Εμφάνιση αναρτήσεων με ετικέτα Deification. Εμφάνιση όλων των αναρτήσεων
Εμφάνιση αναρτήσεων με ετικέτα Deification. Εμφάνιση όλων των αναρτήσεων

Κυριακή 9 Αυγούστου 2020

The Divine Darkness


 
By St Gregory of Nyssa
Death to the World (about)  

What does it mean that Moses entered the darkness and then saw God in it? What is now recounted seems somehow to be contradictory to the first theophany, for then the Divine was beheld in light, but now He is seen in darkness. Let us not think that this is at variance with the sequence of things we have contemplated spiritually. Scripture teaches by this that religious knowledge comes at first to those who receive it as light. Therefore what is perceived to be contrary to religious is darkness, and the escape from darkness comes about when one participates in light, but as the mind progresses and, through an ever greater and more perfect diligence, comes to apprehend reality, as it approaches more nearly to contemplation, it sees more clearly what of the divine nature is uncontemplated.
For leaving behind everything that is observed, not only what sense comprehends, but also what the intelligence thinks is sees, it keeps on penetrating deeper until by the intelligence’s yearning for understanding it gains access to the invisible and the incomprehensible, and there it sees God. This is the true knowledge of what is sought; this is the seeing that consists in not seeing, because that which is sought transcends all knowledge, being separated on all sides by incomprehensibility, as by a kind of darkness. Wherefore John the Sublime [the Apostle], who penetrated into the luminous darkness, says, “No one has ever seen God” (St. John 1:18), thus asserting that knowledge of the divine essence is unattainable not only by men, but also by every intelligent creature. 

When, therefore, Moses grew in knowledge, he declared that he had seen God in the darkness, that is, that he had then come to know that what is divine is beyond all knowledge and comprehension, for the text, “Moses approached the dark cloud where God was”(Exod. 20:21). What God? He who “made darkness His hiding place”(Ps. 18:11), as David says, who also was initiated into the mysteries in the same inner sanctuary.
When Moses arrived there, he was taught by word what he had formerly learned from darkness, so that, I think the doctrine on this matter might be made firmer for us for being testified to by the divine voice. The divine word at the beginning forbids that the Divine be likened to any of the things known by men, since every concept which comes from some comprehensible image by an approximate understanding and by guessing at the divine nature constitutes an idol of God and does not proclaim God. 
Religious virtue is divided into two parts, into that which pertains to the Divine and that which pertains to right conduct (for purity of life is religion). Moses learns at first the things which must be known about God (namely that none of those things known by human comprehension can be ascribed to Him). Then he is taught the other side of virtue, learning by what pursuits the virtuous life is perfected. 
After this he comes to the tabernacle not made with hands. Who will follow someone who makes he way through such places and elevates his mind to such heights, who as though he were passing from one peak to another, comes ever higher than he was through his ascent to the heights? First, he leaves behind the base of the mountain and is separated from all those too weak for the ascent. Then, as he rises higher in his ascent he hears the sounds of the trumpets. Thereupon, he slips into the inner sanctuary of divine knowledge. And he does not remain there, but he passes on to the tabernacle not made by hands. For truly this is the limit that someone reaches who is elevated through such ascents.

For it seems to me that in another sense the heavenly trumpet becomes a teacher to the one ascending as he makes his was to what is not made with hands. For the wonderful harmony of the heavens proclaims the wisdom which shines forth in the creation and sets forth the great glory of God through the things which are seen, in keeping with the statement, “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). It becomes the loud-sounding trumpet of clear and melodious teaching, as one of the Prophet says, “The heavens trumpeted form above” (Sirach 46:17).
When he who has been purified and is sharp of hearing in this heart hears this sound (I am speaking of the knowledge of the divine power which comes from the contemplation of reality), he is led by it to the place where his intelligence lets him slip in where God is. This is called darkness by Scripture, which signifies, as I said, the unknown and unseen. When he arrives there, he sees that tabernacle not made by hands, which he shows to those below by means of a material likeness.

See also

The Light of Christ and the Transfiguration - “I wish I could see something like that!”
Deification - The Uncreated Light  
 "Partakers of Divine Nature" - About Deification & Uncreated Light in Orthodox Church
Theosis (deification): The True Purpose of Human Life
Theosis, St. Silouan and Elder Sophrony
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Τετάρτη 7 Αυγούστου 2019

Deification - The Uncreated Light

Orthodox Way of Life
Ελληνικά για το θέμα: Βλέποντας το Θεό
 
Deification is an enhypostatic* and direct illumination which has no beginning but appears in those worthy as something exceeding their comprehension.  It is indeed a mystical union with God, beyond mind and reason in the age when creatures will no longer know corruption. - 
Saint Maximus the Confessor
Deification is most often expressed as involving the "Uncreated Light."

Fr. Sophrony says,
This Light penetrates us with the power of God, we we become 'without beginning'––not through our origin but by the gift of Grace: life without beginning is communicated to us.  And there is no limit to the outpouring of the Father's love: man becomes identical with God––the same by content, no by primordial Self-Being.  God will eternally be GOD for the reasonable being."  (We Shall See Him as He Is, p172.)
It is though our participation in this uncreated light that we become deified, become like Christ.  We do not become a god in essence but by Grace and adoption.  We are  taught that we can never behold, or know the Divine Essence, but when we are filled with this Divine Light we experience His Uncreated Energies. This is a personal communion with God, face to face. Our identity is not assumed into the Divine Essence. And, it is much more than an experience of Light.
 
