Εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος.
Σ’ ἕνα ἀπὸ τὰ Εὐαγγέλια, πρὶν ἀπὸ τὴν περικοπὴ ποὺ διαβάσαμε σήμερα γιὰ τὴν θεραπεία τῶν δύο δαιμονισμένων Γεργεσηνῶν, ὑπάρχει μιὰ μικρὴ ἱστορία γιὰ τὸν Χριστὸ ποὺ διασχίζει τὴν θάλασσα τῆς Γαλιλαίας μὲ τοὺς μαθητές Του. Κατὰ τὴ διάρκεια τοῦ ταξιδιοῦ τους, ξεσπάει μιὰ θύελλα. Καὶ σύμφωνα μὲ τὸ Εὐαγγέλιο ὁ Χριστὸς κοιμόταν ἥσυχα, μὲ τὸ κεφάλι Του ἀκουμπισμένο σὲ ἕνα προσκέφαλο. Καὶ οἱ Ἀπόστολοι φώναξαν, ὄχι ὅπως σὲ μιὰ προσευχή, ἀλλὰ μὲ ἀγανάκτηση: «Δὲν σὲ νοιάζει ποὺ χανόμαστε;» Ὁ Χριστὸς ξύπνησε, σηκώθηκε καὶ ἀφοῦ τοὺς κοίταξε λυπημένα, τοὺς εἶπε: «Ὦ, ὀλιγόπιστοι». Ἔπειτα στράφηκε πρὸς τὴν καταιγίδα καὶ τὴν διέταξε νὰ κοπάσει.
Αὐτὸ δὲν συμβαίνει συχνὰ καὶ σ’ ἐμᾶς; Νοιώθουμε ὅτι κινδυνεύουμε, ἔχουμε ἀνάγκες, στρεφόμαστε στὸν Θεό, ἀπαιτοῦμε τὴν προσοχή Του, θέλουμε τὰ πράγματα νὰ γίνουν ὅπως ἐμεῖς ἐπιλέγουμε – καὶ ἐπικρατεῖ σιωπή· ὁ Θεὸς φαίνεται νὰ κοιμᾶται. Καὶ ὑποπτευόμαστε ὅτι δὲν νοιάζεται, ὅτι εἶναι ὅπως ὁ Χριστὸς ποὺ κοιμᾶται εἰρηνικά, μὲ ἀκουμπισμένο τὸ κεφάλι σ’ ἕνα προσκέφαλο, ἐνῶ ἐμεῖς τὰ πλάσματά Του, κλαῖμε, θρηνοῦμε μέσα στήν ἀγωνία μας…
Ὑπάρχει κάτι ποὺ μποροῦμε νὰ μάθουμε ἀπὸ αὐτό; Ναί, δὲν βρισκόμαστε στὴ θάλασσα, σὲ μιὰ βάρκα, οὔτε ὑπάρχει φυσικὴ καταιγίδα· ὑπάρχουν καταιγίδες γύρω καὶ μέσα μας καὶ στρεφόμαστε στὸν Θεό, ἐπειδὴ θέλουμε νὰ λύσει τὸ πρόβλημά μας. Καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς εἶχε πεῖ καιρὸ πρὶν ὅτι ἄν ἔχετε πίστη ὅσο ὁ κόκκος ἑνὸς σιναπιοῦ, θὰ μπορούσατε νὰ μετακινήσετε βουνά… Εἶναι ὅτι δὲν ἔχουμε πίστη οὔτε σὰν τὸ κόκκο ἑνός σιναπιοῦ; Εἶναι ὅτι δὲν ἔχουμε πίστη καὶ συνεπῶς δὲν ἔχουμε οὔτε κουράγιο, οὔτε ἀντίληψη- οὔτε κουράγιο νὰ ἀντιμετωπίσουμε τὴν καταιγίδα καὶ ἀντίληψη γιὰ νὰ δοῦμε μέσα ἀπό αὐτὴν τὶς ἐνέργειες τοῦ Θεοῦ; Ναί, ὁ Κύριος εἶπε στὸν Προφήτη Ἡσαία: «Οἱ ἐνέργειές μου δὲν μοιάζουν μὲ τὶς δικές σου, ὅπως οἱ σκέψεις μου δὲν εἶναι ὅμοιες μὲ τὶς δικές σου! Οἱ ἐνέργειές μου εἶναι πιὸ σπουδαῖες ἀπὸ τὶς δικές σου, ὅπως εἶναι καὶ οἱ σκέψεις μου» Δὲν μάθαμε κάτι ἀπὸ τὸ Εὐαγγέλιο, ἀπὸ τὴν ζωή μας μέσα σ’ αὐτὴν τὴν παράξενη κοινότητα ποὺ καλοῦμε Ἐκκλησία, ὅπου Θεὸς καὶ ἄνθρωπος στέκονται ὁ ἕνας δίπλα στὸν ἄλλον; Δὲν συνειδητοποιοῦμε ὅτι ὅταν στηριζόμαστε στὴν δύναμη τοῦ Θεοῦ μποροῦμε νὰ βρεθοῦμε ἀντιμέτωποι μὲ τὴν καταιγίδα, ὅτι δὲν χρειαζόμαστε ἕνα θαῦμα, μοναχὰ τὴν πίστη μας; Αὐτὴ εἶναι ἡ πρώτη εἰκόνα.
Καὶ μετὰ ἀκολουθεῖ μιὰ ἄλλη εἰκόνα ἀπὸ τὸ σημερινὸ Εὐαγγελικὸ ἀνάγνωσμα. Ὁ Χριστὸς ἔρχεται στὸν τόπο ὅπου βρίσκονται οἱ δαιμονισμένοι· ἐκεῖ, δὲν μένει ἀδρανής, οὔτε παθητικὸς παρατηρητής, οὔτε εἶναι ἀπών: ἐνεργεῖ, θεραπεύει τοὺς δαιμονισμένους· καὶ τὶ συμβαίνει, ποιὰ εἶναι ἡ ἀνταπόκριση τῶν ἀνθρώπων σ’ αὐτὸ τὸ θαῦμα; Εἶναι τρομοκρατημένοι ἐπειδὴ ἔχουν δεῖ τὴν δύναμη τοῦ Θεοῦ νὰ ἐκδηλώνεται μὲ τέτοιον τρόπο, ὥστε γεμίζουν μὲ φόβο, ὄχι μὲ δέος. Καὶ ζητοῦν ἀπὸ τὸν Θεὸ νὰ φύγει: Ἄφησε τὴν χώρα μας, φύγε μακρυά!… Τὸ γεγονὸς ὅτι ὁ Χριστὸς ἔχει δράσει, ἔχει θεραπεύσει, ὅτι ἔχει σώσει τοὺς ἄνδρες, δὲν ἔχει καμία ἀξία· αὐτὸ ποὺ ἔχει σημασία εἶναι ὅτι πρέπει νὰ πληρώσουν τὸ τίμημα γι’ αὐτὸ τὸ θαῦμα μὲ τὴν ἀπώλεια τῶν χοίρων τους.
Δὲν πρόκειται γιὰ κάτι ποὺ συμβαίνει καὶ σ’ ἐμᾶς; Ζητᾶμε ἀπὸ τὸν Θεὸ νὰ ἔρθει στὴ ζωή μας· καὶ ξαφνικὰ ἀνακαλύπτουμε ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς δὲν ἔρχεται ὅπως ἐμεῖς Τὸν θέλουμε! Δὲν ἔρχεται στὴν ζωή μας ἁπλὰ γιὰ νὰ κανονίσει τὰ πράγματα σύμφωνα μὲ τὴ δική μας γνώμη· μεταβάλλει τὴν νεκρὴ τάξη τῆς ζωῆς μας σ’ ἕνα χάος ποὺ κυοφορεῖ ἐνδεχόμενες καταστάσεις – ἀλλὰ αὐτὸ δὲν τὸ θέλουμε! Θέλουμε ὅ,τι εἴχαμε πρίν: μιὰ ταχτοποιημένη ζωή, χωρὶς προβλήματα, χωρίς να συμβαίνει κάτι σπουδαῖο, οὔτε κάτι τραγικό.
