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20 Березня, 2011

Дорогі радіо слухачі!

Друга Неділя Великого Посту. У євангельському читанні чули ми про паралітика, який не може рушитися, якому потрібно допомоги.

Кілько надовкола нас можемо зауважити паралітиків чи на пів зпараліжованих. Одних на тілі, других на душі. Одні не можуть ходити, другі не можуть бачити, треті не може чути, інші ненавидять своїх братів чи сестер, ще інші шукають відплатитися за кривди заподіяні, і спокою нема у їхніх серцях. Шукають за розв'язкою і не знаходять, бо не можуть, бо не знають де і як шукати.

І ми може до них належемо. І нам щось докучає, і ми не знаємо як шукати, щоб знайти, і нам потрібно щоб нам хтось допоміг.

Паралітик з ненішного євангелія не може собі сам зарадити. Але він має добрих приятилів. Чотирйох з них беруть його разом з його постелею і несуть до Христа, який перебував у одному домі навчаючи. Чули вони про нього, що він виліковує, і подумали собі попросити його о поміч для їхнього хворого друга.

І ми, коли бачимо інших, що терплять повинні бути для них добрими друзями, які допоможуть їм, зроблять все можливе, щоб олекшити їхню ситуацію, привести їх до Христа. Бути для них Христом.

Навіть, коли зустрінимося з труднощами у тій допомозі, не повинні ми зневіритися, подібно до приятилів розслабленого.  Багато людей було надовкола Христа, так що не можна було до нього доступитися. Не один подумав би, що тут нема що робити, треба вернутися звідки і прийшов, забути що колись була надія на оздоровлення. Але тоді дійсно усе перепало би, обвинувачували би когось іншого за невдачу, а насправді ми самі були би причиною.

Коли є труднощі, то треба піднестися понад них, так би мовити вилізти на дах. Не девитися неґативно на все що нас окружає, думаючи що усі проти нас, що нема виходу, а радше у позитивному насвітленні постараймося достосуватися, змінити, відкинути або в який інший спосіб зарадити, і наша впертість у доброму розумінні буде винагороджена.

Хіба ж не казали тим, що носили паралітика, що нічого не поможе, але вони не звертали на це уваги. Вони лізуть на дах, роблять отвір в ньому і спускають з гори свого приятеля саме перед ноги Ісуса.

Вони бажали зустрітися з Христом, але це бажання не було з користолюбля, що б самим щось одержати. Вони не сподівалися нічого для себе, а радше це був чистий альтруїзм. Журба за ближнього. Христоподібне життя.

 Господь не питається паралітика яка його віра. На основі віри 4-х приятилів він уділює оздоровлення. І то цілковите. На душі й на тілі. "Прощаються тобі твої гріхи" каже Христос перед тим заки скаже: "Устань, візьми свою постіль і йди до свого дому". Отими словами Він показує що є повязання між душевною хворобою і тілесною, та що потрібно насамперед оздоровити душу а потім тіло. Властиво, коли душа здорова то на хвороби тіла зовсім не звертається уваги.

Дорогі в Христі! Усі ми маємо якісь труднощі у свойому житті. Усі ми до певної міри спараліжованими. Нам усім щось докучає, хотіли би позбутися клопотів, визволитися з під тягару, стати вільними. Господь нам у таких тяжких хвилинах посилає допомогу. Треба тільки її побачити, зрозуміти, що від нас вимагається і одержавши силу прийняти зцілення. Можливо воно не буде таким, якого ми хотіли б, але воно буде згідне з волею Господньою. І ми маємо своїх приятилів, тих які несуть нас до Христа. Будьмо їм вдячними і постараймося відплатити добром за їхнє добро. Зі свого боку ми також повині старатися інших приводити до Господа і знаходити спосіб, як до Нього добратися, щоб допомогти потребуючим. Немов по духовній драбені і ми ідім до гори, до Христа, і провадьмо інших до Нього, і спускаймо їх перед Нього, щоб Він змилосердився і підкріпив їх на дусі і уділив їм потрібне їм оздоровлення.

Під час посту ми стараємося бачити свої недомагання, усувати перепони, ставати чим більш святими, наслідувати Христа як найкраще, давати добрий приклад для інших, бути для них провідниками, дорадниками, вчитилями і рівно ж від них вчитися і так разом іти за Господом. Подумаймо на якому щаблі досконалости ми якраз находимося і що нам слід зробити, щоб вище піднестися.