Saint Symeon the New Theologian
 
Here is how Saint Symeon the New Theologian expresses it in one of his hymns, 
He Himself is discovered within me, resplendent inside my wretched heart, enlightening me from all sides with His immortal splendor, shining on all of my members with His rays.  Entirely intertwined with me, He embraces me entirely.  He gives Himself totally to me, the unworthy one, and I am filled with His love and beauty.  I am sated with pleasure and Divine tenderness.  I share in the Light.  I participate also in the glory. My face shines like that of my beloved and all my members become bearers of Light.
* Fr. John Meyendorff explains the meaning of enhypostatic:
"This divine light cannot be contemplated as a hypostasis, that is, as an independent reality, since strictly speaking it has no essence. It can be contemplated only in a hypostasis, i'e', in a personal locus. Here Palamas has in mind the deified saints who by grace show forth in their whole persons the light that transforms them. But the energies are also "enhypostatic" in respect of the Person (hypostasis) of Christ. The light of tabor does not reveal the divine essence, but the second person of the Trinity.
As well as meaning "what exists in another hypostasis", enhypostatic can also mean "what really exists"' that which is genuine or authentic, e.g. of our real adoption as sons by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The first sense of the word goes back to the christology of Leontius of Byzantium, the second to Mark the Monk.
 
You can see also: 
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Δευτέρα 14 Μαΐου 2018

Que participer à la vie de Dieu est le but de notre vie sur Terre

 
Foto d'ici
 
Communauté orthodoxe à l'île de la Réunion
 
Le but de la vie sur cette Terre est la participation à la vie de Dieu. (Théosis en grec).
Cette « théosis » est notre participation à la propre vie de Dieu. Ceci se fait par la grâce divine qui agit lorsque nous nous purifions des convoitises et des passions : « Ceux qui sont au Christ ont crucifié la chair avec ses passions et ses désirs » (Galates 5:24). Dieu, selon saint Maxime le Confesseur, nous a fait «partenaires de la nature divine» (2 Pierre 1: 4). Le péché de l’homme contemporain est qu’il veut être autosuffisant sans relation avec son Dieu créateur, c’est ce qui constitue finalement sa vraie mort. Rappelons ici les paroles de saint Irénée : «Dieu est devenu homme pour que l’homme devienne Dieu» (avec la grâce divine incréée).
Cette pensée à laquelle s’accordent les Pères (de l’Eglise) est en opposition avec la pensée rationnelle. Le vrai défi réside dans l’expérience chrétienne qui cherche un réel renouvellement de l’homme et de l’intérieur. Bien sûr, la participation humaine à la vie de Dieu est possible pour toute l’humanité. Mais cela, par le moyen de l’ascèse du corps et de l’esprit, est étroitement lié à l’action de la grâce divine. Cela entraîne l’union de l’intellect et du cœur et à l’illumination de l’esprit et du cœur par la prière et le jeûne.
Cette communion avec Dieu, à travers la grâce divine et qui est la « théosis », préserve la suprématie absolue de Dieu, est ce que l’on désigne par la théologie apopahatique. Quand nous disons que Dieu est juste, miséricordieux, bon … Cela ne révèle pas la vraie nature de Dieu, c’est à dire Son essence, mais plutôt l’expression de ce qui entoure cette nature et les qualités positives que l’homme partage. En aucune façon cela ne touche à l’essence inconnaissable de Dieu. Participer à ce que Dieu donne est possible, mais l’essence de Dieu ou encore Sa vraie nature est au-delà de notre compréhension.
Ces explications ne peuvent pas combler la personne qui cherche Dieu de tout son cœur, c’est seulement une réflexion intellectuelle pour encourager la pratique de la vie spirituelle ascétique dans cette saison bénie de jeûne, afin que nous puissions sentir la main de Dieu dans nos vies et gouter à l’avance de la joie du Royaume.

Mgr Ephrem. Evêque de Tripoli et du Koura (Liban).
https://www.facebook.com

Voir aussi
 
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Κυριακή 4 Μαρτίου 2018

2nd Sunday of Great Lent: Direct Knowledge of God (St Gregory Palamas) & the healing of the paralytic


