Run to the Tenderness of the Theotokos - Sermon for the Port Arthur Icon of the Mother of God & the Sunday of the Blind Man (2025)

         Christ is Risen!

The ancient Greek historian Thucydides insightfully pointed out about 2500 years ago that in times of political and social revolution

The conditions of the cities were…one of civil war, and such discord as came later greatly pushed on the extravagance of revolutionary thinking by news of what had been done previously, both in the extraordinary cunning of peoples’ attempts to seize power and in the perverseness of their retaliations.

People altered the customary meaning of words in relation to things for their own self-interest. Mad recklessness was reckoned now to be loyal courage; sensible hesitation became cowardice veiled under a fine name; self-control was a disguise for unmanliness, and circumspection for sloth. 

Intense vehemence was put forward as the true quality of a man, whereas to take thought for one’s own safety was the specious pretext of a deserter of the faction. While a violent man was always trusted, one who offered a contrary perspective to him was suspect. Anyone who happened to hatch a plot was deemed intelligent, while he who suspected one was more formidable still; but the man who contrived ahead of time that he might have nothing to do with either of these was subverting his party and intimidated by the opposition. 

Simply put, the man who was first to commit some evil was praised, as was also him who encouraged to crime one who had never contemplated it before. Kinship paled in comparison with party affiliation, because the latter was more conducive to committing acts of audacity without hesitation.

I do not think I need to comment on how apt these words are to both the 20th century Russian revolution and our 21st century American revolution. The words speak for themselves. I would only like to say that, while the ancient pagans believed in truth, our modern pagans think that truth is simply whatever you feel it to be, whatever you want it to be. This is of course very convenient and easy to obtain. Moreover, they want to change the meaning of words which none of the ancients ever imagined could be changed. But our modern definition-changers cannot even explain what a woman is and what a man is, despite wishing to change these words and thus alter the nature of their very realities.

But let us pass on to something more spiritually profitable. For it is not the place of the preacher to condemn others but to first condemn himself and to draw his listeners into this salvific self-condemnation. And it is not the place of the listeners to take the words of the preacher and condemningly apply them to someone other than themselves. 

Where does political and social revolution develop first if not in the hearts of individuals? Even the pagan philosopher Plato pointed this out, explaining that the tyrannous man is given place to be born in a democracy, and then this tyrannous man produces a tyranny. So, let us inspect ourselves first. What good does it do for our own souls and for all the world if we condemn others instead of weep and pray them? What good does it do to read and watch the news if we are all the while getting angry, swearing, cursing, and desiring supposed justice to hammer our supposed enemies into the ground by the supposed hand of God?

Are we not often self-deceivers? Do we not often experience civil war within our own souls? Do we not often deem our suspicious observation of others to be discernment? Do we not often deem our hard-heartedness to be prudence? Do we not often deem our man-pleasing obsequiousness to be humility? Do we not often deem our soul’s insensibility to be spiritual peace? Do we not often deem our spiritual blindness to be divine vision, the darkness within us to be light, and the light within others to be darkness? Do we not often deem our sorrow and despair to be life-giving repentance and spiritual mourning? Do we not often deem our self-indulgence to be wise moderation or hospitality? Do we not often deem our vengefulness and condemning judgmentalism to be justice and righteous indignation? Do we not suffer a constant revolution in our own souls—desire, anger, and a multitude of passions ignited by the demons raging against sound-mindedness, rationality, spiritual vision, and our life in, union with, and transfiguration by the Indwelling God?

Where do we find truth? Where do we find a true mirror to truly see ourselves? Both our modern revolutionaries who desire to—but yet cannot—define what a woman is, and we ourselves, must understand that the Theotokos is the definition of a true woman, of a fully sanctified human being, and the mirror of truth wherein all of us who are suffering in sins and self-deception can behold Christ the Truth.

The Mother of God is the perfect human being. Yes, Christ is perfect Man but He is also perfect God. If we desire to see one who is only human and has obtained perfection as far as humanly possible, let us look to the Most Pure Mother of God, the Theotokos. But if she is too exalted for us, let us look at the Saints who shine forth with the light of Christ, especially those who rose from the depths of hell to the heights of heaven—such us St. Mary of Egypt the former harlot who is now numbered amongst the heavenly virgins; St. Moses the Black; St. Cyprian the former sorcerer who became a holy hierarch initiated into the Mysteries of Christ; St. James the Faster who raped and murdered but repented and was thereafter given a two-fold measure of the grace previously given to him; and of course St. Paul, who specifically states that God chose him—who was once a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent man—to become the Apostle who labored for Christ more than the rest, and an eternal example of true repentance and spiritual transformation for all the world!

Let us never despair! Do not hide behind the fig-leaves of self-deception, vainglory, hypocrisy, self-justification, and the blaming of others. Become courageous. When you hear the voice of God walking through the paradise of your conscience, humbly and nobly step into the light. Cast your sins before Him, confess your weakness, your failings, your despair, your cares, your fears, your sorrows, your hardships, your revolting passions, your most sinister thoughts, your most filthy desires, all of the evil in your soul.

