Εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος.
Ὁ τυφλὸς πρὶν τὴν συνάντησή του μὲ τὸν Χριστὸ δὲν εἶχε δεῖ ποτέ. Παντοῦ σκοτάδι· ἔπρεπε νὰ μαντεύει ἐξερευνώντας μὲ τὴν ἁφή τὰ πράγματα, νὰ χρησιμοποιεῖ τὴν φαντασία του. Δὲν εἶχε καθαρὴ εἰκόνα τῶν πραγμάτων.
Τότε συνάντησε τὸν Χριστό, καὶ Ἐκεῖνος τοῦ ἄνοιξε τὰ μάτια. Καὶ ποιὸ ἦταν τὸ πρῶτο πράγμα ποὺ εἶδε αὐτὸς ὁ ἄνθρωπος; Τὸ πρόσωπο τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἡ ματιά Του· τὸ πρόσωπο τοῦ Θεοῦ ποὺ γίνεται ἄνθρωπος, γεμάτο προσοχή, συμπονετικὴ ἀγάπη νὰ στέκει ἐπάνω σ’ ἐκεῖνον μοναχά, ξέχωρα ἀπὸ τὸ πλῆθος. Ἦρθε πρόσωπο μὲ πρόσωπο μὲ τὸν Ζωντανό Θεὸ καὶ ἀντιμετώπισε τὸ θαῦμα ποὺ τόσο πολὺ μᾶς ἐκπλήσσει: Ὄτι ὁ θεὸς μπορεῖ νὰ ἐπικεντώσει τὴν προσοχή Του στὸν καθένα μας – ὅπως ὁ Καλός Ποιμὴν στὸ χαμένο πρόβατο – καὶ δὲν βλέπει τὸ πλῆθος ἀλλὰ τὸ ἕνα καὶ μοναδικὸ πρόσωπο.
Μετὰ ἀπὸ ὅ,τι ἔγινε, πιθανὸν ὁ ἄνθρωπος αὐτὸς ἐρεύνησε τὰ πάντα γύρω του, καὶ ὅ,τι γνώριζε μόνο ἀπὸ περιγραφὲς, ἀπὸ φῆμες, ἔγινε πραγματικότητα – «τώρα βλέπω».
Συμβαίνει καὶ τώρα· μπορεῖ νὰ συμβεῖ στὸν καθένα μας. Ὅπως ὁ ἐκ γενετῆς τυφλὸς, ζοῦμε κι ἐμεῖς τὸν περισσότερο χρόνο ἀπὸ τὴ ζωή μας ἀπὸ ἐλεημοσύνη, καθόμαστε σὰν ζητιάνοι στὴν ἄκρη τοῦ δρόμου τείνοντας ἕνα χέρι, μὲ τὴν ἐλπίδα ὅτι κάποιος θὰ τὸ προσέξει, ἄν ὄχι ἐμᾶς, τουλάχιστον τὸ χέρι μας, καὶ νὰ μᾶς δώσει κάτι γιὰ νὰ μᾶς κρατήσει ἔστω γιὰ λίγες ὧρες. Μιὰ τέτοια στήριξη παίρνουμε μέσα ἀπὸ ἕνα φιλικὸ βλέμμα ποὺ ἀκουμπᾶ ἐπάνω μας, ἕνα λόγο ποὺ μᾶς ἀπευθύνουν, μιὰ καλωσύνη ποὺ μᾶς γίνεται. Ἀλλὰ ὅλα αὐτὰ μᾶς ἀφήνουν νὰ παραμένουμε στὴν ἄκρη τοῦ δρόμου τυφλοὶ καὶ ἱκετεύοντας γιὰ βοήθεια.
