Photo: dreamstime.com Today at the Divine Liturgy we heard the Gospel reading that you all know well and that has been read many times. And yet, these words still remain mysterious. These are words that you can meditate on for a long time. These are the words that our eye is the light of the body, and so on. Why did I say “and so on”? Because there are two versions of these words. One version is in the Gospel of Matthew, the other is in the Gospel of Luke. They are similar, but different. That’s why scholars puzzle over it. It’s an enigma: Why do Sts. Matthew and Luke use similar words, but put different meanings on them? They slightly change the meaning of Christ’s words in their own way. Does this quote go back to the original words of Christ, which have been preserved in Tradition, and so Matthew understood and stated them that way, and Luke understood and set them forth in a different way? Or maybe Christ repeatedly addressed this topic and spoke about similar things, but in slightly different ways—from different perspectives? This is very interesting, and we need to take it into account.
Let’s read what Matthew says. The first part of this passage is very simple. It is repeated exactly the same way in Matthew and Luke. This is the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6: The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Mt. 6:22-23).
To begin with, let me explain the first part. In ancient times, the Jews and the Greeks believed that our eyes give out light like lamps and we see thanks to this fact. Now we know that there are cones and rods in our eyes, and all of them react to light and interact. In a word, our eyes don’t give out any light. And Christ, Who spoke the language of that era and used the concepts familiar to those people, said that the light of our body is the eye; if your eye is healthy, if it can see, then you walk in the light, not in the dark. You can see everything clearly, and your whole body will be light—that is, filled with light. But if your eye is sick, then your whole body will be plunged into darkness. So, first Christ gives a natural scientific interpretation of this situation, and then continues:
If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! That is, if your eye gives out light, you should walk in the light, see and understand everything clearly. But if you walk in the dark, are disoriented and confused in this world, if the light that is in you is darkness, then what kind of darkness is that? That is, strong and powerful is this darkness that has been spread in our world! This is according to Matthew.
I will repeat: Your eye should give you a clear vision of all objects, things, and events. You should know and understand everything clearly. But most people walk in the dark: they are lost in this world and don’t know how to live. And Christ says that if this light turns out to be darkness, if you don’t understand how to live, if you constantly go astray on evil paths, sin and stumble, then how strong is the darkness that has engulfed the whole world? The demonic darkness, satanic delusion…
According to St. Matthew, we live in this world under such a great threat, under such great demonic influence, that even though we should see and understand everything clearly, we still don’t see or understand anything. The darkness is immense, too big. The world is so carried away by sin and satanic things that it cannot overcome this darkness on its own. We need the help of Christ to dispel this darkness. When Christ comes into our lives, then comes the enlightenment of our lives. The word “enlightenment” (illumination) is very deep and important. Today, when we baptize people, we use the word “Baptism”. It can be translated as “the mystery of Christ”, “the sacrament of Christ” (notably, the Slavic word “Kreshchenye”, meaning “Baptism”, was derived from the word “Christ”). But the early Church preferred to use the word “illumination” rather than “Baptism”. The Holy Fathers wrote that someone without Christ is in the dark, like a blind kitten; he understands nothing. And when Christ enters his life, He, as the Sun of Righteousness, illuminates all objects, phenomena and events. And if you walk in this light and look at everything with the eyes of Christ, everything will become clear to you—how to live, how to build relations with others, and how to get along with yourself. And no darkness of this world can get the better of you.
That’s how beautiful and deep it is according to the Evangelist Matthew.
And now let’s read the Evangelist Luke:
The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness (Lk. 11:34–35).
The beginning is the same as Matthew’s, but then it’s different: Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.
Keep watch and be vigilant lest the light which is inside you be darkness.
You must agree that the topics are similar, but slightly different. St. Matthew says that the world is under the very powerful influence of dark forces. And St. Luke says: take care that because of your negligence, stupidity, and inactive life in God, the light that you carry in you not be darkness.