Direct Knowledge of God ~ St Gregory Palamas

 Orthodox Metropolis of Zambia & Malawi
Father Spyridon
 

 
2nd Sunday of Great Lent: St Gregory Palamas 
Orthodox Church in America
Troparion & Kontakion
This Sunday was originally dedicated to Saint Polycarp of Smyrna (February 23). After his glorification in 1368, a second commemoration of Saint Gregory Palamas (November 14) was appointed for the Second Sunday of Great Lent as a second “Triumph of Orthodoxy.”
Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica, was born in the year 1296 in Constantinople. Saint Gregory’s father became a prominent dignitiary at the court of Andronicus II Paleologos (1282-1328), but he soon died, and Andronicus himself took part in the raising and education of the fatherless boy. Endowed with fine abilities and great diligence, Gregory mastered all the subjects which then comprised the full course of medieval higher education. The emperor hoped that the youth would devote himself to government work. But Gregory, barely twenty years old, withdrew to Mount Athos in the year 1316 (other sources say 1318) and became a novice in the Vatopedi monastery under the guidance of the monastic Elder Saint Nicodemus of Vatopedi (July 11). There he was tonsured and began on the path of asceticism. A year later, the holy Evangelist John the Theologian appeared to him in a vision and promised him his spiritual protection. Gregory’s mother and sisters also became monastics.
After the demise of the Elder Nicodemus, Saint Gregory spent eight years of spiritual struggle under the guidance of the Elder Nicephorus, and after the latter’s death, Gregory transferred to the Lavra of Saint Athanasius (July 5). Here he served in the trapeza, and then became a church singer. But after three years, he resettled in the small skete of Glossia, striving for a greater degree of spiritual perfection. The head of this monastery began to teach the young man the method of unceasing prayer and mental activity, which had been cultivated by monastics, beginning with the great desert ascetics of the fourth century: Evagrius Pontikos and Saint Macarius of Egypt (January 19). 

Elder Nicodemus (icon)
Later on, in the eleventh century Saint Simeon the New Theologian (March 12) provided detailed instruction in mental activity for those praying in an outward manner, and the ascetics of Athos put it into practice. The experienced use of mental prayer (or prayer of the heart), requiring solitude and quiet, is called “Hesychasm” (from the Greek “hesychia” meaning calm, silence), and those practicing it were called “hesychasts.”
During his stay at Glossia the future hierarch Gregory became fully embued with the spirit of hesychasm and adopted it as an essential part of his life. In the year 1326, because of the threat of Turkish invasions, he and the brethren retreated to Thessalonica, where he was then ordained to the holy priesthood.
Saint Gregory combined his priestly duties with the life of a hermit. Five days of the week he spent in silence and prayer, and only on Saturday and Sunday did he come out to his people. He celebrated divine services and preached sermons. For those present in church, his teaching often evoked both tenderness and tears. Sometimes he visited theological gatherings of the city’s educated youth, headed by the future patriarch, Isidore. After he returned from a visit to Constantinople, he found a place suitable for solitary life near Thessalonica the region of Bereia. Soon he gathered here a small community of solitary monks and guided it for five years. 

In 1331 the saint withdrew to Mt. Athos and lived in solitude at the skete of Saint Sava, near the Lavra of Saint Athanasius. In 1333 he was appointed Igumen of the Esphigmenou monastery in the northern part of the Holy Mountain. In 1336 the saint returned to the skete of Saint Sava, where he devoted himself to theological works, continuing with this until the end of his life.
In the 1330s events took place in the life of the Eastern Church which put Saint Gregory among the most significant universal apologists of Orthodoxy, and brought him great renown as a teacher of hesychasm.
About the year 1330 the learned monk Barlaam had arrived in Constantinople from Calabria, in Italy. He was the author of treatises on logic and astronomy, a skilled and sharp-witted orator, and he received a university chair in the capital city and began to expound on the works of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite (October 3), whose “apophatic” (“negative”, in contrast to “kataphatic” or “positive”) theology was acclaimed in equal measure in both the Eastern and the Western Churches. Soon Barlaam journeyed to Mt. Athos, where he became acquainted with the spiritual life of the hesychasts. Saying that it was impossible to know the essence of God, he declared mental prayer a heretical error. Journeying from Mount Athos to Thessalonica, and from there to Constantinople, and later again to Thessalonica, Barlaam entered into disputes with the monks and attempted to demonstrate the created, material nature of the light of Tabor (i.e. at the Transfiguration). He ridiculed the teachings of the monks about the methods of prayer and about the uncreated light seen by the hesychasts.

Saint Gregory, at the request of the Athonite monks, replied with verbal admonitions at first. But seeing the futility of such efforts, he put his theological arguments in writing. Thus appeared the “Triads in Defense of the Holy Hesychasts” (1338). Towards the year 1340 the Athonite ascetics, with the assistance of the saint, compiled a general response to the attacks of Barlaam, the so-called “Hagiorite Tome.” At the Constantinople Council of 1341 in the church of Hagia Sophia Saint Gregory Palamas debated with Barlaam, focusing upon the nature of the light of Mount Tabor. On May 27, 1341 the Council accepted the position of Saint Gregory Palamas, that God, unapproachable in His Essence, reveals Himself through His energies, which are directed towards the world and are able to be perceived, like the light of Tabor, but which are neither material nor created. The teachings of Barlaam were condemned as heresy, and he himself was anathemized and fled to Calabria.
But the dispute between the Palamites and the Barlaamites was far from over. To these latter belonged Barlaam’s disciple, the Bulgarian monk Akyndinos, and also Patriarch John XIV Kalekos (1341-1347); the emperor Andronicus III Paleologos (1328-1341) was also inclined toward their opinion. Akyndinos, whose name means “one who inflicts no harm,” actually caused great harm by his heretical teaching. Akyndinos wrote a series of tracts in which he declared Saint Gregory and the Athonite monks guilty of causing church disorders. The saint, in turn, wrote a detailed refutation of Akyndinos’ errors. The patriarch supported Akyndinos and called Saint Gregory the cause of all disorders and disturbances in the Church (1344) and had him locked up in prison for four years. In 1347, when John the XIV was replaced on the patriarchal throne by Isidore (1347-1349), Saint Gregory Palamas was set free and was made Archbishop of Thessalonica. 