Ὅταν περνοῦσε ὁ Χριστὸς κάποιος ἄλλος τυφλὸς, ὁ Βαρτίμαιος, δὲν περίμενε τὸν Λυτρωτὴ νὰ ἔρθει σ’ ἐκεῖνον καὶ νὰ τὸν ρωτήσει ἄν ἤθελε νὰ σωθεῖ, ἄν ἤθελε νὰ δεῖ. Μόλις ἔνοιωσε ὅτι κάτι παράξενο γινόταν μέσα στὸ θορυβώδες πλῆθος, καὶ ὅταν σὲ ἀπάντηση τῆς ἐρώτησης του τοῦ εἶπαν ποιὸς περνοῦσε, ἄρχισε νὰ κραυγάζει γιὰ βοήθεια. Ἀλήθεια, οἱ ἄνθρωποι προσπάθησαν νὰ τὸν σταματήσουν· μιὰ μικρή ἀμφιβολία θὰ μποροῦσε ἴσως νὰ εἶχε τρυπώσει μέσα του, ἄξιζε τὸν κόπο νὰ φωνάζει καλώντας σὲ βοήθεια, θὰ τὸν ἄκουγε ὁ Κύριος, θὰ ἀνταποκρινόταν σὲ μιὰ ἀσήμαντη ἀνάγκη, ὅπως ἦταν ἡ δική του; Συνέχισε νὰ κραυγάζει γιὰ βοήθεια, ἐπειδὴ ὁ πόνος του ἦταν τόσο μεγάλος, ἦταν τόσο ἀπελπισμένος. Ἦταν ἕτοιμος νὰ σπρώξει τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, νὰ παλέψει γιὰ ν’ ἀνοίξει δρόμο ἀνάμεσα στὸ πλῆθος προκειμένου νὰ φθάσει τὸν Θεὸ γιὰ νὰ τὸν ἀκούσει.
Ἄν μοναχὰ συνειδητοποιούσαμε πόσο τυφλοὶ εἴμαστε! Ἄν μόνο μπορούσαμε νὰ ἀντιληφθοῦμε ὅτι ἡ γνώση μας γιὰ τὴ ζωή, ὄχι μόνον γιὰ τὴν αἰώνια, θεϊκὴ ζωή, ἀλλὰ γιὰ τὴν ἐπίγεια, ἐξαρτᾶται ἐντελῶς ἀπὸ διαδόσεις, ὅτι ἡ ζωή ποὺ μᾶς περιβάλλει εἶναι ἀμυδρὴ καὶ στοιχειωμένη καὶ ἐπειδὴ εἴμαστε τυφλοί, ἤ (ὅπως ὁ ἄλλος τυφλὸς τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου ποὺ δὲν θεραπεύτηκε ἀμέσως ἀπὸ τὸν Χριστό) βλέπουμε πράγματα μέσα σὲ ὁμίχλη. Ἄν μόνον μπορούσαμε νὰ θυμηθοῦμε τὶ μᾶς λέει ὁ Λυτρωτὴς γιὰ τὴν ὀμορφιὰ καὶ τὴν δόξα τῆς ἐπίγειας συνάμα καὶ τῆς ἐπουράνιας ζωῆς, καὶ νὰ μὴν εἴμαστε ἱκανοποιημένοι μὲ τὴν τυφλότητα μας, μὲ πόση θὲρμη θὰ προσπαθούσαμε νὰ κρατήσουμε κοντὰ μας τὸν Χριστὸ, ὥστε νὰ μᾶς διαπερνοῦσε μὲ τὸ βλέμμα Του, καὶ νὰ μᾶς μιλοῦσε μὲ τὸν κυρίαρχο, θεραπευτικό, ζωοδότη λόγο Του. Τότε πράγματι ἴσως νὰ δοῦμε τὴν ἐκπληκτικὴ ὀμορφιὰ τοῦ προσώπου Του, τὴν ἀπύθμενη ὀμορφιὰ τοῦ θεϊκοῦ βλέμματος ποὺ ἀκουμπᾶ ἐπάνω μας μὲ ἔλεος, συμπόνοια, καὶ τρυφερότητα.
