The Spirituality of the Christian East — 20160904

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Ladder of Divine AccentI would put a few final touches on our understanding of the 24th Step on John’s Ladder, Meekness/Simplicity.

As I shared with you, simplicity is a childlike innocence. It is the first characteristic of childhood: Be simple and guileless, and you will be as the children who know not the wickedness that ruins the life of men.

When we speak of such innocence, we are not speaking of ignorance or naivety, but of purity of heart. Christ told us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Indeed Christianity does not require us to be naïve, immature fools. A child’s heart does not mean a child’s mind.

Why does God want us to be simple? Because He wants us to know Him, and He Himself is simple. Simplicity is the opposite of duplicity and hypocrisy. A double-minded person changes his mind all the time. God does not change his mind. Thus simplicity makes us true disciples and imitators of Christ.

St. John has said:

If you wish to draw the Lord to you, approach Him as disciples to a master, in all simplicity, openly, honestly, without duplicity, without idle curiosity. He is simple and uncompounded. And He wants the souls that come to Him to be simple and pure. Indeed you will never see simplicity separated from humility. If you have the strength to take this step, do not lose heart. For now you are imitating Christ your master and you have been saved.

It is interesting that we do not typically recognize that God is the fullness of simplicity. And yet He is. There is no guile in God! He is, despite our inability to understand this, truly humble! He is all the positive things that we can possibly conceptualize. Despite all of His power and glory, He is also meek. God must be all the positive things that we can possibly be. He is not, however, any of the negative things that we can be!

CALLED TO HOLINESS — 20160904

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edrodsui1As I suggested in the last issue of this article, the call to holiness is the call to become truly a human like Jesus Christ. He is God’s revelation to us about how to be the human that God intended when He created us.

The call to holiness is also a call to be aware that in order to have a relationship with God we must first develop the ability to have genuine relationships with other humans. This means developing the abilities needed to have genuine and true relationships with others.

Research has given us ideas about building human relationships. Again a lot has to do with the way we think. Here are some thoughts about the way we must think if we desire to build relationships.

  1. Accept and celebrate differences. One of the biggest challenges we experience in relationships is that we are all different. We can perceive the world in many ways. Certainly a stumbling block that we come across when we try to build relationships is a desire or an expectation that people will think like we do and, therefore, more easily establish rapport with them. We feel more comfortable when we feel that people “get” us and can see our point of view. Life, however, would be very dull if we were all the same and, while we may find it initially easier, the novelty of sameness soon wears off. So accepting and celebrating our differences is a great starting point.

This seems to be true especially when we are talking about “values” or “religious beliefs.” In order to develop the skills necessary to have genuine relationships and, as a result, a genuine relationship with God, we must learn how to have a relationship with anyone who comes across our path in life. We really don’t have the relationship skills needed for a relationship with God when the only people we have a genuine relationship with are those who look like us, talk like us, believe like us and think like us. These types of relationships don’t take any skill or thought.

Acquiring the Mind of Christ — 20160904

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christ_iconIn this modern day and age, in order to acquire the mind of Christ we must also put aside many incorrect Christian assertions that pervade our Western Culture. For example, we must put aside the doctrine of the Atonement that has become popular in Western Christianity.

This doctrine, it has been said by some, is the key to understanding the rejection of the saving truth of Christianity by an untold number of people in the last millennium. They reject Anselm’s portrait of an angry God who is in need of being appeased; who pronounces people guilty or not. The modern Anselmian doctrine of Atonement reduces the powerfully transformative aspect of the Gospel to a juridical concept, drained of its life. The Eastern Church sees this doctrine of Atonement as harmful to the New Life in Christ. The fullness of the Gospel message is indeed found in the biblical-patristic writings which are a part of our Sacred, Eastern Tradition.

One of the greatest miracles for people of ancient times was coming to know of the Gospel message: that the True and Living God was Love; a personal and living God Who gave His only Begotten Son, “not to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Gods of ancient times were remote (e.g., the Greek god Zeus), murderous (the Hindu goddess of death, Kali), and even required sacrifices such as children (the Ammonite tribal god, Moloch). The concept alone that the Christian God was a personal God of mercy, love and forgiveness, powerfully attracted great numbers; many even willingly faced the possibility of martyrdom for confessing their faith.

