Steps from The Ladder

 

Dear Parish Faithful,

GREAT LENT - The Thirty-Third Day

Since last Sunday was the Fourth of Great Lent, on which we commemorated St. John Klimakos, this week is something of the "week of St. John." As this week comes to a close, I am sharing some of St. John's aphoristic-style sayings, many of which are memorizable as well as sober and much to the point. 

These sayings are found in his classic The Ladder of Divine Ascent. They are placed in between STEP 26 (On Discernment) and STEP 27 (On Stillness). The last four STEPS - 27-30 - are grouped together expressing St. John's teaching on these final virtues that lead us to God and His Kingdom: Stillness, Dispassion, Prayer and ultimately On Faith, Hope and Love. So, right before these last four STEPS, St. John has a section entitled "A Brief Summary of All the Preceding Steps." This section is, then, a look back at the previous 26 STEPS to remind the reader of what has gone before, as a prelude to what is yet to come with the "highest" virtues. It is about four pages long, so I simply chose some of the ones that are both short and striking.

If anyone is willing to share a "favorite," and perhaps further comment on the saying's impact on you, please do so. I would very much like to hear from you!

__________

"Unwavering hope is the gateway to detachment. The opposite of this is perfectly obvious."

"A condemned man on his way to execution does not discuss the theatre. A man genuinely lamenting his sins will never pander to his stomach."

"A gloomy environment will cure open pride, but only He who is invisible from all eternity can cure the pride hidden within us."

"Iron is drawn willy-nilly by a magnet. A man in the grip of bad habits is mastered by them."

"Fire does not give birth to snow., and those seeking honor here will not come to enjoy it in heaven."

"It is dangerous to climb a rotten ladder, and in the same way all honor, glory and power pose a danger to humility."

"A man eager for salvation thinks of death and the judgment in the same way that a starving man thinks of bread."

"Like the sun's rays passing through a crack and lighting up the house, showing up even the finest dust, the fear of the Lord on entering the heart of a man shows up all his sins."

"One spark has often set fire to a great forest, and it has been found that one good deed can wipe away a multitude of sins (cf. James 3:5; 5:20)

"A man in a fever ought not to commit suicide. And right up to the moment of death we should not despair."

 

Guest Film Review: 'MAN OF GOD'

Dear Parish Faithful and Friends in Christ,

Here is a guest review of the film, 'Man of God', which we recently saw on March 21 & 28.

Man of God

Settling into my seat, I anticipated a good, but lengthy film of just under two hours. Knowing the general premise for the film and having read a few excellent reviews, I knew it would be a positive experience. However, I could not have prepared for the impression it continues to leave on me.

The film, Man of God, is a poignant portrayal of a holy man whose singular desire was to live unto the Lord. Yet for all his purity, we witness the many obstacles in the form of other persons — many identifying as godly, themselves, who collectively beat down this innocent man. As a viewer, I feel frustrated and even angry at seeing this injustice. But what surprises me is how I cannot stay that way because of the way St. Nektarios responds. His calm demeanor — part personality but more spiritual development — neutralizes those natural human reactions with those that are driven by the Holy Spirit. I was left ignorant of what to feel, but given a clear example of how to act.

Without guile this film holds before the viewer the mirror of seeing certain characters in our own face. I could not help but see myself in Mr. President (his need for authority), in Kostas (his vicarious ambition), and even the mother of one of the young nuns (her need for control). There are many others, to be sure, I could identify with... and it left me with the sad realization that the person with whom I could see least resemblance to was the man of St. Nektarios. But I was left wanting to be more like him! Constant in prayer and fasting... never yielding to anger due to the slanderous comments or even physical assaults of those who sought to humiliate, hurt, and destroy him.

St. Nektarios’ humanity is relatable in his desire to know what he had done to deserve the treatment he received from those who professed to love him. Yet, sometimes there are no answers. And he reminds us that if our faith is based on the actions of men... there is no hope. Our hope must be in God for He will never fail us if we persist in trusting Him.

