What Separates Us From God?

The story of Adam and Eve is one of the foundations of Christian life. In this story we seen how we are separated from God.  This separation does not come from any action on God's part, but is a result of our own disobedience. Adam and Eve fell because they began to rely on their own will and ignored God's will. This is what it means to be separated from God.  Because they put their own desires ahead of God's plan for them, they separated themselves from God and became subject to suffering, toil and death. Because of these consequences we have the tendency to act for our own self benefit leading us to a tendency for sin. 

Sin is not about breaking a specific law but is about not having a loving relationship with God. When you love God, you seek to do His will.  When you love yourself more than Him because of all your self doubts and fears, you only carry out your own will to maximize your own satisfaction. The question we need to ask ourselves is, "How can we regain our status before the Fall of Adam and Eve where we live a pure life in union with God always seeking to do His will?"

Elder Paisios gives an answer to this question:"The heart must be purified."   This is the same view that Christ gave us in His Sermon on the Mount where He said, "Those with a pure heart will see God."

What does this mean? Elder Paisios goes on to say,

Man must acquire spiritual chastity; that is sincerity, honesty, selflessness, humility, goodness, forbearance, sacrifice. This is how man becomes akin to God and how divine Grace comes to dwell in him. When someone has physical chastity but lacks spiritual chastity, God cannot dwell in him because he harbors cunning, pride, evil, and so forth. Then this person's life is a sham; this is where you must begin your struggle: acquiring spiritual chastity, spiritual purity.

To do this requires true repentance, a change of mind coupled with personal discipline so that your life actually changes.  We are creatures of habit and our struggle is one of overcoming bad habits.

Elder Paisios says,

One must have a lot of willpower in order to break a bad habit all at once. Just as the rope rubs against the edge of the well and over the years forms a small grove that holds the rope in place, every habit forms a grove in the heart, making it them difficult to get rid of...it takes lots of humility and great will power to overcome them.

The period of Lent is a special time in the Church for self examination and repentance.  It is the time, when coupled with fasting and prayer, we can identify our bad habits that keep us separated from God. Once we have identified them, we can seek guidance and courage to overcome them with the help of divine grace. As we repent we gain grace providing God's help in overcoming our habits.  Fasting brings humility as well as self discipline.  The extra services in the Church during this period, coupled with our own increased time in prayer and study of spiritual matters, nurture us in our efforts to come closer to God.

Make plans for the fast, allow time for the extra services, and more time for prayer. Put these activiies into your personal calendar. Schedule a time with your spiritual father for Confession.

Have a Great Lent.

Resource: Elder Paisios of Mont Athos Spiritual Counsels III, p 128

Do You Seek Self-Satisfaction or Union With God?

Do you seek self-satisfaction or union with God?

Do you seek out self-help programs for your self-satisfaction? I did. I have had experience with many of the self-help programs that continue to be offered.  Meditation centers, for example, call people to”inner peace” and prove their power with studies that show they reduce stress.  For a long time I thought this was what it meant to become spiritual.  To get in touch with your “inner-self,” to find “peace” within,to become what you were meant to be. The problem is that these goals are al self defined.  Fr. Deacon Matthew Steenberg sums it up well in his recent article in The Orthodox Word.  He writes,

...the mantra of society is largely one of self-satisfaction.  It is true that by this world we are called at times to examine ourselves; but we are charged to do so to discover how to be happy an content with ourselves, either as we are or with the “true self”… Humanity is at its best when it comes to be content with itself as it is, deep within.  We are to look inwards, to discover and define the “self” with whom we must learn to be comfortable and content.

For many years, I thought that looking inward was seeking the inner soul.  But, I now know that this “inner being” i sought was of my own creation.  I was really  pursing my own vision, my self-actualization, my contentment with who I am as I defined it.  This is a delusion. Fr. Deacon Matthew goes on to describe two forms of this delusion.

Firstly, there is the simplistic belief that one can and should be whatever one wishes to be, however one wishes to be it, so long as one does not harm others…. the goal of an self-examination is the discovery of the “me” with whom to be happy and satisfied…. the very core so such a mindset is that any attempt to particularize belief and action imposes upon the freedom of the will in a negative way.

