Homily Four for the Seventh Sunday of Matthew - Slandering and Blaspheming the Church (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Slandering and Blaspheming the Church

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons through the prince of the demons." (Matt. 9:34)

With the healing of the two blind men and the deaf man who was demon possessed, the crowds "marvelled, saying, 'It was never so seen in Israel'" (Matthew 9:33). However, the immediate reaction of the Pharisees to the cures and to the opinion of the people was not to deny the miracles, but to distort them and attribute them to the power of demons, saying: "He casts out demons through the prince of the demons" (Matt. 9:34). This is a serious form of slander that ends up in blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. The interpretation that the Pharisees gave of the miracles showed the illness of their soul, it revealed the existence of the evil spirit in their hearts.

Saint Paraskevi and the Blasphemer

Michael, a resident of Smyrna before the Population Exchange of 1922, one day went to plow his field with oxen. In a moment the plowshare* got stuck somewhere, the oxen did not advance and he himself could not get the plowshare out of the ground. After he was tired and indignant, he began to blaspheme Christ and the Saints.

He immediately lost his sight for about a quarter of an hour. Then, repentant and compunctionate, he begged Saint Paraskevi to give him his sight and promised never to blaspheme again. He also made a vow. As long as he lived, on Friday he would not eat or drink anything. And immediately, miraculously, his sight came back, he easily took out the plowshare and continued plowing, thanking God and Saint Paraskevi.