In 1351 the Council of Blachernae solemnly upheld the Orthodoxy of his teachings. But the people of Thessalonica did not immediately accept Saint Gregory, and he was compelled to live in various places. On one of his travels to Constantinople the Byzantine ship fell into the hands of the Turks. Even in captivity, Saint Gregory preached to Christian prisoners and even to his Moslem captors. The Hagarenes were astonished by the wisdom of his words. Some of the Moslems were unable to endure this, so they beat him and would have killed him if they had not expected to obtain a large ransom for him. A year later, Saint Gregory was ransomed and returned to Thessalonica.
Saint Gregory performed many miracles in the three years before his death, healing those afflicted with illness. On the eve of his repose, Saint John Chrysostom appeared to him in a vision. With the words “To the heights! To the heights!” Saint Gregory Palamas fell asleep in the Lord on November 14, 1359. In 1368 he was canonized at a Constantinople Council under Patriarch Philotheus (1354-1355, 1364-1376), who compiled the Life and Services to the saint. 

See also about st Gregory Palamas from the Holy Orthodox Archbishopric of Zimbabwe & Angola

 The Gospel of the Day 
(For Russian, Portuguese, French and Arabic please scroll down)

Mark 2:1-12 - Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

Orthodox Metropolis of Zambia & Malawi
Icons from here

2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

“My son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” 

 Orthodox Metropolis of Zambia & Malawi

 Today, brothers and sisters, on the 2nd Sunday of Great Lent — the day on which we celebrate and commemorate St. Gregory Palamas — we have before us a man who is paralyzed, and who has friends that care for him and bring him to the Lord to be healed.
Now, as in all scripture, we should be careful. Read the scriptures slowly and carefully. See what the Lord says to you, see where you fit into this scripture, see where you have vices — or perhaps where by the grace of God, God has helped you in some thing and you have some virtue — not of your own worth, but because God has helped you. This is how we should read the scriptures.
This is not just history, and something that happened a long time ago; this story is given for our edification. The Lord healed many thousands of people, and we don’t have very many records of His healings. So there must be something important about the way this man was healed for us to take note of.

He comes to Capernaum, and He is very popular in these days; this is still in the – shall we say, the honeymoon period; all the common people Him. The scribes and the Pharisees didn’t like Him, but they couldn’t move against Him, and even some of them were somewhat taken by Him because of all the buzz that was around Him. Everyone was saying, “Can you believe what’s happening? Everyone is being healed, and this man is speaking with such authority…” At the beginning of His ministry, there were many who loved Him and wanted to throng about Him (who would later leave Him, and even be accessories to His being slandered and murdered), and this is the case today. There are so many about Him that people can’t even fit in the house where He is preaching. They are all about, outside the door, and He preached to them.
There is a man who is paralyzed, and he has asked his friends to help him. He has four that will take him on his bed, and want to bring him to Christ. Because of the press (the crowd of people), he couldn’t get to Jesus.
What is this press, brothers and sisters?
This "press" is often mentioned in other healings; this press is the obstacles that we encounter in our Christian life. We encounter great obstacles. Now in the case of this man who was paralyzed, he wouldn’t have the strength to press through a group of people on his own, and even with help it would be immensely difficult; how can you carry a stretcher through a huge crowd of people? It is not possible.
What did they do? They overcame the press by climbing onto the roof.
A roof is high above all things. The scripture uses this analogy just as it uses mountains sometimes, to say that this is how we should be in our Christian life. We should look up — we should be thinking of spiritual things, not of carnal things, not of just daily things — and we should elevate our mind — to contemplate pure things, and things that God wishes us to know. These people got up on the roof. So of course it was a practical act to get up on the roof, so that they could break the roof tiles and let him down, and it was rather ingenious actually. But it is also an indication of how we should be, brothers and sisters.


You know, we encounter the press, and we stop in our tracks. Let’s face it: this society is a very difficult one for a Christian to live in, because there is such coldness, and it infects all of us. There is such materialism, there is such hardheartedness, there is such wishy-washy-ness as far as what to believe. And even among the Orthodox, there is this sort-of mixing of the world with holiness — and, of course, what becomes of hot and cold? It becomes lukewarm. And the Lord hates lukewarm.