A more nuanced, refined form exists, in the various contours of the “new age” and”self-help” movements… which still orbit around the central point of self-satisfaction and contentment with the true self…. they oftentimes do involve calls to change and transformation… there remains however a solid foundation in self-definition.  the “true-self” one aims to discover and love through shedding of such false selves, is still a self defined by one’s will and desires… they root of both is the same: satisfaction gained through contentment in the self, as defined by the self.

This view generally rejects all forms of formal religion and you here the claim, I am spiritual but not religious.  Things like sin are rejected as being outdated or old fashioned and even superstitious.  There is a reliance on the psychological interpretation of reality instead. and don’t even think of mentioning demons or the devil or heaven and hell.  these are no more than “outmoded myths aimed at enforcing moral codes’.  there is no acknowledgment that everything of this world is the result of a Creator.  We tend to believe n theories like the Big Bang theory and a random process of evolution as truth.  As a result the call to change to become in the likeness of Christ is lost.  Instead, we can only cope by accepting things as they are and find contentment with the present state.

Fr. Deacon Matthew says that this is a deception and a trap to the Christian.

The human person is to instigate whatever helps, whatever modification to his life and lifestyle may bring about a deeper satisfaction with whom and what he is,   He is charged not to become something else…, but to become happy with the self that lies hidden.

So what is that we are called to as Christians if this is not the case. from my own experience this is difficult to discern as we re easily deceived by our current societal norms.

Fr. Deacon Matthew says the following,

Christianity is a life rooted in Christ’s own.  Its charge is not to live for self but to live for Christ; and its goal is not satisfaction but transformation.  the Christian is called to become, to enter into a newness of life that is another’s––that is Christ’s.  He is to discover the “self” of his current existence, precisely so that he can work to change it into a life not defined by his on will, but defined and made real by another––by God Himself.  the life in Christ is a life of transformation into a New Man.  It is a life that works toward resurrection, when the body of this death shall pass away and the glorified man will know the Lord of Golory.

What I discovered after many false paths, is that this involves a surrender.  A giving up of our own definition of our “self.”  We have to find a religious tradition that we can trust and make a choice to follow its guidelines so we can be transformed into the image of Christ.  This does not promise happiness or contentment with the nature of this way of life we may now enjoy.  But a refocusing of our entire attention on the Kingdom of God.

Again Fr. DeaconMatthew,

If we struggle authentically toward our sanctification and redemption, this orientation towards and into the Kingdom must become paramount in us.  Every act must be considered from the perspective of that future life and its attainment.  When we do not act in such a way, we reduce our choices and our behaviors to the limited perspective of the brief sojourn.  Rather than see the context of our behaviors , actions, and decisions as the eternal life of God’s abiding Kingdom, we see it as the short span of this life, and adjust our whole vision and world view accordingly.

Orthodox Christians to day must reclaim this focus.  It stands at the heart and center of the whole life in Christ.

This authentic kind of Christian life involves a constant struggle with our desires and passions.  We need to learn humility and self-discipline.  It is a daily task, a battle that needs to taken on each and every day.

Saint Basil the Great writes

Examine what sort of being you are.  Know your own nature, that your body is mortal but your soul is immortal, and that our life is twofold in kind.  One kind is proper to the flesh, quickly passing by, while the other is akin to the soul, not admitting of circumscription.  therefore  be attentive to yourself (Deut 15:9), neither remaining in mortal things as if there were eternal, nor despising eternal things as if they were passing…. Understand yourself with all exactness, that you may know what gift to apportion to each––for the flesh nourishment and coverings, and for the soul doctrines of piety, education in courtesy, training in virtue, correction of the passions. (St. Basil, Homily on the words “Be attentive to yourself.”)

This is what the Orthodox way of life is al about.

Learn more…

Fr. Deacon Matthew's complete article “Taking Stock of Our Struggle” in available in  The Orthodox Word, No 263, 2008.

He serves in the Parish of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Oxford, England.  He received his doctorate in Theology from the University of Oxford and is currently Professor of Theology and Head o htTheology & religious Studies at Leeds trinity and All Saints College, England. He has authored many books and is the creator of www.monachos.net, a valuable resource of Orthodox patristic theology.

“Spiritual” Self-Opinion - A Confession

When caught in this snare, a person thinks and claims he is acting according to “spiritual principles,” but in actuality he is following his own will, satisfying and preserving his own ego, and remaining hardened in his own opinions. “A web of ideas is spun,” Fr. Seraphim explained, “which has no real contact with reality…. Usually the devil uses one little idea to ‘catch’ us, knowing that it will catch us in something we may be emotional about and that ‘catch’ is sufficient to get us weave the whole spiderweb which trips us up.”  

Hieromonk Damascene in Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works

For many years I was trapped with “spiritual” self-opinion.  Not satisfied with the teachings of the Church, I set out to develop my own view––my own religion in reality.  At this time, I was a top corporate executive in my early forties, on top of the world with prestige, power, a beautiful family, and a hugh ego.  I had the idea that I could develop the universal principles of all religions, use this as the basis for a values based leadership program and then establish an institute to train the future leaders of the world.  I would change the world nurturing spiritual growth in all(and become famous). I even had a self-induced vision of this on Mount Tabor on a quasi spiritual journey patterned after the “Hero's Journey” as conceived by Joseph Campbell in his first book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” I worked on this for a number of years, studying the foundational texts of various religions.  I learned to meditate using a passage of my own choosing according to the principles of an eclectic Hindu tradition. This gave me a focused mind to concentrate on this Don Quixotic venture.  I thought I was doing God’s will.

I then set out to establish a spiritual based community, using my own savings to fund it. This would become the base for this leadership institute, I thought. I was committed to change the world based on my self-conceived web of ideas.  This lasted for another four years.  Finally, it became obvious that this was financial disaster and I was about to lose my life’s savings.  I felt like the world was closing in around me. I had never experienced failure before.

I was married to a Greek girl who was Orthodox and had joined the Church when we were married. I attended Church several times a year and with great apprehension and resistance participated in the customary acts of communion twice a year.  Then one day walking in the woods, it came to me how folly this was and how egotistical I was being. I saw how I was tangled up in my own thinking and there was no clear way out. I was caught in my own web. My intentions seemed good but there was no result for all these good intentions other than many troubles (among which my wife had threatened to leave me) and financial ruin. I had participated in the creation of a new “church” and my soul was dead.

“By yourself you will only spend your life trying to preserve your soul, under the pretext of your understanding of Church ‘principles’ and the like; and he who would preserve his soul will lose it.  Only if you try to lose your soul for Christ, by really committing yourself, will you finally gain it.” 

Fr. Seraphim Rose

Fortunately, I had recently begun to recite the Jesus Prayer, and study the book by Saint Theophan the Recluse, The Path to Salvation.  He became my savior. I knew I could not longer avoid Christ and my Orthodox Tradition.  Out of desperation, I called a couple of monasteries for advice and began to see my local parish priest.   This was a big step and was difficult at first. Within six months, I made a commitment to the Church, a clear choice to follow christ and the tradition of His Church.  This led to actions to sell the property and disband the community.  Miraculously, the Bishop of our diocese was looking for a retreat center site. I was able to arrange for the sale to the Church and it became a retreat center and camp for the Diocese.  Five years later, I was ordained as a Deacon in the Orthodox Church. I have changed and my life has changed. I still struggle, but with God’s help it is a struggle filled with joy.

Bottom line:  “Only if you try to lose your soul for Christ by really committing yourself, will you finally gain it.”

On Getting Out of Ruts

Many of us get stuck in a rut in our spiritual lives. Usually this comes down to one thing: we have our central sins, our favorite passions, that we just do not want to give up. These passions have become so much a part of us that we think it is impossible to be rid of them. But it is not impossible. Christ said, Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33). With His Grace-filled help, we can overcome the passions—which, as we have seen, comprise one of the meanings of the term “the world” in Holy Scripture.

The problem lies with us. The problem is that, deep down, we feel that we have a “right” to our favorite passions. “I have a right to be angry,” “I have a right to be resentful,” “I have a right to this sinful little pleasure,” or whatever it is. Deep down, we do not want to give up our passions.

So the question comes down to this: What do we really want? Do we want to stay in our ruts, so that we can freely indulge our pride, our self-love, our self-righteousness, our desire to be right, our anger and resentments, our sinful pleasures? Are they so important to us that for their sake we will abandon the possibility of an authentic life in Christ?

What do we want? Do we want to be fashioned after the passions of this world, which pass away, or do we want to have Christ dwelling within us, re-creating us into new beings who will dwell with Him and in Him forever?