Τὴν προηγούμενη ἑβδομάδα διαβάσαμε τὴν ἱστορία τοῦ ἑκατόνταρχου στὸν ὁποῖο εἶπε ὁ Χριστός: «Θὰ ἔλθω στὸ σπίτι σου νὰ θεραπεύσω τὸν ὑπηρέτη σου». Καὶ ἐκεῖνος εἶπε: «Ὄχι, Κύριε, δὲν χρειάζεται νὰ ἔλθεις, σ’ ἐμπιστεύομαι, ἀρκεῖ ἕνας λόγος σου – καὶ ὅλα θὰ εἶναι καλά». Ὁ Χριστὸς δὲν χρειάζεται νὰ ἔλθει· καὶ στὴν ζωή μας, πόσες φορὲς δὲν ἔχει μιλήσει: Ὁλόκληρο τὸ Εὐαγγέλιο εἶναι ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ ποὺ ἀπευθύνεται σ’ ἐμᾶς· τὸ Εὐαγγέλιο εἶναι γραμμένο ἀπὸ λόγια ποὺ μποροῦν νὰ μᾶς δώσουν τὴν αἰώνια ζωή. Θυμᾶστε τὴν περικοπή, ὅπου ὁ Κύριος μίλησε μὲ ἀκατανόητα λόγια σ’ ἐκείνους ποὺ βρίσκονταν γύρω Του καὶ πολλοὶ ἀπὸ τοὺς μαθητές Του ἔφυγαν· καὶ ἀφοῦ στράφηκε πρὸς τοὺς δώδεκα, τοὺς εἶπε: «Καὶ ἐσεῖς πρόκειται νὰ μὲ ἀφήσετε;» – καὶ ὁ Πέτρος εἶπε, «Ὄχι – ποῦ νὰ πᾶμε; Τὰ λόγια σου εἶναι λόγια ζωῆς αἰωνίου». Ὁ Χριστὸς δὲν μίλησε ποτὲ γιὰ τὴν αἰώνια ζωή, ποτὲ δὲν τὴν περιέγραψε· ὁ λόγος Του ἦταν τέτοιος ποὺ ἀφύπνησε ἐκείνους ποὺ τὸν ἄκουσαν, ποὺ εἶχαν τ’ αὐτιὰ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀνοιχτά, ποὺ εἶχαν τὴν καλὴ θέληση ν’ ἀκούσουν . «Πὲς ἕναν λόγο – καὶ ὁ ὑπηρέτης μου θὰ θεραπευτεῖ», ὁ Χριστὸς μιλᾶ: γιατί ἐμεῖς, οἱ δούλοι Του, δὲν θεραπευόμαστε; Ἐπειδὴ δὲν θέλουμε νὰ ἀκούσουμε.
