Be of good cheer, don’t be
afraid, it is I…..Mat 14,27….
After Christ’s wonderworking act, the miraculous multiple of the five loaves in the wilderness, when five thousand men, apart from the women and the children, ate to satisfaction, the Lord, teaching his Disciples humbleness in practice and how they should avoid men-pleasing, he forced them to get into the boat and cross the lake to the other side, while He sent the multitudes, the people away, foreboring being commended by the crouds. He did so, because, when people witnessed and tasted the miracle that had happened, they were praising and glorifying Him and His Disciples · after that, he went up on the mountain by Himself to pray, teaching us prayer with His acts. Teaching us the necessity and the power of prayer as well as that we ought to pray before and after any action, deed, movement or work of ours and after successes as a thanksgiving.
The
boat with the Disciples was now in the middle of the lake, tossed by the waves,
for the wind was contrary, and the boat was in danger to be overturned.
Now in the fourth watch of the night, (that is from 3 o clock in the
night to dawn), Christ appeared walking on the waves·
Taking
this opportunity I would like to remind you, what is «fourth watch» and what
does that mean...
In the army we have the guard duty, the spell and the so called
«...german spell...»,which is the guard duty, from 2 to 4 o’clock in the
night. That is the most difficult one, due to the night hours. In the same way,
at that time….the spells, the guardings, were called... «watches...»...
Each
guarding, watch, spell, lasted for 3 hours ·
And the
first watch, the first spell we could say, was the watch,
from 6
o’clock in the evening to 9 o’clock at night·
The second
watch was from 9 o’clock to 12 o’clock, at midnight·
The third
watch was from midnight to 3 o’clock in the night,
And the
fourth one from 3 o’clock to 6 o’clock in the morning.
So,
when Christ had finished his lonely morning prayer, He went to meet His
Disciples, during the course of 3-6 o’clock·
The
Evangelists don’t mention the exact time. They only say that this incident took
place, during these hours.
In
the lake, when the boat was tossed by the waves, Christ revealed Himself
walking on the waves, likewise we are walking on the ground ...in that painful
anxiety of the Disciples, while the danger of sinking was close, in the middle
of darkness of the night, they saw Him walking on the waters. They were
troubled, for they thought He was a ghost, and they cried out in a loud voice,
because they were horrified...
Immediately,
Jesus who is the source, the giver of peace and tranquility, talked to them
saying:... be of good cheer, don’t be afraid, it is I ... Mat. 14, 27
...
Peter, the warm and ever-ready Disciple, replied directly :... Lord ,
if it is You, command me to come to You on the water..... So He said «Come»· And when Peter
had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus· But when he saw
that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried
out, saying «Lord, save me!» And immediately Jesus stretched out
His hand and caught him, and said to him, «Oh, you of little faith!!!, why did
you doubt?» And when they got into the boat the wind ceased.... Mat. 14, 22-32
...
What an
instructive and timeless passage!!!!!
What a
magnitude !!!!!!
How
topical !!!!!
Christ is
the same yesterday, today and forever ...
Let us
elaborate on that message of the Gospel, it has many things to teach us, to
specify. It will strengthen us, reinforce and nourish us; it will reveal and
remind us many things, it will admonish us…
It
teaches us to avoid pleasing men and showing off, but work the deeds of God, in
a way befitting to God, out of sight…for there is the sleepless and all-seeing
eye…
The
Deciples are being tested, they are wavered, they are afraid and worried,
they are asking for evidences, something to hold on to, they are looking for an
anchor.
In that
dizziness and tempest, within the danger of the sea, when the Disciples where
in danger, Christ appears. He knows. He watches the logic sheep that are
being shephered by Him and whenever there is need, He makes His presence known
in practice, through His actions.
He comes
and through His presence and the given faith, He stretches forward the anchor,
the harbour, the refuge, the life-saving board, the life belt, if we leave
back…..the heavy load of our desperation.
They
consider the divine Presence to be a ghost. But, He intervenes, calming their
consciousnesses first, and then the tremendous sea.
In the fluster, in the storm, in the desperation, in the danger, the
sweet voice of the Lord pours out like balsam,
Be of good
cheer, don’t be afraid, it is I ....
Courage...!!!
Don’t be afraid, it is me, the Lord and the Teacher...
He is the
One who...spoke and they were made, He commanded and everything was created.
He is the
One, who set a boundary and waves of the sea shall not pass over it, neither
any other creature which was made by His word only, and since their
creation….they are obeying, at the specific duty that each of them was given.
.....
The
Disciple’s faith is tested: ...Lord !!! if it is You, command that I come to
You...
And He who
fullfils the pleas and hears the prayers, says... come !!!. He is the One
who said... Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest...Mat . 11, 27-30...
Come,
Peter, don’t hesitate, come, to observe my power , the power of faith, the
power of those who run to me for refuge and look upon me...
Come , so
that the others (and all faithful after you) learn , how not to be wavered,
when sense is being shaken, when earth’s foundations are swaying, when the
world suffers hardships.
Come, so
that the rest will learn, how to remain stable when reason and all the elements
and laws of nature rock and are upset ...
Come so
that all know, how to stand firm when trials come, since faith beats the
laws of nature...The bounds of nature are overcome...
The warm
Disciple with the warm zeal and the warm faith, came down out of the boat, and
he walked to Christ, stepping on the waters....and when he was between Christ
and the boat carrying the anxious and quiet Disciples, who were observing the
glorious and extraordinary, the amazing and strange things, the Disciple began
to..realize, that he was walking on the waves, on a tremendously stormy
sea….and then he started putting his sense to work….or better…his sense started
cheating him…
he was
like a babe, which is about to make its first steps. It starts from its cot,
its cradle having its arms extended for fear and anxiety, and steps to its
mother’s open arms. She is looking at it with gladness, for it starts walking
and growing up....
