Holy Metropolis of Kythira – Sunday's message (06-07-2025)

SUNDAY MESSAGE (audio message)
BY HIS EMINENCE THE METROPOLITAN
KYTHIRA & ANTIKYTHIRA SERAPHIM
FOURTH SUNDAY IN MATTHEW
(06-07-2025)

WRITTEN DIVINE PROCLAMATION

This Sunday, my dear brothers and sisters, is the fourth Sunday of the Gospel of Matthew, on which the Gospel reading is a passage from chapter 8 of the Gospel according to Matthew. In this passage, the Evangelist Matthew describes one of the many miracles performed by the Lord, the miracle of the healing of the centurion’s servant—that is, a Roman officer of that time.

As the Evangelist recounts, when the Lord arrived in Capernaum, a centurion approached Him and begged Him to heal his servant, who was paralyzed and suffering from excruciating pain. And when the Lord told him that He would come to his house to heal him, he replied that there was no need for Him to go to the trouble of coming, on the one hand because he was not worthy of a visit, and on the other because the Lord could, even from a distance, he can heal him with just a single word. At this point, we must highlight the faith, but also the humility, of this officer. And this is because, first of all, he believes that the Lord has the power to heal illnesses not only up close, but also from a distance, and also that He has the power to heal, not by imploring God, but by His command alone, which demonstrates His almighty power. For He did not say «prayed to God», but «Give a command». His humility is also evident in the fact that he does not consider himself worthy to receive and host thethe Lord, even though he was a prominent figure throughout Galilean society.

The question is: How, then, do we receive Christ when we partake of the Lord’s body and blood? With the same faith and humility that the centurion had, or with superficiality and without the proper preparation? And although he was a Gentile —a pagan—he held the proper view of Christ and adopted the proper humble attitude toward Him. But we, who want to be good Christians, do not realize our unworthiness when it comes to partaking of the Holy Mysteries, nor do we approach them with the proper preparation. The Apostle Paul particularly draws our attention to this issue and warns us of the tragic consequences forthose who partake unworthily. He says: Whoever partakes of the Holy Mysteries unworthily is guilty of irreverence and desecration, which he dares to commit against the Body and Blood of the Lord (1 Cor. 11:28–29). This means that not only does he derive no benefit from Holy Communion, but he also commits a most grave sin. And further on he adds: Let every person examine himself carefully, and after preparing himself through this examination, then let him partake of the Holy Mysteries. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily, this partaking becomes a cause of condemnation for him, because he is unable to discern that what he eats and drinks is not ordinary food, but the Body and Blood of the Lord (1 Cor. 11:28–29). This is why, after all, the Church, through the priest, invites us: «Come with the fear of God, faith, and love». In other words, the Church warns us that if anyone lacks the fear of God, faith, and love, they should not come.

Next, drawing inspiration from the centurion’s remarkable faith, he adds a prophetic statement that was to be fulfilled in the near future, after Pentecost. He says: There will be many who, though not Jews, but Gentiles, will nevertheless believe with the same faith as that of the centurion and will be deemed worthy to enter the Kingdom ofheavens. On the contrary, there will be many Jews, who, although they should have been the first of all to believe, will nevertheless disbelieve and lose Paradise. This means that on the Day of Judgment we will see surprises. We will see people whom we considered damned in this life enjoying the Kingdom of Heaven, while others whom we considered saints will be in hell.

Let us be afraid, my brothers, lest we too suffer what the Jews suffered, who, even though they saw countless miracles every day, nevertheless did not believe in Christ. And even though they knew the prophecies about Christ and saw them being fulfilled in the person of Christ, they stubbornly persisted in their unbelief. In contrast, the centurion, even though he did not possess the spiritual advantages that the Jews possessed, and without knowing the prophecies about Christ, he ultimately believed in Christ. Let us strive to acquire the faith and humility of the centurion through constant repentance and our participation in the Sacraments and theworship life of the Church, so that we may be deemed worthy of the eternal blessings. Amen.

Archim. Paul Dimitrakopoulos