Коли книжники чули, що Христос сказав: "Сину, відпускаються тобі твої гріхи”, почали шептати поміж собою засуджуючи Христа кажучи „хто може відпускати гріхи, хіба одинокий Бог”. Очевидно вони були праві. Ніхто крім Бога не може відпускати гріхи, але вони не знали, ким насправді був цей Ісус, що він Сином Божим, другою Божою особою, і що Він може відпускати людські прогрішення.

Як часто і ми готові засудити інших, бо не розуміємо їх, або хочемо підсміхнутися з них, щоб інші указували на них пальцем, а все на це щоб себе оправдати, підвищити себе в чужих очах, щоб про нас усі гарно говорили, а інших замазували болотом.

Постараймося, дорогі в Христі,  на початку Великого Посту зрозуміти наші хвороби, щоб просити Спасителя про оздоровлення на душі, а про оздоровлення на тілі Він сам подбає згідно з його святою волею.

Скажім разом зі Св. Єфримом Сирином:

"Господи і Владико життя мого, духа лінивства, недбалости, властолюб'я і пустослов'я віджини від мене.

Духа чистоти, покори, терпеливости і любови дай мені слузі твоєму.

Так, Господи царю, дай мені бачити провини мої, і не осуджувати брата мого ні сестри моєї, бо ти благословен єси на віки вічні. Амінь!"

+ С.І.Х!

 (пісня)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

Today is the second Sunday of Lent.  We have before us one of the great stories in the Bible about service and community involving a paralyzed man and the friends who brought him to Jesus.  We have no idea of the nature of this man's paralysis, nor the extent to which it impaired his communication and mobility, but what we do know is that this man had four very special friends who stuck by him through it all.  These four men did more for him that anyone else in his life, because they brought him to Jesus, because they brought him one step closer to Christ. These men heard that Jesus was coming to visit Capernaum, and they believed that Jesus could heal their paralytic friend.  These men showed obvious concern for their loved one, and their faith in Christ brought about action.  These men knew their friend did not have the strength in his arms or legs to go and see Christ on his own, and perhaps their friend had no knowledge of Christ in his heart, so these four men climbed to the rooftop of their own faith.  They used their own arms and legs, their own inner strength and faith in God - to bring their friend to Jesus.   God desires each of us to use our own faith and God-given talents, to bring others closer to Him – and we do this every time we serve and love one another, every time we play the supporting role for someone else in need.

When I was growing up, I played softball for more than 11 years, and from playing that sport, I learned a great deal about teamwork and encouragement.  The game is about more than just one person, each player cheers on the others and supports one another, because it is only as a team that we accomplish great things.  I was a better than average player, my coach tended to make me the ‘clean up’ hitter, because I could decide just where the opposing team had the greatest weakness in their outfield, and I would inevitably hit the ball in that direction in order to bring everyone home.  But I would be lying if I said that my skills were just my own, instead I had a very special person behind the scenes, teaching me how to become an excellent player, showing me the best ways to throw and catch the softball, and how to control exactly where to hit the ball.  That person was my dad.  He practiced with me every single day, even after he worked his usual 9 hour weekdays, he would come home, have dinner, and still take me down the street to the baseball diamond to teach me everything that he knew about the game.  My dad was a fantastic baseball player; he played for Bishop Ryan High School and had scouts looking at him to play professional ball.  In fact my dad could have made it to the ‘pro’s’, but he left that dream behind in order to have a family and be around to raise his children.  My accomplishments were not my own, they were part of my dad’s love for me, the love that somehow gave him the energy to practice with me every night, and be there for every one of my games; the same love that enabled him to give up one dream in order to find another.  For those 11 years, he was the wind beneath my wings and he showed me that the greatest thing we can give to each other is our ability to do things for one another.  My dad still shows me, by his example, much of what Christ teaches us in today’s Gospel reading: how to be there for one another, and ultimately – how to love one another.

While the Lord healed many thousands of people, we do not have many personal accounts recorded in the Gospels.  So there must be something important about the way this paralytic man was healed for Holy Scripture to make note of it.  The importance behind today’s Gospel reading is that God calls each of us to be like these men in today's Gospel; God calls each of us to be disciples for one another, to be there to help one another and lend a hand to those who are in need.  And during this time of Lent, we need to be aware of what God expects from us, as well as how we should care for the needs of others – whether they are our family, friends, or someone we have yet to meet.  Having the knowledge of Christ in our hearts and sharing that knowledge with one another is also part of our journey through Lent.  The Gospel makes it clear that upon seeing the faith of his friends, Jesus says to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5).  Here, we witness Christ's ability to forgive sin.  We see the faith of the paralytic's friends, the compassion of Jesus, and a call to obedience in the Word of God.  Only Jesus can escort us out of sin by leading us through the forgiveness that only He can give. The man came because his friends had knowledge in Christ, and they brought him to be healed.  But the importance of the Gospel does not end here.  We also need to realize that Christ gave this paralyzed man something more important than healing; he gave him the forgiveness he needed in order to be healed – in order to become whole again.

