Question: From a deeply Christian perspective, what is the key to education, to learning? What is the key, even through our problems and our pain? Let’s talk about it.

At that time, when Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting near the roadside begging, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, let me receive my sight.” “Receive your sight. Your faith has made you well.”

Apollo 13 was supposed to be the third ever moon landing. It turned into a pulse-racing, headline-grabbing, death-defying rescue mission. It is impossible to describe today how this event grabbed not just our nation but the entire world.

The year, 1970; the month, April; the mission, simple: take the seventh crude mission in the Apollo Space Program and land on the moon. The spacecraft was launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 11 of that year, but was aborted two days later after the rupture of an oxygen tank, disabling the electrical and the life-support system. So there was a change in the mission—and most of us have seen the movie—from landing on the moon to getting home alive.

To do that, the crew would have to attempt an absurd stunt: loop around the moon, using its gravitational pull as a slingshot and propel back to earth. Apparently, it’s called a circumlunar trajectory. Protocols that would normally take three months to write had to be written in three days. Inside the space capsule, food was gone, heat was gone, the interior temperature plummeted into the 30s, as three men had to find a way to coexist in outer space within a capsule built only for two, about the size of a two-seater VW Beetle.

Astronauts, scientists, engineers: no one slept for days. The clock was ticking. One meeting proved pivotal. Top figures from different fields met at a conference room to discuss the crisis. Then, this happened. There was one scientist in the room who remained silent for the whole meeting. He waited patiently and allowed the other scientists in the room to speak first, trying to diagnose the problem, trying to propose strategies, giving their opinions, all of which would ultimately prove wrong. Then the man spoke last. He knew exactly the strategy to take to save the crew. NASA listened to his advice, and the crew was saved.

Every Sunday, we sing the great doxology, which begins with these words: “Glory to thee who has shown us the light. For with thee is the fountain of life, and in thy light shall we see light.” What comes to mind when you think of light? Illumination, vision, awareness, consciousness, a far greater sense of what is around you? A walk through the woods at night is a totally different experience with a flashlight. A walk to the kitchen at night is a different experience with the flip of a switch.

When we baptize a person in the Orthodox tradition, have you ever noticed that the language coming to us from the service is the language of illumination? “Open the eyes of his understanding, that the light of thy Gospel may shine brightly in him. Make her a child of the light, that we may be illumined by the light of understanding and piety. Vouchsafe unto me a robe of light, O thou who clotheth thyself with light. Illumine her heart with the light of thy countenance.” Eleven times the word “light” appears in our baptismal service, and the newly-baptized is often called the newly-illumined. What is the sacrament of confession? It is the renewal of our baptismal vows. So every time we go to confession, it’s like emerging from a spiritual laundromat. Our baptismal garment is light again.

This time of year, how often do we hear the Christmas verse, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light”? What do we say before we read the holy gospel? “Illumine our hearts, O Master who loveth mankind, with the pure light of thy divine knowledge.”

So in Christian tradition, holiness is associated with light, and light with holiness. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Since our Lord Jesus succinctly says, “I am the light of the world.” So as we grow in Jesus, we grow more aware, more conscious, more spiritually sensitive. We learn more and more about ourselves, our inner life. We see clarity in holy Scripture. We see ever-deeper layers of our sinfulness, which is a good thing, because we also see ever-deeper layers of grace, which is exactly what St. Paul said would happen. “Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.”

As we grow in holiness, we see more of the good in others that we could not see when beholding each other through eyes of sin. We come to their defense more quickly in our minds, even if they offend us. As we grow in holiness, we see more and more of what really matters in life. And what does not matter so much fades into the shadows. We see. We see that forgiveness matters more than holding a grudge, letting go matters more than needing to control everything. We see that relationships matter more than we ever thought they did, and prayer matters more than we ever thought it did. All of this, because holiness is associated with understanding, and understanding with holiness.

Among the most remarkable chapters in all of holy Scripture is from the Old Testament book, the Wisdom of Solomon, chapter seven. Solomon begs God, not for knowledge, but for wisdom. And listen to what he gets in return.

I prayed, and the ability to reason wisely was given to me. I called out, and wisdom’s spirit came to me. I found that every other good thing also came with her, for in her hands were countless riches. With wisdom came an accurate knowledge of all that is, of how the world is made and holds together, and of the forces at work in the world’s essential elements, of the beginning and middle and end of time, of the alternation of the solstices and the changes of seasons, of the cycle of the year and the positions of the stars, of the nature of animals, the temperaments of beasts, the extraordinary powers of spirits, the thoughts of humans, the different types of plants, and the healing powers of roots. I now know everything (Solomon writes), visible and hidden. For wisdom, the diviner of everything that is, has taught me.

Holiness is associated with light, and light with holiness. Holiness is associated with understanding, and understanding with holiness. We grow more aware of what is needed for the healing of spirit, soul, and body.

And that is so on display in the saint we commemorate in early December: Porphyrios, December 2. Because he was in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit in him, he was illumined to know things that seemed impossible to know. But with God, all things are possible.

One day, a spiritual son of St. Porphyrios came to see him in Athens. He was nervous and in a rush. He came to ask for a blessing before taking an urgent trip to the United States. He explained to the elder that because he worked in the aerospace industry, he was needed in Florida. “Something terrible has happened to a spacecraft up there, Apollo 13, and I am being summoned to a meeting to see if there is anything we can do.”

Holiness is associated with light, and light with holiness. Holiness is associated with understanding, and understanding with holiness. The holy Elder Porphyrios listened and said this: “When you get to the United States and to the meeting, you should allow all the other scientists to speak first, to give their diagnoses of the problem, to share their opinions. Then you are to speak last.” Elder Porphyrios told his spiritual child exactly what to say in order to save the crew. The man arrived, spoke last, NASA listened, and the crew was saved. This is the one detail of the great Apollo 13 story unknown to the world, but known to the Church.

From a deeply Christian perspective, what is the key to education, to learning? What is the key through our problems and our pain? Is it not holiness? Holiness, for it is not merely knowledge we seek, but illumination of the soul. When we stand before the judgment seat, God forbid we stand with a head full of knowledge but a heart and body full of sin.

At that time, when Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting near the roadside begging, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, let me receive my sight.” “Receive your sight. Your faith has made you well.”

May we see.