The Sacrament of Humility – Part Two

In my earlier article, I described humility as “our willingness to receive with thanksgiving those things (of whatever size) that come our way.” This describes humility as a virtue, but the article’s title described it as a “sacrament.” Oddly, I seemed not to have unpacked what that means. There are several ways to think about sacraments. There are those actions within the life of the Church with which we are most familiar: Eucharist, Baptism, Chrismation, Marriage, Unction, Ordination, Confession. In each of these we observe that God has taken up an ordinary action and made it a means of grace. The sacraments of the Church are each, in their own way, given to us as a means of communion with God. And then we are told, “The whole world is a sacrament.” This is to say that the whole world is a means of communion.

It is a curious thing when we consider the word, “grace.” In common speech, grace means to be given some “slack” or a “leeway” that is not deserved. In Western juridical notions of God, grace means that God is somehow giving us something we do not deserve (such as forgiveness or salvation). Orthodoxy has a very different understanding. Grace is nothing other than the Divine Energies, the very “life” of God. Grace is God Himself. We are “saved by grace” because salvation is nothing other than union with God. To live by grace is to live by the very life of God and communion with Him. Thus when Christ speaks of communion with Him He says, “Whosoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood, abides in me and I in them.” (Jn. 6:56) This is grace.

When we have a statement, such as that found in Proverbs and quoted by St. James (“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” 4:6), we should pay close attention and understand what is being revealed to us. Humility is filled with grace. Humility is the Cup by means of which we can receive the life of God: it is a sacrament of grace.

The whole world has been given to us for communion with God. It is a gift we often refuse in that we want the world to be something less. We prefer utility to the life of grace. We want to know, “What is it good for?” When we should ask, “What is God’s good gift?”

One of the more common ways that this is encountered in our faith is in the place held by tradition. The Orthodox are sometimes falsely accused of being merely conservative, valuing the past over the present (or future). It is indeed true that some choose Orthodoxy for such reasons. However, this is a false approach to tradition itself. The vast majority of our life is traditioned to us – it is handed down, intact. Our biology, our language, the planet itself and all that it contains (with its utterly unique position in the universe), are among the largely unchangeable aspects of our existence. Those things that are changeable easily become fetishes in which we imagine that something as unessential as a new wardrobe can make us a “new person.”

Tragically, our modern culture markets changeable products in a constant cascade of “newness” and “innovation” (literally, “making things new”), all in a massive pursuit of wealth (which is itself something that passes away – Matt. 6:19). Addicted to the promises of modernity we ignore the true substance of what has been given to us (“handed down”) while we chase an ever-disappearing wind. There is little virtue (or grace) in that manner of life. It is exhausting, riddled with anxiety, always measured by what we have (or wish we had), and never by what we are.

And so Isaiah says:

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? (55:2)

Tradition (especially in its largest sense) is its own justification. It is like the breath we breathe. It carries grace because it is the gift of God. Learning to live rightly in relationship to what has been handed down to us is a life-skill that is largely ignored. What has been given is easily taken for granted. It patiently waits and continues to give, regardless of our ongoing dismissal.

Sacraments, even as vehicles of grace, are not received passively. The prayers of preparation for communion, to use but a single example, serve to draw our hearts to what is being “traditioned” to us in the Cup. Vladimir Lossky defines faith as a “participatory adherence,” a phrase that carries a certain fullness. It presumes that we are extending ourselves towards what we are receiving. In simpler terms, such faith “works by love.”

To live rightly in the world-as-the-gift-of-God is to love the world as the gift of God. It is to extend ourselves towards each and everything (and everyone) around us. Love is the supreme instrument of participation – it is that which adheres. In a life so lived, every element of God’s creation becomes a Cup, a vessel of communion, by which we may drink of His grace. It makes of our lives a song. In the tradition, human beings are described as “rational animals,” the image of God who “speaks.” Supremely, we are the rational (logikos) voice of all creation whose sound rightly soars above the chorus of creation itself.

Glory to God!

 

 

 

 

About Fr. Stephen Freeman

Fr. Stephen is a retired Archpriest of the Orthodox Church in America. He is also author of Everywhere Present: Christianity in a One-Storey Universe, and Face to Face: Knowing God Beyond Our Shame, as well as the Glory to God podcast series on Ancient Faith Radio.



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30 responses to “The Sacrament of Humility – Part Two”

  1. Helen Avatar
    Helen

    Beautiful photo! It captures the essence of your post I think! Children don’t try to be what they’re not.