I was moved at seeing St. Nektarios tell others in a few scenes the truth that God loves them. How often have we heard these words told to us? How deeply do I believe them? How truly has the person who has said those words to us actually believe this truth themselves so that they are convincing to the hearer? I left the film convinced that if I could allow myself to believe undoubtedly the incomprehensible truth that God, indeed, loves me, a sinner, then my entire life would be completely transformed. But even to acknowledge a little that we are lovable by the Holy God means to feel the gravity of our brokenness.... and it hurts. It is a process, however, in which we can make progress.

The film credits were rolling before I could process the ending. Though I was tired from a long day, I couldn’t believe two hours had flown by. I wanted more. It wasn’t enough. I needed to learn more from this man, from this holy father.

Few films are worth our time and entertainment, and even fewer those that would seek to elevate our lives by the message it conveys. This is one of those few. Like a great classic book which is a “must read,” this film is a “must see.” Yelena Popovic, the director and producer (along with several others) of the film has given us an early Paschal basket of holy virtues in the life of St. Nektarios on which to feast. Let us attend! And eagerly desire the table of the Lord!

'Cross-bearers' - Not Simply 'Cross-wearers'

 

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,   At the very midpoint of Great Lent we venerate the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. If we have in any way taken up the cross of asceticism in obedience to the Church and in reaction to our over-indulgent surroundings, then by the Third Sunday of Great Lent the purpose of our ascetical efforts - and the very goal of our journey - are brought to our attention: to stand by the Cross of the Lord as we journey toward Jerusalem and Holy Week.  The timing is perfect, for by this third Sunday of Great Lent we begin to tire, if not "wear out" with our lenten effort to this point. However, in our weakness we can find the strength and resolve to continue our journey with enthusiasm, and not simply obligation. This is made possible by the presence of the Cross, not only at the heart and center of Great Lent, but at the heart and center of the biblical revelation; of the entire historical process; of the cosmos; and at the heart and center of the Trinity, as the Lamb of God is slain before the foundation of the world.  With that in mind, we can chant and sing the appointed hymns cited above, not only as fine examples of Byzantine rhetoric, but as profound insights into the meaning and purpose of the Cross.  What may appear at first sight as hyperbole or exaggeration in the Church's hymnography, is discovered, upon deeper meditation, to be the search for words and images adequate to the great mystery of the Cross, in itself the inexhaustible wisdom of God as the "breadth and length, and height and depth" of that wisdom which will fill us "with the fulness of God"(EPH. 3:18-19). The only response to this Mystery once we begin to assimilate it, is to "bow down" in worship before the Master's Cross in awe and adoration.  In our liturgical tradition we decorate the Cross with flowers in order to enhance and reveal its inner beauty, as we bring the Cross in solemn procession into the midst of the church for veneration. The decorated Cross is one way of trying to capture the paradoxical nature of the Cross. For in no way is the Church trying to cover up the horror and brutality of crucifixionas one of the most perverse and twisted means of humanity's sinful capacity to inflict pain and humiliation on others. Here is the dark side of human nature at its most lethal. This is all clearly beneath the surface in the Gospels and their restrained and sober narrative of the Lord dying on the Cross. And it is on Golgotha "when they had crucified him" (MATT. 27:35) that we can begin to understand why the Lord "cried with a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, la'ma sabach'-tha'ni' that is 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (MATT. 27:46). It is in and through this cry of solidarity with suffering humanity while lifted up on the Cross that we never soften or "sing away" the horror of the Cross. We respect what it meant for the Lord to ascend the Cross. A clear-sighted realism demands that of us. Yet, Christ is our Passover, the Lamb of God "who takes away the sin of the world"(JN. 1:29). On the Cross, as the sinless Son of God, Christ absorbs and takes upon Himself all of that sin in order to overcome it from within. He died on the Cross, but death had no hold over Him. He died for the life of the world and its salvation. By His obedience to the will of the Father, Christ destroys death by death. For this reason, when we venerate the Cross we simultaneously glorify the Lord's "holy Resurrection." It is on the Cross that Christ is victorious, not in spite of the Cross. The Son glorifies the Father precisely while lifted up on the Cross. "I call Him King, because I see Him crucified," said St. John Chrysostom.  As we sing at every Liturgy after having received the Body and Blood of Christ: "for through the Cross joy has come into the world." That is an incredible claim, but through faith we understand that claim as the very heart of the Gospel, the "good news" that life has overcome death "once and for all." Whenever we taste of that joy, we taste of the glory of the Kingdom of God. Perhaps here we discover the paradoxical nature of a decorated Cross: the ultimate sign of defeat and death has become the "unconquerable trophy of the true faith." Or, as the Apostle Paul has declared:  "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (I COR. 1:18). The Lord taught us:  "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (MK. 8:34). These words challenge us to never be content with being passive observers of the Cross, but rather active participants in the life of self-denial and co-suffering love that are implied in taking up the Cross. This further means that by our very vocation as Christians, we are "cross-bearers" and not simply "cross-wearers." It is one thing to wear a cross, and another thing to bear a cross.  Of course it is a good thing that Christians do wear a cross. This is something of a identity badge that reveals that we are indeed Christians, but this worn cross is certainly not another piece of jewelry - Byzantine, three-barred, Celtic or Ethiopian! By wearing a cross we are saying in effect: I am a Christian, and therefore I belong to the Crucified One, who is none other than the "Lord and Master of my life." My ultimate allegiance is to Him, and to no other person or party. With the Apostle Paul, I also confess:  "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith ..." (ROM. 1:16).  Such a confession already takes us way beyond passively being a "cross-wearer" to actively being a "cross-bearer." Dying to sin in Baptism makes the impossible possible. And with a faith in Christ that is ever-deepening in maturity, we can further exclaim with the great Apostle:  "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (GAL. 5:24). The Third Sunday of Great Lent - The Adoration of the Life-Giving Cross - reveals, I believe, that here is something that makes Lent potentially great. Here are reasons that make taking Lent seriously a worthy and noble endeavor. We are slowly learning to be Cross-bearers, and in the process transforming the simple profession "I am a Christian," into a powerful confession of Faith.

The Announcement of the Incarnation

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

Today, March 25, we celebrated the Feast of the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos. This great feast always falls during Great Lent, and when it falls on a weekday, is the only instance of having the full eucharistic Liturgy served for its commemoration. Clearly a sign of the feast’s significance. Thus, the Annunciation is something of a festal interlude that punctuates the eucharistic austerity of the lenten season. So, on this Friday, as we prepare for the Sunday of the Cross, we rejoice in this festal celebration.

Yet, because it does occur during Great Lent, this magnificent feast appears and disappears rather abruptly. It seems as if we have just changed the lenten colors in church to the blue characteristic of feasts dedicated to the Theotokos, when they are immediately changed back again! This is so because the Leavetaking of the Annunciation is on March 26. If we are not alert, it can pass swiftly by undetected by our “spiritual radar” which needs to be operative on a daily basis. 

This Feast has its roots in the biblical passage in St. Luke’s Gospel, wherein the evangelist narrates that incredibly refined dialogue between the angel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary (LK. 1:26-38). The angel Gabriel will “announce” the joyful news of the impending birth of the Messiah, and hence our English name of “Annunciation” for the Feast. However, the Greek title of Evangelismos is even richer in that it captures the truth that the Gospel – evangelion – is being “announced” in the encounter between God’s messenger and the young maiden destined to be the Mother of God. Her “overshadowing” by the Holy Spirit is “Good News” for her and for the entire world! 

