Омилия XXX 135 .

Containing a story about the blind who received their sight in the house, as narrated by the Evangelist Matthew. It also says that it is impossible to truly have faith without repentance. Our Lord Jesus Christ, living on earth in the body that He took from us for our sake, healed many blind people both in body and soul; and if anyone brings into account spiritual insight, which is expressed in the transition from unbelief to faith, from ignorance to the knowledge of God, then it is impossible to express in numbers the number of blind people who received their sight thanks to the Incarnation of the Lord: they are counted - only by Him Who knows the number of our hairs. If we examine the insight of the bodily eyes, we will find that in one case many were healed by one word of Christ, others by a single touch of Him; some - by falling down and approaching Christ; others received healing from Christ through anointing with spitting or clay. Thus, when He came to the Sea of ​​Galilee, as Matthew relates, a multitude of people came to Him, having with them the lame, the blind, the dumb, the crippled and many others, all of whom He healed when they were thrown at His feet, so that the people then marveled and glorified Him, seeing the dumb speaking, the lame walking, the maimed healthy, and the blind seeing (Matthew 15:30). But when, sitting on the foal of a donkey, according to prophecy, He miraculously entered Jerusalem, praised as God by the children, He, as Matthew says, healed all the lame and blind who came to Him (Matthew 21:14). When He came to Bethsaida, they brought a blind man to Him, as Mark says, and asked Him to touch him; The Lord, taking him out of the village, spit on his eyes, and laying his hands on him, made it so that he partially began to see; then, again laying His hands on him, He granted him complete sight. When He approached Jericho, as Luke relates, He healed with one word a blind man sitting by the road and begging for alms, saying in response to his request for healing: “Get your sight” (Luke 18:42). When He walked from Jericho, as Mark also relates, He gave sight again to another blind man: Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, saying in response to his request for sight: “Let it be done to you according to your faith” (Mark 10:46). And when in Jerusalem, seeing a man blind from birth, as John relates, He, without asking, but Himself moved out of His kindness, spitting on the ground and creating clay, and anointing the eyes of the blind man, said to him: “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”; and he went and washed and came seeing (John 9:7). But even after the resurrection of the dead daughter of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, as we heard Matthew preaching today, “when Jesus went from there, two blind men followed Him, shouting and saying: Have mercy on us, Son of David” (Matthew 9:27). He entered the house with them and touched their eyes, saying to them: “According to your faith it will be done for you,” and he healed them. So, in addition to those not covered by the number of healings, 6 are especially counted and, I think, that of the blind people then existing in Judea or its environs, not one remained blind. Therefore, Isaiah, as if on behalf of Christ, predicted that He was sent by the Father and His Spirit in order to “preach release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind” (Is. 61:1). Why didn’t the Prophet say that He was sent to give sight to the blind, as in reality it was, but that He was sent to preach sight to the blind? – Because the Lord came to earth primarily not to open the eyes of the body, but the eyes of the soul, which, through the Gospel preaching, acquire insight; therefore, the prophecy rightly says that the Lord preached sight to the blind. As the Lord Himself, behold, exhorts us to seek spiritual blessings: “Do,” he says, “not the evil that perishes, but the evil which abides in eternal life” (John 6:27); He promises to add bodily benefits to us if we seek those that are beneficial to the soul: “Seek,” he says, “the kingdom of God, and all these will be added to you” (Luke 12:31); He does the same with the blind. Because having bowed to the heavens and descended to earth out of love for mankind, so that through the Gospel preaching he could open the eyes of our souls and give us spiritual insight, He added to this the healing of sensory-blind eyes. Therefore, there is a great similarity between one and the other epiphany, I mean - epiphany in the body and in the soul. Because among those who were blind with their bodily eyes, some immediately received sight, as for example. the one who, having heard: “Get your sight,” was immediately healed; others - gradually, such as the one who, before receiving perfect healing, said: “I see people passing by like trees”; So from among those who received, through faith, the healing of spiritual eyes, some immediately found it, as for example. the one who immediately became an Evangelist from publicans; others gradually, like the night student - Nicodemus. And among those who were blind in body, some received healing with a single word, as for example. Bartimaeus; and others - by the action (of Christ): because He put His saliva on the eyes of the blind man from Bethsaida; for he, it seems, had eyes, but they were empty, since the eye moisture flowed out of them, which, through the then divine spitting, he received. From birth, the blind man did not even have eyes, therefore he needed to form them from the earth, which, through mixing clay with the Master’s fingers, he received. So, just as among those who were blind in the flesh, as I said, some received healing through the single word of Christ, while others through His action, so the situation is also regarding those who received healing of their spiritual eyes, i.e., as we said, a change in state from unbelief to faith: for some there was a need for miracles in order for them to believe, as for example. for those who were sent by John (the Baptist) to ask: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect