His Eminence Archbishop of Cetinje, Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, Joanikije today, December 8, on the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, when we prayerfully celebrate the Holy Hieromartyrs Clement of Rome and Peter of Alexandria – Odanie Vavedenja, served the Holy Divine Service in the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Risan.

In the liturgical sermon after the reading of the Gospel account of the resurrection of Jairus' daughter and the healing of the woman with a flow of blood, Metropolitan Joannikije said that the woman, who had been sick with a flow of blood for twelve years, approached the Lord with prayer and faith and touched the hem of His garment, without saying anything, unlike Jairus, the synagogue leader, who begged Jesus to come to his house. And in such a crowd where many were touching Him, the Lord felt that contact of faith and asked: Who touched Me? Although everyone around Him said that they did not know who touched Him, and Peter explained to Him that there was a large crowd and that everyone was touching Him, the Lord said: Someone touched Me, for I felt power going out of Me.

“He, of course, knew who had touched Him, and as an almighty God He did what He could, He gave health to that woman and delivered her from her illness, misfortune, sorrow and suffering. There He showed the power of His divinity, healing this sick woman, the one with the issue of blood, but He also showed that He was truly a man, asking: Who touched Me? He asked as a man, and He did this as an almighty God, the Almighty, the Almighty, who grants power and healing, grace and mercy, who strengthens and grants new life, just as He also gave new life to Jairus’ daughter, who had already passed away.”

After the healing of the woman with the issue of blood, someone came and said to the ruler of the synagogue: Your daughter is dead, do not trouble the Teacher. When he heard this, Jesus said to him: Do not be afraid, only believe, and she will be saved. The Bishop further explained that although everyone thought she had died, for the Lord Jesus Christ death is not what people think and that is why He says: Do not weep, she did not die but sleeps.

“For Him it is a dream from which He can always awaken everyone with His power and grace, with His love for humanity and His energy, and He resurrected this girl from the dead and as the giver of life there He showed His power. The Lord Jesus Christ, having the power of resurrection, showed His power even before He Himself rose from the dead, before He finally conquered death with His resurrection and before His resurrection He performed several resurrections, raising Lazarus who was four days old and the young man in Nain and this Jairus’ daughter. And the healing of the woman with the issue of blood was also, in a way, a resurrection, because her life with such illness and such humiliation was more like death than real, true life. He gave her new life, just as He gave this girl who had already passed away.”

The Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral taught the faithful that after the Lord came into this world among us, one, among others, very great and important change took place, and that is that we begin to think differently in the light of His coming, His truth, justice and love, to look at all things in our lives differently.

“To reach His mind and His thoughts and His vision, to approach life in this way. Because when He is with us, then everything is truly different than when we are far from Him. He is actually always with us, but our tragedy is that we as humans, prone to sin, darkness, and error, are moving away from the Lord. But we are also inclined to return to the arms of God, to the arms of His mercy and love, and to do everything, dear brothers and sisters, not to become alienated from His love and from His life. In this way, we will have new life and new joy and light of life in all the days of our lives.”

In order to have this, the Bishop explained, the most important thing is to come regularly to the holy services, because whenever we are at the Holy Liturgy, we are in communion with the Lord, we come before His face, we open our souls, our hearts, our thoughts to be illuminated by the light of God’s truth, love, justice and divine life:

“And we are inspired by the word of God and this holy service and singing, and especially when we receive the Holy Mysteries and are nourished by Heavenly Bread, so that we may live a new life. And uniting with the Lord, we carry Him in our hearts and our whole life with Him is joy and light, and when we are with Him, we can do good to our neighbors and show love, to sacrifice ourselves for each other and forgive each other, to overcome all our misunderstandings. May the Lord grant that it may always be so among us! ”

This honorable fast before the birth of Christ is a joyful fast and a call not only to repentance, but also to change our way of life, and we will change it, the Archbishop of Cetinje emphasized, by preparing to place the God-Infant Jesus Christ in our souls and hearts.

The support of the people for the priest is his wings

Speaking after his dismissal, His Eminence Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral Mr. Joanikije