A few words about this. Tell me, don’t we know a situation when someone considers himself a Christian, and it seems that he carries the light in him, but through his negligence, sins, and stupidity, the light that is in him turns out to be darkness? A person who calls himself a Christian suddenly commits sins—he hates, envies, gossips, judges, says nasty things and behaves dishonestly. Are there no such examples? There are a lot of them! Let us recall Judas who walked with Christ along with others. It seemed that he should walk in the light. Nevertheless, there was darkness in him. And we must honestly admit that there are many people who call themselves Christians but have darkness in their souls. Such a person makes the sign of the cross and prays, but when you start communicating with him, or you see him in some situation, or learn something about him, you understand that in fact he doesn’t act as befits a Christian. Maybe sometimes he tries to act according to the light, but why does he act according to the works of darkness over and again?
Although Sts. Matthew and Luke speak a little differently about some big and important topic, nevertheless, we still can find some consensus between them. Moreover, it seems to me that one complements the other. It’s as if Christ said this and that, but Matthew left one part and Luke the other... Look at the meaning that we get when these texts are combined: We live in darkness, and Christ alone can dispel it; but even the fact that Christ enters your life is not at all a guarantee that the light will instantly go on inside you and you will do the right things. Keep watch and be careful not to call light the light that, by definition, you should carry, but it suddenly turns out to be darkness. This is evident from the way the works of darkness manifest themselves in your actions. Christ used this expression—“works of darkness”, and the apostles repeated it later. To some extent, we are all susceptible to it. There is less of this darkness in some, more in others.
All our lives we drive out darkness from the corners of our souls. How is this darkness banished? Of course, by prayer. We must pray. But praying doesn’t mean muttering something or mechanically reading texts written by other people. Many people perceive it as “reading through the prayer rule”. The very words “reading through” in relation to the prayer rule grates on me. We need to abandon this habit of “reading it through.” Prayer should be a conversation with God. We must establish a living relationship with God. We should teach our children not to “read through” some prescribed texts, but teach—and this is much more important and precious—to build a living relationship with God. For example, when we pray with our children in my family, we read several prayers from the prayer-book and then each of us prays aloud in his own words. We should involve children in this, so that they can share what is on their minds. Through establishing a living relationship with God, prayer should become a small ladder to God for us, when we communicate with Him and He responds to us.
Does God respond? An unbeliever will say that God is a fantasy. You and I, as believers, know that God is not a fantasy. Why? After all, God didn’t appear to us openly, and the heavens didn’t open before us. On the contrary, it sometimes seems that the heavens are tightly sealed and we are on our own in this troubled world. But we will say: God exists! Why? Because He answers us. We ask Him about something, we turn to Him in difficult situations, and He speaks to us through life situations. And sometimes He answers inside us.
Let me share a personal pastoral experience with you: Sometimes people come to me with very difficult questions. I’m not a holy elder, so how can I know what to say to them? And for them, it’s literally a matter of life and death. And people persistently ask: “Father, who else can we turn to? Please tell us what we should do!” Sometimes, if I really see that people can’t find a way out on their own, I reply, “Let’s take a pause and pray that the Lord will answer us.” And it happens like this: In the morning I don’t know yet and pray that the Lord will answer me, that He would whisper what I should say to them. And then the answer comes and hits the nail on the head! More than that, I catch myself thinking that I didn’t even think about this answer at all and didn’t even imagine that such a turn of events was possible. But the answer comes—God answers! So I can give advice to people—not from myself, but thanks to the answer from God...
So, through what can we expel the darkness that lives in us and that has enveloped us, covering our whole souls? Through prayer, Communion, and other Church services. Communion is a very powerful “recharge,” as it were, and enlightenment of our souls. Before the service, it seems to you that your life problems matter. But during the service all this is pushed aside, and a hierarchy of values is built. After the service, you realize that what was terrible and insurmountable before the service suddenly appears to be a trifle, something elementary that, with God’s help, can be easily overcome. For instance, sometimes we can’t forgive someone who has seriously offended us. We pray and receive Communion, and after that we feel a sense of inner peace. And we understand that forgiveness is real—to call your offender first, even if it’s not your fault and even if you aren’t on speaking terms, and ask forgiveness. And before the service, it seemed to you that it was unrealistic to forgive or let go off everyday fears and anxieties.
Prayer, Communion and our entire Christian life—all this serves the enlightenment of our souls. And reading spiritual literature expels this darkness effectively. Reading, as well as listening. Now we know that there are online resources where you can watch or listen to talks and sermons by pastors. This is vital—people should be immersed in this information. This information will flow through them, resonate with their souls, and form their Christian worldview. And the darkness will recede. The more this Christian worldview is poured into us, the more the darkness recedes.
