As the Eastern Church understands God, the Lord of love does not impose Himself on us. Neither may we storm heaven’s gates. Like any loving and mutual relationship, this one can only be freely entered. The Lord has made His choice – He loves us and desires us with a passion, the ultimate Passion. He is ours if we want Him. He awaits our passionate         response, our free decision to receive His embrace, to surrender ourselves to Him who already surrendered   Himself to us.

This is always what happens in mutual relationships and is, perhaps the most difficult thing for most people to do. To surrender to another means to make oneself vulnerable and also, in some regard, dependent. That is why it is so hard. It requires commitment, which, in our modern world, seems to be something that people find very, very difficult. (Just think about the percentage of marriages that end in divorce. It is well over 50 percent. Most people admit that divorce is the result of a real lack of a firm commitment to the other).

Morality and spirituality go together, the former being the foundation and outer form of the latter. Spiritual, perfection is not simply the automatic outcome of “good” works. Spirituality should not be understood and cannot be measured in terms of some number of pious deeds or ascetic feats and practices. Ethical and ascetic practices are measured not by their quantity but by their inner motivation – that is, the humility in them and the love for God and creation from which they spring. How, otherwise, could one evaluate the forgiveness of the crucified thief on the cross by Jesus, no virtue having been presented save only the sorrowful acknowledgement of his sinfulness and his desire for forgiveness. According to our human criteria, he did not merit such clemency. Neither did the adulterous woman who was forgiven not because she did something worthy but because she loved much. This amazing and unusual basis for evaluation which permeates the whole of Eastern spirituality is clearly reflected in the hymnography, which constantly presents models of sincere repentance.

I believe that it is important, at this point, to stop and think about this!