Bring it forth. Confess it. Express its existence within you. We cannot hide from the All-Knowing God Who penetrates heaven, earth, hades, and the depths of every human heart with His omnipresence. Why reside in a lie? Why not tell God everything He already knows? This is true prayer. This is spiritual integrity. This is courage. This is humility. This is honesty—first with ourselves, and then with God. We do not confess for His sake, but for ours. Let us not deprive ourselves of this most blessed gift of God to heal our troubled souls. Let us not forsake it lest we forsake repentance and add to our sins the sin of distrusting the abyss of God’s incomprehensible and infinite mercy, compassion, long-suffering, forgiveness, love, and desire to still permeate us through-and-through with His divine life, grace, energy, light, sanctification, deification, and knowledge, no matter what sin we have committed!

The great St. Paisios of Mt. Athos confessed that when he turned to Christ in prayer he experienced reverent fear, but when he turned to the Theotokos he experienced motherly comfort, sweetness, tenderness, and ease of soul. No doubt this great saint experienced such sweetness when he poured himself out in prayer to Christ, but he shows us that there are times when we need the tenderness of a mother and the graceful sweetness of womanly nature, especially that which is perfect in His Mother. No doubt He possesses the sweetness of a mother—for as God He is the Possessor, Source, and Bestower of everything good—but in His wisdom and knowledge of our weakness He has gifted us with His Most Blessed Mother to run to when we are too afraid or ashamed to run directly to Him.

It is through her that we come to know Him. The Invisible One became visible through her alone. The Unknowable became knowable through her alone. The Intangible became touchable through her alone. The Silent became audible through her alone. This is how He desired it. This is how He designed it. This is how He has loved to make it be.

Woe to the Protestant heresy which deprives us of the intercession, communion, and consolation of the Saints. Woe to the Roman Catholic heresy which deprives the Mother of God of all Her virtue, spiritual struggle, and freedom of will, teaching that she is some sort of semi-divine being, and thus depriving us of seeing that human nature, even before the grace of Christ’s Incarnation and the Holy Mysteries of the Church, possesses such power of self-determination that one can truly reject evil thoughts, passionate feelings, and sinful words and deeds if only we trusted that God’s grace is able to help us.

But if such a lofty vision of human nature as manifested in the Theotokos makes us despair, let us once again cast our weakness into the abyss of God’s grace by running to her who was worthy to be called Full of Grace before Grace Himself was incarnated within Her.

Let us hear the words of the great St. Seraphim of Sarov:

Although the devil deceived Eve, and through her Adam also fell, the Lord not only promised them—but also gave us—the Savior in the Seed of the Woman. The Ever-Virgin Mary, crushing within herself—and crushing in the whole human race—the serpent’s head, did not abandon the fallen human race; but by her eternal motherly care, the Ever-Pure Mother petitions her Son and our God for even the most desperate sinners. For this reason the Mother of God is called “the Scourge of the demons”—there is no possibility of the devil ruining a man, provided that man does not cease seeking the aid of the Mother of God.

Therefore, let us constantly run to her. If we say we are truly doing so as the saint says, but still find ourselves being ruined by the devil, then we are truly not unceasingly seeking her aid as the saint says we must. So let us get back up, even if we fall into the most wicked sinfulness, again and again. If we fall again, let us get up again. If we are slain again, let us arise again. If we are wounded again, let us seek healing again. If we separate ourselves from God and His Mother, let us turn back again and again.

Tell them honestly that you fell again despite all the grace they have given you. Confess your sin not with a multitude of words which dodge the point, but pinpoint the malady with a heart-piercing word and tell them that you did this. Tell them that you do not hate it yet. Tell them that you actually love it and do not even wish to part with it. Tell them that you do not want to fully live true life in God. Do this again and again, no matter what. Do not despair. Do not hide. Do not deceive yourself. Run to the Light, God Himself. For although we can try to hide from this Light while here, when He comes again to resurrect all and judge all, we will be infinitely and eternally immersed in Him despite what we desire. So why hide from the Inevitable Truth Himself?

The Fathers pass on that He Himself said, “As I find you, so will I judge you,” and therefore, even if we have wasted our entire life fallen in sin, but are found either by death or the Second Coming in a state of getting back up in repentance, He will judge us as ones worthy to stand eternally in the glory, peace, and joy of His Resurrection.

Let us ask, that we may receive. Let us pray with our whole heart in harmony with the Divine Services of the Church: “A Christian ending to our life, painless, blameless, and peaceful, and a good defense before the dread Judgment Seat of Christ, let us ask—Grant this, O Lord!” and “Through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us!”

Such is the inheritance left to us by our beloved newly-departed Father, Schema-Archimandrite Panteleimon: his complete entrustment of himself to Christ’s ineffable mercy, his reflection and pouring out of this mercy to us, his child-like trust and love for the Mother of God and the Saints, a perfect Christian ending to his life, and—I whole-heartedly believe, knowing I am not alone—a good defense before the dread Judgment Seat of Christ, a blessed repose, an ever-flourishing life of joy for all eternity, and—again, I boldly state—a place of boldness before God where he is able to pour forth his love for all of us by constantly interceding for us with the All-Comely Lamb at His eternal Banquet Feast, together with the Most Pure Mother of God and all the Saints.

Christ is Risen!