another?” (Matthew 11:3); and others accepted this in one word, believing by their very hearing, like that centurion, about whom the Lord testified that he was superior to Israel in faith. Such are those who, according to Matthew who preaches to us today, received bodily insight from Christ; because they show themselves to be believers even before healing; being blind, of course, they could only believe by hearing. For it is said: “As Jesus passed from there, two blind men followed Him, calling and saying, Have mercy on us, Son of David” (Matthew 9:27). How would they follow, as if following, asking, and then crying out, and then in such a sorrowful situation (begging) for the sight of their blind eyes, if they did not believe? “But what follows will show the faith of these blind people.” “But to pass away,” it is said, “to Jesus from there.” Where does “from there” come from and why does Evangelista insert this word? And not only in this place, but also a little higher, for it is said: “As Jesus passed from there, in the sight of a man sitting on the tollhouse, Matthew was spoken of” (Matthew 9:9), - this Evangelist, whom with a single word He then remade (into a new man). It seems to me that the Evangelist speaks in this way to indicate that for those who listen intelligently, the matter should be understood in another, sublime sense. Because whoever carefully examines the entire dispensation of the Lord in the flesh, concisely presented in this (Gospel) story, will find that it is wisely and wonderfully proclaimed. For the Lord had his abode in Capernaum. Because he says (the Evangelist): “When he came, he dwelt in Capernaum in Pomorie” (Matthew 4:13); His dwelling at that time, of course, represented heaven, because (this His dwelling in Capernaum) contained within itself the One who dwells in heaven. That is why the Lord says in one place: “And you are from Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven” (Luke 10:15). So, just as He came out of that abode, so, through the perception of the flesh, the Lord came out of heaven, passing here - if you take this in the concept of His descent from heaven, you will find that then He chose the Apostles and healed the tendency of our nature to impurity; and if you take the concept of His coming from the place of His residence in Capernaum, then you will find that (while passing then) He confirmed His previously spoken words with deeds: because then He transformed Matthew from a publican into an Apostle, and in passing healed a bleeding woman. But having reached the dead daughter of Jairus and by resurrecting her, having revealed himself as the conqueror of death, he returned to the place from which he came. So, returning and again passing from there, He opened the eyes of the blind men who followed Him. So He descended, even to death, and by His Resurrection, having abolished the power of death, ascended (to heaven) and descended again (to earth), He opened, as it is written, the minds of His Disciples to understand the Scriptures. They, having gone out, proclaimed Him everywhere on earth, just as the Evangelist says about the blind who received their sight, that they “went out and glorified Him throughout all that land” (Matthew 9:31). Do you see a clear (symbolic) designation in this story, one might say, of the entire economy of the God-man? For this reason it was said twice: “Departing from there,” so that we understand in this the departure and return of Him. For in the likeness of this departure and return, He, as a Priest, descended from the divine Throne and descended even to the last, ascending again to where He came from, and sat down (on His throne). So, after the Lord, who walked past (His return to Capernaum), two blind men followed: (symbolically) representing two peoples: Jews and pagans 136. They cried out, saying: “Have mercy on us, Son of David,” showing that He is the one announced by the Prophets and the expected (Messiah) 137. The Lord, fulfilling His economy and at the same time testing or demonstrating the faith of the blind, leads them behind Him, silently (in response to their request) until the moment He entered the house from which he first left. Then say to them: “Do you believe that I can do this? - Speak to Him: Yes, Lord." He does not ask out of ignorance, but in order to make clear the faith of the blind to those who do not know. Therefore, when He touched their eyes, He added: “According to your faith, be you.” “And their eyes were opened,” as a testimony to the fact that they believed and together to show: Who is He Himself in whom they believed: He is God and Man; because, as a man, He was also the Son of David and with His hands touched their eyes and uttered words in a sensuous manner; and as God and the Creator of light, he gave light to darkened eyes. Since the time had not yet come for Him to be revealed to everyone, because this was preserved until the time after His Passion and from the dead Resurrection, He “forbade them, saying: watch and let no one know,” commanding them with great severity to remain silent about what had happened. They, “went out to glorify Him throughout all that land.” It seems that if they had not been commanded to remain silent, they would have become worldwide preachers of His power, and so, having accepted His command, they refrained from going further, but could not bear not to preach in the nearest regions. Thus, the blind who followed Christ were completely enlightened not only in the flesh, but also in the soul. So, we, brothers, will follow the Light, which enlightens both soul and body. Let us go to His radiance, and let us walk decently as if in the day of the Lord. Let us glorify Him with our good deeds, and (then) we will lead those who look at us to glorify Him. Let us flee from the opposing darkness, which is sin and the prince of sin, the devil. This Light, the real Sun of all Truth, chastity, peace, compassion, long-suffering, love and, in general, all virtue, makes participants those who approach Him; the opposite darkness, being the darkness of sin, makes those who approach it