Χρησιμοποιοῦμε τὰ μάτια μας τόσο ἁπλά, ἀλλὰ βλέπουμε λίγα καὶ αὐτὰ εἶναι ἐπιφανειακά. Ἄς ἀναζητήσουμε τὸ ὅραμα ποὺ μπορεῖ νὰ εἶναι μόνο δικό μας, ὅταν οἱ καρδιὲς μας θὰ ἔχουν γίνει φωτεινὲς καὶ ἁγνές. «Εὐλογημένοι αὐτοὶ ποὺ ἔχουν καθαρὴ καρδιὰ, ἐπειδὴ αὐτοὶ θὰ δοῦν τὸν Θεό»· καὶ μέσα στὴν λαμπρότητα τῆς παρουσίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἴσως νὰ δοῦμε ὁ ἕνας τὸν ἄλλον, εἴτε λουσμένοι στὸ φῶς τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ μέσα στὴν λάμψη τῆς αἰώνιας ζωῆς, ἤ, διαφορετικὰ, πληγωμένοι, σκοτεινοί, περιμένοντας ὄχι ἁπλὰ ἐλεημοσὺνη, ἀλλὰ νὰ παραδόσουμε ὅλη μας τὴ ζωὴ στὴν ἀγάπη, ἔτσι ποὺ νὰ ἔβλεπε ὅτι θὰ μποροῦσε ἤδη ἀπὸ τὼρα ν’ ἀποκαλυφθεῖ στὴ γῆ ἡ Οὐράνια Βασιλεία. Ἀμήν.
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Πρωτότυπο Κείμενο
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Before his meeting with Christ the blind man had never seen anything. Everything was dark, he had to guess at things, to explore them by touch, to use his imagination. He had no clear authentic image of things. Then he met Christ, and Christ opened his eyes. And what was the first thing this man saw? The face of Christ, His gaze; the face of God become man, the divine gaze full of attentive, compassionate love resting on him, on him alone out of the whole crowd. Straight away he came face to face with the living God and encountered the miracle which so astonishes us: that God can focus His attention on each one of us – as on the lost sheep – and not see the crowd but see the one and only person. After that the man probably surveyed everything around him, and what he had known by description, by hearsay, became reality – \”now I see\”.
It happens at the present time also; it can happen to each one of us. Like the man born blind we live most of our lives on alms, we sit like beggars at the roadside holding out a hand in the hope that someone will notice, if not us at least our hand, and give us something to sustain us for the next few hours at any rate. Such sustenance comes for us in the form of a friendly gaze resting upon us, a word spoken to us, a kindness done to us. But all this still leaves us by the roadside, blind and begging for help.
When Christ was passing another blind man, Bartimeus, that one did not wait for the Saviour to come up to him and ask him if he wanted to be saved, if he wanted his sight. As soon as he sensed that something unusual was happening in the noisy crowd, and in answer to his question was told who was passing by, he began to shout for help. True, people tried to stop him; true, a slight doubt may have crept into his mind, was it worth shouting, calling for help, would the Lord hear, would He respond to such a trifling need as his? He went on clamouring for help because his suffering was so great, his need was so desperate. He was prepared to push past the people, fight his way through the crowd in order to reach God and be heard by Him.
If only we could realise how blind we are! If only we could realise that our knowledge of life, not only eternal, divine life, but earthly life, depends almost entirely on hearsay, that the life around us is dim and ghostly because we are blind, or (like the other blind man in the Gospel, not immediately cured by Christ) see things in a mist. If only we could remember what the Saviour tells us about the beauty and the glory of both eternal and earthly life and not be satisfied with our blindness, how earnestly would we try to detain Christ, so that He might pierce us with His gaze and speak His sovereign, healing, life-giving word to us. Then indeed we might see the astonishing beauty of Christ\’s face, the fathomless beauty of the divine gaze resting upon us with mercy and compassion and tenderness. We use our eyes so easily, but we see little, and that superficially. Let us seek the vision that can be ours only, when our hearts become bright and pure. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God; and in the brilliance of God\’s presence we might see each other, each one either illuminated by God\’s love, shining with the glory of eternal life, or else wounded, darkened, expecting from us not just alms but the surrender of our whole life through love in order that he might receive sight, that to him also the Kingdom of Heaven might already be revealed on earth. Amen.
