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In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit! Amen!
Christ is risen!
Today we heard the Holy Gospel of John (John, ²Õ:1-38). In the Gospel of John it is confirmed constantly, that some souls come from Heaven, and other are the earthly ones. Some are the Divine, other are more materialistic. And today, as we`ve heard, again Apostles asked Jesus: "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?" In other words, for what sins was he born blind? Earlier Jesus explained them already that people were born cripple for some sins. And that is why they ask Him: "Whether for his sin, or for some sins of his parents?" And there was the third, very rare variant: a man was born cripple because he should have met the Messiah - Savior, the God's Son, and the God's Messenger, who comes from the heights. This man was born blind in order to witness that Jesus is a Savior - the Christ who came from the heights. Do you understand? He sais: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." In other words, it is the third variant, this souls was born for the God's glory. Do you understand? Therefore He cured the blind by touching his eyes with the dirt, - he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva.
Jesus did not searched for some special herb. He showed that he could spit, make some mud and that is - "Go, wash in the Pool? So the man went and washed, and came home seeing." And the Jews when they saw him could not understand how he could see. And they started to ask him and accused Jesus: "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." Saturday was more important for them than God, more important than healing. Jesus sais: "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." (Mk, ²²: 27). God gave a special power of healing for Jesus on Saturday. The most important healings. All the healings which we read in the Holy Gospel took place in Saturday. They prevented Him: "Do not do anything on Saturday!" But the pray is not a job. Saturday is a day to pray. Especially when this pray gives the gift of healing. Think about it. Sadducee and Pharisee blamed Him, because they hate Him, for his popularity, they hate Jesus because He was the God's Son, He was from Heavens. And they were from the Earth, they were materialistic people, they thought about their money. We`ve heard it in the Apostle (Acts XVI:16-34) it was read that one women who was telling fortune and gave a lot of money to her owners. And when she followed the Apostles, she knew who they are. And Apostle Paul said: "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." At the same moment the spirit of prediction left her, and angry owners took the Apostles as they had lost the source of incomes. And threw them to the jail. It can be said a lot, but I want to stop, for you to think about.
Churchmen asked this person, who was blind: "How then were your eyes opened?" And he said that That person, who healed me, put some mud on my eyes and I started to see. "How had he done that? He is a sinner, because he did it on Saturday!" And he said: "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see! We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will." - and he said, - Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind." They flied off the handle and blamed him: "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" They do not hear the Truth, because they do not want it. The want to crucify it. Do you understand? Such a great wonder is of no importance for them, that God controls the life on the Earth through this man, Jesus. They are indifferent. They want to crucify Him, that Jesus would not be accepted by people, that His Studies and His Apostles would be persecuted. And they say: "Go away from here ".
But pay attention that they ask Jesus such a question: "who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?" Do you understand?
As we read in the Gospel of John in the 8 chapter, that Jesus sais, that there are the God's children and there are demonic ones, also it is said in the chapter 7. We read it and see that it is the most perfect Gospel, because John was near Jesus.
And as last time we have read in the Gospel of John, that we must follow That one, Who comes from the heights, because He preaches from the God's Spirit, because He has come from there in order to bring all the people whom He will meet to Heavens. This is a mission of our Savior Jesus Christ. And such mission lies on each of us, priests - lead people to salvation, to lead the humanity, to lead Ukraine, lead people from Kyiv to the salvation.
Christ is risen!
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Apostle (Acts, 16:16-34):
16
16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a
slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain
by fortune-telling.
17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, "These men are
servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation."
18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become
greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name
of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour.
19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone,
they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the
rulers.
20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they
said, "These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city.
21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans
to accept or practice."
22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates
tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods.
23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they
threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely.
24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner
prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing
hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the
foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were
opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened.
27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were
open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the
prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself,
for we are all here."
29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and
trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.
30 Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do
to be saved?"
31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be
saved, you and your household."
32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who
were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed
their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.
34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before
them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed
in God.
Gospel (John, 9:1-38):
9
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man
or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3 Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his
parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day;
night is coming, when no one can work.
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made
mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud
7 and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which
means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar
were saying, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"
9 Some said, "It is he." Others said, "No, but he is like
him." He kept saying, "I am the man."
10 So they said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?"
11 He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud and anointed
my eyes and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed and
received my sight."
12 They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly
been blind.
14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and
opened his eyes.
15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his
sight. And he said to them, "He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I
see."
16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for
he does not keep the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a
sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them.
17 So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say
about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."
18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had
received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had
received his sight
19 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born
blind? How then does he now see?"
20 His parents answered, "We know that this is our son and
that he was born blind.
21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who
opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself."
22 (His parents said these things because they feared the
Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus
to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.)
23 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
24 So for the second time they called the man who had been
blind and said to him, "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a
sinner."
25 He answered, "Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One
thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
26 They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open
your eyes?"
27 He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would
not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become
his disciples?"
28 And they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but
we are disciples of Moses.
29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man,
we do not know where he comes from."
30 The man answered, "Why, this is an amazing thing! You do
not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone
is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.
32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone
opened the eyes of a man born blind.
33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
34 They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would
you teach us?" And they cast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found
him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
36 He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in
him?"
37 Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who is
speaking to you."
38 He said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.
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