Πιὸ πρίν, σὲ μιὰ ἄλλη περίπτωση, κάποιος ἄλλος εἶχε πεῖ στὸν Κύριο, «Ἄφησέ με – εἶμαι ἀνάξιος». Ὁ Πέτρος, βλέποντας τὴ θαυματουργικὴ ἁλίευση τῶν ψαριῶν στὴν θάλασσα τῆς Γαλιλαίας, εἶπε: «Ἄφησε τὴν βάρκα μου, Κύριε, εἶμαι ἀνάξιος, ἁμαρτωλός». Ἔχουμε πεῖ ποτὲ τέτοια λόγια; Νοιώσαμε ποτὲ ὅτι δὲν ἀξίζουμε νὰ μᾶς ἐπισκεφθεῖ ὁ Κύριος, νὰ κατοικήσει κάτω ἀπὸ τὴν στέγη τοῦ σπιτιοῦ μας, νὰ εἶναι πραγματικὰ γιὰ μᾶς ἕνας ὑπηρέτης, ποὺ θὰ κάνει πράγματα, ἐπειδὴ τὰ ἔχουμε ἀνάγκη;
Δὲν εἶναι ὁ ἴδιος τρόπος ποὺ ἀνταποκρινόμαστε στὰ λόγια τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου; Ἄς σκεφτοῦμε τὸν Πέτρο, τὸ δέος ποὺ ἔνοιωσε ἐπειδὴ εἶχε δεῖ τὶς ἐνέργειες τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἄς σκεφτοῦμε ἐκείνους τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ποὺ εἶδαν τὴν θεραπεία τῶν δαιμονισμένων. Εἶπαν: «Φύγε Κύριε» – ἀλλά πόσο διαφορετικὰ τὸ εἶπαν! Ἐμεῖς ποιοὶ εἴμαστε: Ὁ Πέτρος, ἤ οἱ Γεργερσηνοί;
Καὶ πάλι, ὅταν ἀγωνιοῦμε, ὅταν βρισκόμαστε σὲ ἀνάγκη – ἔχουμε τὴν πίστη νὰ ποῦμε: «Μὲ τὴν δύναμη τοῦ Θεοῦ ποὺ μὲ στηρίζει, μπορῶ νὰ ἀντιμετωπίσω τὴν ἀγωνία μου, ἤ τὴν θύελλα», ἤ στρεφόμαστε στὸν Θεὸ καὶ λέμε: «Σῶσε με! Δὲν εἶμαι ἕτοιμος νὰ ὑπομείνω αὐτὴν τὴν ἀγωνία».
Ἄς τὰ συλλογιστοῦμε ὅλα αὐτά· ἐπειδὴ κάθε λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ εἶναι ἡ σωτηρία μας, ἐὰν τὸν ἀκοῦμε, ἐὰν ἀνταποκρινόμαστε σ’ αὐτόν. Ἄς προσέξουμε – πέρα ἀπ’ αὐτὰ γιὰ τὰ ὁποῖα σᾶς ἔχω μιλήσει, μελετῆστε τὰ κείμενα, συλλογιστεῖτε, ἀνακαλύψτε μέσα σὲ αὐτὰ ὅ,τι ἐγὼ δὲν ἔχω καταλάβει. Ἀλλά στὴ συνέχεια ὅλοι μας, στὸ βαθμὸ ποὺ θὰ τὰ ἔχουμε κατανοήσει, πέρα ἀπὸ τὴ δύναμή μας, χάρη στὸ πνεῦμα καὶ τὴν δύναμη τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἄς ζήσουμε σύμφωνα μὲ τὰ λόγια Του. Ἀμήν.
Ἀπόδοση κειμένου στὴν νεοελληνική: www.agiazoni.gr
Πρωτότυπο κείμενο
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
In one of the Gospels, before the passage which was read today about the healing of two possessed in the country of Gergesene, there is a short story about Christ crossing the sea of Galilee together with His disciples. In the course of their journey a storm broke out. And as the Gospel puts it, Christ was peacefully asleep with His head on a pillow. And the apostles cried out, not in a prayer, but in indignation: Do You not care that we are perishing? Christ awoke, and He stood up, and looked at them sadly, and said: \’O men of little faith!’ Then He turned to the storm and commanded it to be still.
