The Loss of Humanity’s Great Gift

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Pascha — The Healing of the Man Born Blind

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Many of us, while reading the first pages of Holy Scripture, have probably asked ourselves: why did our forefathers see God, speak with Him, behold His glory, and even witness the Cherubim standing guard at the gates of Paradise — while we today do not see these things? Why is that spiritual world, that invisible reality spoken of in the Bible, something we must accept only by faith? Why can we not perceive it as directly as we perceive the material world around us?

The principle of physical sight is generally understandable to us. The brain, as the central organ of the body, contains different areas responsible for different functions. One of these is the visual center, where the image we perceive as sight is formed. Yet this process does not happen independently. The eye, much like the lens of a camera, receives light and passes it through the optic nerve to the brain, where the image is processed and understood. In reality, we do not see merely with the eye itself, but with the mind that interprets what the eye receives.

But the human eye has limits. It can perceive only what exists within the boundaries of the material, three-dimensional world — length, width, and height. It cannot perceive what lies beyond these dimensions.

And yet the universe in which we live is far more profound and mysterious than the visible world alone. There exists another reality — the spiritual world — inhabited by angels, by the souls of men, by the invisible powers created by God. These exist beyond the reach of physical sight. Therefore, bodily eyes cannot behold them.

For this reason, mankind was originally given another gift — spiritual vision — so that man might enter into communion with the invisible, divine, and eternal world.

Spiritual vision is the ability of the soul to perceive that which lies beyond the material world — to behold and experience spiritual reality. This vision does not depend upon bodily organs. It does not require eyes, ears, nerves, or even physical light. It belongs not to the body, but to the soul.

Unlike the body, the soul does not require complicated mechanisms to perceive truth. The soul sees and hears things as they truly are. Human eyes cannot see without light, but the soul is not limited by darkness. The body weakens with age, eyesight fades, and physical senses fail — but the soul itself is not subject to these limitations.

The soul is capable of perceiving both the material and the spiritual worlds in their fullness.

From all of this, dear brothers and sisters, we may draw a profound conclusion: mankind was created as a unique creation of God, endowed with the ability to behold both the visible and invisible worlds. Yet what happened to us? Why have we become blind to the spiritual world? Why has the soul become silent and unable to reveal to us the beauty of God’s living reality?

The answer lies within ourselves — in sin.

Sinfulness, passions, corruption, and the conscious rejection of God and the spiritual world have wounded and paralyzed the human soul like a terrible disease. They have broken the living connection between man and God which existed from the beginning.

Yet the Lord, in His mercy and compassion, looks upon fallen humanity with love and calls each one of us to return to the state for which we were created. He says to us: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

But how can we return to this blessed state?

The Lord Himself gives the answer: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Here, the word “heart” refers to the soul of man. Therefore, if we wish once again to behold God and the spiritual world, we must purify our souls.

Purify them from what? From sinful passions, from slavery to sin, from everything that darkens the soul. A person must strive to acquire Christian virtues, to live a spiritual and moral life, and above all to remain in constant prayer and communion with God.

As a person walks the path of spiritual growth, the soul gradually heals and awakens. Then the spiritual eyes begin to open, and man starts to perceive reality more deeply than ordinary sight allows.

Unfortunately, not everyone reaches such a state. Only some — those who truly purify their souls — regain this gift of spiritual vision.

In the Church, such people are often called spiritually discerning or clairvoyant saints — not in a worldly sense, but because through purity of soul they became able to perceive spiritual realities hidden from ordinary eyes.

What happens when a person begins to see spiritually?

In some way, spiritual vision may be compared to dreams. When we dream, our physical eyes are closed, yet we still see images, people, and places. Something similar occurs in spiritual sight.

Unlike bodily vision, where light enters through the eye and is processed by the brain, spiritual images appear directly within the depth of the soul and mind, without the use of physical organs.

Therefore, if by God’s will someone were ever granted to behold an angel, a saint, or another heavenly reality, that person could perceive it even with closed eyes.

This is how God’s prophets beheld divine visions. This is how the holy Apostle and Evangelist John received the Revelation — the Apocalypse. And this is how spiritually enlightened people experience the presence of the spiritual world: not constantly, but during moments of deep prayer and profound communion with God, when the soul becomes detached from earthly distractions and turns entirely toward the divine.

Therefore today, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, realizing what wondrous and unique creations of God we truly are — beings called to behold both the material and spiritual worlds — let us give thanks to our Creator with all our hearts.

But at the same time, recognizing our fallen condition — that we have become like creatures able to perceive only earthly things while remaining blind to heavenly realities — let us cry out to the Lord with repentance and tears in the words of today’s holy kontakion:

“With the eyes of my soul blinded,

I come unto Thee, O Christ,

like the man blind from birth,

and in repentance I cry unto Thee:

Thou art the most radiant Light

for those who are in darkness.”

Amen.

 Fr. Ivan Symchyna