The Eyes Of Your Understanding Being Enlightened

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Keraza Magazine issue 13-14 April 8, 2016

On the sixth Sunday of the Great Fast, the church celebrates the sacrament of enlightenment through the Gospel of the man born blind. Enlightenment is opening the eyes of the mind to the truths and mysteries of the kingdom. If the sacrament of baptism is called the sacrament of enlightenment, yet it does not mean that the child has been fully enlightened simply by being baptized, but rather has gained, in the seed of his new man, spiritual eyes that are able to look and see spiritually. Just as the man born blind was not able to perceive all the visual images his eyes fell upon once he saw, but needed much time to realize the objects he now saw which he had previously observed through his ears and imagination, likewise is the case with enlightening the eyes of the mind, which is a continual growth process in spiritual knowledge that continues even till the age to come: "But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18). "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God..." (John 17:3).

Vision needs three elements: healthy eyes, external light, and a vision center in the brain able to translate visual images into meanings and facts. It is not sufficient for a person to have eyes in order to see; if he does not remain in the light, his eyes will atrophy and become useless. The spiritual eyes which we gain in baptism are like the physical eyes, not having light of their own, but needing light to function, "If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him" (John 11:9-10). If the eyes of the body need material created light in order to see, the eyes of the spirit need the uncreated light of Christ to be enlightened: "Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us" (Psalm 4:6). This means that it is not sufficient for a person to be baptized to be enlightened; if his mind does not cling to God (the source of light), and if he does not struggle to remain in His presence, the spiritual eyes which he has gained in baptism will profit him nothing, but rather will atrophy.

If spiritual enlightenment is a gradual growth process in knowledge, its speed differs from one person to another. In the stories of opening the eyes of the blind, in the Holy Gospel, and also in the story of St. Paul regaining his sight, certain phrases repeat: "Immediately their eyes received sight" (Matthew 20:34), "Immediately he received his sight" (Mark 10:52), "Immediately he received his sight" (Luke 18:43), and "He received his sight at once" (Acts 9:18). As for the story of healing the blind man of Bethesda, he regained his vision slowly, in two phases. And, in the story of the disciples of Emmaus, they took a long time until "their eyes were opened and they knew Him" (Luke 24:31). The common factor here is weak faith; Bethesda gained woes for its lack of faith (Matthew 11:21), and the disciples of Emmaus were rebuked "O Foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe..." (Luke 24:25). The rate of growth in enlightenment relies on the degree of faith. If we do not cry out all the more with all fervor of faith seeking to see, we will not hear the good news, "Arise, shine; for your light has come!" (Isaiah 60:1).

Bishop Youssef
Bishop, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States