ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE

Exarchate of Parishes of Russian
Tradition in Western Europe

His Name is Adam

Sermon for the Sunday of the Man Born Blind, preached by Archbishop Gabriel of Comana at the Liturgy celebrated at the annual conference ot the Vicariate, 24 May 2009.

John 9: 1-38

In today’s Gospel reading there is a man who was born blind. He has no name. This happens not only today but very often in the Gospel: there is a young man who comes to Jesus, or an important man, or a woman – but most of them have no name. This means, I think, that we have to see ourselves in the Gospel. The man who was born blind – his name is Adam. He is me – he is you – all of us. His blindness is our first situation. At the beginning of our life we may be a beautiful baby, or a very nice child loved by everybody – but in a spiritual way  we are all blind. We do not see anything of the spiritual meaning of our lives.

And the same miracle we have heard about today is done with us: we meet Christ. Most of us remember nothing about our baptism – nothing. But the baptism was the beginning. And one day we see the light: that is the day we came to the Orthodox Church, or, if you were baptised into the Orthodox Church, the day we became conscious of the beautiful reality of the Orthodox faith and the Orthodox Church, and made the decision to serve the Church. That was the day of our real conversion to Christ. In that day we became converts.
You will remember that day in your life. It was a beautiful day. You were so happy – it was only sun and light, as it is for a newly married couple. On the day of the marriage and for some weeks after it is always a big feast. It is the same for a newly ordained priest or deacon: he is so happy that he likes to celebrate every day. We are full of joy, we are happy. And after some time – some months, some years – here we are: I am a priest, I am a deacon, I am a bishop, I am married, but – is there a problem? – yes!

It is like the Gospel story of the wedding at Cana in Galilee. The Mother of God said to Christ, ‘They don’t have any more wine.’ And that can be also our situation after some time. We are here, but we have no wine any more – only water. You need water to live because without water you die, but it is not enough. We have to find again a wine that is better than the wine of our first day of conversion, of our marriage, of our ordination – better than the day we became Orthodox, But for that, we have to do what the Mother of God said, ‘Do whatsoever he tells you.’ (Jn 2:5).

Then we have to listen to Christ. We need a second miracle that only he can do. He can change the water of our daily lives into a very good wine, into a new situation, but what we have to do is to be obedient, to be faithful.

Everything I have told you today in this sermon is also my experience. My goodness!  The joy of my ordination! But after some years it became an obligation to celebrate, not a joy any more. I asked my bishop at that time, ‘Please, please give me some months’ sabbatical to think about the future.’ He said, ‘No. You don’t need a sabbatical – because it is too dangerous. It is too dangerous if you start to think.’

It was a temptation to stay at home, to make a separation between myself and the Church. That was a real danger and that is why he said no – you have to celebrate every Sunday. And you know, I found again that original joy in celebrating, and now I understand very well the meaning of the Tradition of the Church when it says to us, ‘You have to do this or that. You have to celebrate every Sunday as a priest or a deacon’, just as you cannot leave your house because of some problems with the family. Christ says to us, to everybody, every day of our lives, ‘Stay with me. Stay together’ – and then he can save us. As with all his commandments I have to be obedient, and then he can save me.

So, my brothers and sisters, and fathers, and dear Bishop Basil, let us pray that we meet Christ once more, that we keep in our hearts that eternal joy of being Orthodox. It is a gift from God. We are members not of the House of Lords, but of the house of the Lord himself. That is our vocation. And as is said in France, noblesse oblige. If we are members of the house of the Lord himself then we have an obligation to proclaim that reality in our daily lives.

My dear friends, you know that the Church is not the heavenly kingdom – it is the door. So we have always to accept the problems in our lives – everyone in his or her own situation – but we can accept it because we are not left to carry that cross alone. The Lord himself is always with us, and that is why we will be able to do it. Let us accept that mission, let us accept our royalty as members of the house of the Lord and he will be with us. Let us stay together, let us pray together, and let us love each other.

Amen.