Sermon on the 2nd Sunday of Great Lent [2012]

My Beloved,

The problem posed by this Sunday’s Gospel [Mark 2, 1-12] is that of the sight.

The sight as the feeling of the grace and the ecstatic knowledge of God.

For that some enter on door there where the Lord was [v. 1]…others waited for Him at the door [v. 2]…while others have done something unexpected: make a hole in the roof…and on there they descend the paralytic [v. 4].

Those who wait Him at the door…are those who are seeking God.

Those who are with Him in home, namely in Church, enjoy by His presence.

But those who come to Him in force, paradoxically, are those who seek Him with untold longing.

And in the frame of the prayer of the heart, we oblige the power of mind to descend into the heart. By that we return the mind to her home, without thoughts, for that to pray to the Lord in silence.

And the uncreated light, which was defended so much by Saint Gregory Palamas, is that which fills the paralyzed and heals him of his illness.

Who are the four friends of the paralytic? They are the theological knowledge and the contemplation of the world, the ascetic deeds and the diverse knowledge that prepare us for the quiet of the prayer.

Because we need all the help in our descent into the heart…for to meet with the Lord.

And He knows the thoughts of the heart (v. 6 and 8)…and He gives the forgiveness as inner healing (v. 10).

But when the man heals by sins, he heals and physically (v. 11). And the healing is motive for joy and gratitude to God (v. 12).

For that God forgives actually and not metaphorically! And His forgiveness is the feeling of His work and the sight of His.

Thus we understand why this Sunday is dedicated to Saint Gregory Palamas. And why is so important the discussion about the work of the grace in our lives.

For that the healing or our salvation is our filling by the glory of God, as a result of our cleaning of passions.

And if the grace is not uncreated but created…then there is no salvation, because God’s spirituality is denied.

Only there where God is Ghost…and His glory fills the entire universe…and descends to us… God is alive and divinizes us.

And namely Saint Gregory fought for…the Living God denying a philosophical projection about Him…

Because any theological construct that does not speak about an irradiant God is a false theology.

And in the Orthodox experience which what imports is just the haric contact that we have with God. This means, in fact, that we fell God at services and in all His manifestations in history.

But, with precedence, God loves those who are longing for Him. He loves those who are in state of great things.

That He loves those who are needy in different ways to serve Him.

Therefore to feast with understand, with joy! To wake up from the sleep of sins for His love! And thus to enjoy by the joy of His glory, now and for all ages. Amen!