Homily on the Sunday After Theophany
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
(Delivered in 1962)
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
(Delivered in 1962)
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
"The people sitting in darkness have seen a great light, and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death a light has dawned" (Matthew 4:16). This is how the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, conveying the words of the Holy Prophet Isaiah, depicts the state of people – believers and unbelievers. The God-inspired Prophet foresaw the grace-filled effect of the preaching of Jesus Christ, from which the hearts of all who listen with faith are illuminated by an ineffable grace-filled light and all darkness is driven away. The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, where the Lord came after His Baptism and forty-day temptation, lay adjacent to pagan lands, and therefore those who lived there adopted many pagan customs and beliefs from their neighbors. With the appearance of Christ the Savior, this pagan darkness was dispelled, and people saw a great light.
For us, this Gospel narrative reveals the immutable truth that those who do not believe in Christ are in darkness, while believers see the light. People of all times who do not believe in Christ sit in darkness, indulge in errors and all sorts of vices. They do not know the truths necessary for salvation, and therefore their lives are filled with wickedness and lawlessness. They do not know the true God, deifying every soulless creature, their mind, their knowledge, themselves. They do not know the origin and dignity of man, do not know what his purpose is in this life and what it is in the future, and do not know the path to achieving this purpose.
Not knowing and not seeing what a person needs for the present and future life, they therefore live as if they did not have a rational immortal soul, indulge in vices, having a false concept of piety; sometimes they justify the vices and passions themselves and consider their action to be a normal phenomenon.
And of course, such a state of man is true spiritual darkness and the shadow of death, for the soul can be enlightened and live only through the knowledge of the true God and through drawing closer to Him through faith, hope and love.
On the contrary, the gospel message, or the teaching of Jesus Christ, is the true light for our soul. He who listens to the gospel teaching with faith sees a great light, according to the word of Scripture. The teaching of Christ reveals to us everything that a person needs to know for his salvation. It shows that man is created in the image of God in order to serve God with a pious and virtuous life, to glorify Him, through which he is deemed worthy of God's favor, and as the final goal to achieve eternal salvation in the heavenly abodes.
Man sinned, brought upon himself the wrath of God and was subjected to eternal condemnation, becoming incapable of knowing God and observing His holy will. The merciful Lord first promised, and then sent into the world His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, to teach people the true knowledge of God and their salvation through faith in Him, the Redeemer and Savior of the world. And He, through His suffering and death on the cross, accepted for the sins of the world, satisfied the justice of God and reconciled us with the Heavenly Father, opening for us the way to eternal life.
Everything in the books of the New Testament is revealed clearly. He who listens to this teaching with faith sees the blessed light, knows God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, sees his purpose in eternal life, and the path to achieving this goal: through faith in Jesus Christ and through the fulfillment of His commandments. Following his purpose, he tries to distance himself from vices and perfects himself in virtues, fulfilling the commandments of Christ. He who lives thus does not err, but, as in daylight, sees the path to the Heavenly Fatherland and follows it. In the light of Christ's teaching, he clearly discerns the crossroads that lead to destruction, and tries to distance himself from them, always keeping to the path that the Savior Himself walked, to which He now calls everyone, saying: "Whoever wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matt. 16:24).
Dear brothers and sisters, you and I are enlightened by the light of Christ's teaching, but we must be careful that, having learned the rules and norms of Christian life, we do not find ourselves in our lives not acting according to the spirit of Christ's teaching. We must think, feel, speak and act as the Lord Himself felt, spoke and acted, as He commanded us in His Holy Gospel, so that unbelievers do not reproach us for not living according to faith. "For faith without works is dead" (James 2:20). Therefore, we must strive to ensure that our faith is accompanied by good works. If we allow enmity, slander, hatred, evil, deception, theft, then our faith is false and not true. Let us always confirm our faith with good deeds, so that we may fulfill the eternal covenant of Christ: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
