Today, 5 July 2015, the Orthodox Christians are on the 5th Sunday after the Pentecost. The Church scheduled to read at the Divine Liturgy the evangelical pericope of Saint Evangelist Matthew 8:28-34 and 9:1 which presents Healing of the two Garadene demoniacs: “When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding.The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town.“
His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church delivered a sermon in the chapel of Saint Gregory the Enlightener of the Patriarchal Residence in which he explained the teaching of this evangelical pericope.
The work of Christ to rid the humans of the bad spirits is continued in His Church
The fragment urges to change and get rid of passions presenting two perspectives. It is both tormenting and releasing, His Beatitude said.
„Gospel of the 5th Sunday after Pentecost is both tormenting and releasing. It is tormenting because it shows us the attitude of the demons towards the humans and of the humans one to another. We see that the demons which torture the humans use them to torture other humans in their turn. The Gospel is releasing because Jesus Christ, our Lord, wants the healing of the humans, their liberation and gathering in the communion of love with God and with one another. The work of Christ for getting the humans rid of bad spirits is continued in His Church, in His mysterious Body as healing work for the humans, for their liberation of sins and elevating them to the normal state of love for God and for their fellow beings. The daily prayer of the Christian Orthodox faithful and the power of the sign of the Holy Cross that he/she uses often moves away the power of the bad spirits”, the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church showed.
The human’s liberation of bad spirits is done through strong faith, ardent prayer, and fasting
The evangelical fragment urges us to prayer and communion with God, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel also said.
“If we unite rather often with God during our lifetime through prayer, obeying the Gospel, accomplishing His commandments to love God and the fellow beings and especially through the communication with the Holy Sacraments, we strengthen spiritually ourselves and we are no longer afraid of the bad spirits just because we unite with Christ, our Saviour. But when we move away from Christ, when the prayer weakens, when faith is getting cold, when our love for God and for our fellow beings is diminished, then we are in danger. This is why the human’s liberation from bad spirits is done through strong faith, ardent prayer and strict fasting.”
Next Sunday the Orthodox Church will be on the 6th Sunday after Pentecost.