To get out of our ruts and get back on the path of transformation and deification, we must cast off everything that separates us from God. Spiritual life is like traveling upstream in a rowboat. The world, the flesh and the devil push against us and against our progress. If our boat is burdened with the weight of our cherished sins and passions, we will not get anywhere. In fact, we will go backwards, and we might even sink. So, what we have to do is to jettison the cargo which we cherish so much but which is holding us back. Then we will be able go forward, toward that which we were created for: union with God.

From  The Way of Spiritual Transformation By Hieromonk Damascene

Should I Force Myself in Prayer?

The key to controlling thoughts during prayer is to attack the wandering mind immediately. The moment you detect a stray thought, rise up, be strong and snuff it out. Be firm and aggressive. As we said before, it takes much effort.

Here is more advice from Saint Theophan:

Kindly read the 19th discourse, concerning a Christian’s duty to force himself to do good. There it is written, “One must force oneself to pray, even if one has no spiritual prayer.” And, “In such a case, God, seeing that a man earnestly is striving, pushing himself against the will of his heart (that is, his thoughts), He grants him true prayer.” By true prayer, St. Macarius means the undistracted, collected, deep prayer that occurs when the mind stands unswervingly before God. As the mind begins to stand firmly before God, it discovers such sweetness, that it wishes to remain in true prayer forever, desiring nothing more

I have stated more than once exactly what efforts must be made: Do not allow your thoughts to wander at will. When they do involuntarily escape, immediately turn them back, rebuking yourself, lamenting and grieving over this disorder. As St. John of the Ladder says, "We must lock our mind into the words of prayer by force."

When you have learned the prayers by heart, as I suggested in my earlier letter, perhaps then you will progress more smoothly.

The most helpful idea is to attend church frequently. There, prayers come more readily because all is directed to that end, but this is not very practicable for you. So, labor at home to accustom yourself to pray attentively and try to remain in God’s presence the rest of the time, as much as possible.

When memorizing the prayers, do not forget to dig into the meaning and to experience the feeling in each word. Then when you say the prayer, the words themselves will hold your attention and warm you into a prayerful attitude.

from Letter 48

More from Saint Theophan on Prayer

Does One Work to Live or Live to Work?

 Max Weber wrote in his well-known study on Capitalism and Protestant ethics, "one does not work to live; one lives to work." So, what is it we live for? Based on our busy lives it could be either of these. There are some like Aristotle who would say we work so we can enjoy leisure. His idea of leisure was contemplation, not a trip to the lake or any such activity. But does this fit the reality of our lives?

As an Orthodox Christian we say we live to be united with God, to be joined with Him in eternal life. Our aim is to transcend this life, to conquer death, to live in faith, following the path of Jesus Christ.

So, what is our "work"? Is it not to acquire a deep faith so that we live without fear of death or sickness? Is it not to gain knowledge of the mystical truths about our existence? Our work, no matter what our occupation is to learn from the events of our daily life the Truth about our Creator and His expectations for us. This knowledge eventually transcends intellectual knowledge to an experiential knowledge based on a personal relationship with God.

Does this come easily without effort? Of course not. Knowing God is hard work. What is the nature of this work? What did Jesus tell us? He said there are only two laws: love God with our whole heart and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The second flows from the first and the first is reinforced by the second. So our work then must be to love. But what does this mean?

It has nothing to do with earning a living. This is a common struggle all humans face. It's simply the nature of life, to work to live. The error we can make is to think we live to work, to earn money for our livelihood and leisure.

The true work of a Christian is something more than what we do to survive or gain leisure. It is a spiritual calling to learn to rely on God in all we do, to become aware of His presence at all time and in all things. Our true leisure come when in quietness we can contemplate God. This does not come from our efforts to do our jobs well. It is not dependent on how many hours we work. It is not a function of our financial success. It is not even the result of simply being good parents our outstanding citizens.

God was made incarnate to show us the nature of the work we are called to do. His coming and taking of flesh of a virgin showed us the image we were created with, flesh united with the divine. He taught and then through His voluntary death on the Cross showed us that there is life beyond this utilitarian life on earth. All we have to do is to believe in Him and follow his example. His coming was the peak of God's creation, the perfection of mankind.