Some teachers of the law were sitting there, observing Jesus and thinking to themselves: ‘Why does Jesus talk like that?  He is blasphemous!  Who can forgive sins but God alone?’  There were some in the audience who did not appreciate Jesus' loving words of forgiveness.  They did not see Jesus as the Son of God who had come to remove sin, but as a rival who would rob them of the honor and respect they were used to as teachers of the law.  They thought they were the only ones who could direct people away from sin, by pointing out obedience to the law.  So Jesus revealed his power to forgive sins by healing the paralytic: “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven;’ or to say, ‘Arise, and take up your mat and walk?’  But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,' He said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, rise, take up your mat and go home'" (Mark 2: 8-11).   Jesus saved the paralytic man – he healed him completely.  St. Paul reminds us: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is Eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18).  We need to ask ourselves today: What instruments of faith do we have that would help bring others closer to Christ, and in what ways can we strengthen our own relationship with Christ?

During WWI there was a story of two friends, who were inseparable.  They had enlisted together, trained together, were shipped overseas together and fought side-by-side in the trenches.  During an attack, one of the men was critically wounded in a field, filled with barbed wire obstacles.  He was unable to crawl back to his foxhole. The entire area was under enemy crossfire, and it was suicidal to try to reach him. Yet his friend decided to do just that.  The lieutenant told him, "It's too late. You can't do him any good, and you'll only get yourself killed."  But the man went anyway.  He returned a few minutes later, carrying his friend.  But he himself had been wounded. The lieutenant was both angry and deeply moved.  "I told you it wouldn't be worth it," he said. "Your friend is dead, and you are wounded."  "It was worth it, though, sir," the soldier said.  "How do you mean, 'worth it'?" responded the lieutenant.  "Your friend is dead!"  "Yes sir," the private answered.  "But when I got to him, he was still alive, and I had the chance to hear him say, 'Buddy, I knew you'd come for me.'"  Many times in life, whether a thing is worth doing or not, really depends on how you look at it.  Faith enables each of us to take up all of our courage, and do something that our heart tells us to do; something that is both kind and compassionate, something that is divinely inspired.  True friendship extends a helping hand to lighten a load, without expecting any other reward than the privilege of doing so.  The late Leo Buscaglia that effervescent educator, speaker, author, and lover of life, used to tell his university students that there is a world out there dying to be loved!  He challenged his students to love and often told them that serving others is the way they can find such things as happiness and joy in God.

How many times have we been willing to really help someone in need – to really make a difference?  Scripture tells us that: "In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).   The focus of this parable does not rest solely on the need of one paralytic man, but rather the activity of his four faithful friends.  I often wonder, while we are in Church and in God’s presence, what are the things that keep us from reaching out to Jesus and becoming more like Him?  We are so close and yet so far away.  Could it be that our attitudes sometimes separate us from God?  We allow something that happened, a difficulty we are facing to fester in our minds.  Or could it be our own need for forgiveness?  We stand before Christ, but find it difficult to admit our past and present mistakes.  We never touch Jesus because of some obstacle we have created in our lives.  But have no fear – the Lord is always reaching out to us.  Jesus embodied faith - He was a man of reflection and action.  Jesus not only talked about manna from Heaven, but He became living bread and fed thousands of hungry souls.  He not only talked about a curative remedy in Gilead, but He healed the sick and raised the dead.  Jesus not only preached the forgiveness of sins, but He took the weight of our sins so that we could be forgiven.  Jesus practiced what He preached.  And during these weeks of Lent, we are given a perfect time to focus on our own faith.  You see, faith is more than just believing in God and reflecting upon His Word, faith is also using that belief and knowledge to make a difference in the world.  My brothers and sisters, may the good Lord help each of us through this time of Great Lent, so that when we come to our celebration of Easter, the day of our Lord’s glorious Resurrection, our Savior will be able to touch us in a very special and personal way that will strengthen us – and bring us even closer to Him.

A-me-N

(пісня)