Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, Yonkers, NY – May 25, 2025
Fr. Volodymyr Zablotskyy
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Christ is Risen!
“Let us purify our senses and we shall see Christ shining in the unapproachable light of the Resurrection. We shall clearly hear Him say: ‘Rejoice.’”
That’s what we sing at Pascha. And yet I have to ask: Do we really want to see Him?
Because when Christ shines — He exposes things. He brings light not only to our sufferings, but to our pride, our fears, our rigidity. And not everyone welcomes that light.
Today, Jesus heals a man who has never seen the sun. Never seen the Temple. Never seen his mother’s face. Born blind—not from accident, but from birth. The disciples want a theology lecture. “Who sinned? This man or his parents?” But Jesus has no intention of playing the blame game:
“Neither. But that the works of God might be revealed in him.”
And then — Christ makes clay. He puts His hands into the dust, just like He did in Eden, and reshapes this man’s eyes.
As St. John Chrysostom said: “To show that it was He who formed man out of clay.”
But here’s the scandal: the healing takes place on the Sabbath. It doesn’t go through the “right channels.” It breaks the neat little categories. And so the Pharisees—who claim to love God—can’t see God standing right in front of them. Why? Because their religion had become a cage. Their orthodoxy—twisted into a weapon.
This is what happens when love for tradition gets hijacked by fear. When the beautiful truth of Orthodoxy is reduced to a checklist. When fasting becomes a contest. When the liturgy becomes a performance. When we’re more interested in being “right” than being healed.
Let’s be honest—this is not just a problem “back then.” It’s here. It’s now.
How many times have we pushed people away because they didn’t say the right thing, or do the sign of the cross correctly, or failed to fast like we do? How many times have we acted more like security guards than witnesses of the Resurrection?
Some of us love the rules more than we love the people.
Some of us would rather be correct than compassionate.
Some of us have made an idol out of Orthodoxy—and forgotten the face of Christ.
The Pharisees interrogate the healed man. They insult him. They kick him out of the synagogue. And yet he becomes more than just a healed beggar—he becomes a confessor, a preacher, a witness.
“One thing I know: I was blind, and now I see.”
That is the testimony of every true Christian. That is the fire of real faith. Not perfect theology. Not cultural familiarity. But transformation. Encounter. Light.
St. Augustine tells us that the pool of Siloam represents Christ Himself—the One sent by the Father. And when the man washes there, he is enlightened both in body and soul.
You don’t wash in Siloam and come out the same.
But the ones who refused to wash—the ones who had all the answers—they remained in darkness. Because their eyes were open, but their hearts were closed.
The same thing happens in the Book of Acts: Paul and Silas are stripped, beaten, shackled. And what do they do? They sing. They praise God in the night. And the prison shakes. Chains fall. And a jailer, about to take his own life, is stopped, saved, baptized—he and his entire household. From suicide to salvation—in one night. That’s the power of the Gospel.
Beloved: don’t be religious and blind.
Don’t cling to the externals and miss the miracle.
Don’t become so rigid in your Orthodoxy that you can no longer be surprised by grace.
Because Christ is not tame. He is not safe. He is not bound by our expectations.
He spits. He breaks Sabbath rules. He opens eyes. He tears down prisons.
He’s not asking for your control—He’s asking for your surrender.
So purify your senses. Fall on your knees like the man who once begged in darkness. Say with your whole soul:
“Lord, I believe.”
And let the Light of the Resurrection shine in every part of your life—especially the parts you’ve tried to keep safe and untouched.
Christ is Risen!
And He has come to open the eyes of the blind—including yours.
Photo credit: Țetcu Mircea Rareș, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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