My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Lord, God and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
"From the Great Multitude of my sins, ill am I in body,
ill am in my soul." (Small Paraklesis to the Most Holy
Theotokos)
A Paralytic Is Healed
"Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity
thirty-eight years…Afterward Jesus found him in
the temple, and said to him, "See you have been
made well, SIN NO MORE, LEST A WORSE THING
COME UPON YOU…" (John 5:5-14).
According to the specific hymn from the Small Paraklesis to the Theotokos, there is a direct connection between sin and illness. The holy Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Romans writes, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). In other words sin’s rewated is "death" but God’s "gift" in Christ is "eternal life." Participation in Christ and the Spirit leads to fullness of life. We understand that the gift of life is not magical, but requires synergy of the believer in obedience to God. We are all His children and as He leads us by the power of the HolySpirit the body becomes the follower and not the leader.We, therefore, must personally choose the way of the Spirit and deliberately put to death sinful deeds. The true believer understands his/her weakness and needs the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit not only brings us strength, He empowers us in "our weakness," especially helping us to pray. Prayer in the spirit, also called prayer without words, is the highest form of prayer. The Holy Fathers of the Church identify three stages: (a) saying the words of the prayers; (b) saying the words with meaning and full concentration; (c) praying without words, when one is so filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit and so in union with God that words are inadequate.
Sin is most destructive spiritually and physically. A sinful life is a life that obstructs our communion and union with God. It aggressively attacks His image in us and corrupts the image of God inherent in those who bear human nature, diminishes the Divine Likeness within them, distorts the whole human being and energies within man. Sin according to the Holy Scripture is "lawlessness" and "wrongdoing" (1 John 3:4; 5:17). The Greek word for sin is "αμαρτία" (amartia) which originally meant "missing the mark," that is, going the wrong way or direction and the wrong goal. It means choosing the way of death and not the way of life. Saint Theophylact writes: "Note Saint John uses the present tense when he talks about our need to purify ourselves. The practice of virtue is an ongoing thing and has its own inner dynamic. If we stop living this way or put it off until some future time, there is nothing virtuous about that at all." Sin is very much like a deadly virus that threatens our very existence and therefore we must take every possible precaution to protect ourselves from catching it.
In the Orthodox Christian Tradition sin is not considered to be natural or a normal way of life. To be truly human is to be righteous, good, pure, God-fearing, and moral. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God" (1 John 3:8-9). The Christian, though sinful, "does not sin" (v. 9, literally. "does not keep on sinning" as the godless world does. However, all people sin in thought, word, or deed. Only our Lord Jesus Christ is without sin. Saint John the Baptist testified of Jesus that He was the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world. He could do this because THERE WAS NO SIN IN HIM. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse of all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us (1 John 1:8-2:6).
We all witness currently the outright denial of evil or sin by mostly unbelievers. However, tragically there are "Christian" groups and "churches" who also deny both the existence of evil and sin. Heretical "bishops" and "clergy" who condone everything wicked and sinful. They, who call themselves "Christians," reject the teachings of the Old and New Testaments about Heaven and Hell, of the Divine Nature of Jesus Christ, of right or wrong, of the miracles of Christ, of condoning and promoting the various unnatural sexual life-styles, the rejection Christian precepts of morality, virtue, values, human dignity, and godliness. They deliberately and knowingly give a heretical and false interpretation of the Divine Teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and are disobedient to the Divine Commandments of God. They have themselves enemies of Our Savior Jesus Christ and are making every effort to distort the truth, betray Christ,and attempt to undermine and subvert Christianity. And yet, we must pray for them and entreat our loving and merciful God to enlighten their minds and hearts so that they see that their actions are leading them to eternal damnation and repent.
It is imperative that we become true to ourselves. Saint Isaac the Syrian writes: "O Mystery, be exalted beyond word and beyond silence, who became human in order to renew us by means of voluntary union with the flesh. Reveal to me the path by which I may be raised up to your mysteries, traveling along a course that is clear and tranquil, free from the illusions of this world. Gather my mind into the silence of prayer, so that wandering thoughts may be silenced within me during that luminous converse of suppliations and mystery-filled wonder."
