And when he came to him, he asked him, What do you want of me? He said: Lord! so that I can see. Why does Christ ask the blind man what he wants from Him, if he knows it beforehand? In fact, He knows in advance not only what the blind man wants from Him, but also, even before He comes to Jericho, He knows everything that will happen on that day in Jericho. He, who forty years in advance predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the settlement of the Jews throughout the world, He, who foresaw the end of the world and the Last Judgment several thousand years before this would happen, could easily foresee what would happen on that day in Jericho, and, moreover, what blind Bartimaeus expected from Him. Thus He asks, not because He does not know, but for the sake of the blind Bartimaeus himself, and for the sake of the people present. He asks Bartimaeus for his sake to express his desire clearly and to reveal the feelings of his heart with the help of words. By this the Lord teaches all of us that we must give a clear form to each of our prayers to God. Prayer expressed in words crystallizes, purifies and strengthens the prayer of our heart. And for the sake of the people, the Lord asks that all the people hear what the blind man asks of Him. Namely, that all may hear that the blind Bartimaeus does not ask Him for alms in the form of pennies, but asks for alms, which mortal men are not able to give him, and which only the One Living God gives. For up to that time Bartimaeus had not made it quite clear what he really wanted from Christ, although he clearly felt in his heart and understood in his mind what he wanted. Up to that time he had only shouted: have mercy on me. But he shouted the same to other people from whom he expected monetary alms. He could shout to everyone who passed: "Have mercy on me!" That is why the Lord wants the blind man to clearly and in front of everyone to express what mercy he wants from Christ.

God! so that I can see. With these words Bartimaeus answers Christ's question. So that I can see. Notice that when Bartimaeus draws near to Christ, he no longer calls Him Jesus or the Son of David, but Lord. Hence, having already drawn near to Christ, he realized that Jesus is Lord. This is the case with all believers: from afar, Christ appears to them simply as a Man, albeit a great one. From afar we call Him by His human name and speak of His earthly origin. But when we draw near to Him, when we feel His mighty and life-giving breath, only then will we know His heavenly origin, know that He is not of this world, that He came from eternity to visit the time-travelers—and that He truly is Lord.

God! so that I may see," the blind Bartimaeus said to him with a trembling tongue. Jesus said to him, "See! Your faith has saved you. And immediately he regained his sight and followed Him, glorifying God. Only a single powerful word: "See!" - and the blind Bartimaeus regained his sight. This is not any suggestion of which the divinatory spirits of our time talk so much. But this is the omnipotent word of God, which, naming, immediately creates. Just like at the beginning of creation, when God said, "Let there be light." And there was light. The fox uses suggestion when communicating with chickens, and not God when communicating with people. For if the spiritual blind, who do not like God's omnipotence and His closeness to people, explain this miracle by suggestion, then it is necessary to explain by suggestion how the fig tree withered according to the word of Christ, and the storm on the sea subsided, and the wind ceased. But can it even occur to anyone by suggestion to instantly dry up a tree, or to quiet the lifeless elements, such as the sea and the wind? Who and when influenced trees, winds and storms by suggestion?

Your faith saved you. Our Lord Jesus Christ pronounces these words in order to teach people meekness and humility. Thus He often spoke to those who were healed of terrible ailments. Thus He said to the bleeding woman, who suffered from the flow of blood and was healed by the mere touch of His garment: "Be of good cheer, daughter! thy faith hath saved thee" (Matt. 9:22).

In the spirit of Christ's meekness, the Apostle Paul also says: "Do nothing out of covetousness or vanity, but in humility consider one another superior to yourselves" (Phil. 2:3). Having said these words to Bartimaeus, the Lord also wants to give honor to human dignity; wants to show that people are called to be God's co-workers in all good. If, people, you want to know what your cooperation with God consists in, then know that it is in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the only thing that is required of you, and the only thing you can do. Believe, and God will do what you want according to your faith.

