Denying ourselves and inflicting
our bodies through fasting is a very ascetical practice that the church
practices for most of the year. In fact, the church fasts more than it feasts
if you were to look at a calendar. We have reached the midway point of Great Lent
this year, coming up on the Sunday of the Ladder and the Ladder is great place
to start to determine where we are in our struggle for God. We must always be
ascending because we look down, we go from ascending towards God to descending
away from God. St. John of the Ladder knew this. That is why his magnus opus
the Ladder of Divine Ascent is so crucial during this time. I would like to
focus on a few of the rungs today. There are thirty rungs after all, and to
give them all their proper detail I will need time. That is to say there is not
enough space within one blog to contain all the information I wish to convey.
So let us start with the
first rung. The first rung of the Ladder is called On renunciation of the world.
On the outside that appears to be a very easy and non-strenuous first rung. However,
it is not easy, nor is it simple. In detailing the steps of the first rung, St.
John reminds us that we must forsake every bit of this world and focus solely
on the eternal life that is to come. He says in the Ladder of Divine Ascent, “The
man who has withdrawn from the world in order to shake off his own burden of
sins, should imitate those who sit outside the city amongst the tombs, and
should not discontinue his hot and fiery streams of tears and voiceless
heartfelt groanings until he, too, sees that Jesus has come to him and rolled
away the stone of hardness1 from his heart, and loosed Lazarus, that is to say,
our mind, from the bands of sin, and ordered His attendant angels: Loose him
from passions, and let him go to blessed dispassion.3 Otherwise he will have
gained nothing.” One must remove
himself from the burden of sins, and see that Jesus has already rolled away the
hardened stone of his heart and called him to repentance. We forget in this
world that Jesus offers repentance freely, we only but need to ask. People who
have hardened their hearts and refused repentance do not wish to seek it and
fall into the pleasures of this life, whether they be sexual, food related, or
monetary pleasures. They want to accumulate respect and honor upon earth so
that their name might live forever. One who rejects the world does not seek any
of these things and only seeks out Jesus because of his own humility and respect
for what Jesus accomplished through his Holy Resurrection. We fast and renounce
the world because as St. John again says in the first chapter, “Those who
aim at ascending with the body to heaven, need violence indeed and constant
suffering especially in the early stages of their renunciation, until our
pleasure-loving dispositions and unfeeling hearts attain to love of God and
chastity by visible sorrow.” Suffering
in and of itself does not necessarily mean that God is punishing you, rather it
might mean that God is purifying you for the purpose that he has called you to.
As I sit myself and recover from medical illness, I am reminded that God is
using this time for me to focus on him more. I rely on God more when I suffer
than when I am fat and healthy. St. John again calls upon all Christians, not just
the monks and clergy to participate in the spiritual battles that rage all
around us. He gives us instruction on how to combat it saying, “Those who
enter this contest must renounce all things, despise all things, deride all
things, and shake off all things, that they may lay a firm foundation. A good
foundation of three layers and three pillars is innocence, fasting and
temperance. Let all babes in Christ begin with these virtues, taking as their
model the natural babes. For you never find in them anything sly or deceitful.
They have no insatiate appetite, no insatiable stomach, no body on fire; but
perhaps as they grow, in proportion as they take more food, their natural passions
also increase.” We know from scripture that Jesus did not seek an earthly
kingdom, neither did the saints. St. Savas one of the founders of Serbia, renounced
his title as Prince as went to live on Mount Athos. He was followed into monasticism
by his own father, St. Simeon the Myrrh-streaming. We also know that some will
renounce the world out of sin and for their own glory. St. John of the Ladder warns
against this and says, “The man who renounces the world from fear is like
burning incense, that begins with fragrance but ends in smoke. He who leaves
the world through hope of reward is like a millstone, that always moves in the
same way.3 But he who withdraws from the world out of love for God has obtained
fire at the very outset; and, like fire set to fuel, it soon kindles a larger
fire” We must kindle our hearts with
the fire from God, because without the divine fire in our hearts we can do nothing.
The Holy Spirit appeared as tongues of fire because God himself is the living
fire. The Holy Spirit is the fire that kindles our love for God and lights our
path towards God. Without which we will descend in the opposite direction of
the Ladder.
In the same way, we also
know that we should love. Love is what Christ gave to us on the cross, at his
resurrection and his ascension. So to if we are to take the first step on the
ladder we must love. St. John of the Ladder says, “Let us eagerly run our
course as men called by our God and King, lest, since our time is short, we be
found in the day of our death without fruit and perish of hunger. Let us please
the Lord as soldiers please their king; because we are required to give an
exact account of our service after the campaign. Let us fear the Lord not less
than we fear beasts. For I have seen men who were going to steal and were not
afraid of God, but, hearing the barking of dogs, they at once turned back; and
what the fear of God could not achieve was done by the fear of animals. Let us
love God at least as much as we respect our friends.” God is the epitome to
which we must love. Our friends and family might betray us. Our friends and
family might forsake us. Our friends and family might even go so far as to hurt
an harm us. God does none of those things. That is why forsaking the world and renouncing
all of it is important. We might live in the world, but we do not have to be of
the world. We do things with others because God does not save us alone. He does
not become just a personal savior, but a savior of all men. The way we live,
the way we work all is for his glory.
St.
John also discusses the struggles of renouncing the world. For those of us who
live in it, we will certainly find it difficult, but with practice and love we
will achieve our goal. He says in the first rung, “In the very beginning of
our renunciation, it is certainly with labour and grief that we practise the
virtues. But when we have made progress in them, we no longer feel sorrow, or
we feel little sorrow. But as soon as our mortal mind is consumed, and mastered
by our alacrity, we practise them with all joy and eagerness, with love and
with divine fire.” We will have
struggles we will have sorrow but with God we will overcome all. He also gives advice to those of us who live
in the world. He says, “. Some people living carelessly in the world have
asked me: ‘We have wives and are beset with social cares, and how can we lead
the solitary life?’ I replied to them: ‘Do all the good you can; do not speak
evil of anyone; do not steal from anyone; do not lie to anyone; do not be
arrogant towards anyone; do not hate anyone; be sure you go to church; be
compassionate to the needy; do not offend anyone; do not wreck another man’s
domestic happiness; and be content with what your own wives can give you. If
you behave in this way you will not be far from the Kingdom of Heaven.” He also
gives us a rallying cry saying, “Let us charge into the good fight with joy
and love without being afraid of our enemies. Though unseen themselves, they
can look at the face of our soul, and if they see it altered by fear, they take
up arms against us all the more fiercely. For the cunning creatures have
observed that we are scared. So let us take up arms against them courageously.
No one will fight with a resolute fighter.” Finally he says this to those
of who live in the world and to those discerning whether monastic life is right
for them saying, “Those who have really determined to serve Christ, with the
help of spiritual fathers and their own self-knowledge will strive before all
else to choose a place, and a way of life, and a habitation, and exercises
suitable for them. For community life is not for all, on account of greed; and
not for all are places of solitude, on account of anger. But each will consider
what is most suited to his needs.” We must do what is right for our souls
and not think about the consequences of what we are doing. Money and power will
fade away, but our souls are eternal.
I
leave you with the words that end the first rung of the Ladder of Divine Ascent.
Words that will resonate with many and will also discourage many. He says, “This
is the first step. Let him who has set foot on it not turn back.” Turning
back is not an option for those of us who love Christ. We have been set on the
same path towards salvation as all who have came before. It is up to us as to
whether or not we will continue on the ladder or fall with the demons. I pray
that God will lead all of us higher and higher up the Ladder as we struggle
daily in our lives. May God have mercy on us all.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment