Friday, February 15, 2013

Να μη μισήσεις τον αμαρτωλό


 
Να ΜΗ μισήσεις τον αμαρτωλό, γιατί όλοι είμαστε ένοχοι. Και αν τον αποδοκιμάζεις από ζήλο Θεού, να κλάψεις για χάρη του. Να μη μισήσεις τον 'ίδιο, αλλά τις αμαρτίες του.
Για τον ίδιο να προσευχηθείς, κι έτσι θα μοιάσεις στο Χριστό, πού δεν αγανακτούσε εναντίον των αμαρτωλών, αλλά προσευχόταν πολύ γι' αυτούς· έκλαψε μάλιστα Και για την Ιερουσαλήμ (Ματθ. 23:37. Λουκ. 13:34).
Αφού, άλλωστε, κι εμάς μας ξεγελάει σε πολλές περιπτώσεις ο διάβολος, γιατί να μισήσουμε Και ν' αποστραφούμε εκείνον πού, κατά την αντίληψη μας, εξαπατήθηκε από τον κοινό μας εχθρό;

Αν μισείς τον αμαρτωλό για τούτο, ότι δηλαδή δεν είναι, κατά τη γνώμη σου, ενάρετος, δείχνεις έτσι ότι κι εσύ αμαρτωλός είσαι, Αφού δεν έχεις αγάπη. Και οποίος δεν έχει αγάπη, δεν έχει μαζί του Και το Θεό· γιατί ο Θεός είναι προπαντός αγάπη (Α' Ίω. 4:8,16).
Να μη μισείς λοιπόν

Και να μην κατατρέχεις τον αμαρτωλό, αλλά, με τη συμπάθεια (πού θα του δείξεις), να γίνεις κήρυκας της αγαθοσύνης του Θεού, ο Όποιος, μολονότι είσαι ανάξιος, σε φροντίζει. Δεν σε παραμελεί ούτε σε αποστρέφεται ούτε σε τιμωρεί για τα πολλά Και μεγάλα σου αμαρτήματα.
Μιμήσου λοιπόν κι εσύ, όσο μπορείς, την ευσπλαχνία Του και την αγαθότητα Του, και γίνε σπλαχνικός απέναντι στο συνδουλό σου, ώστε, με τη μικρή δική σου συμπάθεια, να πάρεις σαν αμοιβή από το Θεό την απροσμέτρητη συμπάθεια Του.


Του άββά Ισαάκ

Watchfulness and The Divine Light - Beware of Delusion


Watchfulness involves lifting our thoughts to the spirit through our ability to observe them without being moved to any action. This spirit within us is seen as the true way of knowing and the only faculty to know God.

Jesus says, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness." (Matt 6:22-23)

What is the meaning of the passage? He is saying that this spirit is also light. When have clear sight we can see, and when we can see, our whole being is filled with light.


In His Life is Mine, Archimandrite Sophrony describes his experience with the light of spirit and gives us some cautions. He writes, "The world of mental contemplation is essentially a radiant one. Our mind is created in the image and after the Primal Mind––God. Light is natural to it since it was made in the image of Him Who is Light unoriginate." (p 155)


Hieromonk Damascene points out that we need to be careful when we think of this light. He sys, "This is where many who have practiced watchfulness have fallen into delusion over the centuries." The key in his view is having purity of intention when we enter within. If our intention is to be spiritual we are in great danger. On the other hand if it is to deal with our shortcomings so we can perfect ourselves to follow more closely the commandments of God, then we are on safe ground. If through our own effort we come onto the experience of this inner light of spirit we will continue to worship ourselves and worse, think we are in fact God.


Achimandrite Sophrony had this experience in his spiritual journey where he was involved with various forms of eastern meditation. He writes,
"Attaining the bounds where day and night come to an end, man contemplates the beauty of his own spirit which many identify with Divine Being. They do see a light but it is not the True Light in which there is no darkness at all. It is the natural light peculiar to the mind of man created in God's image.
The mental light, which excels every other light of empirical knowledge, might still just as well be called darkness, since it is the darkness of divesture and God is not in it. And perhaps in this instance more than any other we should listen to the Lord's warning, 'Take heed therefore that the light which is within you be not darkness.'"


To avoid this danger, absolute humility is necessary. Fr.Sophrony writes,
"Since those who enter for the first time into the sphere of the silence of the mind experience a certain mystic awe, they mistake their contemplation for mystical communion with the Divine, whereas, in reality, they are still within the confines of created human nature. The mind, it is true, here passes beyond the frontiers of time and space, and it is this that gives it a sense of grasping eternal wisdom. This is a far as human intelligence can go along the path of natural development and self-contemplation...
"Dwelling in the darkness of divestiture, the mind knows a peculiar delight and sense of peace... Clearing the frontiers of time, such contemplation approaches the mind to knowledge of the in-transitory, thereby possessing man of new but abstract cognition. Woe to him who mistakes this wisdom for the knowledge of the true God, and this contemplation for a communion in Divine Being. Woe to him because the darkness of divestiture on the borders of true vision becomes an impenetrable pass and a stronger barrier between himself and God than the darkness due to the uprising of gross passion, or the darkness of obviously demonic instigations, or the darkness which results from loss of grace and abandonment by God. Woe to him, for he will have gone astray and fallen into delusion." (pp 155-56)


He tells us that the experience the Uncreated Light of the Divinity is given to us only by special action of God. To go beyond the limits of mind and receive this gift, demands humility. We must not seek a spiritual light, silence or peace when we practice watchfulness. We seek silence in our mind so we can hear the direction that God is giving to us. Gods voice is still and small. (1Kings 19:12) We can only hear and discern what he is telling us by lifting ourselves above the distraction of random thoughts that are continually invading our mind. Jesus says, "Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice." (John 18:37)


We must remember His important words, "Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father Who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonderful works in Your name?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you: depart from me, you who work iniquity." (Matt 7:21-23) What he is really saying here is that YOU did know Him when He says "I never knew you." Hieromonk Damascene says, "In effect he is saying, "You andI never developed a relationship because you were always listening to your thoughts, emotions and desires rather than to me. You did not learn to distinguish my wordless voice from all the other voices in your head."


This is the aim of watchfulness and silence of the mind. We seek God's voice directing us. We develop the virtue of discernment. We find ourselves in relationship with HIm, and unite our will to His. Yes, we may experience the light of the mind and if it be God's will we may also experience His Uncreated Light. We need to be careful not make the aim this light as we will be deluded and risk making ourselves God.

Message: Keep your intentions pure!
See The Tao of Christ pages 326-331

It's What God Gives Us That is Important


It's what God gives us that is important in attaining perfection – Not what we give Him. He gives us mercy. He gives us forgiveness. He gives us His love. At the moment of our Baptism we are pure. At the moment of absolution in our Confession we are pure, at the moment we receive Him into our body in Holy Communion we are pure. Not as the result of our efforts but as His gift of mercy and love. We then continue to struggle against the evil forces of the world and can be tempted to forget and fall into error anytime. God is still there with mercy, forgiveness and Love. Out of our love for Him we are sorry for our forgetfulness and error and seek His forgiveness and mercy which He freely gives back. We struggle to improve so we will not be as forgetful. We fast to help us remember Him and to increase our control over the passions of the Body. We pray and learn to have the Jesus Prayer on our lips when we are tempted or face difficulty. We work to improve ourselves to be a good servant of our Lord. We do not do this for merit but out of our love of Him, our desire to do what He wills recognizing our weaknesses when facing the spirutual war we are engaged in. This is an ongoing process of growth. It is what we call the Orthodox way of life. It is a life of repentance.

The nature of the difficulties we face are highlighted in St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 6:10-17
"Brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand, therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
What many Protestants see as working for merits are the things Orthodox Christians have done since the time of he Apostles to be good sons, to hallow His name, to live a more virtuous life according to His commandments. We need His grace to do so and we also need to put all our own energies into following what God desires for us. It is living this kind of humble life in eyes of God that we become justified so that at the time of the final judgement when the actions of our life will be examined in detail and truth we will be accepted into His Kingdom. Without these "works", without our own efforts, we will not improve our ability to serve our Lord as his son or to glorify Him as He intended. It's wrong to think of these efforts as earning merits. Orthodox Christians do not have this idea of merits tied to our personal efforts because we have a sacramental life as the foundation of out faith. We have much more than a book to guide us. We know God will help us and we know that we are weak needing his help. We also know we have free will and a body full of passions, that we live in a world controlled by evil forces that we must struggle against. We continually "Lord have mercy on me." we continually seek His grace and participate in His sacraments where we are give the gifts of His healing and grace. It is a complete way of Life in Christ.