The whole world is lukewarm. And we live in this difficulty. This is the press. It’s quite hard for us to live in this world. it is difficult for us to get past the press. And why should we get past the press? Because we’re paralyzed too. We have spiritual paralysis. We have spiritual blindness. If any man can look inside himself with any amount of honesty at all, he sees that he is really broken inside, incomplete. There are terrible sadnesses that happen in our life. There are terrible things that we just can’t cope with completely.
And I say, if any person thinks that life is easy, and that things are really okay, than I say that you should really be afraid, because God is far from you. According to the fathers, if we’re not tempted, then we’re not being saved. Because we ARE incomplete, and we are weak creatures.
Oh yes, we have the image of God within us, and God has promised that He will be with us until the end, that He will complete the good work which has begun in us. But in the meanwhile, as we are approaching that goal, there is so much about us that is so pitiable. And we must get past the press if we are truly to get any kind of relief. You know, the press makes a lot of noise, and there is a lot of distraction, and this very well describes the Christian life today.
how do we get past the press? Get up on the roof.
Not just get up on the roof, but there must be labor involved in the Christian life, brothers and sisters. You know that one of my pet phrases, or pet ideas, is that the greatest heresy of all time is that the Christian life can be fought without labor, that salvation can be gathered and garnered without labor. This is the great heresy of our age — it has been around now for quite some time — that we can actually be saved without labor. Oh no, it takes great labor on our part to be saved; it takes effort for us to push by the press; it takes effort for us to get on the roof, to elevate our minds to things above, not to things below, not to carnal things, not to just day-to-day living.

I think day-to-day living is like a narcotic in our day; it is easy to lose track of holy things, to say “I haven’t read scripture for so long, I forget my prayers, I have the wrong ideas, the wrong motivations,” and to just sort of flow through life. We must fight through these things, get on the roof, have our minds elevated and break through the roof tiles — which is effort. There is great effort involved in breaking through a roof.
So then, after these men had broken through the roof, they let the man down. What a spectacle that must have been. This man was not afraid to make his disability known to all. There must have been some people who thought that this was really craziness, and who might have laughed. But he was unafraid, because he wanted to be healed.when the Lord saw him, because of his efforts, He said “My son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” Well the man came because he was palsied — he couldn’t walk — and the Lord said “Thy sins be forgiven.” He did this for a reason.
Of course, what is the source of all of our ills? Our sins!
So the Lord heals that which is the man’s most pressing need first. And of course, he knew that the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the hypocrites, would think in their minds, “How can this man forgive sins? This is blasphemy,” and they would chalk it up in their notebooks and think, “We’re going to get this man.”
The Lord then said something quite interesting, something you should take note of. It seems sort of obvious in one way, but there is a very deep meaning in another. “Which is easier to say: ‘Thy sins be forgiven thee,’ or ‘Take up thy bed and walk?’”
Well, it’s easy to say “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” or something that you can’t see internally, but if you say “Take up thy bed and walk” — well, the man had better get up, or else Jesus would be exposed as a charlatan. Well, that’s rather obvious, but there is a deep meaning here, brothers and sisters. Not an obvious meaning; you have to think a little bit.

Photo from here

The Lord raised the man up from his bed – “Take up thy bed and walk, and go unto thy house.” The reason he did this is to show that He, indeed, has power: He can raise the palsied man, He can give the man without eyes sight, he can cause the deaf to hear, he can raise the dead. These are tangible things that we see. The Lord did this because of our weakness.
We cannot see our sins being forgiven. It’s not something that you can have evidence of. Sometimes there is evidence of the Lord healing a man in terms of, let’s say if a man is an alcoholic and he is able to no longer have the demon of drunkenness, or some other such thing, but for the most part, when our sins are forgiven, the Lord knows, and we know, but it is not an obvious thing. That’s why the Lord said “Which is easier to say: ‘Thy sins be forgiven thee,’ or ‘Take up thy bed and walk?’” He was trying to show us “I can do both.” Yes, I can say “thy sins be forgiven,” and it is not an obvious thing, but I can also raise up the palsied man.
There is another meaning as well. The man’s sins were forgiven AND his body was made whole. Jesus Christ’s resurrection affects the whole man. Every aspect of our personality is affected by the resurrection. This is why a Christian should not feel defeated by anything in his life — because the resurrection applies to everything. Now this is not to have some sort of Pollyanna view of the world and think that because we’re Christians we’ll be rich, famous, athletic and handsome. That might not be the case.
But Jesus Christ is interested in anything that goes on in our life. We must bring all the difficulties of our life to him. We as Christians don’t do this very much; we suffer with our worries, our concerns, and I know many of you and I know that your concerns are not frivolous ones, they are not worldly concerns; they are spiritual things. But you must believe in the resurrection, and the one who truly believes applies the resurrection, with all of its implications, to himself, and his life’s circumstances.
If Jesus Christ can raise up the palsied man, certainly all the other things that He says must be true — not just that He can raise the dead at the end of the age; He’s going to make you alive now. The kingdom of God is within you. Now, not later. This is the meaning of having the man be healed both of his sins and of his palsy, of his bodily ailments.

