The Ladder of Divine Ascent: Rung 5

 

            If you have read this far into my series on the Ladder of Divine Ascent, I applaud you. It’s not many who make it up the ladder this far. So far, we have broken down the first four rungs of the ladder, and we are now on to the five golden rings…I mean fifth rung. Sorry old habits. The fifth rung is that of true and honest repentance. I have spent many hours detailing the faith for all of you who read my blog and I have been breaking down the Ladder of Divine Ascent into small portions that one can easily understand. However, one thing that I have failed to do is call everyone to repentance. Repentance is the key to our salvation. It is why we attend Holy Confession; it is why we attend church services, and it is certainly the core aspect of our faith. Yes, without obedience we are simply heretics and hypocrites but without repentance we are lost. St. John has already shown us that we must deny ourselves, we must detach ourselves from the world, we must live as exiles in this world, and we must obey those God has placed over us and above them we must obey Him. Now we will be discussing repentance and what that entails for us as Orthodox Christians and for all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

            Repentance as St. John says, “Repentance is the renewal of baptism. Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. A penitent is a buyer of humility. Repentance is constant distrust of bodily comfort. Repentance is self-condemning reflection, and carefree self-care. Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair. A penitent is an undisgraced convict. Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins. Repentance is purification of conscience. Repentance is the voluntary endurance of all afflictions. A penitent is the inflicter of his own punishments. Repentance is a mighty persecution of the stomach, and a striking of the soul into vigorous awareness.” Repentance therefore is a chance for us to renew our baptism, a chance for us to reconfirm the commitment we made when entering the church at our birth. Though we may not remember it, we at some point in our life made the commitment before God that we would follow his commandments all the days of our lives. Of course, that it is impossible even for the strongest of humans because we are all sinners. St. John says, “He who really keeps account of his actions considers as lost every day in which he does not mourn, whatever good he may have done on it.” We mourn because our sin is great, and we feel unworthy of the love of Christ. We seek repentance, not because we want something from it, rather we seek repentance because we want the love of Christ to permeate us. Through the gift of Holy Confession and the Holy Eucharist, God brings us the prodigal son back into the family of faith. Through the priest the prayers of absolution are read over us, not because the priest has any sort of special ability, but rather because God has ordained him to call us back to Him. The Holy Eucharist as the very Body and Blood of Jesus Christ unites us body and soul to the Lord Jesus Christ and he lives inside of us.

God wants all people to repent. There have been many miracles in which people who have lived lives unbecoming of God have entered Hell only for God to draw them back out so that they might repent of their sins. I am reminded of a particular man who blasphemed God and died on the operating table. His soul entered Hell and was tortured for a period of time even having the number 666 embedded on his skin. When he was drawn out of hell and back into the physical world he immediately repented, and the number was still on his skin. A few days later after prayer and attending a monastery, the number was removed from his skin, and he became a devout Orthodox Christian. God offers repentance to all of us for the forgiveness of our sins. This repentance God offers, also allows God to show mercy. This mercy, St. John says, “Nothing equals or excels God’s mercies. Therefore he who despairs is committing suicide. A sign of true repentance is the acknowledgement that we deserve all the troubles, visible and invisible, that come to us, and even greater ones. Moses, after seeing God in the bush, returned again to Egypt, that is to darkness and to the brick-making of Pharaoh, symbolical of the spiritual pharaoh. But he went back again to the bush, and not only to the bush but also up the mountain. Whoever has known contemplation will never despair of himself. Job became a beggar, but he became twice as rich again.” He also warns, “Let all of us, and especially the fallen, beware lest we sicken in heart from the disease of the godless Origen. For this foul disease, by using God’s love for man as an excuse, is readily accepted by pleasure-lovers. Finally let us consider this last quote from St. John. St. John says, “The demons say that God is merciful before our fall, but that He is inexorable after the fall.” We must understand that after death, nothing can come of our repentance. It is beyond our control. Only God can judge us and if we do not repent, then we cannot be saved.

            While there are many rungs to Go, we have reached the fifth rung. There are twenty-five more to go. I leave you with the words that St. John left at the end of this rung. He says, “For by repentance you have purified the five senses, and by voluntarily accepting retribution and punishment, you have escaped the punishment which is everlasting.

Amen.