Life without Christ is a futile waste of time – Father Gavril Galev
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(Luke 8: 40-56)
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Christ is the master of life and death. Christ is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end (and He is not bounded by anything, i.e. omnipotent) and everything in this life depends on Christ. The free will that He has given us becomes a gift for a life, if we direct it to build communion with Him, or damnation for eternal torment, if we use it to distance ourselves from Him.
The woman who had a flow of blood represents every soul that uses free will to fall away from God, every soul that has detached itself from God and lives its life uselessly, that is, to the detriment of their salvation. Just as the loss of blood means the loss of physical life, so the loss of the spirit, of the grace of the Holy Spirit, means the loss and death of the spiritual life, which is in fact the second death.
This woman did not live a pious life, she did not live a useful life, she did not live a life of virtue, but she lived a life of sin, idleness, and the fulfilment of the passions, and that is just a pointless waste of life. Later, after spending a lot of time seeking help from various doctors and none of them could help her, she became conscious of her situation.
Every soul is lost if it has missed the purpose of its life. The purpose of this life is not to take delight in pleasures, to acquire earthly riches or fame (love of pleasures, covetousness, vainglory), but the purpose of this life is to grow and reach Christ. To have Christ and in this manner to acquire salvation.
Having losing everything and becoming aware of her situation, the woman shows extraordinary humility. She considered herself unworthy and did not want publicity, so because there were so many people around Christ, she only wanted to go unnoticed and to touch the hem of His garment.
A life full of temptations (tribulations), life without Christ, and the absence of grace, led this poor woman to repentance. She attained a level of self-awareness that she was living in delusion, that she was wasting her life, and that Christ is everything and only He could help her. That is why she made a conscious effort, a movement, she approached Christ to touch him.
She only wanted to touch the edge of His clothes. The garment of Christ which represents the grace of Christ. She asked for something, God gave her everything. Because of her humility, God helped her. He gave her healing and a new life.
The fact that Christ passed by her means that Christ does not force anyone, does not violate anyone’s freedom. But when we ask Him for help, He is always there for us.
In the second part of this gospel reading, the girl who was dying also represents every soul who spent its life in vain without Christ. Such a soul is already dead. However, the love and prayers of her loved ones, made Christ sympathetic.
And in this case, as in the previous one, the father of the child realised that only Christ is the one who can change things, that only He can raise his daughter from the dead, that is why he asked for Him. He came to Christ and beseeched Him, and Christ went immediately. God is always ready to help us, but He does nothing forcefully. When we humbly and openly seek Him, that is, when we open the door of our heart, He will come and enter. Then our dead soul will feel the grace of God, the presence of God, which is life and which resurrects.
It will be thus with every soul that repents, with all those souls who truly repent for their sinful deeds, for the time spent without Christ – and the Lord is merciful, and He will make us alive again, and He will resurrect us for eternal life. Amen
Father Gavril Galev
Abbot of the monastery “St. Clement of Ohrid”,
Kinglake, Melbourne, Australia
06/08/2021
