The Ladder of Divine Ascent: Rung 30

 

The journey is complete. The ladder climbed. Enjoy your reward. Well almost. We have reached the finish line of our discourse on the Ladder of Divine Ascent, and before Pascha, which was difficult to achieve to say the least. If we have removed the passions from ourselves, and achieved in our hearts, heaven on earth, then we are ready for divine love. Which in conclusion of the Ladder must be said is the ultimate form for a Christian. I am reminded of all those DBZ fighters trying to achieve Super Saiyan status in the anime I watched as a kid, and this my friends is our Super Saiyan form. It is for us, the epitome of what it means to be Christian. Divine Love. Many understand what Divine Love is, few ever achieve it.

I am often reminded, especially during divine liturgy of how much God loves us. I am reminded of how God is the embodiment of love and that he can be nothing else but love. St. John of the Ladder also knew that for us as Christians we were to be the mini-Christs. As St. Athanasius said, “God became man, so that man could become God.” And this is where it truly enters the hearts of those of us striving for salvation. It is where at this exact moment we become like God. It certainly wasn’t in the Garden of Eden. Before we discuss the portion of the Ladder on divine love, St. John gives to us his own description of the Holy Trinity. He says, “And (as far as I can make out) I see the one as a ray, the second as a light, the third as a circle; and in all, one radiance and one splendour.”  The Trinity is and always be the nature of God. Just as man is mind, body and soul. We cannot talk about divine love without mentioning the Trinity because the Trinity is our purest example of how to behave as Christians. St. John also says, “The first can make and create all things; the divine mercy surrounds the second and makes it immune to disappointment; the third does not fall, does not stop in its course and allows no respite to him who is wounded by its blessed rapture.” ‘

St. John gives us several depictions of the love we are to have for God. The first depiction is this, “There is nothing wrong in representing desire, and fear, and care and zeal and service and love for God in images borrowed from human life. Blessed is he who has obtained such love and yearning for God as an enraptured lover has for his beloved. Blessed is he who fears the Lord as much as men under trial fear the judge. Blessed is he who is as zealous with true zeal as a well-disposed slave towards his master. Blessed is he who has become as jealous of the virtues as husbands who remain in unsleeping watch over their wives out of jealousy. Blessed is he who stands in prayer before the Lord as servants stand before a king. Blessed is he who unceasingly strives to please the Lord as others try to please men.” Having given over ourselves to God in fullness, in completing the Ladder, we now look upon God as our beloved, our spouse. One who watches day and night for the safety our spouse and cares deeply about their thoughts and desires. We sacrifice our own hearts and minds to please and take care of them. We do this through our prayers to God and through our participation in the divine services. We beckon to every call and need of God and forsake ourselves when the King of Glory has need of us. We worship not just physically but spiritually, encasing our whole being with love for God. St. John says, “He who truly loves ever keeps in his imagination the face of his beloved, and there embraces it tenderly. Such a man can get no relief from his strong desire even in sleep, even then he holds converse with his loved one. So it is with our bodily nature; and so it is in spirit. One who was wounded with love said of himself (I wonder at it): I sleep because nature requires this, but my heart is awake in the abundance of my love.” Every moment of our day is filled with the longing to be with God. Though we might sleep because of rest, we do not truly sleep. We awake ourselves in the morning to be with God, so that we might dwell and understand Him more than anything that this world has to offer. In doing this, we are able to be consumed by the all-consuming fire, not for our detriment, but rather for our benefit. St. John writes, “Fear when it is an inner conviction of the soul destroys and devours impurity, for it is said: Nail down my flesh with the fear of Thee. And holy love consumes some, according to him who said: Thou hast ravished our heart, Thou hast ravished our heart. But sometimes it makes others bright and joyful, for it is said: My heart trusted in Him and I have been helped; even my flesh has revived; and: When the heart is happy the face is cheerful. So when the whole man is in a manner commingled with the love of God, then even his outward appearance in the body, as in a kind of mirror, shows the splendour of his soul. That is how Moses who had looked upon God was glorified.” We fear God, not because we are threatened by him, but rather because we fear of losing Him. He is our purpose for living, the reason we carry on. Just as my wife is the reason I carry on day after day and choose not to end my life. In doing so, we now become the spitting image of God and a living icon of the Trinity.

I could and should write more on this particular aspect of the Ladder but St. John has said it best. There is nothing else that we should focus on than that of God. The Ladder is and will be for all time a difficult book for many. Still even after reading through the translation that I used from the internet I am perplexed and even confused by some of the more intricate parts of the writing of St. John. Time will come when an account of our actions will be needed of us, some quicker than others, but all will give account. Having ascended the Ladder and reached the destination, we can now safely rest in the arms of Christ who has been drawing us to the top with His love. The world will seek to drag us down. Through our dispassion, we will come to see this world as fleeting, as void of the things we truly desire in Christ. We come to realize that the demons are nothing more than destructive beings seeking the downfall of God and his saints. But those of us who wish to stay the course, do so out of love for God, and for the chance that we might be the living icons of Christ in this world for the salvation of those around us. I leave you with a quote that is often quoted by people, but one that is powerful. St. Seraphim of Sarov, my namesake said, “Acquire the Holy Spirit and a thousand round you will be saved.” If we follow the ladder, if we strive to do the things that St. John has asked of us, then we will acquire the Holy Spirit. It will be a dangerous journey, but one that has eternal rewards if we stay the course.

Amen.