“Today, through the healed paralytic, Christ speaks to you and me: Get up! Take it and walk!”: His Beatitude Sviatoslav on the Sunday of a Paralytic
Today, the power of the risen Christ, which through our faithful people renews Ukraine, goes far beyond the Ukrainian people alone. Many of you have noticed that in those last days when the world watched King Charles’s Coronation in London, the colors of that coronation were the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag. Once, England conquered countries. Today, Ukraine has “conquered” England with its strength, determination, and momentum that emanates from Ukraine and is transmitted to the world.
The Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, stated during a sermon at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on Sunday of a Paralytic.
In today’s Sunday sermon, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, emphasizing the importance of water in human life, which, according to him, is the first to receive a vital impulse from its Creator, drew attention to the need for Ukraine to receive a new impulse of life that comes from the risen Savior. He also assured that the power of the Risen One through the pulsation of resurrection and life within the Church’s womb would revive the Ukrainian land’s look.
Commenting on the passage in today’s Gospel about the paralyzed one, the preacher also said that the word “water” in the Scriptures has an even deeper meaning. Because water is a symbol of life, it is mentioned in the first lines of the Holy Scriptures.
Continuing to reflect on the passage, the Patriarch drew attention to an interesting fact: the paralyzed man had been lying at the font for 38 years, which was a lifetime.
“The paralyzed man spent his whole life there. All his life, he was waiting for something. He was waiting for some impulse that would make him healthy and give him a new life […] For the one who gives the impetus to a new life is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself,” the Primate emphasized.
Therefore, the Head of the UGCC noted that this Gospel reading deeply explains the Sacrament of Baptism.
“This baptismal font is the womb of the Mother Church. She gives birth to new life in the waters of the holy sacrament of Baptism.”
Also, the Father and Head of the UGCC is convinced that Ukrainians today, wounded by the war, desperately need a new impulse of life from the Risen Savior.
“We ask today: Lord, is there a person in Ukraine who will rebuild our cities and villages? The Lord Himself is embodied today in those who receive the power to bring new life, the power to live and win. That power, the power of the Risen One, through the pulsation of resurrection and life in the bosom of the Church of Christ, will revive the look of the Ukrainian land,” added His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
After the Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude Sviatoslav greeted the pilgrims from the Sokal-Zhovkva Eparchy and proclaimed the opening of an extraordinary period for the Patriarchal Council — the celebration of its first decade.
The UGCC Department for Information