The same
with the Disciple. But at that moment he threw the... autopilot, that is to say
faith, and he caught reason which scared him, shook his faith and he began
sinking and asked for help…
Lord !!!
save me...!!!
save me, o
Lord...
and the
Teacher, who always watches invisibly and is always awake, like a mother
watches her children, immidiately He streched His divine hand forward, and
saved him... saying to him...o, you of little faith, why did you doubt?
This way
showing him that the reason of sinking was not the weight of the Disciple‘s
body, neither the severity of the blowing winds, nor the rough sea, neither the
watery essence of the sea, but the Disciple’s little faith...
So,
whenever we are also in trial, personally, as a family, as a society or as a
nation, let us run for refuge to Christ, the only one able to save us, who by
only His words calms any kind of storm· ...peace, be still...Mark, 4, 3 ... , He
said once to the stormy sea and immidiately obeying to the godly command the
wind ceased and there was a great calmness ·
In issues
having to do with health, we do, we follow that what the doctors suggest. We
don’t reject nor we disregard science, which is God-given, as the Holy
Scripture says... physicians I gave to you... , but medicine combined with
faith produces miracles, like the ones that the Holy Unmercenaries were
practicing· so, we follow the prescriptions, the advices of
the doctors, and at the same time, we implore the Physician of souls and
bodies, to enlighten the doctors, to make good diagnosis and treatments, and as
for the patients we plea Him so that their constitutions may accept the
treatment and that they may recover fast, and also that He may overshadow and
protect us all under His wings .
Peter was saved, because he was realizing the difficulty, the danger, and
immediately he turned to Christ and seeked for help...
Lord !!! save
me....
Christ
extended His arm and held the shaking and trembling hand of His Disciple and
they both got into the boat. The storm calmed, the wind ceased and a great
serenity was spread all over the sea which a little while before was so much
disturbed.
When
Christ, steps into the boat of our soul, then, thoughts, doubts and all
disorders cease and calm down. Then we see all issues and things from another
viewpoint and we face our difficulties with spiritual nobility, and
without desperation…
Let us
unite our spiritual warfare, our worry, our efforts. Let us show, give and
practice love. Let us draw near to each other and to God, like that plumbing
fitting which is screwed on the edges of two different loose pipes, facing
eachother, and it matches them tightly, in a way that they become as one· let us also
remember the case of Jonas, and let’s remember the case of people in
Nineveh, the Prophet’s preaching, and the people’s change, and let’s
beseech for our Lord's help. May His healing and protective power intervene and
help the whole world.
We have a
pandemic of a fatal virus, which is like a new plaque of Faraon. So, let us
plead warmly the Son of the VIRGIN , who is Victorious over death, to grand His
help and provide us with the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit as a spiritual
patriot against the current epidemic of the virus. May He act and aid the
efforts of the scientists, so as them to defeat the danger
worldwide.
We are not
sheep without a shepherd,
neither a
boat without a captain...
Humanely
we do that what we can and that what is suggested as a preventive measure, and
we plead Christ to pour down His divine grace, which always heals that which is
infirm, and completes that which is wanting, to aid us and assist us
effectively.
The
solution is One; Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life...
Church, is
the loving mother, who does everything for her children· she is not
showing off; she has King Christ, who is the King of glory at the moment when
He is crucified,
and her
power, the power of Church, is hidden in her humiliation, she has canons,
not...cannons· she doesn’t expose anyone to public ridicule,
but she embraces and heals all·
She is not
marking absences, she doesn’t keep any attendance or absence register, she is
not suspending, but as an affectionate mother, she sacrifices her self for her
children’s life sake.
A
Troparion of the Great Friday’s Lamentations says : ... Like the
Pelican, when you were pierced your side O, Word, You bestowed live to your
dead young, pouring out on them life giving fountains…
(Lamentetions,
2nd stanza..)..
What does
this mean?....
Pelican is
the most affectionate bird. When it finds itself in need and it cannot provide
food to nourish its young, it peckes at its side, the blood poures out and the
pelican feeds its young with it· Of course, the mother pelican may bleed
to death, but the young are saved.
That is what Christ accomplished when His godly Blood flowed from His
divine side. He bestowed us eternal life. He fell for short into a life-blowing
sleep, for a sleep was His death indeed· Our Church which is Christ prolonged throughout
the ages and in which divine grace is treasured and distributed…does the same.
We have
worldwide the epidemic of a deadly virus, and every day we mourn over new
casualties and we don’t know what the next day will bear ….
There is also something communicated to people in the Church with the Holy
communion... that is the Son and Word of God, Christ, who came to dwell
in us....
And we implore Christ to grand us with a spiritual patriot, with
another spreading, that of His Holy Spirit, so as united with Christ in one
body, we may remain invulnerable from the arrows of visible and invisible
enemies, from the mortal virus.
We have
always in mind Him, who defeated death, His everywhere constant presence, His
words….Be of good cheer, don’t be afraid, it is I….
and
we endure patiently the trial, complying with the suggested protective
measures, and we run for refuge with a longing heart and thoughts full of
willingness, to the One who has the governing authority over all, in
order to get mercy and find grace always and for every need, putting forward
His ALL-HOLY MOTHER, THE GUARANTOR, the Moter of light, of love and of life, as
a mediator who cannot be put to shame…
may you be
healthy both, physically and spiritualy ....
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