On Humility

Source: legacyicons.com

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

The theme of humility was "front and center" at the Liturgy last Sunday when we heard the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee (Lk. 18:10-14). The kontakion of the day reminds us of this in a very straightforward manner:

Let us flee from the pride of the Pharisee and learn humility from the Publican's tears. Let us cry to our Savior: Have mercy on us, O only-merciful One.

This prompted me to share some of the great insights into humility from St. John Klimakos (of the Ladder) during the homily. I am reproducing those passages here so that we could further reflect/meditate upon them this week; and for others who may not have been at the Liturgy this last Sunday.

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HUMILITY

From STEP 25 of the Ladder of Divine Ascent

St. John Klimakos

Where there is humility there will be no sign of hatred, no species of quarrelsomeness, no whiff of disobedience – unless of course some question of faith arises. The man with humility for his bride will be gentle, kind, inclined to compunction, sympathetic, calm in every situation, radiant, easy to get along with, inoffensive, alert and active. In a word, free from passion.

Holy humility has this to say: “The one who loves me will not condemn someone, or pass judgment on anyone, or lord it over someone else, or show off his wisdom until he has been united with me. A person truly joined to me is no longer in bondage to the law.

The person who asks God for less than he deserves will certainly receive more, as is shown by the publican who begged for forgiveness but obtained salvation (Lk. 18:10-14). And the thief asked only to be remembered in the kingdom, yet he inherited all.

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Though perhaps the most important words belong to the Lord himself, as we declares at the end of the parable: " ... for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

Pharisee and the Publican

 

Source: uncutmountainsupply.com

Who Do I Resemble?

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

The Gospel reading yesterday at the Divine Liturgy — the first of the four pre-Lenten Sundays—is Luke 18:10-14. In it we discover our Lord’s parable of the Publican and the Pharisee.

As with all of the parables of Christ, we can understand this parable in two very different ways. We can listen to it carefully, reflect upon it through the course of the week, and discern what in the parable “speaks” to us today. Or we can take a “ho-hum” attitude—essentially forgetting the parable by the time we return home from the Liturgy—while moving on to the next distraction on our busy schedules (Super Sunday!), and conclude that the parable does not really apply to us anyway. Presented in such stark terms, I am not leaving you much of a choice! But even with the best of intentions, we need to remain vigilant. The mind strays ...

For those who actually “hear” the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, the first question that may arise is very basic: Do I resemble the Publican or the Pharisee in my attitude toward God and my neighbor? Other questions follow: Am I also afflicted with self-righteous pride, as was the Pharisee of the parable; or is my goal at least the slow and patient road of learning and practicing humility? Is the Church a society reserved for the pious; or is it a healing center for sinners? Then there is a blunt but honest question: Do I even care? Somewhat unusual for the parables is that the intention of this parable is clearly stated before Christ actually delivers it: “He also told this parable to some who trusted themselves that they were righteous and despised others” [Luke 18:9]. Is this a fair description of me when I enter the church on any given Sunday? If so, what could I possibly do to change such an attitude?

Even with the best of intentions, we could turn this great opportunity for “self-examination” into the ho-hum approach of selective forgetfulness or selective remembrance, wherein we forget the parable but remember the score of the Super Bowl - for weeks on end!

That would be a colossal example of a missed opportunity. Perhaps one way to spare everyone from the ho-hum approach would be to provide the insights of others during the week – Church Fathers or contemporary writers – on this parable of the Publican and the Pharisee. This way, at least the material that lends itself to meditation will be present, and then we can choose to avail ourselves of it – or not. I will try and provide some further material through the week.

A good beginning could be this passage from the Blessed Augustine: “How useful and necessary a medicine is repentance. People who remember that they are only human will readily understand this. It is written: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble….’ The Pharisee was not rejoicing so much in his own clean bill of health as in comparing it with the diseases of others. He came to the doctor. It would have been more worthwhile to inform him by confession of the things that were wrong with himself instead of keeping his wounds secret and having the nerve to crow over the scars of others. It is not surprising that the tax collector went away cured, since he had not been ashamed of showing where he felt pain.” 

From a time closer to our own, we read this from St. John of Kronstadt: "When taking into account our own virtues, do we include self-love or other unseemly motives that were in fact the true reason for our good deeds. The poison of sin has penetrated deeply into our souls, and, unbeknownst to us, its poisons almost all of our virtues. Is it not better to scrutinize oneself more often and more closely, and to notice our faults in the depths of our soul in order to correct them, rather than to display externally our virtues?"