Isn\’t that what happens so often to us? We feel that we are in danger, we are in need, we turn to God, we claim His attention, we want things to be the way we choose – and there is silence; God seems to be asleep; and we suspect that He does not care, that He is like Christ, sleeping peacefully with His head on a cushion, while we, His creatures, cry, wail in our agony…
Isn\’t there anything that we can learn? Yes, we are not on the sea, we are not in a boat, there is not even a physical storm; there are storms around us and within us; and we turn to God because we want Him to solve our problem. And Christ had said long before that if you have faith as much as a grain of mustard – you could move mountains… Is it that we have no faith, not even as a grain of mustard? Is it that we have no faith, and therefore have neither courage nor understanding – no courage to face the storm, and no understanding to see in it the ways of God? Yes, the Lord said to Isaiah: ‘My ways are not your ways, as My thoughts are not your thoughts! My ways are so much higher than yours, as My thoughts are higher than yours…’ Haven\’t we learned anything from the Gospel, from our life within this strange community which we call the Church, in which God and man stand together? Do we not realise that in the power of Christ Who sustains us we can face the storm, we don\’t need a miracle, we need only our faith? This is the first image.
And then comes another image in today\’s reading. Christ comes to the land of the possessed; there, He is neither idle, nor passive, nor absent: He acts, He heals the possessed men; and what happens, what is the response of the people? They are in terror because they have seen the power of God manifested in such a way that fills them with fear, not with awe. And they ask Christ to be gone: Leave our realm, go away!.. The fact that Christ has acted, that He has healed, that He has saved the men, matters nothing; what matters, is that they have to pay the cost for it: their pigs.
Isn\’t it again something which we happen to do? We ask God to come into our lives; and suddenly we discover that God is not coming in the way in which we want Him to be! He is not coming into our lives simply to order things according to our view; He transforms the dead orderliness of our life into a chaos, but a chaos which is pregnant with possibilities – but we don\’t want this! We want what we had: an orderly life, without problems, without anything great happening, also without anything tragic happening.
Last weak we read the story of the centurion to whom Christ said, ‘I will come to your house and heal the servant’. And he said, ‘No, Lord, there is no need for you to come, I trust you, it\’s enough for you to say a word – and everything will be right’. Christ need not come; and in our lives, how often has He said the word: the whole Gospel is Christ\’s word addressed to us; the whole Gospel is made of words that can give us life eternal. You remember the passage when Christ has spoken incomprehensible words to those who surrounded Him, and many of His disciples left; and He turned to the twelve, and said, \’Are you also going to leave Me?’ – and Peter said, ‘No – where should we go? You have the words of life eternal\’. Christ has never spoken of life eternal, never given descriptions of it; the words of life eternal were words that awoke eternal life within those who heard, who had ears, good will to hear. \’Say a word – and my servant will be healed’, Christ is speaking: why isn\’t that we, His servants, are not healed? Because we don\’t want to listen.
Earlier, on another occasion, someone else had said to Christ, ‘Leave me – I am unworthy’. Having seen the miraculous catching of fish on the sea of Galilee, Peter said, \’Leave my boat, I am not worthy, I am a sinner. Have we ever spoken such words? Have we ever felt that we are unworthy of Christ\’s coming, dwelling under our roof, being our familiar, being with us, doing for us all we need? Indeed being for us like a servant who will do things because we need them done.
Is that the way we respond to the Gospel? Let us think of Peter, his awe because he had seen the act of God; and let us think of these people who have also seen the act of God. Both said, ‘Go, oh Lord!\’ – but how differently! Who are we: Peter, or the Gadarines?
And again: when we are in agony, in need – have we got faith to say, \’In the power of Christ that sustains me I can face my own agony, or the storm’, or do we turn to God and say, \’You – save me! I am not ready to endure this agony’.
Let us reflect on it all; because every word of God is salvation for us if we listen to it, if we respond to it. Let us listen – beyond what I have said, read the passages, think of them, find in them what I have not seen. But then, let us all, according to our understanding, and beyond our strengths, in the spirit and strength of Christ live according to His words. Amen.