Christ came to bring Life to us because He Himself is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6). This is the foundation which the first Christians, from St. Paul onward, understood as the key to salvation: that “forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death and bringing life and immortality to light” through the Gospel (Hebrews 2:14 and II Timothy 1:10).

So to acquire the mind of Christ we must have a right notion of why God came as Jesus, took on human flesh, and lived among men. We put on Christ’s mind when we know why He became man.

Gaining a Deeper Understanding of Our Faith — 20160904

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image379There are several truly great challenges in our Christian faith, namely the belief in God as Three-In-One, the two-fold nature of Jesus as both God and Man, and, of course, the real presence of Christ in bread and wine that is transformed by the power of God through our prayers. I think that once we embrace in faith these three great mysteries, the other profound mysteries that are a part of our faith seem easy to accept.

During the last several issues of this article I have been sharing the thoughts and ideas that the Fathers of the Church struggled with in order to come to the profound idea that our God is truly Three-In-One. He is the Holy Trinity Who we call Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All Three Persons are of the same, one substance and yet distinct in their Personhood. It was a question of finding a distinction of terms which could express the unity of, and the differentiation within, the Godhead, without giving the pre-eminence either to the one or to the other. The Fathers of the fourth century found two Greek terms that they believed could lead intellect towards the mystery of the Trinity. The two important terms are ousia (οὐσία) and hypostasis (ὑπόστασις). Its called the Cappadocian solution to the Trinitarian controversy of the fourth century. That solution is summarized in the phrase ‘one ousia, three hypostaseis’ (one essence and three persons). While often presented as widely employed and greeted with relief and enthusiasm, this phrase, as such, is rare in the writings of the Cappadocian Fathers and may not be the best short expression of their teaching on the Trinity. The distinction in meaning between ousia and hypostasis (both of which mean something that subsists) was worked out only in the late fourth century, and was, to some writers, less than convincing.

Another tradition attempted a solution, which was called miahypostatic theology, which was more widely and forcefully represented than is usually assumed. Its most visible proponent was Marcellus of Ancyra, but it is found to some extent in Athanasius, in many other Egyptian bishops and in much of the West. In the course of the fourth century, the miahypostatic tradition, which first appears as a late form of monarchianism, gave up all of its distinctive contours except one: it would not accept the phrase ‘three hypostaseis’ as orthodox faith.

Our faith born out of great debate and struggle.

Reflections on the Scriptural Readings for this Weekend — 20160828

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pentacostAs we complete this fifteenth week after Pentecost, our first reading is taken from the fourth chapter of Paul’s second letter to the Church in Corinth. He presents the idea that the life within us can be seen as similar to light. He writes:

For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made us understand that it is the brightness of his glory that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. But this precious treasure – this light and power that now shine within us – is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies. Everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our own.

What a truly wonderful description of human life. It is similar to the description that persons, who have had near-death experiences, have felt to be God. He is truly the “light” of life in a real sense. He has, according to our belief, brought, through the Person of Jesus, light of knowledge into our world – that is knowledge about the real meaning and purpose of life.

Our second reading, which comes from Matthew’s Gospel, relates an encounter Jesus had with a lawyer who was attempting to trip Him up. He asked Jesus, Teacher, which is the most important command in the Law of Moses?” Jesus very astutely answers:

Love the Lord your God with all your hear, soul and mind…. And your neighbor as much as you love yourself. All the other commands and all the demands of the prophets stem from these two laws and are fulfilled if you obey them. Keep only these and you will find that you are obeying all the others.

This is, in truth, a summary of the teaching of Jesus. It gives true light to a world that is often filled with the darkness of hatred, bigotry and prejudice. When love is present, God is present.

While this idea of Jesus seems so very simple and true, it seems that humans resist living in this manner because, it is my belief, we don’t always love ourselves. If we truly loved ourselves, we could not judge others, hate others, disregard others and defame others. Why? Because, in essence, we do the same to ourselves when we treat others in this manner – when we envision the “light” of God’s life within us, and therefore within all others, we can only stand in awe. If we cannot see God’s life in others, how can we imagine God’s life in us?

God revealed to us through Jesus that love of God, self and others are intimately and intricately intertwined. They cannot be separated.

