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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