Even though the Feast of the Lord’s Nativity in the flesh dominates our ecclesial and cultural consciousness, it is this Feast of the Annunciation that reveals the Incarnation, or the “becoming flesh” of the eternal Word of God. It is the Word’s conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary that is the “moment” of the Word’s enfleshment. Hence, the Church’s insistence that a new human being begins to exist at the moment of conception. The Word made flesh – our Lord Jesus Christ – will be born nine months later on December 25 according to our liturgical calendar; but again, His very conception is the beginning of His human life as God-made-man. The troparion of the Feast captures this well:

Today is the beginning of our salvation; the revelation of the eternal Mystery! The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin as Gabriel announces the coming of Grace.Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos: Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you.

 

Was the Virgin Mary randomly chosen for this awesome role? Was she compelled to fulfill the will of God regardless of her spiritual relationship with God? Was she a mere instrument overwhelmed or even “used” by God for the sake of God’s eternal purpose? That the Virgin Mary was “hailed” as one “highly favored” or “full of grace” (Gk. kecharitōmenē) when the angel Gabriel first descended to her, points us well beyond any such utilitarian role for her.

On the contrary, the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary is understood and presented by the Church as the supreme example of synergy in the Holy Scriptures. The word synergydenotes the harmonious combination and balance between divine grace and human freedom that can occur between God and human beings. God does not compel, but seeks our free cooperation to be a “co-worker” with God in the process of salvation and deification. In this way, God respects our human self-determination, or what we refer to as our freedom or “free will.” 

It is the Virgin Mary’s free assent to accept the unique vocation that was chosen for her from all eternity that allows her to become the Theotokos, or God-bearer. This is, of course, found in her response to the angel Gabriel’s announcement, and following her own perplexity:  “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” 

This teaching on synergy finds its classical expression in a justifiably famous passage from St. Nicholas Cabasilas’ Homily on the Annunciation. The passage itself is often cited as an excellent and eloquent expression of the Orthodox understanding of synergy:

The incarnation of the Word was not only the work of the Father, Son and Spirit – the first consenting, the second descending, and third overshadowing – but it was also the work of the will and 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 praise the Virgin Mary as representing our longing for God and for fulfilling her destiny so that we may receive the gift of salvation from our Lord who “came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man” (Nicene Creed):

Rejoice, thou who art full of grace: the Lord is with thee. 
Rejoice, O pure Virgin; Hail, O Bride unwedded. 
Rejoice, Mother of life: blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
(Dogmatikon, Vespers of the Annunciation)

 

The Annunciation - 'Oh, what a mystery!'

 

Dear Parish Faithful,

 

This text of an Annunciation hymn "snuck out" before I could provide any context. As  you know, we celebrate this Feast on March 25. This year, we will serve Great Vespers on Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. and the Divine Liturgy on Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. 

The rather long hymn below is from the Vespers service. It beautifully expresses the theology behind the Annunciation - basically and marvelously, that the eternal Son of God became, in time, the Son of the Virgin. Thus, the Incarnation is the feast of the Incarnation. Here is an excellent example of how our liturgical life expresses out understanding of the Gospel.

I hope to see many of you at the Great Vespers and/or the Liturgy!

 

Today the good tidings of joy are proclaimed,

today is the festival of the Virgin;

things below are joined together with things on high.

Adam is made new;

Eve is freed from the primal grief;

and by the deification of the human nature that the Lord assumed,

the tabernacle of our substance has become a temple of God.

Oh, what a mystery!

The manner of His emptying cannot be known;

the manner of His conception is beyond speech.

An angel ministers at the miracle; a virginal womb receives the Son;

the Holy Spirit is sent down; the Father on high is well pleased,

and according to their common counsel, a reconciliation is brought to pass

in which and through which we are saved.

For this reason let us unite our song with Gabriel’s,

crying aloud to the Virgin:

“Rejoice, O Lady Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee!

From thee is our salvation, Christ our God,

Who, by assuming our nature, has led us back to Himself.//

Humbly pray to Him for the salvation of our souls!”