Sick With Envy

Dear Parish Faithful,

Great Lent: The Twenty Second Day

From Evagrius of Pontus (+399)

The dark powers are sick with envy against us
when we pray,
and they will use every conceivable trick
to frustrate us spiritually.
They endlessly stir up our inner memories
to distract us into thoughts
and will try to stir our flesh to all kinds of desires,
for in this way
they think they can hinder the soul's glorious ascent
and its journey to God.

Fr. Steven

Our Life in One Day...

Dear Parish Faithful,

With about fifty parishioners present yesterday evening, we had a wonderful and lively celebration of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. (We also had about twenty parishioners present for the morning Liturgy on March 25 for the Annunciation). Almost by definition, liturgy means shared experience, and that is a most appropriate description of this particular service. The entire day for each person individually - at work, school or home - is a time of fasting, preparation and expectation for the communion with Christ that will "seal" this day through receiving the presanctified Gifts in the early evening. In such a manner this day is a microcosm of our entire earthly existence, which is one of preparation for, and expectation of, the Kingdom of God. Thus, we come together for our "common action" - the action of the People of God - which is the meaning of the Greek word leitourgia. We assemble in order to partake of the common cup, the very "cup of salvation," as a unified Body. The personal experience of the day then becomes a shared experience of worship and communion. By receiving the Body of Christ, we become the Body of Christ, members united to Christ and to each other. What other day can fulfill one's expectations as this one of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts?! We then further shared an excellent lenten meal together following the service. "O, taste and see that the Lord is good!"

~~~

Great Lent: The Eighteenth Day

From St. John Cassian (+c. 430)

The thief on the cross certainly did not receive

the Kingdom of Heaven as a reward for his virtues

but as a grace and mercy from God.

He can serve as an authentic witness

that our salvation is given to us

only by God's mercy and grace.

All the holy masters knew this

and unanimously taught that perfection in holiness

can be achieved in humility.

Fr. Steven

The Call...

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

I have chosen a new book for my Eastern Orthodox Church class at XU this semester: The Mystery of Faith, by the Russian bishop, Hilarion Alfeyev. (See also this online catechism based on this book. - Webmaster) The book is subtitled, An Introduction to the Teaching and Spirituality of the Orthodox Church. This book is a superb synthesis of Orthodox theology, spirituality and practice, and I would highly recommend it. In fact, with its translation, it may be one of the best such introductory books now available in English. It is filled with wonderful excerpts from the Church Fathers that supplement and support the text of the book. I am awaiting to hear the reaction of my students which will come at the end of the semester in May.

After an introduction in which Bishop Hilarion beautifully explains the Orthodox approach to dogma, the first chapter is entitled "The Search for Faith." And the initial subsection of this opening chapter is entitled, simply, "The Call." So, essentially, here is how Bishop Hilarion begins his exploration of the Orthodox Faith:

Faith is a path on which an encounter takes place between us and God. It is God who takes the first step: he fully and unconditionally believes in us and gives us a sign, an awareness of his presence. We hear the mysterious call of God, and our first step towards an encounter with him is a response to this call. God may call us openly or in secret, overtly or covertly. But it is difficult for us to believe in him if we do not first heed this call.

Faith is both a mystery and a miracle. Why does one person respond to the call while another does not? Why is one open to receive the word of God, while another remains deaf? Why, having encountered God, does one immediately abandon everything and follow him, while the other turn away and takes a different road? (p. 1)

After exploring this a bit further, Bishop Hilarion addresses what may be a peculiarly "modern" obstacle to faith, or at least one that seems more pervasive in our current pace of life:

It has never been easy to hear the message of faith. In our day we are usually so engrossed in the problems of earthly existence that we simply have no time to listen to this message and to reflect on God. For some, religion has been reduced to celebrating Christmas and Easter and to observing a few traditions for fear of being 'torn away from our roots.' Others do not go to church at all because they are 'too busy.' 'He is engrossed in his work;' 'work is everything to her;' 'he is a busy man.' These are some of the best compliments that one can receive from friends and colleagues. 'Busy people' are a breed peculiar to modern times. Nothing exists for them other than a preoccupation which swallows them up completely, leaving no place for that silence where the voice of God may be heard. (p. 2)

That is just as true for those of us who claim to have heard the "call" and to have responded to it with faith. The "whirlwind of life" threatens to render that call inaudible. Some faithful members of the Church consider it a "victory" to get out the door on Sunday morning with regularity, let alone participate in some of the other services and activities that mark parish life. Yet even at home, is there time to pray and read the Scriptures; to attend to the needs of neighbors or others who depend upon our assistance?

Bishop Hilarion, however, remains postive about this mysterious call from God and explains that it may come to us in a variety of ways:

And yet, however paradoxical it may seem, in spite of today's noise and confusion, it is still possible to hear the mysterious call of God in our hearts. This call may not always be understood as the voice of God. It may strike us as a feeling of dissatisfaction or of inner unease, or as the beginning of a search. For many, it is only after the passing of years that they realize their life was incomplete and inadequate because it was without God. 'You have made us for yourself,' says St. Augustine, 'and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.' Without God there can never be fullness of being. It is therefore crucially important for us to be able to hear and to respond to the voice of God at the very moment when God is speaking, and not years later. If someone identifies and responds to the call of God, this may change and transfigure his or her life whole life. (p. 2)