Acquiring the Mind of Christ — 20160828

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christ_iconAs I suggested in the last issue, besides looking at how Jesus prayed in order to acquire His mind, we must look at how He lived as found in the Gospels. I highlighted, in the last Bulletin, how He refused to be prejudiced or bigoted even though His society was. He set no real obstacles – preconceived notions or thoughts – to encountering others. He trusted everyone, even though some didn’t, perhaps, deserve His trust. In particular, He refused to become engaged with disabled persons who were seen by most in His society as being “unclean” and, in some way, “punished” by God. Good Jewish people did not touch or interact with the disabled lest they be contaminated and then have to be purified. Of course there was not real understanding about disabilities during His life. Nevertheless, He did not allow any of the notions of His society from reaching out and helping or supporting those in need.

This tells us something more about the mind of Christ. He treated each person with respect and love. He created no barriers between Him and others. He rejected all stereotypes and only saw others as a real opportunity to love and help.

So, one of the first things that we must do in attempting to acquire the Mind of Christ is to assess our own perceptions of others. Do we have prejudices? Are we bigoted? Do we embrace certain stereotypes of others? If we do, then metanoia – the change of our hearts and minds – must be something that we embrace. All humans belong to the same human family. We must be open to accepting them regardless of any of the things that make them different from us.

We also see that Jesus didn’t base His reactions to others on how they treated Him. He lived by an internal rule which guided His behavior, namely to treat all others the way that He wanted to be treated. And He did not change His way of behaving even when others hated Him, betrayed Him, hurt Him or misjudged Him. His only response was: Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.

Unfortunately I hear so many people say, It’s to hard to live like Jesus lived. I truly believe people say this because they just don’t want to change. Instead of trying to be more like Jesus, they just want to wallow in their own prejudices and ways of thinking and behaving!

CALLED TO HOLINESS — 20160828

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4Ev-MariaLaachAs I tried to suggest in the last issue of this article, the call to holiness is a call to come to a deeper, clearer and truly a more profound understanding of life itself. This is predicated on the belief that if we truly understand the meaning and purpose of life, we will wholeheartedly embrace the Jesus Way of Living because it will transform us into the beings God intended when He created us.

Now I would hasten to suggest that this does not, like so much of Western Christian spiritual literature suggests, mean the achievement of perfection. I would rather suggest that it will lead to enlightenment – a true understanding of who we are in God’s wonderful universe. The Jesus way of living will also open us to a real relationship with God, facilitated by our real relationship to other human beings. As our relationships to other human beings become more genuine, that is based on unconditional love that is proven by unconditional forgiveness and acceptance, we will begin to have a true relationship with the God Who we do not see.

Unfortunately, it seems that some spiritual literature suggests that we can have a genuine relationship with God without having genuine human relationships. We need to recall the words of the Disciple John when he wrote: If anyone says, My love is fixed on God, yet hates his brother, he is a liar. One who has no love for the brother he has seen cannot love the God he has not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

So the call to holiness is a call to become the human being God intended when He created you. Although He gave each of us unique strengths and weaknesses, He also gave us a model which He intends us to imitate. That model is Jesus, the Christ.

Because Jesus is truly a man as well as God, He can be imitated. All the things that He did and said while on earth are things and we can do and say because of our human nature. Let us imitate Him!

Understanding Our Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church — 20160828

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patcathAlthough God uses written and spoken words, people, events, objects and symbols to communicate His Word, He cannot be fully apprehended by these, nor can they be reliable standards in and of themselves. No doctrine or system of truth was ever meant to communicate such a fullness of knowledge. If such was the case, one would not need God; he would have doctrine instead. However, God is known only in personal relationship with His people, a direct, immediate experience. Similarly, God’s authority is not to be experienced as an inanimate law – but in relationship. He does not give “rules” alone, He give Himself. A Christian’s authority is not a “some-thing”, it is a Someone.

It is this conviction that causes our Church to resist summarizing the Faith. The question “What are the essentials of our faith?” implies that the Faith can be categorized, prioritized and defined intellectually. But no relationship can be so blueprinted.

Because of this perspective, when asked about the sources of their faith, Eastern thinking Christians will answer in expansive terms. They can never say too much, they will always say too little. When asked to describe the essence of their faith, they will answer something like, “The whole of Scripture, seen in the light of the Tradition of the ancient councils, the Fathers and the faith of the entire people of God, expressed particularly in the liturgy.” But even in this “answer,” they realize they have not captured the experience of Christian communion.

It is so incredibly important that we come to understand the Scriptures by understanding and examining what the Fathers have said in reference to the Scriptures. It is incredibly important that we also examine the meaning of Scripture through our experience of worship. In formulating our worship, the early Church Fathers relied heavily on Scripture and how the people of God had come to understand our Sacred Writings. As you listen to the prayers of our worship and understand them, you gain insight into the meaning of the Sacred Scriptures. Further, when you truly pray the Liturgy, it become ever more evident that the Liturgy calls us to a personal and intimate relationship with God Who we know to be Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Both the Scriptures and the Liturgy prepare us for a real relationship with God. When we take to heart the words of Scripture and the Liturgy, we find words that we can use to enter into a real relationship with God. The help us to truly come to understand Who God is and, hopefully, experience His love.

Gaining a Deeper Understanding of the New Testament — 20160828

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I have been attempting to present our Church’s understanding of the role of God and man in the Sacred Scripture. As I have shown, the word inspiration has been used to signal that it is our belief that God Himself inspired Sacred Scripture and therefore that God is the author. This means that he inspired the human authors, acting in and through them. Thus, God ensured that the authors taught, without error, those truths necessary for our salvation. Inspiration is the word used for the divine assistance given to the human authors of the books of Scripture. This means that guided by the Holy Spirit, the human authors made full use of their talents and abilities while, at the same time, writing what God intended. There are many in our modern society who find incredible the belief that Scripture contains the inspired word of God and so reject the Bible as a collection of stories and myths. There are others who profess belief in the Triune God and are even identified as Scripture Scholars who work to demythologize the Scriptures, that is, they remove or explain away the miraculous as well as references to God’s revealing words and actions. There are still others who think that God dictated each word of the Scriptures and the authors served only as scribes. It is important to understand in the face of such challenges to Scripture that it is not simply the work of human authors as some critics allege, but truly the Word and work of God in concert with human authors.

When interpreting Scripture, we should be attentive to what God wanted to reveal through the authors for our salvation. We need to see Scripture as a unified whole with Jesus Christ at the center. We must also read Scripture within the Living Tradition of the whole Church, so that we may come to grasp a true interpretation of the Scriptures.

The Church recognizes two senses of Scripture, the literal and the spiritual. In probing the literal meaning of the texts, it is necessary to determine their literary form, such as history, hymns, wisdom sayings, poetry, parable or other forms of figurative language. The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, -the study of the words, phrases, expressions and use of these during the time that they were written – in accord with very definite rules of sound interpretation. This can only be done by using texts their original languages.

Gaining a Deeper Understanding of Our Faith — 20160828

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image379As I presented in the last issue of this article, the Fathers, while seeing God as Three-In-One, the three-fold number is not, as we commonly understand it, a quantity. For truly, when it relates to the indivisibly united divine hypostases (i.e., Persons), the sum of which is always the unity, 3 = 1, it expresses the ineffable order within the Godhead.

The contemplation of this absolute perfection, of this divine plenitude which is the Trinity – God who is personal and who is not a person confined in his own self – the very thought, a mere pale shade of the Trinity, lifts the human soul beyond the world of being, changing and confused, in bestowing upon it this stability in the midst of passions. This serenity, which is the beginning of deification. For the creature, subject to change by nature, can by grace attain to the state of eternal stability; can partake of infinite life in the light of the Trinity. This is why the Church has defended so vehemently the mystery of the Holy Trinity against the natural tendencies of the human mind, which strive to suppress it by reducing the Trinity to unity, in making it an essence of the philosophers with three modes of manifestation, or even by dividing it into three distinct beings, as did Arius.

I know that this may be difficult to understand. The reality of God as Trinity is truly necessary, the Church has believed for centuries, in order to say that Jesus is both God and man. You may ask how this is possible. That is the wrong question when thinking about God. All things are possible with God, that is Who He Is by our very conception of God. The Church, in expressing Who she believes God is, has declared the consubstantiality of the Three – they are of the same substance – the mysterious identity of the monad and of the triad. Indeed she has declared her belief that God is of one nature while having three distinct hypostases or persons.

It required the superhuman efforts of an Athanasius of Alexandria, of a Basil, of a Gregory Nazianzen and of many others, to purify the concepts of Hellenistic thought and then apply them to their understanding of Who God Is. The Church found that their expression of Who God Is, truly matched the experiences of the followers of Jesus, the Christ.

If you pay close attention to the prayers of the Divine Liturgy, you will find that sometimes we address the Father, other times the Son or Spirit and always ending with God as Three-In-One.