When we contrast pride and humility; self-righteousness and honest self-examination; false piety and heartfelt repentance - which of these describes us the best?

St. Simeon & St. Anna

Source: stgeorge.org

 Dear Parish Faithful,

We recently chanted an Akathist Hymn to St. Simeon and St. Anna (based on Lk. 2:22-40). Akathist hymns are highly rhetorical, and display a very creative and imaginative way of reading the scriptural or historical events being recounted. Yet, they also convey a strong tendency to illuminate both doctrinal and moral teaching that are very much at the heart of our Orthodox Faith.

Be that as it may, at the end of the Akathist, this prayer was included. I find it a wonderful prayer that extends the particularity of honoring the holiness of these two NT saints, to include a very moving and general exhortation for embracing all children at all times, because the Son of God has sanctified childhood as the "Divine Child."

Saint Simeon, you received the Christ Child in your arms. Saint Anna, you stood alongside the Divine Child. We especially pray, therefore, that not only will we always recognize and receive Christ but that we will also be open to all children and attend to their needs. May married couples receive children into their lives and cherish them and raise them to believe in God. May single persons and the childless receive all children and protect them and nurture them. May we all become children of God and pray for one another and encourage one another in the Faith. Saint Simeon and Saint Anna, for this we pray and for this we thank you, and for your lives of holiness we praise you always. Amen.

Perhaps a prayer to periodically add to our Prayer Rule.

A Zacchaeus Moment

Source: christthesavioroca.org

 Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (LK. 19:10)


At Sunday's eucharistic Liturgy, we heard the story of the "towering" figure of Zacchaeus the publican (LK. 19:1-10). 

This is one of the many wonderful paradoxes of the spiritual life that characterize the Holy Scriptures. The paradox is found in the fact that the "towering" figure of Zacchaeus was actually "small of stature." (v. 3) And if indeed he had defrauded his neighbors as he alluded to (v. 8), then he was "small" in even more essential matters. 

Through repentance, conversion, and right action Zacchaeus grew in stature right before the eyes of those who with faith could "see" this transformation. Zacchaeus personifies the type of change that is possible through hearing the Good News and embracing it in thought, word and deed.

This passage, unique to the Gospel According to St. Luke, is thus perfectly placed as the first announcement of the approach of Great Lent. For in the Orthodox Church, this is always the prescribed Gospel reading for the fifth Sunday before the start of Great Lent. The four pre-lenten Gospel readings to follow will then guide us to Monday, March 3, the first day of the lenten journey that will lead us to Holy Week and then Pascha on April 20. (The Western Easter this year will also fall on April 20).

Returning to the Gospel passage, we find the story of Zacchaeus evenly divided into two parts - an outdoor scene (v. 1-5) and an indoor scene (v. 6-10). Outdoors, and in full view of the gathered inhabitants of ancient Jericho, the despised "chief tax collector," the rich Zacchaeus, risks the humiliation of being laughed at because he makes the socially unconventional choice of climbing up into a "sycamore tree" in order "see who Jesus was."

What may have been acceptable behavior among children, would only have drawn the surprised and scornful stares of Zacchaeus' over-taxed neighbors. I always remember that in a meditation on Zacchaeus, the late Metropolitan Anthony Bloom wrote that the equivalent act today would be that of a renowned corporate executive scrambling up a light pole in a downtown area in order to see someone passing by. (For those with a "boss" that you may not be too fond of, perhaps there may be minor consolation in fantasizing such a scenario and its reaction in your own mind). 
There then occurs that life-changing encounter between Zacchaeus and Jesus. For Jesus looks up at the strange figure of this man "small of stature" eagerly looking down upon Him, and says to him in response: "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today." (v. 5)

The transition to the indoor setting is now made when Zacchaeus "made haste and came down, and received him joyfully." (v. 6) Yet one can sense the oriental custom of a crowd hovering at the entrance or even coming and going with a certain freedom. The raised eyebrows and clucking tongues of an undescribed "they" who look on and articulate their stern disapproval - "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner" (v. 7) - is a reaction encountered elsewhere in the Gospels when Jesus freely chose to sit at table with sinners and tax collectors (cf. MK. 3:15-17). 

