Sermons & Homilies
Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends, but there remains a gradient of lesser loves, such as feeding the poor or clothing the naked, but are we not often loveless and complacent? Similarly, even if a man has such extremely small faith as the size of a mustard seed, he will be able to move mountains, and yet greater faith will accomplish greater deeds, but at times, are we not so faithless and numb? As we make our way down the road to the Kingdom of Heaven, our virtues and vices collide and vacillate within ourselves, making us confused about the state of our own soul and causing us to misunderstand others.
It’s in this state that Christ comes to us and asks us the question upon which hinges the entire Christian life: Wilt thou be made whole? (Jn. 5:6). “Do you want to be healed?” The answer may seem self-evident. Why else would the man be laying there by the sheep pool? But significantly, the paralytic does not simply say, “Yes.” He begins to explain why he can’t be healed. Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool (Jn. 5:7). We do something very similar. We presume that we want what’s best for ourselves, we presume that we truly desire spiritual health and salvation. “Why else would I be living a Christian life? Why else would I have come to the monastery?”