After His death and Resurrection he ascended into heaven and then sent the Holy Spirit empowering His followers to establish the Church. The Church is where we now all can go to become like Him, uniting our flesh with the divine. Through the Church we have the Sacraments, we have the Scripture, we have the necessary ascetic practices such as prayer and fasting, we have the hymns and iconography and the writings of the holy people of the Church to guide us.

All this leads to what we call the Orthodox way of Life. here are the ten elements of such a life that is applicable to all Christians no matter what their occupation may be.

1. Have a regular prayer rule that includes morning and evening prayer.

2. Worshiping and Participating in Sacraments. Attend and participate in the Divine Liturgy receiving Holy Communion regularly as well as regular participation in Confession.

3. Honoring the Liturgical Cycle of the Church. Follow the seasons of the church and participate in the fasts and feasts of the Church.

4. Using the Jesus Prayer. Repeat the Holy name whenever possible throughout the day or night.

5. Slowing Down and Ordering Your Life. Set priorities and reduce the stress and friction caused by a hurried life.

6. Being Watchful. Give full attention to what you are doing at the moment.

7. Taming the Passions. Overcome your habits, attachment to your likes and dislikes, and learn to practice the virtues.

8. Putting Others First. Free yourself from your selfishness and find joy in helping others.

9. Spiritual Fellowship. Spend time regularly with other Orthodox Christians for support and inspiration.

10. Reading the Scriptures and Holy Fathers. Be inspired by the lessons of the Holy Scriptures, the wisdom of the Holy Fathers and the lives of the Saints of the Church

For more on this spiritual effort we are led to participate in read more about each of these then points in the booklet, Ten Point Program For Orthodox Life. You can download it free or ask for a free copy.

How Can Truth Bring Us Freedom?

Jesus said, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31-32)

What is the truth and what does it mean to be free? What holds us in bondage? Frankly it seems to me that we have much freedom in our country.  We have a Bill of Rights that even protects it. But is this truly freedom? Don't we still worry about sickness, grieve over the loss of a loved one, and avoid thinking about our own death. Or even more commonly, don't we fret over the burdens of daily life, our daily work routine, our demands our children and parent make of us, our obligations to various organizations including our Church? Don't we look forward to vacation to be free from daily routines? Freedom from an oppressive Government is only as small step towards true freedom. What kind of freedom does Jesus offer?

To be truly free is to be free from fear of death, sickness and the troubles of daily life.  But how is this possible?  Jesus says this comes "If you continue in My word...then you will know the truth and the truth will make you free."  So the freedom we need comes from our faith in Jesus and the truth of His Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, His sending of the Holy Spirit, and our participation in His Church.

To become truly free requires our ongoing effort as our condition is not one that is free of anxiety. Saint John Chrysostom says, "Our condition needs much endurance; and endurance is produced when doctrines are deeply rooted ." 
This freedom does not come easily and will not be given to us. These teachings we are given thorough His word must be deeply rooted in our hearts and permeate all our actions. Quoting Psalm 119 Saint John says, "do Thou so fix and join in me, as by a nail riveted into me." This is the idea of Theosis, our union with him, like being nailed to Him. This is the work we must be willing to undertake and is the whole aim of the Orthodox way of life.

Saint John also says that this bondage is do to our sins. Our sinfulness is the result of our fears and anxiety. Because of our condition, we tend towards self serving actions and are unable to love others or God.  But do we really recognize this as a bondage? Do we see our sins as the chains that restrain our freedom? Do we not seek pleasures thinking that this is the benefit of our personal free will to act for our pleasure? See how we are trapped by our way of life?  It's not common to think that the way we are living is sinful and without true freedom. Once we have the true notion of freedom spoken of by Jesus, and see our true sinfulness which St John sees as our bondage, we will not have the motivation or the endurance to gain true freedom available to us though our union with Christ. This is a freedom that involves eternal life, one that transcends our mortality, one based on love where we hold God as our lover and He embraces with His love forever. In His embrace we can endure all things of this life.

So let us reflect on what is "truth." Let us lift our notion of the truth above things of this world. Let us root the doctrines of our faith deep within us and seek ways to nurture these roots so they are ever increasing. Once we find the link between the "truth" that Jesus showed us and our "freedom" He promises, we will be fast approaching our Union with Him.

Ten Points for an Orthodox way of life.