And Bartimaeus immediately regained his sight and followed Him, glorifying God. As soon as Bartimaeus opened his eyes and regained his sight, he saw before him our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed is he: as soon as he opened his eyes, he beheld the most worthy contemplation! And he could not take his eyes away from Him, from His beauty and sublimity, but, as if chained, followed Him.

Everything in the world that the eye can see should serve as a road sign for man, pointing in the direction to the sweetest vision, to the vision of God. Otherwise, all this serves as a pointer to confusion, to thorns, to spiritual darkness and final destruction. Bartimaeus, having regained his sight, saw God without the intermediary of nature, and he had neither the desire nor the need to look at anything else. Why look into the face of death when he saw the Incorruptible? Why should we look at the transitory when he has approached the Eternal? Why cling to the powerless things of this world when he has clung to the Almighty? And he followed Him, glorifying God. Now his eyes control his tongue, his feet, and his whole body, and all his soul. Seeing the Living Christ, he now knows what his tongue is for: to glorify God. And he begins to praise and thank God. In this way, Bartimaeus used his eyes not for evil, not for depravity and destruction for himself, but for that for which God gave man eyes: for the contemplation of the majesty and glory of God. And all the multitude of people who were there, seeing this glorious miracle, thanked God. The gift given by our Lord Jesus Christ to Bartimaeus quickly spread to many others, so that many doubters and unbelievers, blinded by doubt and unbelief, opened their spiritual eyes and began to glorify God.

All this, which happened to the blind Bartimaeus, is happening to this day with many spiritually blind people, when their spiritual sight returns to them. Then they follow Christ and do not want to see anything else. Then they glorify God and do not want to glorify anything else.

Oh, what a huge hospital this world is! And the largest number of patients in this hospital are blind. And the only Physician in this hospital is our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, how dusty is the Jericho road of this world, and what a gloomy crowd hurries along this road! And after these people goes the only one who is able to grant sight to all the blind. This is our Lord Jesus Christ. And a certain bodily blind man, Bartimaeus, was standing that time in the midst of a crowd of spiritual blind men. This ratio remains true to this day. And today the number of bodily blind people is unusually small in comparison with the huge number of spiritual blind people, for whom bodily blind people serve only as a living reminder, a living image and a living diagnosis. But the more the number of spiritually blind people increases, the more the number of those who are physically blind increases. European culture can hide all the physically blind in hospitals, but it cannot reduce their number. She can shut them up within four walls so that the world does not see them, but so much the worse for the world! In this case, the innumerable spiritual blind will no longer be able to see the picture of their souls on the corners of city streets and at the crossroads of village roads, and read the diagnosis of their spiritual illness.

Coming from Jericho to Jerusalem, our Lord Jesus Christ was killed by the spiritual blind, Herod, Pilate, Caiaphas and a blind crowd of elders and scribes. But the tomb barely restrained Him for three days - and was forced to let Him go. He commanded the earth to release Him from the tomb, as He had commanded blindness to leave the eyes of Bartimaeus. And His tomb became a bright eye for the whole world. The Lord has risen, and the Living One walks even now – invisible to the bodily but visible to the spiritual human eyes – along the dusty road of this world, waiting for some blind man to cry out to him for help: Lord Jesus, have mercy on me! He is ready to have mercy on everyone - it is only necessary to call upon Him - as He had mercy on Bartimaeus. And everyone who has received spiritual sight from Him will follow Him and glorify God. Honor and glory to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the One-in-Essence and Indivisible Trinity, now and ever, at all times and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Thirty-second Sunday after Pentecost. The Gospel of the Repentant Zacchaeus

Luke, 94 rec., 19:1-10.

Whoever wants to see Christ must rise high above nature in spirit, for Christ is above nature. A high mountain is easier to see from a hill than from a plain. Zacchaeus was small in stature, but, seized with a desire to see Christ, he climbed a high tree.

Whoever wants to meet Christ must be purified, for he meets the Holy of Holies. Zacchaeus was stained with love of money and hardness of heart, but when he met Christ, he hastened to purify himself by repentance and works of mercy.