In today's Gospel Our Lord heals a man who is possessed by demons and once the news of the healing spreads people ask Jesus to leave the area “because they were overcome with fear” (v.37). People ask for “a sign”, they try to put Jesus “on the spot” with a question, and expect something spectacular, showy and out of the ordinary as a condition of putting their trust in Jesus or changing their ways and often their
response is to reject the sign or the words they received as its implications may be uncomfortable. Jesus is critical of the people he meets who are concerned with outward show, here is an example:

But woe to you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (Luke 11:42)

By contrast acts of real virtue may go unnoticed because they aren’t spectacular or done for show. In the Epistle St Paul contrasts the visible manifestations of faith; speaking in tongues, prophecy, miracle working and enduring austerity with what he terms “the more excellent way” of love; 

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

On 4th November we celebrate the feast of St George Karslidis a saint whose life included miracles and austerities but who lived in relative obscurity and whose witness is I believe primarily about love of Our Lord Jesus Christ and all creation. St George was born in Georgia then part of the Russian Empire in 1901, and given the name Athanasios. His ancestors were Greeks who for generations had settled around the Black Sea. Both of his parents died of cholera when he was aged five and he was placed in the care of some relatives who treated him badly. He had a lonely childhood and from an early age he spent a lot of time in solitude looking after his relatives' flocks of sheep and goats. He was very devoted to praying to the Great Martyr George and to the Mother of God.

One day, when Athanasios was about nine years old, a man came to him riding a horse. He gave the horse to Athanasios and told him to ride the horse wherever it took him, then to let the horse go and it would find its way back to its owner. The horse took Athanasios to a monastery dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God in the town of Dandra (also in Georgia), where he asked to become a monk. Athanasios identified this man as none other than St George himself. Despite his age he was allowed to join the community and was eventually able to become a monk taking the name George in honour of his patron and protector. In 1922 the Communist authorities in Georgia decided to close the monastery and ask all the monks to deny their faith and leave the monastery; those who refused would be shot. George refused to deny Christ and was taken to be executed along with his fellow monks. George was hit by a number of bullets, but what should have been the fatal bullet hit a small medallion which he had been given by his grandmother depicting the Mother of God which he always wore and saved his life. Crippled but not killed it seems he was rescued and went into hiding, during this time he was ordained as a priest.

In 1929 Fr George was able to leave Georgia and go to Greece where he was given one acre of land by the Greek government in the village of Sipsa now called Taxiarches. With the help of the villagers he was able to build a chapel and monastic cell dedicated to the Ascension of Our Lord, this was blessed in 1939. During the Second World War, Sipsa was occupied by the Bulgarians who had a program of executing community leaders as a means of controlling the population. Fr. George was arrested and sentenced to death. Fr. George offered to pray for the soldiers who had been ordered to execute him by firing squad, then he blessed them to carry out their task, the soldiers instead turned and ran.

Fr. George reposed on 4th November 1959, the monastery and chapel became neglected and fell into disrepair. It was revived in 1970 and is now a thriving convent. In 2008 Fr. George was declared a saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. 

Fr. George did not enjoy good physical health, he had difficulty walking and was often reliant on others, he knew what it was like to suffer, to be lonely, weak, ill and in need of help and so he was always willing to help others. When he visited sick people he would encourage them to pray for the intercession of particular saints and always attributed healings to the power of God, strictly advising them not to attribute their recovery to his prayers. He lived through both the Nazi occupation of Greece and the Civil War which followed it when a great many people experienced food shortages and even famine. Although he lived on a very simple diet (he was apparently very fond of cooking with stinging nettles - a good source of vitamins and iron) his visitors received nourishing food, including cheese and yoghurt, and he was always able to provide some food for people in need.

Fr. George lived at a time when seductive ideologies offered emotionally appealing oratory coupled with “shows” of worldly power. Fr. George by contrast lived simply and taught by his words and deeds the more excellent way.

During his lifetime people who knew Fr. George recorded some of his words of advice:

“Wealth should not impress you, nor honor, but always walk justly. Eat your bread with your honourable sweat and not through unjust means. The things you gain honorably, do not squander aimlessly. Live honourably and humbly, and as much as possible extend your hands in charity.... Knock on the doors of the poor, the sick, the orphans. You should prefer the homes of the afflicted to the homes of the joyous. If you do good work, you will receive a great reward from God."

"Love all your fellow men, even your enemies. This is the most basic thing. Always love not only those who love us, but also those who hate us. Let us forgive them and love them all even if they have done us the greatest evil; then we are truly children of God. Then our own sins are also forgiven...Always preach love. This is the most basic law of God: love and love alone."

Saint George Karslidis, pray to God for us! Amen

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