" ... and not years later." We are always "postponing" our relationship with God for when we are less busy. The "call" from God needs to be cultivated - now, in the present. The dissatisfaction that we feel now, or the unease troubling us today is that same "call" coming to us from God in another form. In a previous meditation I had referred to this as "blessed dissatisfaction." People fool themselves by thinking that one more exotic vacation, shopping spree or superficial social event will pacify that dissatisfaction and unease. Such things may momentarily pacify the great pressure that we are under with our stressed out lives, but they also feed our appetite for more so that an endless cycle, resembling something of an unending merry-go-round of activities, perpetuates the postponement just referred to above. "Behold now is the acceptable time; behold now is the day of salvation." (II COR. 6:2)

Bishop Hilarion has given us something to think about ...

How happy are we Christians! What God is ours?
How much to be pitied are those who do not know God ...
O, unhappy, erring peoples! They cannot know what true joy is ...

But our joy is Christ. By His sufferings He has inscribed us in the Book of Life, and in the Kingdom of heaven we shall be with God for ever, and we shall see His glory, and delight in Him. Our joy is the Holy Spirit, so pleasant and delectable. He bears witness to the soul of her salvation.

Fr. Steven

A Matter of Synergy...

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

I would like to greet any of our Roman Catholic and Protestant friends and readers who celebrated Easter yesterday. I hope that the light of the Risen Lord remains with you during the remainder of this season - and beyond. Orthodox Christians remain in "preparation mode" until April 27.

_____

On this Monday morning, we begin the third week of Great Lent. That means that two weeks have passed. One possible response is: already?! Another possible response is: is that all?! Perhaps our experience hovers in between those two poles. The journey before us is another four weeks and then Holy Week and Pascha. Therefore, the challange remains and even intensifies as our initial enthusiasm for the lenten season may begin to cool. Then we begin to realize that a real battle remains as we struggle with the "flesh" and our many "passions" that have fought against us from our youth up - at times hardening into bad habits or sinful inclinations. As the Lord said about these "inner demons:" "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting." (MK. 9:29) The "fleshpots" of Egypt may continue to entice us, but the "desert" of the Fast is to dwell where Christ himself did for forty days.

Though it remains Great Lent, we are now on the eve of a wonderful "festal interlude:" the Feast of the Annunciation. This deeply profound Feast gets lost within Lent, and this is deeply unfortunate. In fact, it is due to the lenten season that it remains basically a one-day Feast. Yet it remains that only on March 25 is the Divine Liturgy and the eucharistic consecration permitted during a weekday during Great Lent. Festal colors appear on this day as we celebrate the "conception without seed" that is at the heart of this Feast. This is the Church's celebration and glorifcation of the Incarnation! The eternal Word becomes flesh, when that very Word of God enters the womb of the Virgin Mary upon her consent to her unique vocation to become the Mother of God. He who was born from all eternity from a Father without a mother, is now born within time from a mother without a father. The mysterious "moment of conception" is the "moment" of God becoming fully human in the womb of His mother. The Annunciation is a festal response welling up from the interior depths of ecclesial faith and life that speaks to contemporary issues of life and death. In other words, this is the Church's great "pro-life" celebration. Nine months later we will celebrate our Savior's birth on December 25.

The Annunciation reveals like no other event the cooperation between God and humanity in the process of salvation. The Incarnation was the work of God, but also the work of the Virgin Mary who represents all of humanity in her "yes" to the archangel's words. This incomparable dialogue between the celestial and human realms recorded by the evangelist Luke (1:26-38) with a kind of exquisite refinement should be carefully read and "pondered over" carefully as we celebrate this Feast.

The synergy of divinity and humanity revealed in the Annunciation has been beautifully expressed by St. Nicholas Cabasilas (14th c.) in a justifiably praised passage that captures the balance between the two perfectly, thus expressing the Orthodox understanding of synergy in a classical manner:

The incarnation of the Word was not only the work of the Father, Son and Spirit - the first consenting, the second descending, the third overshadowing - but it was also the work of the will and the faith of the Virgin. Without the three divine persons this design could not have been set in motion; but likewise the plan could not have been carried into effect without the consent and faith of the all-pure Virgin. Only after teaching and persuading her does God make her his Mother and receive from her the flesh which she consciously wills to offer him. Just as he was conceived by his own free choice, so in the same way she became his Mother voluntarily and with her free consent.

We will celebrate the Feast with Great Vespers this evening at 7:00 p.m. and the Divine Liturgy on Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m.

Fr. Steven

Liberation from Obsessions

Dear Parish Faithful,

Great Lent: The Twelfth Day

From St. John Cassian (+c. 430)

If we want to set our lives right and find peace,

it is not the tolerant attitude of others

that will do it for us.

It will come about, rather, by our learning

how to show compassion to them.

If we try to avoid this hard struggle of compassion,

by preferring a withdrawn and solitary life,

we will simply drag our unleashed obsessions

into solitude with us.

We might well have hidden them

We certainly will not have eliminated them.

If we do not seek liberation from our obsessions,

then becoming more withdrawn and less social

may even make us more blind to them,

since it can mask them.