Let us look at ourselves – Father Gavril Galev
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We have interpreted this gospel reading many times previously. We have already understood the stupidity of the Gergesenes, who, for the sake of satisfying their low passions (love of pleasures), expelled Christ from their region, i.e. from themselves. With the loss of the pigs, they lost the opportunity to overeat, and the excessive consumption of meat necessitates also drinking of a lot of wine, and when you overeat and drink too much, then the blood boils and the passion of fornication awakens. That is why pigs were dearer to them than Christ, their love of pleasures was greater than their desire for salvation.
This time I want to pay more attention to Christ’s reaction at the time that this event occurred. Namely, after they announced to Him the joint decision that He was unwelcome in their area, Christ “entered the boat and return(ed)”.
Do you see? He did not blame them, He did not say a word back to them, He did not get angry, He did not condemn them, He did not get upset with them, He did not gossip about them, He did not hold a grudge against them, and nothing sinful and impure was found in His heart. He simply fulfilled their wish and silently left.
But let us see how we would react in such a situation? Every day we are confronted with such situations, when someone does not agree with us and rejects us in something for which we advocate and support, in something “ours”. Then, being sick with pride, vanity and high opinion of ourselves, we immediately darken and our love grows cold. We feel hurt, so we get upset, we argue and fight with them, we get angry, judge and condemn, we openly speak badly of them ( we gossip), we wish him evil and hold as grudge, we plot how and when we will take revenge on him, and who knows what other evil will be found in our heart. All of this is just a sign of weakness, our entrapment, and pain. The magnitude of our pain depends on the magnitude of our pride, vanity and high opinion of ourselves and on our expectations from the one who made us feel hurt. In all that we do, we are completely opposite to Christ.
Let us not be fooled, we can think about ourselves in whatever way we want and even consider ourselves equal to the angels, but what we really are can be seen most realistically in such moments, when we undergo something personal. In such moments, all our hidden passions, impurities and evils come out of our heart uncontrollably, and this is altogether a time for our sincere confession before the spiritual father. Let us not be stupid like these Gergesians who because of their passions expelled Christ, but let us be smart and return to Him.
Christ did not completely abandon the Gergesenes, but He left those two healed, previously demoniac people to preach about Him and bear witness to Him, so that in this way, the rest of the Gergesenes might repent and save themselves. And after Pentecost, He again gives everyone a chance to repent and learn the truth and turn to Christ.
Furthermore, Christ is love, absolute and perfect love. There is no imperfection in love. Love only knows how to love.
Also, when we finally arrive at our decision to come to confession and confess, we should confess correctly. Let us not justify ourselves and complain, let us not judge and condemn, it happens that we even try to convince our spiritual father to agree with us, to justify our fallen thoughts and feelings, and we often even get angry with him if he does not think like us. This is not useful to us at all. We need to reveal the wound to him, so that he can heal it through the grace of God. We should not seek our own justice, but God’s justice. Let us hear the word of the spiritual father, which is the word of God, God’s justice, and, put it into practice. The passions being revealed in such a way before the spiritual father, who is only an icon of God and who represents God amongst us, we may receive enlightenment and liberation, and from moment to moment we may progress in the spiritual life and become likeness of Christ.
And in conclusion, we should know that without Christ we can do nothing. Everything is a lie, darkness and death without Him. Christ is the way, the truth and the life. Christ is the door through which one must pass to eternal life, and that is the test of love. Perhaps we might not be asked about anything else at the hour of our death, but we will certainly be asked about whether we loved. And on our answer depends which place we shall inherit in the eternal ages. If we have despised even one of the least here on earth, the door that leads to Heaven can be closed for us forever. Therefore let us prepare ourselves here while we still have time, so it won’t be too late. It is unreasonable for some small things, lest we lose eternity.
May the Lord Jesus Christ, through the prayers of His Mother and all the saints, give us strength!
Fr. Gavril Galev
Abbot of the monastery “St. Clement of Ohrid”,
Kinglake, Melbourne, Australia
17 / 07 / 2022