It is a struggle, because the things of this earthly world and life are deceptive and of much distraction. The Saints of our Faith have been our constant godly examples of virtue, of holiness, and prayer. We turn to another prayer of Saint Isaac the Syrian who brings comfort and hope to us:
I beseech You, Lord, do not set against me the sins of my youth, the ignorance of my old age, and the frailty of my nature, which is too strong for me and has caused me to sink into reflection on things that are hateful. Rather, turn my heart toward You, away from the troublesome distraction of lust. Cause to dwell in me a hidden light. Your acts of goodness toward me always anticipate any kind of volition on my part to do well and any readiness for virtue on the part of my heart."
Our lives are too busy with worldly cares and concerns. Therefore, our lives in the world are full of distractions. One of the hardest challenges for most of us is to be quiet with ourselves.It;s hard to sit and simply be silent because there are so many thoughts, problems, aspirations, responsibilities, telephone, computers, etc. It actually becomes a daily battle and trial. If we, however, are striving to have a spiritual life we must learn how to combat the thoughts, noise, and activities. Keeping our attention centered on the presence of God everywhere and at all times. Our God must become our one and only important priority in our life. He must always be first in everything. Being a Christian is not merely being a follower of Jesus Christ. Being a Christian means to be completely united with Him and for our life in Him be constantly renewed. This task can be accomplished if our commitment to Him is real, then, we ought to be willing to serve Him freely, and to surrender to Him, that which He has given us, life itself. Our aim should always be to grow to be more like Christ and we must also be built into the structure of His Temple, which is the Church. "Believers are being fashioned together into a single living edifice (Church), a spiritual house, cemented by love, having the same mind together with Christ."
I believe, that it is understood, from all the unhappiness, illnesses, and death which we frequently witness, that indeed, promiscuity, estrangement from God, the rejection of God’s commandments, the rebelliousness against the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, the betrayal of His love and Sacrifice on the Cross to save us, the distortion of God’s image in man, the corruption of human nature, the hatred of anything that is good and righteous, disrespect for human life as indicated by the millions of aborted children, unwarranted and unnecessary wars, divisions among the people, divisions and heretical teaching among the Christian, and much more, have wrought destruction and hopelessness. The cure is repentance! To understand what is the correct thing according to God, and to implement His commandments in our lives. Because sin ruptures our relationship with God and others, we need to reconcile with Him and our neighbor. God’s forgiveness and our sins against Him is unconditional and absolute. God does not reject us, objectify us, or bear anger or resentment against us. God does not punish us. Rather, by sinning we alienate ourselves from God, we punish ourselves. By asking God for forgiveness, we open ourselves to His love and acceptance, His grace and compassion. An example of how God treats his sinful and rebellious children we need only to read the Parable of the Prodigal son. He lovingly and compassionately rejoices over the return of his son and says: "And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found" (Luke 15:22-24).
Body (flesh) and soul are severely injured by sin. Man’s soul is priceless. The human soul is vulnerable to temptation and sinfulness. When flesh and soul act together to commit a sin the spiritual injury is tremendous. Both feel the crime committed and the pain or suffering that follows immediately. This great spiritual illness affects both the body and the soul. Saint John of Damascus writes "The soul is a living essence, uncomplicated, incorporeal, invisible — in its proper nature — to the eyes of the body, immortal, reasoning and intelligent, formless, making use of an organic body and being the source of its powers of life…". It is an absolute prerequisite that the soul be cleansed of the blameworthy passions. The word soul (ψυχή) psyche, in Greek, means life or vital breath, so we might think of it as the breath of God that God breathed into man when he was made and given life. Saint Gregory the Theologian says that the soul is the breath of God and while being heavenly, it endures being mixed with what is of the dust." At the General Resurrection we will arise in a new renewed form uniting body and soul.
The Holy Fathers of the Church teach that it is the characteristic of the soul to govern the strivings of the body and for the body to accept this governance. Saint Paul writes that the "body wars against" the soul. The soul has the ability to enter into warfare with the passions of the body. However, our present condition is a difficult and unnatural one as the body is in control of the soul and the soul is separated from God. We must be vigilant and protect our soul from all evil and sinful thoughts, desires, and deeds. Both body and soul have the opportunity to reconcile with God, to repent and ro be healed, cleansed and healed by Him. Every Orthodox Christian must participate in the Mystery (Sacrament) of Confession/Reconciliation. All must approach the sacrament with a sincere and contrite spirit, with humble heart and to supplicate our Creator to forgive and restore us, body and soul, to our authentic and pristine beauty. In other words to SAVE US. Amen.
____________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 