Homily by Fr. Iurii Tychenok on the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

I think that each of us has some kind of hobby: an interest or favourite activity that brings us happiness and joy. And depending on what we love (style of music, art, sports, leisure), a lot can be said about us. People who love calm music, melodramas, and passive leisure activities are usually calm, gentle, and compassionate… On the other hand, lively, strong, ambitious people usually prefer active recreation, interesting adventures, modern art, action movies, thrillers, science fiction, and new music hits… However, there are no two people on earth with exactly the same preferences and identical characters.

Today, our Church honours the memory of the holy fathers of the sixth Ecumenical Council—great men of the Church who lived in different times, came from different nations, and had different characters and preferences… And the only thing that united them all was the Church of Christ. These bishops from all over the world gathered at a meeting convened by the Pope to resolve the most important church matters: what we should believe, how we should pray, and how to defend the true faith of Christ against heresies. According to the teaching of Christ’s Church, the Holy Spirit cooperates in the deliberations of the Ecumenical Councils, just as He did with the apostles who gathered at their Council, and that is why these decisions cannot be disregarded or questioned.

We live among different people, and often our views do not coincide. To resolve important issues, we must first pray sincerely to the Holy Spirit and only then discuss everything that concerns us together. By beginning any endeavour with prayer, we entrust ourselves and our problems into the hands of the Lord. Only in God can we find true answers and solutions, because God’s nature is to give love, happiness, and peace. On the other hand, the nature of the evil spirit is completely different from God’s; the devil sows hatred, fear, and enmity around him.

In today’s Gospel, we heard the story of two demoniacs who lived on the outskirts of the city, far from people, in tombs. The evil spirit tormented not only them, destroying them from within, but also forced them to frighten and anger people who passed by them.

And today, the evil spirit is again using the same tactics: through satanic music, harmful art (which refers to works that promote violence, hatred, discrimination, or other forms of negative behaviour), lies, drugs, debauchery… It penetrates the human heart, destroys a person from within, and then the world around them. Let us remember that only with God’s help can we be freed from the evil spirit’s control. Only the Lord has power over the devil; only He knows all his tricks and intentions. This is why Jesus comes to us in the Holy Eucharist.

This same Christ, who freed two demoniacs and all the inhabitants of the region of Gadara from the danger posed by the evil spirit, wants to perform the same miracle with each of us. All that is required of us is to allow Him to come into our hearts and our lives. Through the holy sacrament of confession, we allow Jesus to cleanse our soul from the evil spirit that attacks it, and through the reception of the Holy Eucharist, we allow the living God to dwell in it, enlighten it, and cooperate with us.

Despite our different characters and preferences, regardless of where and how we live, the only goal of our earthly life is eternity. And where and how we spend it depends only on us. Let us therefore consider whether we want to live free in the Kingdom of God or be slaves to evil! If we desire a happy life in eternity, let us do everything that the Lord God expects of us and that the Holy Church of Christ teaches us!

Amen!

See also

August 1 Homily by Fr. Iurii Tychenok on the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost May 16 Homily by Fr. Iurii Tychenok on the Seventh Sunday after Easter February 21 Homily by Fr. Iurii Tychenok on the First Sunday of the Great Lent