Now how do we attain this healing, brothers and sisters? By effort. There is no substitute whatsoever for effort.
If a Christian does not struggle, does not strive, does not point himself to Jerusalem and not look back, does not try to ascend, as it were, to the roof, and labor, then he will not be changed. Or, perhaps, he’ll bear fruit, but very little.
May God grant that we would labor, past all of the difficulties in our lives, past all of the frustrations, all of the distractions, all of our sinfulness, all of our bad habits that are so difficult to change, all that press, all that crowd — that we labor past all that, and set our minds on things above, on holiness, on the purpose of our life, which is intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ.
And this intimate knowledge is only possible if we become like Him. We must become like Him to know Him.
This is why we must labor, brothers and sisters. Not because there are the Ten Commandments, the Law and all the rest; this is not the reason we must labor.
The reason we must labor is that Jesus Christ wants us to know Him, intimately, He wants us to be healed of every single palsied condition, of every blindness, of every black spot in our souls, of every imperfection, so that we can gaze upon Him, not through a glass, darkly, but face to face – and not in shame, but in indescribably joy.
This is how He wants us to know Him. And the only way to know Him is to become like Him. This is why we labor for virtue.
May God help us to labor, and for the rest of this Lent also to struggle so that when we come to the Pascha, the Lord would touch us in a very special, unique way that we can’t even imagine and understand, and strengthen us. May God help you.

 Please, see also: The Uncreated Light
"THE WAY" - An Introduction to the Orthodox Faith
Orthodoxy's Worship: The Sanctification of the Entire World  

LIVE, BEYOND THE LIMITS! 
The Sunday of the Prodigal Son, 2nd Sunday of Triodion in the Orthodox Church
  
The Gospel of the Day in Russian, Portuguese, French and Arabic


Orthodox Metropolis of Zambia & Malawi

От Марка 2:1-12
Иисус исцеляет парализованного и прощает его грехи

2 Через несколько дней Иисус снова пришел в Капернаум, и в городе стало известно, что Он дома. 2 К Нему собралось столько людей, что не было места даже в дверях. Когда Иисус возвещал слово, 3 четверо мужчин принесли к Нему парализованного. 4 Видя, что из-за толпы к Иисусу им не подойти, они поднялись на крышу, разобрали ее и спустили сверху циновку, на которой лежал больной. 5 Иисус, увидев их веру, сказал парализованному:
– Сын Мой, прощаются тебе твои грехи!
6 Некоторые из учителей Закона, которые сидели там, подумали про себя: 7 «Что Он такое говорит? Это кощунство! Кто, кроме Бога, может прощать грехи?»
8 Иисус тотчас узнал духом Своим, о чем они думают.
– Что у вас за мысли такие в сердце? – спросил Он. 9 – Что легче, сказать парализованному: «Прощаются тебе грехи» – или сказать ему: «Встань, возьми циновку и ходи»? 10 Но чтобы вы знали, что Сын Человеческий имеет власть прощать грехи на земле …
И тут Он обратился к парализованному:
11 – Говорю тебе: встань, возьми свою циновку и иди домой.
12 Больной тут же, на глазах у всех, встал, взял циновку и вышел. Это очень изумило всех, и люди славили Бога, говоря:
– Такого мы никогда еще не видели
 
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Marcos 2:1-12
O paralítico de Cafarnaum

2 E, alguns dias depois, entrou outra vez em Cafarnaum, e soube-se que estava em casa. 2 E logo se ajuntaram tantos, que nem ainda nos lugares junto à porta eles cabiam; e anunciava-lhes a palavra. 3 E vieram ter com ele, conduzindo um paralítico, trazido por quatro. 4 E, não podendo aproximar-se dele, por causa da multidão, descobriram o telhado onde estava e, fazendo um buraco, baixaram o leito em que jazia o paralítico. 5 E Jesus, vendo-lhes a fé, disse ao paralítico: Filho, perdoados estão os teus pecados. 6 E estavam ali assentados alguns dos escribas, que arrazoavam em seu coração, dizendo: 7 Por que diz este assim blasfêmias? Quem pode perdoar pecados, senão Deus? 8 E Jesus, conhecendo logo em seu espírito que assim arrazoavam entre si, lhes disse: Por que arrazoais sobre estas coisas em vosso coração? 9 Qual é mais fácil? Dizer ao paralítico: Estão perdoados os teus pecados, ou dizer-lhe: Levanta-te, e toma o teu leito, e anda? 10 Ora, para que saibais que o Filho do Homem tem na terra poder para perdoar pecados (disse ao paralítico), 11 a ti te digo: Levanta-te, e toma o teu leito, e vai para tua casa. 12 E levantou-se e, tomando logo o leito, saiu em presença de todos, de sorte que todos se admiraram e glorificaram a Deus, dizendo: Nunca tal vimos.


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Marc 2:1-12
Jésus guérit un malade et pardonne ses péchés

