In Front of Your Eyes

Many times, we are faced with facts we just do not want to believe. Sometimes the facts make us sad. Sometimes the facts make us want to crawl under a rock and hide. The only way, we think, to survive is to deny the facts in front of our eyes.

At that time, the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed. When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Matthew 16.1-6

This is what happened when the Pharisees and Sadducees saw Christ. The facts were right in front of their eyes. The facts made them want to cry. The facts made them want to hide. The only way they had to survive with the life they had created was to deny the facts. We know what happened to them. They were wrong.

Fast forward to 2023, and we are still facing the same facts. Christ expects us to live a certain way, to speak a certain way, and to love a certain way. Our choice is to acknowledge the facts that Christ and His Church have laid out in front of us, or to deny them.

So long as society reinforces our way of thinking, it is easy to accept the facts of the Church. It is when the world challenges the Church and Christ that we are forced to choose between following the world and following Christ.

You think it is easy, but it is not. If it were easy to follow Christ, He would not have called the Pharisees and Sadducees evil and adulterous. So, here is what the world does. The world lies, as it has always lied, to trick our eyes.

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.” (Genesis 3.6) The serpent tricked Eve into not believing what was right in front of her. She died that day.

There is evil right in front of our eyes, and as Orthodox Christians, we deny the facts. Whether it is the new fad of transgenderism or the old practice of human trafficking, we refuse to believe our eyes. If we accept the truth, we are forced to do something about it. Consider the story of Saint Christina the Martyr.

Because she refused to follow the world, the ruler cut off her breasts. Sound familiar? Think of how many young women suffering from gender dysphoria. Thinking they are not women, they voluntarily have their breasts removed. They have been tricked to not believe the facts in front of their eyes.

There is now a disturbing number of young people, men and women, who have ‘come to themselves’ and are now detransitioning. The only problem is, because the world lied to them, they cannot reverse the permanent surgery they received.

Still the world is refusing to deny the facts in front of their eyes, and we are sitting on the sidelines doing nothing. We sit in silence afraid to be ‘outed’ as Christians. The calendar is filled with names of men and women who were ‘outed’ as Christians. They became martyrs and passion bearers.

Let me be clear. In the ancient Church many faithful practiced their faith in secret to protect themselves. Very few voluntarily ‘outed’ themselves to dangerous persecutors, but when the time came to defend their brothers and sisters, it was better to die than to hide.

We must stop hiding. We can no longer remain silent. Our brothers and sisters, fellow human beings, are falling victim to liars and human traffickers. The world preys on the weak, but we are strong. Now is the time for us to stand up for the weak and risk being ‘outed’ as Christians. Their life depends upon it.

We all can do something. Start small by not accepting the lies the world tells. Then live based on the truth of Christ rather than the truth of the world. If that means losing a business deal, so be it. You don’t have to walk the streets with protest banners to make a difference. Sometimes, making a difference begins with the choices you make.

You would be surprised how much change can happen when we all live by Christian standards rather than worldly standards. May Saint Christina and those other holy men and women who stood up against the world intercede for us, and guide us.