My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
GUILELESSNESS IS ESSENTIAL TO OU SPIRITUAL LIFE
"Behold, an Israelite indeed, IN WHOM IS
NO GUILE" [John 1:47].
Our Lord Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelilte indeed, in whom is no guile". Our Beloved Lord God who knows the hearts of all, sees in Nathanael a pure heart, free of any "guile." A heart, in other words, free of deceit and a heart which is capable of recognizing Christ. "Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I SAW YOU." Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" [John 1:48-49].
"I saw you." The GodMan and Savior not only sees us and into our hearts but penetrates the innermost parts of our souls. In Greek we say that He is καρδιογνώστης. In other words someone who knows what is in our hearts and therefore we are an open book, and we cannot hide anything from Him. Anyone believing that he can deceive our Lord of who he truly is, or what he feels in his heart, is most foolish and one who has no understanding of who Christ is.
The word "guile" is defined as "insidious cunning, deception, or duplicity". To be without guile is to be free of deceit, cunning, hypocrisy, and dishonesty in thought or action. It is a God-like characteristic that is sometimes called "integrity" or "trustworthiness." Saint John Climacus writes: "Guilelessness is the joyful condition of an uncalculating soul." The authentic believer strives to attain guilelessness and purity of heart and soul. There are many stages and steps to Christian spirituality. No one becomes spiritual instantly or overnight. It takes the grace of God, it takes sincere faith, it takes love, it takes trust, it takes commitment, it takes unceasing prayer, it takes a virtuous life, it takes humility, and it takes patience. As Chritians we do not make any declarations on how spiritual we are or how righteous. The Christian is meek. "Meekness is the bulwark of patience, the door, indeed the mother of love, and the foundation of discernment" writes Saint John Climacus. "The Lord will teach His ways to the meek" (Psalm 24:9).
Currently we are witnessing an explosion of deception and dishonesty among the people. The Holy Apostle Paul warns us when he says, "LET NO ONE DECEIVE YOU WITH EMPTY WORDS, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them" [Ephesians 5:6-7). Today wicked people have been emboldened by a corrupt world and are not afraid to use every evil weapon against us. Saint Paul again says, "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather EXPOSE THEM" [Ephesians 5:11-12]. "Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord" [Ephesians 5:8-10]. We must judge what the world says is reasonable on the basis of what God says is true.
It is a good thing to be concerned about clean air but it is more important to worry about the pollution of the heart. Since society now is condoning all evil behavior, speech, and vice, people are constantly bombarding it with obscenities, immoralities, and lewdness. Jesus Himself said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men proceed EVIL THOUGHTS, ADULTERIES, FORNICATIONS, MURDERS, THEFTS, COVETOUSNESS, WICKEDNESS, DECEIT, LEWDNESS, AN EVIL EYE, BLASPHEMY, PRIDE, FOOLISHNESS. All these evil things come from within a man" [Mark 7:20-23]. Our Lord teaches that nothing is of itself unclean. God makes all things good. Sins committed of our own FREE WILL, what comes from within us, "DEFILE" and make the heart impure. "All these evil things" (v. 23) are NOT what God created. We will them, we produce them; they are our sins COMING FROM WITHIN US. They are a PERVERSION of what God has made.
The dark powers in our world, will have us believe that all perversions, all wicked conduct, all vices, all immoral behavior is a good thing. What is good is bad and what is bad is good. There is no God and therefore, there is no such thing as sin or wrong. There is no heaven or hell. There is no eternal life but only our earthly life here and now. No one has the right to question or judge our actions, whether as a parent, a teacher, a priest, or a friend. It is what makes us happy that counts. In some of the former Christian countries today, people refer to Christianity as a collection of superstitions and mythology. Satan is called the Adversary. Jesus calls him "a liar and the father of it" [John 8:44]. The "devil " he says, "was a murder from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources" [John 8:44]. There is doubt that he is the archliar of all time.
It is extremely important to possess the gift of discernment so that we may be able to know truth from lies and falsehood. Guilelessness is very essential not only to our spiritual life but to our very salvation. How does an Orthodox Christian cleanse his heart that may be dirty and filled with impurities? Our Lord Christ, knowing man’s inclination to sin, established the divine Mysteries or Sacraments. All the Sacraments of our Holy Orthodox Faith are offered to the faithful by the Church for their spiritual well being. The grace of God the Holy Spirit flows through them to the one who receives them with faith. The Orthodox Christians approach the Divine Sacrament with the fear of God, with faith and love. They are given for healing and for the remission of sins and eternal life.
A pure heart demands a good spiritual life. Our sweet and Loving Lord speaks about the heart and says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God" [Matthew 5:8]. To be pure is to be unmixed with anything else. The "pure in heart" are devoted to the worship and service of God. With the aid of the Holy Spirit, they practice all virtues, are not aware of any evil in themselves, and live in temperance–a stage of spirituality attained by few in this life. When the soul is not dominated by sinful passions nor its energy wasted on the things of this world, its only desire is God. Then the heart–holding fast to the new life in Christ and contemplating the glory of God. Our Holy Orthodox Church teaches that purity of heart is a necessary condition to union with God and seeing God. It is also the foundation for a pure, faithful or chaste life. Our Holy Church believes that the heart is the center of knowledge, emotion, and the principle of good and evil thoughts.
Our Savior Christ seeks to "dwell in your hearts through faith" [Ephesians 3:17]. In order for Him to dwell in our hearts, the heart must be pure and free from all evil. Our example of a pure heart is the Ever-Virgin Mary the Theotokos. She is "All-Pure," not merely because of her spiritual soundness. Her heart was pure. Her mind was pure, Her soul filled with love, her body was His Sacred Temple. Therefore, everything is connected with each other. What I am saying here is that the totality of man must be spiritually sound in excellent spiritual health. Evil poisons the human being. It poisons the mind, the heart, the eyes, the ears, the heart, and all members of the body. Evil is death not only of the mind but also of the soul. Just as we care what goes into our stomachs, we must be very careful what goes into our hearts and souls. One thing we know by now is that there should be absolutely no guile in our hearts.
Our prayer should always be for God to "deliver us from the evil one." We need God’s mercy, guidance, protection, forgiveness, mercy, and love. He sacrificed His Divine Life on the Cross to save us what greater proof of His unconditional love for mankind do we need. The least that we can do is to obey Him and to do His commandments. It is always advisable to be vigilant and on the alert. To avoid unnecessary risks and to avoid bad company. The bad influence coming from the various means of communication i.e. Internet, Television, Radio, magazines and others are serious and damaging. People of all ages are indoctrinated and constantly deceived by them. After years of exposure people have been decesantized and become willing slaves to them.
Let us always pray the Jesus Prayer with faith: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner."
____________
"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
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 