We are exiles here on earth. There is
no doubt that the world is full of people that do not accept Christ as Lord and
Savior of the Universe. Whether it is atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, or
any other religion that one might be able to think of. The world is full of
people who wish to see the destruction of the Church and the Glory of God to be
wiped out. We know from the scriptures that God will always triumph in the end
for the end of the movie has been revealed to us. Because of this exile, St. John
of the Ladder details the life of the Christian in full through the third rung.
We have went through the first two rungs on the ladder and are climbing steadily
towards the final ascent. We have been called to a higher purpose, one in which
we must complete through ascending this Ladder. Just like the tollhouses in
which I talked about in a previous blog, the ladder counters them with ways in which
we can overcome the torments of the devil. One of those ways is through us living
as exiles on earth.
As I did in the previous blog, I would
like to start with a quote from St. John regarding exile. He says, “Exile
means that we leave forever everything in our own country that prevents us from
reaching the goal of the religious life. Exile means modest manners, wisdom
which remains unknown, prudence not recognized as such by most, a hidden life,
an invisible intention, unseen meditation, desire for humiliation, longing for
hardship, constant determination to love God, abundance of charity,
renunciation of vainglory, depth of silence” He also builds off of the
previous rung saying, “Detachment is excellent; but her mother
is exile. Having become an exile for the Lord’s sake, we should have no ties of
affection at all lest we seem to be roving in order to gratify our passions”
Of note, St. John also asks a question and gives us answer to what we should do
as exiles saying, “Have you become an exile from the world? Do not touch the
world any more; because the passions desire nothing better than to return” We have all become exiles for the Lord’s sake
seeking out his Kingdom for our benefit leaving the world and what it offers us
behind. The world is a place full of sin and sickness, things that as Christians
we need to abstain from. He says, “Run from places of sin as from the
plague. For when fruit is not present, we have no frequent desire to eat it.”
Also he reminds us who have been called
to be Christian, “It is not from hatred that we separate ourselves from our
own people or places (God forbid!), but to avoid the harm which might come to
us from them. In this, as in everything else, it is Christ who teaches us what
is good for us. For it is clear that He often left His parents according to the
flesh. And when He was told, ‘Thy Mother and Thy brethren are seeking for
Thee’, our good Lord and Master at once showed us an example of dispassionate3
hatred when He said, ‘My Mother and My brethren are they who do the will of My
Father who is in heaven.’ When I converted
to Orthodoxy from Southern Baptist I grieved my parents dearly. I did not do so
because I hated them, rather I sought to seek God in the fullness that he had
presented himself. I found that in the Orthodox Church. I love my parents both
dearly and want what is best for them as much as they want what is best for me.
My mother is my rock that I lean on so much and my father the man I hope to
become in later years. However, St. John of the Ladder reminds me that, “Love
of God extinguishes our love for our parents. And so he who says that he has
both deceives himself. He should listen to Him who says: No man can serve two
masters. I have not come, says the Lord, to bring peace on earth (that is, love
of parents among sons and brothers who have resolved to serve Me) but war and a
sword in order to separate lovers of God from lovers of the world, the material
from the spiritual, the proud from the humble. For strife and separation
delight the Lord when they spring from love for Himself.” St. John of the
Ladder also says, “Attachment either to some particular relative or to
strangers is dangerous. Little by little it can entice us back to the world,
and completely quench the fire of our contrition. It is impossible to look at
the sky with one eye and at the earth with the other, and it is equally
impossible for anyone not to expose his soul to danger who has not separated
himself completely, both in thought and body, from his own relatives and from
others.” Now loving your parents and loving others is what we are called to
do. St. John from this statement is clearly saying that when you’re so attached
to someone that you can’t live without them, that is a bad thing. We are called
to live for Christ alone and not for others. I was once obsessed with a young
lady who I thought was the most beautiful girl in the world. I prayed day and
night for God to grant me a miracle in which she would one day become my wife. I
would literally fantasize about her all day and even while I was sleeping to
the point that it affected me mentally and spiritually. I only have overcome
this obsession in recent years as I finally got married to a much better woman
and someone who I absolutely adore. However, I do not in any way worship her
like I did the girl in my youth.
Finally before I end my blog I would
like to discuss visions. While I have never had the pleasure of experiencing a
true vision all of our saints warn against them. This is because visions come
from both the devil and from God. Discerning which is often difficult even for
those who have been practicing the faith for a long time. St. John of the
Ladder discusses dreams in the final part of rung three and says, “Devils
often transform themselves into angels of light and take the form of martyrs,
and make it appear to us during sleep that we are in communication with them.
Then, when we wake up, they plunge us into unholy joy and conceit. But you can
detect their deceit by this very fact. For angels reveal torments, judgments
and separations; and when we wake up we find that we are trembling and sad. As
soon as we begin to believe the devils in dreams, then they make sport of us
when we are awake, too. He who believes in dreams is completely inexperienced.
But he who distrusts all dreams is a wise man. Only believe dreams that
foretell torments and judgment for you. But if despair afflicts you, then such
dreams are also from devils.” Lastly he says, “The demons of vainglory
prophesy in dreams. Being unscrupulous, they guess the future and foretell it
to us. When these visions come true, we are amazed; and we are indeed elated
with the thought that we are already near to the gift of foreknowledge. A demon
is often a prophet to those who believe him, but he is always a liar to those
who despise him. Being a spirit he sees what is happening in the lower air, and
noticing that someone is dying, he foretells it to the more credulous types of
people through dreams. But the demons know nothing about the future from foreknowledge.
For if they did, then the sorcerers would also have been able to foretell our
death.”
So with that in mind, let us live
like exiles. Let us forsake the world and continue to go up the ladder and to
the place of paradise. If we should falter now, we have a long fall as we are
already three rungs up. As St. John says, “He who has reached it, let him
not look to the right hand nor to the left.”
Amen
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