 2: along around him. Despite being rebuked, he cries out all
Speaker 2: the more. This persistence reveals of faith that empowers and
Speaker 2: moves and overcomes obstacles, overcomes rebuke, overcomes embarrassment. It's a
Speaker 2: faith that we're called to carry as well. In our
Speaker 2: spiritual lives. We face many obstacles, doubts, distractions, the mockery
Speaker 2: of others, even our own discouragement. Where our spiritual life
Speaker 2: intersects the secular world, we often struggle in weighing out
Speaker 2: what we show of our faith and what we hold
Speaker 2: to ourselves. And the blind beggars Or becomes our example
Speaker 2: of public evangelism. He didn't allow the judgment of the
Speaker 2: cris diminish his zeal for God. He didn't allow them
Speaker 2: to silence him. So we two must persist in prayer,
Speaker 2: especially the Jesus prayer, Lord Jesus Christ, on God have
Speaker 2: mercy on me, which sounds so much like the prayer
Speaker 2: of the blind man. It's a proven, tested prayer, It's
Speaker 2: proved by God. When difficulties arise, when our prayers seem unanswered.
Speaker 2: We have to be like this blind man and call
Speaker 2: out all the louder, refusing to let anything separate us
Speaker 2: from Christ. Because this proclamation of faith, this act of
Speaker 2: prayer from the blind man, it drew the attention of
Speaker 2: the Lord, and he engaged this man face to faith.
Speaker 2: He called from to be brought to him, when just
Speaker 2: moments ago the crowd was trying to silence and hide
Speaker 2: this man, and Christ asked this humble man, what is
Speaker 2: it that you would have me do for you? And
Speaker 2: a man boldly asked for the greatest gift that he
Speaker 2: can to receive his sight and Christ to his himself.
Speaker 2: The true light gives light to this man's life. It
Speaker 2: is mere word, receive your sight. Your faith has saved you. Now.
Speaker 2: Saint Simeon, the New Theologian, tells us that this persistence
Speaker 2: in prayer is what led to the man's healing. If
Speaker 2: someone is hesitant, doesn't wish to approach the Master, even
Speaker 2: if he says, even if he comes in and says,
Speaker 2: follow me, then let him follow him, as a publican
Speaker 2: once did, abandoning his counting tables in his avarice. And
Speaker 2: I'm sure Saint Simmes wrote that he shall make of
Speaker 2: him to an evangelist, and someone's a paralytic lying on
Speaker 2: their bed in sloth, carelessness or love of put pleasure.
Speaker 2: And if he should see another or the Master himself
Speaker 2: or one of disciples asked, do you desire to be healed?
Speaker 2: Let him receive that word joyfully and reply immediately yes, Lord,
Speaker 2: No one put me in the pool. And if he
Speaker 2: should hear, rise and take up your bed and walk,
Speaker 2: let him get up and run with the faith of
Speaker 2: the one who has called him from on high. And
Speaker 2: though Christ performs this miracle in front of the entire crowd,
Speaker 2: he still does it with great humility and for the
Speaker 2: benefit of those who are watching. He asks this man
Speaker 2: what his request of is. He doesn't just restore the
Speaker 2: sight of a man who may have just been asking
Speaker 2: for alms. He doesn't make himself the object of attention. Instead,
Speaker 2: he waits for that man's request, and then he humbly
Speaker 2: grants it. And when he heals a man, he doesn't
Speaker 2: proclaim I have healed you. He doesn't invoke his own name,
Speaker 2: he doesn't invoke the name of the Father. Rather, he
Speaker 2: credits the beggar entirely. Receive your sight. Your faith has
Speaker 2: saved you. It's this humility in Christ that we model,
Speaker 2: and the man's sight is restored to him. But Christ
Speaker 2: asks nothing for himself. He grants that which was ass
Speaker 2: And finally, let us consider the response of the beggar
Speaker 2: when he receives his sithe. We're told that immediately he
Speaker 2: received his sight and followed him, glorifying God, and all
Speaker 2: the people when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Speaker 2: As Saint Cyril of Alexandria says, he was delivered from
Speaker 2: his blindness. But did he to neglect the duty of
Speaker 2: loving Christ. He certainly did not, But it says he
Speaker 2: followed him, offering him glory like to God. Saint Cyril
Speaker 2: says that this man was set free from double blindness.
Speaker 2: Not only did he escape the physical blindness of the body,
Speaker 2: but also of the mind and the heart. He would
Speaker 2: not have glorified God if he had not possessed that
Speaker 2: spiritual vision. So he had both the physical and the
Speaker 2: spiritual healing. And he becomes the means by which others
Speaker 2: then give glory to Christ, glory to God. The once
Speaker 2: blind man became a disciple. He was transformed from a
Speaker 2: beggar to a giver, from one who received to one
Speaker 2: who glorified God and thanksgiving for his blessings. And this
Speaker 2: is also an example for us because when we receive
Speaker 2: God's mercy, whether it's physical healing or forgiveness of sins
Speaker 2: or spiritual enlightenment, we must respond with the same gratitude
Speaker 2: and discipleship. This means actively following Christ on the way
Speaker 2: to Jerusalem, the heavenly Kingdom. Our faith must be expressed
Speaker 2: not just in words, but in our daily lives. It
Speaker 2: must be open, not silenced by the crowd. We live
Speaker 2: the faith when we live out our daily practices, when
Speaker 2: we pray, when we attend the services, when we fast,
Speaker 2: when we give alms, when we participate in the feast,
Speaker 2: we are becoming witnesses called to draw others through Christ,
Speaker 2: through Christ, through our transformed lives. So and sisters, as
Speaker 2: we depart today, let us be emboldened in our faith
Speaker 2: through the example of the blind beggar. Let us cry
Speaker 2: out to our Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have
Speaker 2: mercy on me. Let us eagerly bring our prayers before
Speaker 2: him with humility and with faith, and let us glorify
Speaker 2: Him and give thanks for the blessings which have been
Speaker 2: stowed upon us that Christ to as the True Life,
Speaker 2: may give sight to our innermost being, healing us by
Speaker 2: our faith through the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Speaker 1: All right, thanks for listening to Hill Country homilies. For
Speaker 1: more information, visit Holy Nunciation Orthodox Church at www dot Denunciation,
Speaker 1: tx dot com, and please join us again next week