Homily by Fr. Andriy Mykytyuk on the Twenty-seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Beloved!

On today’s Sunday, we hear the Gospel, where the evangelist tells us about the miracle that Christ performed in the synagogue on Saturday. What is interesting for us is that this miracle did not happen at the request of a woman. Christ did not ask about her faith. Christ, seeing her, seeing her suffering for 18 years, simply heals her.

You know, when listening to this story, we should probably consider several things. First of all, God sees us as we are. He sees what we are going through, how we are going through it, and how difficult it is for us. And it’s interesting that even though this woman had been twisted for 18 years, she was in the synagogue on Saturday. You know how often in our lives we have many excuses why we can’t come to church on Sunday for a common prayer. This woman shows that nothing can be an obstacle to coming to church. Only ourselves. But when we are in the temple, we then put before God what we have. And He, knowing what we need, gives it to us.

Also, we who go to church every Sunday should think about the behaviour of the leader of that synagogue, who emphasised that the Sabbath is a holy day that should be honoured, on which you cannot do many things. He emphasised the law, forgetting about mercy. And we, who go to and from the temple, do we remember the law or do we remember mercy? When we come to the church to pray together, Christ unites us, and we are united with him and are his body. But when we leave, do we continue to carry this love, mercy, and kindness into the world?

This world cannot be changed. The life of each of us and this world is crippled, twisted, with its own shortcomings, with wars, with hunger. We do not know when it will end, but we have to believe and trust God. Because when we are with Him, He performs a miracle for us at the right time, in the right place. Because He sees us as we are. He knows our problems. So let us remember the third commandment of God—to celebrate the holy day. But let us remember that when we come to the temple, we are sanctified, and God sanctifies us. Then, when we leave the church, we carry Him, Christ, into this world.

We received a candle in the Sacrament of Baptism. The priest told us: “Take this burning candle and try to be enlightened by the light of faith and good deeds throughout your life.” So let us remember this task and be enlightened. Every time this candle goes out due to various circumstances of our lives, let us come to the church and come to God to light this candle in our hearts. Through the Holy Sacraments of Confession and Communion, let us light our hearts, or, better yet, let us allow God to light us so that we can go out and bring His light to this world. For God is mercy and goodness. If we want to see such a world, we have to bring it to other people.

Photo: Mishka Góra

See also

November 25 Consecration of Melbourne’s Syro-Malabar Cathedral November 24 Commemoration of the Holodomor Victims in Melbourne October 29 First Confession and Solemn Holy Communion in the Cathedral