This disapprobation on the part of the scribes and Pharisees then evoked his memorable (and ironic?) saying: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (MK. 3:17) 

The Messiah is not bound by religiously sanctioned social convention that divides people into the convenient categories of the "righteous" and "sinners," "saved" and "lost," the "pure" and "impure." Or rather, by making clear that He has come to bring salvation to everyone, beginning with the marginalized and distressed members of His own society, Jesus reveals the inclusive love of God that tears down all such former barriers. Zacchaeus is a striking and personalized example of this inclusive love of God for "the lost."

Never a distributor of "cheap grace" though, Jesus demands repentance and conversion. And this comes dramatically from Zacchaeus when he publicly declares: "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold." (v. 8) In this, Zacchaeus goes beyond what the Law required for such an act of restitution. (EX. 21:37; NM. 5:5-7) 

The Lord then signifies or "seals" the truth of this conversion when He solemnly pronounces the joyful declaration: "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (v. 9-10) 

It is interesting to note that the blessing of Jesus is given to the entire household. The household of Zacchaeus, in turn, becomes a microcosm of the entire design of salvation: The Son of Man came to seek and save the entire cosmos groaning inwardly and subject to futility as it awaits redemption (cf. ROM. 8:19-23) In this, we and our households resemble that of Zacchaeus, regardless of how "righteous" we may consider ourselves (to be dealt with next Sunday in the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee!).

We can never afford to allow our supposed familiarity with a Gospel passage to blunt its sharp edge. It is that sharp edge that cuts through our many defensive layers of evasions and self-deception. Otherwise, the passage "softens" into a didactic story about a bad man changing his life and becoming "nice." 

However, I believe that no matter how well we know the story about Zacchaeus, the only familiarity that we could claim with him is the familiarity of having an equally profound "Zacchaeus moment" in our own lives.

Such a "moment" would initially be characterized by an equal desire to "see Jesus" - above all else. Than we would need to be willing to overcome our own "smallness of stature" by perhaps first overcoming the tyranny of social convention and respectability before we get to our actual sinfulness. This may mean going beyond our own conventional patterns of church going and the "safety" of keeping the demanding call of Christ at a safe distance so that it cannot overly impinge upon our lives. 

There may yet be a sycamore tree that we need to climb.

Coffee With Sister Vassa: “SEEING” CHRIST, THROUGH THE THEOTOKOS

 

“SEEING” CHRIST, THROUGH THE THEOTOKOS

“Let us hasten to the Theotokos, we who want to see her Son, brought unto Simeon…./ К Богоро́дице притеце́м, хотя́щии Сы́на Ея́ ви́дети, к Симео́ну носи́ма…” (Ikos, Meeting of the Lord)

Yesterday, many celebrated the great feast of the Meeting of the Lord, known in Western traditions as The Presentation. The above-quoted hymn, known as the “Ikos” (that immediately follows the Kontakion of the feast) reminds us that it is through the Theotokos that both Simeon and the rest of us are given to “see” Christ, – that is, when we “want” to see Him. The desire to see Christ is something we also heard about yesterday, if in our church we had the Gospel-reading about Zacchaeus.

The Lord is “brought unto Simeon,” and brought into Zacchaeus’s world and our world, in the flesh, through the flesh of the teenaged Virgin from Nazareth. It is she who carries Him in her arms into the temple, in obedience to the Law and in obedience to the Spirit, by Whom Simeon came to the temple at this same time, as we read in the Gospel: “So he came by the Spirit into the temple.” (Lk 2:27) Thanks to her, Simeon in his old age is finally able to “see” what he has longed to see all his life: the “salvation” embodied both in Christ and the Virgin Mother, as he professes: “For my eyes have seen Your salvation…”

The Mother of God is seen traditionally as a symbol of the Church Mother. So, the priestly thing she does here, of bringing the Body and Blood of Christ to those “who want to see her Son,” is a thing that the Church does, for and through all of us, the merely-human beings that participate in the Church’s“royal priesthood.” Both the feast of the Meeting of the Lord and the reading about Zacchaeus remind me that our desire and capacity for “seeing God,”called “Theoptia” in Greek, is essential for us to develop and nourish, by taking care of our heart, that it is cleared of grace-blocking and vision-impairing garbage like resentments, self-centered fears, etc., so we can also share this vision with others, as Church, and as did and does the Mother of our Lord.“Blessed are the pure in heart,” our Lord tells us, “for they shall see God” in every circumstance. “Let us hasten to the Theotokos,” dear friends, “we who want to see her Son,” because she and other God-bearers in our midst, both visible and invisible, are able and willing to do that, in the ever-unfolding Mystery of the life of the Church.