We can complain that we read a lot, but little remains in our heads. We read a book, and even a good Christian book, but it’s hard to retell it. I understand that some of what I read sank in, while other parts just faded away. And the question arises: to read or not to read?
Since we are talking about the light today, I want to remind you of a story from an early Patericon. An elder who wanted to banish darkness from his heart came to Abba John the Dwarf (Kolobos) seeking spiritual advice. Abba John gave him good spiritual advice—not just one piece of advice, but he talked to him on spiritual subjects. The elder left encouraged and joyful. After a while, he forgot everything that Abba John had told him. He came back to him and Abba John instructed him again. After a while, the elder forgot it again. Very sad and in tears, he went back to Abba John and said, “Abba, again I have forgotten what you told me last time. What should I do?” Abba John the Dwarf replied, “Go and light the lamp.” He lit the lamp. “Now bring the other lamps and light them from it.” He did it. Abba John asked him, “Tell me, does this lamp, which is used to light others, suffer any loss if it is used to light another one?” The elder replied no. “Thus you can come to me as many times as you want. If you forget something, don’t be afraid. If you forget again, I’ll remind you again.”
Many people are becoming very forgetful. There are long-term and short-term memories in our brain. The fact is that our memory has deteriorated compared to people who lived 100 years ago. We have lousy memories today; we can no longer memorize texts, long texts, whereas in ancient times people easily memorized them. Why? Because we live in such a powerful information noise—so much information keeps coming from everywhere! Scientists say that modern people can get more information in a week than ancient people could in a lifetime. Naturally, our psyche, our consciousness cannot cope with this overload—it packages all this information and classifies it, moving more important information to the long-term storage and filtering what is less important.
Now we are talking about how to drive out the darkness that we all have. Through prayer, Communion, the Christian life and good works. And also through reading and listening to something spiritual. You know that salt dissolves if we add it to food, but the taste changes. Likewise, everything we read gradually changes our worldview. Not long ago, I read a very interesting article by scientists who wrote about these memory phenomena—why we can read a lot of books and forget them all. The scientists note an interesting thing: They say that through reading books, worldviews are formed. That is, each book is a “building block” for the formation of our worldview. Our worldview really changes with every book we read, and every lecture and sermon we listen to. We really become different. It shapes our worldview. A person who listens, reads, or thinks about it may forget some information, numbers, or dates. Nevertheless, he is gradually developing this mental Christian model, which is the most important thing. And if we have a Christian worldview, it will be easier for us to overcome the darkness that attacks us from all sides. And it will be easier to make a choice for good in a difficult situation between sin and good.
The memory researchers in the article I’m talking about came to the conclusion: Don’t get upset that you forget; the main thing is to read and listen more, and this will shape you.
How should we read properly? If a book or a sermon has made an impression on us, we should definitely return to it after a while, rereading it or re-listening to it. Haven’t you ever caught yourselves thinking that you read a book for the first time, and then after a while, a few years later, you reread it and perceive it differently, through different eyes? This is natural, because we change all the time. Then, a few years ago, we were like that, and now, a few years later, we are different. Our worldview is richer today. This is especially true of the Holy Scriptures or the Holy Fathers. Even before the Birth of Christ, Socrates1 said: “It is the sign of an overnice appetite to toy with many dishes; for when they are manifold and varied, they cloy but do not nourish. So you should always read standard authors.”2 This advice is relevant at all times. And then he adds: “Each day acquire something that will fortify you against poverty, against death, indeed against other misfortunes as well.”3
That is, read not only entertaining literature, but also serious literature, which raises important questions about life and death, love and faith... Educate yourselves through the texts you read. If you have hastily covered several topics at once, stop at least on one topic during the day in order to comprehend it and digest it like good food.
Dear brothers and sisters, that is what I wanted to say. So, do not pay attention to these sad complaints that we read, listen, and do not remember anything. A Christian worldview and outlook on things is gradually developing in us, which is becoming more meaningful and wiser day after day, and we must nourish ourselves with this lofty spirit until death. And this will help us drive away the darkness that is around us, enters us, creeps in and swarms inside us.
May the Lord bless you all. Amen.