2 Quelques jours plus tard, Jésus se rendit de nouveau à Capernaüm. On apprit qu’il était à la maison[a]. 2 Une foule s’y rassembla si nombreuse qu’il ne restait plus de place, pas même devant la porte; et Jésus leur annonçait la Parole de Dieu. 3 On lui amena un paralysé porté par quatre hommes. 4 Mais ils ne purent pas le transporter jusqu’à Jésus, à cause de la foule. Alors ils montèrent sur le toit, défirent la toiture de la maison au-dessus de l’endroit où se trouvait Jésus et, par cette ouverture, firent glisser le brancard sur lequel le paralysé était couché[b].
5 Lorsqu’il vit la foi de ces gens, Jésus dit au paralysé: Mon enfant, tes péchés te sont pardonnés.
6 Or, il y avait, assis là, quelques spécialistes de la Loi qui raisonnaient ainsi en eux-mêmes: 7 Comment cet homme ose-t-il parler ainsi? Il blasphème! Qui peut pardonner les péchés si ce n’est Dieu seul?
8 Jésus sut aussitôt, en son esprit, les raisonnements qu’ils se faisaient en eux-mêmes; il leur dit: Pourquoi raisonnez-vous ainsi en vous-mêmes? 9 Qu’est-ce qui est le plus facile? Dire au paralysé: «Tes péchés te sont pardonnés», ou dire: «Lève-toi, prends ton brancard et marche»? 10 Eh bien, vous saurez que le Fils de l’homme a, sur la terre, le pouvoir de pardonner les péchés.
11 Alors il déclara au paralysé: Je te l’ordonne: lève-toi, prends ton brancard, et rentre chez toi!
12 Aussitôt, cet homme se leva, prit son brancard, et sortit devant tout le monde.
Tous en furent stupéfaits et rendirent gloire à Dieu en disant: Nous n’avons jamais rien vu de pareil!

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ﻣﺮﻗﺲ 2:1-12
يَسُوعُ يَشْفِي مَشلُولا
 
2 وَبَعْدَ عِدَّةِ أيّامٍ، عادَ يَسُوعُ إلَى كَفْرِناحُومَ، وَانتَشَرَتْ أخبارُ عَودَتِهِ. 2 فَاجتَمَعَ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النّاسِ حَتَّى لَمْ يَعُدْ هُناكَ مُتَّسَعٌ لأحَدٍ، وَلا حَتَّى خارِجَ البابِ. وَكانَ يَسُوعُ يُكَلِّمُ النّاسَ بِكَلِمَةِ اللهِ. 3 فَجاءُوا إلَيهِ بِمَشلُولٍ يَحْمِلُهُ أربَعَةُ رِجالٍ. 4 لَكِنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَتَمَكَّنُوا مِنْ إدخالِهِ إلَى يَسُوعَ بِسَبَبِ الازْدِحامِ. فَكَشَفوا السَّقْفَ فَوقَ المَكانِ الَّذِي كانَ يَسُوعُ فِيهِ، وَفَتَحوا السَّقفَ، وَأنزَلُوا الفِراشَ الَّذِي كانَ المَشلُولُ راقِداً عَلَيهِ. 5 فَلَمّا رَأى يَسُوعُ إيمانَهُمْ، قالَ لِلمَشلُولِ: «يا بُنَيَّ، مَغفُورَةٌ خَطاياكَ.»
6 وَكانَ بَعضُ مُعَلِّمِي الشَّرِيعَةِ يَجلِسُونَ هُناكَ، فَأخَذُوا يُفَكِّرُونَ فِي داخِلِهِمْ: 7 «لِماذا يَتَحَدَّثُ هَذا الرَّجُلُ بِهَذِهِ الطَّرِيقَةِ؟ إنَّهُ يُهِينُ اللهَ بِكَلامِهِ! فَمَنْ غَيْرُ اللهِ وَحدِهُ يَستَطِيْعُ أنْ يَغفِرَ الخَطايا؟»
8 فَعَرَفَ يَسُوعُ أفكارَ قُلُوبِهِمْ، وَقالَ لَهُمْ: «لِماذا تُفَكِّرُونَ بِهَذِا فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ؟ 9 فَأيُّ الأمرَيْنِ أسهَلُ: أنْ يُقالَ لِلمَشلولِ: ‹خَطاياكَ مَغفُورَةٌ› أمْ أنْ يُقالَ: ‹انهَضْ وَاحْمِلْ فِراشَكَ وَامشِ؟› 10 لَكِنِّي سَأُرِيكُمْ أنَّ ابنَ الإنسانِ يَملِكُ سُلطاناً عَلَى الأرْضِ لِمَغفِرَةِ الخَطايا.» وَقالَ لِلرَّجُلِ المَشلُولِ: 11 «أنا أقُولُ لَكَ، انهَضْ وَاحْمِلْ فِراشَكَ وَاذْهَبْ إلَى بَيتِكَ!»
12 فَنَهَضَ وَحَمَلَ فِراشَهُ فَوراً وَمَشَىْ عَلَىْ مَرأىً مِنَ الجَمِيعِ، فَاندَهَشَ الجَمِيعُ وَمَجَّدُوا اللهَ وَقالوا: «لَمْ نَرَ شَيئاً كَهَذا مِنْ قَبلُ!»

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Τετάρτη 12 Οκτωβρίου 2016

St. Symeon the New Theologian's First Vision of Uncreated Glory




The vision of the young St. Symeon the New Theologian of God's uncreated light at the age of twenty is one of the most misunderstood Patristic passages that has been used to justify many false visions. Many times ordinary people have revealed to me stories of personal visions of light that anyone with even a small amount of discernment can recognize either as psychological or demonic in origin. I have also entered into debates and discussions with Orthodox theologians regarding visions of God's light received by non-Orthodox, such as the mystics of the West or Buddhists of the East. In almost all cases the vision of St. Symeon at the age of twenty is used to justify their emotion-filled arguments for the validity and divine origin of these visions. Their argument, though misinformed, is simple: Symeon saw God's uncreated light then fell into sin, so if Symeon can have such a vision then why can't anyone (including non-Orthodox)? They also argue against the need for purification and illumination to take place before such a vision can be granted. Are such interpretations justified?