fornicators, adulterers, vindictive, cowardly, dissolute, predators and, in general, full of all evil. Because how, tell me, can we distinguish the faithful from the unfaithful, the enlightened from the unenlightened, is this the same as saying: those who are baptized in Christ and numbered with Christ - from those who are not baptized and numbered with the devil? – Isn’t it based on words? Is it not on the basis of works? Is it not based on morals? So, the one who in this is likened to the unenlightened, however, claiming that he is baptized in Christ, is it not obvious that he corresponds to those about whom the Apostle speaks, that: “They confess God, but His works are averted; they are abominations and disobedient, and are unskillful in every good work” (Titus 1:16)? So, tell me, to whom do we classify these confessors and together renouncers of God? - To the faithful? “But by deeds they deny it.” To the infidels? - But they confess with their tongue. Truly, they are some kind of two-faced and difficult to imagine monster. However, having prefaced this, the Psalmist resolved our bewilderment by saying: “The Lord will reward everyone according to his deeds” (Ps. 61:13). The Lord Himself called the person foolish who listens to His words and yet does not fulfill them. Paul, the Apostle called from heaven, says that: “The Lord will reward those who seek for good deeds, glory and honor and incorruptibility, according to their patience, eternal life; and wrath and wrath, sorrow and distress upon every soul of man who does evil” (Rom. 2:6-9). And again: “For those who hear the law are not righteous before God, but those who do the law are justified” (Rom. 2:13). And: “Those who boast in the law are dishonored by transgressing the law of God” (Rom. 2:23). So, brothers, as Paul himself told the Jews that “circumcision benefits if you do the law; if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision” (Rom. 2:25), so it will not be wrong to tell you that faith is beneficial if someone lives according to conscience and purifies himself through confession and repentance, and puts into practice the covenants he made with God at divine Baptism; if he disobeys his conscience and rejects the covenants, the faith of such a person becomes unbelief. Because on what basis did we have faith that by being baptized we would be saved? - Of course, on the basis that we heard the words of the Lord: “He who has faith and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not have faith will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Since Truth Itself brought both, i.e. – the necessity of faith and Baptism, then it is impossible for someone who does not want to be baptized to be saved, even if he claims to believe, and also for someone who does not believe, even if he has been baptized. But you will say that everyone who is baptized believes. But listen to what the Apostle says: “Show me your faith by your works” (James 2:18). Therefore, the Lord united faith with divine Baptism, combining the observance of His commandments, which occurs because of faith, with baptism. Because, first saying to the Disciples: “Go into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature,” He then added: “Whoever has faith and is baptized will be saved.” What does it say in the Gospel preached by the messengers, and how does it say that those listening must believe? - Of course, this is that he who knows the commandments of Christ and fulfills and observes them is the one who loves Him; and that through patience and a constrained and abstinent lifestyle it is possible to achieve salvation and that if our righteousness does not exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20). For this is what (the Lord) commanded them to proclaim in the Gospel preaching. Consequently, he is a believer who is diligent in keeping the divine commandments; He who does not care to fulfill and observe them, and who does not even see the harm in not observing them, and who does not want to return to keeping the divine commandments through repentance, will not be counted among the baptized, even if he claims to have been baptized. For (Christ) says that “he will grow half of it, and put part of it with the unbelievers” (Matthew 24:51). But with regard to us, this is still in the realm of threats, since the Lord humanely awaits our repentance; But for our admonition, He divided the Jews here and deprived them of kinship with Himself and with Abraham, saying to them: “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the lusts of your father” (John 8:44). And again: “Even though the children of Abraham were quicker, they did the works of Abraham quickly” (John 8:39). And who does not know this that they were from the family of Abraham? So if the difference in deeds and morals nullifies even blood kinship, and by blood casts out sons from sonship, then how can the difference in deeds and morals (between Him and us) not deprive us of divine adoption and count us as an adversary? But the Lord deigned to proclaim all this in a humane manner, and we, although we ourselves are subject to the same passions, dare to tell you so that we do not do this, so that we do not suffer from this, so as not to expose ourselves to condemnation for those who are not to the end. Because now it is possible - not only to avoid this through repentance, but also, thanks to the fruits of repentance, to unite and become like the Son of God, who is able to make the unworthy worthy and through Himself as sons of the Highest Father, and make heirs and joint heirs of His and the Father’s glory and kingdom, which may we all receive in Christ our Lord Himself, with whom glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit in forever and ever. Amen. PG.151:376–388. Homilia XXX. Super caecos qui secundum evangelistam Matthaeum visum receperunt in domo, et quod non verae est fidei qui est absque poenitentiae operibus. Those. Our Lord Jesus Christ, whose designation “priest” is based on Heb. 7 and Hebrews 8, especially Hebrews 7 10, 21. This phrase is not in the Latin translation. You might be interested in: