(As a side note: I am not a theologian, nor do I claim to be one. This is simply a commentary on what I have discovered on a personal level without prejudice to either side of the discussion.)
The journey has been long in coming. Searching in the darkness of the paganism to Roman Catholicism, there never seemed to be a lasting peace. Something was amiss, as written in my past article.
Until now.
Deciding to go East…
The missing pieces of my journey are now complete. That love that was not found in the people or teachings of the rigid Catholic west (and associated Protestantism that derived its roots from that religion).
It was found in the East. An ancientness and unbroken line of the traditions and practices. That religion, unchanged for over 2 millennia, reflected the mercy that is so desperately needed to be extended to the world. A world filled with the weakness of man’s human nature – that which of itself could never lift itself up out of the spiritual poverty it experiences daily in this physical realm.
The saints of the Faith reflect his mindset. The people who practice their Faith reflect this.
In essence, they reflect the God they worship – a God of mercy and Love.
Differences between East and West…
In the West, doctrines and Encyclicals were written by a single Patriarch of the Catholic Church. Paths of belief were likewise generated by founders of a variety of Protestant denominations in the West.
In both cases, it reflected a singular desire to rule over others with their self-proclaimed beliefs. Such desire to rule over the entire church under the authority of one person has been repeatedly condemned even by Christ, but openly made a dogma in Vatican I. An act of rebellion against the very teachings of Christ:
“But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45, emphasis mine)
And yet the East continues to exist, never wavering, without any of these things. The churches continue to exist in unity with the teachings and traditions. Expressions may differe, but the essence and substance remains the same among all.
Here lies the Truth in all its fullness. Here lies the hidden gem of untold worth among the dungheaps of this world.
Here is what has been cast off over the centuries by those who claim “Faith and Reason” instead of theosis1 (becoming like God) through prayer and living in accordance to His teachings.
What are those teachings?
Sin isn’t being “bad” or “offending God”, but one of “missing the mark.” Something I never understood in the West.
When performing such sports as Archery, one aims toward the target – specifically the bulls-eye. Getting as close to that mark as possible is the goal. It takes practice and the patience of a good instructor – one better than the student – to guide that person to gain mastery at hitting the mark.
So, too, is it as a Christian. We don’t “offend” God any more than a little child “offends” his parents for desiring to push his boundaries. God realizes that we often don’t do things that are off the spiritual mark just because we want to. We do these things because we are human.
Like a child, we totter toward the goal, and fall flat forgetting that we cannot reach it by ourselves. So God extends Himself to those who are willing to at least try to follow Him.
It isn’t our works, but our cooperation with His Will that He sees. Like a toddler who is trying to walk by himself (his best efforts or works), God helps us up (His Grace, or essence) when we fall. He knows of what we are made and how we are not able to even stand on our own any more than a child who relies on his parents.
We try, He helps guide and instruct if we are willing to listen. In the words of the elders, the Orthodox rhythm: fall, get up again, fall, get up again…
His love never fails toward us any more than a parent does toward their little children. He understands we don’t always comprehend what is desired of our behavior, but if we figure out how we “sinned” (missed the mark), and ask for His help and forgiveness (repentance), He is always willing to lend a helping hand.
We are not to go anything alone. Nor are we to believe that we will never make it to the fullness of God’s expectations. We can’t.
But we can lean on a God who is far more merciful than many who think themselves more spiritually attuned than those around them.
God expects us to be humble, not proud. We know we are weak. But in our weakness, we are made strong by depending on a loving, merciful Parent Who understands – and has lived through – our suffering.
And isn’t that what life should be all about? Not fraught with unreachable rules and regulations, obligations and “rational certainty” of mysteries.
It isn’t about explaining everything…
How can we explain God? That comes from human pride.
We don’t need to understand how bread and wine becomes His Body and Blood. We don’t need to understand everything He told us. We just need to trust Him and believe what He said is True. Then follow it.
We will have all eternity to just begin to see what He meant. It isn’t meant for us to know now in our darkened state.
Here, it is time to rest…time to heal from our infirmities. Not to be chastised by the Pharisees of the age who are just as weak as we are, if not more so.
Trite words and teachings can never replace what God is. Nor can it teach us Who He is.
So for us, we have chosen a different path that is one of peace and joy. The people surrounding us reflect that…those who have lived such phronema all their lives reflect that. They are the selfless reflections of the God they worship.
And isn’t that what the spiritual life should be all about?
FOOTNOTES:
- “Theosis (Ancient Greek: θέωσις), or deification (deification may also refer to apotheosis, lit. “making divine”), is a transformative process whose aim is likeness to or union with God, as taught by the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church; the same concept is also found in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, where it is termed “divinization“. As a process of transformation, theosis is brought about by the effects of catharsis (purification of mind and body) and theoria (‘illumination’ with the ‘vision’ of God). According to Eastern Christian teachings, theosis is very much the purpose of human life. It is considered achievable only through synergy (or cooperation) of human activity and God’s uncreated energies (or operations).” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosis_(Eastern_Christian_theology)) ↩︎