It has become clear to me that of the many who have tried to use the above emotion-filled justifications have hardly or even never read the works of St. Symeon. The account in which he describes his vision at the age of twenty is described in his homily On Faith. The event St. Symeon describes is written in the third person in which he uses the pseudonym "George" to describe his actual experience. When he was fourteen he had approached his spiritual father Symeon the Elder to enter the monastic life, but considering the young Symeon immature at the time he rejected his entrance and told him to live a monastic sort of life in the world until he was mature enough - which didn't happen until he was twenty-seven. Thus seven years prior to his entering the monastic path did he have his vision.

From the age of fourteen until twenty St. Symeon strove to imitate that which he read in the writings of St. Mark the Ascetic. His day job was managing a patrician's household in Constantinople and engaged in the worldly affairs of the palace. But at night he would keep vigil and pray with tears and do as many prostrations as his conscience told him to do so that, at the advice of St. Mark, he never slept until his conscience was satisfied. He describes himself as regarding "all material things of life with indifference and even approached food and drink without taking pleasure in them or doing so with frequency." He says that he never observed long fasts beyond the prescribed fasts of the Church, he never slept on the ground, wear a hair shirt, or was tonsured a monk. Yet he had faith and actualized it in the world, as he says in his discourse: "By these deeds his faith received wings and reached heaven."

 
 
It was in this context that one night, while praying "God have mercy on me a sinner" with his mind, that "suddenly a flood of divine radiance appeared from above and filled all the room." He describes the vision as "nothing but light all around" him, to the point where he thought he was falling because even the ground was filled with light. "Oblivious of all the world he was filled with tears and ineffable joy and gladness." However St. Symeon goes on to describe that above him in the heavens there appeared another more clear light that was surrounding his spiritual father Symeon the Elder.

Following this vision, Symeon continued about his daily business affairs in the palace. This is something he would come to regret however. He writes:

"What we have related about this young man is amazing and unexpected, and we have never heard that anything like it has happened to anyone else. Even though it may have happened in some cases or will happen in the future, yet men should know that they will be deprived of so great a blessing unless they promptly withdraw from the world, or they will soon lose what they have received."

And by this Symeon reveals the reason for relating this story: that when one has been purified and illumined one must withdraw from the world completely to maintain the grace within. Symeon basically goes on to say that he received this vision of his spiritual father in uncreated glory because, through the prayer of Symeon the Elder, Christ was calling him to a monastic life and to the emulation of his elder. Young Symeon did not do this but remained in the world and Satan came out strongly against him to prevent his withdrawal to a monastery. He fell into despair as a result of his disobedience. It was only through the guidance and prayers of his spiritual father that he was able to free himself of his despair and recover. It was only until he completely renounced the world and repented with extreme ascetic feats after many years that he got a glimpse of what he had seen earlier, though Symeon is writing in the third person so we don't know how humble he was being at this point.

When we thus examine what St. Symeon says in his own words and in proper context, it is extremely far-reaching for Orthodox to use this example as a justification for the vision of uncreated glory of the non-Orthodox or even themselves outside of the context of purification and illumination within the Orthodox tradition. So when Symeon says that he lived a worldly life, he does not mean that he lived a sinful life in the world but that he maintained a busy occupation in the world while living faithful to God's commandments. And his post-vision despair is only the result of not being obedient to his monastic calling at the right time. This does not take away the fact that Symeon was living an ascetical life in the world, molding his faith by his works, and attaining a state of inner purification so as to be found worthy of the vision of divine glory. And it was not until after much effort for his disobedience to his heavenly calling that he was able to recover that which he lost. As St. Symeon explains in the same homily following the description of his vision by quoting St. Gregory the Theologian:

"Gregory the Theologian said: 'It is written, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7). For where there is fear there is the keeping of the commandments. Where there is the keeping of the commandments, there is the purification of the flesh, and from the cloud that besets the soul and prevents it from clearly seeing God's ray of light. Where there is purification there is illumination. Illumination is the fulfillment of those who desire either the greatest of all supremely great things, or even that which is above all greatness.' By this saying he showed that illumination of the Spirit is the goal of every virtue. He who attains to this illumination has arrived at the end and limit of all things that can be perceived and has found the beginning of the knowledge of spiritual things."

Interestingly this is all very similar to the vision of Saul on his way to Damascus before he was baptized Paul and made into an Apostle. Saul was a persecutor of the Church, yet beheld the resurrected Lord of glory. However, as a persecutor and being outside the Church, this vision was not the result of being found worthy due to his inner purification. Instead this vision of divine glory was like hell fire to him and it blinded him for his unworthiness. He was commanded to be baptized to receive his sight, and by baptism he was purified and illumined which he actualized by going into the desert for two years to study and pray. And by his obedience he progressed from glory to glory, whereas Symeon initially was disobedient and prevented from doing so until he repented.
 
Please, see also:
 
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