  2. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Father, I can’t help but think that “the knowledge of good and evil” that came upon us when Eve ate the apple holds the key to both the lack of humility and the woes you catalogue PLUS the gender wars in which we engulf ourselves.

    Am I on the right track?????

  3. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Michael,
    I’ll have to think about it.

  4. Matthew Robb Brown Avatar
    Matthew Robb Brown

    Thanks for such a great summation of what our life in Christ means !

  5. Katia Avatar
    Katia

    Father,

    It’s true that the modern mind typically associates the word “grace” with something undeserved: grace period, etc. It gets even worse with the word “gratuitous,” which of course comes from the same root. But when we actually look at the meaning of that root, it’s all about praise and thanksgiving. Then we can see that the fact that somerhing is free and unmerited is actually a very good thing. I’m sure you know that this is much more obvious in other languages like Spanish, Russian, and Greek, where the word “thanks” has clearly relgious roots. Of course, modern speakers of those languages may never think of that when they use the word, but like you say, you can never fully deny what you’ve been given. I pray that on some subconscious level, we really are expressing that ancient meaning.

  6. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Katia,
    I was thinking, for example, about the word “charis” in Greek – which can be translated as “grace” but is also very much tied up in the meaning of “thanksgiving.” You’re so right about other languages as well. English has such a unique history as well as a long practice of borrowing words from other languages that the original meanings or roots of words are often quite opaque. Add to that – in America – that most people are monophones – speaking and understanding only one language – and such things become even more hidden.

  7. Nathan Fischer Avatar
    Nathan Fischer

    Father, in your previous article you wrote:

    > Christ tells us to “take no thought for tomorrow.” Our mind quickly protests that tomorrow needs a bit of planning!

    Fr. Thomas Hopko tells us in his 55 Maxims to avoid whim and caprice.

    I often struggle to make sense of planning and managing, trying to “control” things, avoiding whim and caprice, but also accepting all as it comes.

    For all of our obsession with managing the world, we have created a world of absolute chaos. My job is chaotic. My children’s education and activities can be chaotic. Our household (6 kids!) is chaotic. For some of us, even our brains are chaotic (ADHD, anyone?).

    Not planning for tomorrow in such a world seems to simply be inviting whim and caprice into our lives. I struggle greatly with impulsivity, much like my children.

    How do we balance these things without falling into the trap of “managing” everything? I think often about Fr. Tom’s words and feel like I should be doing *more* to plan for tomorrow, not less. It is a great struggle.

  8. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Nathan,
    Very good questions. If I think back on the years when my children were young and at home (they’re all 30 and above, now), the level of chaos was certainly greater. There is an inherent level of planning and managing in a daily life, particularly with responsibilities such as children, etc. I would find ways of stopping to give thanks in the midst of it all. The giving of thanks brings a certain amount of “order” in and of itself.

    As to ADHD – I find that a certain amount of chaos is going on in my head at all times, regardless. I’m learning to give thanks for that as well.

  9. Nathan Fischer Avatar
    Nathan Fischer

    Thank you, Father!

  10. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Not having ADHD, the problem I have always fought is a temptation to hardness and inactivity. Not laziness per se, but just inactivity and a sense of separation from others–even those I loved.

    It only is countered by a sense of community in Christ with attachments all around.

  11. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Father,
    I so appreciate your response to my question in the previous thread. I read your words and I believe that I understand them on one level. But I’m not sure I understand them at the level that I desire.

    I think my vagueness is my understanding of sacrament. I think of it as a thing ‘done’ and it may be more about a way to be. For example, at one very early point in my catechism, I heard a reference to something like ‘seven sacraments’ as things done. (please forgive me for my rough language). But the true meaning seems to go much deeper. You reference communion. I believe I have some experience there but if we say something or way of being as sacrament do we also mean at the same time communion? In other words, is there a sacrament without communion? Or is there communion without sacrement? If not why do we need two words? What are the distinctions if any?

  12. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Dee, great questions.

  13. Laurie Marvin Avatar
    Laurie Marvin

    Hi, Fr. Stephen. I have a practical question. I don’t know if I have adhd or am just introverted, but I struggle mightily now that I have children. I feel like I never have alone time or quiet time. I’m easily flooded by emotion and overwhelm. What did you do when you had kids?

  14. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Dee,
    Sacrament as a “thing done.” Yes, that’s not an uncommon understanding. The notion of 7 sacraments is, in fact, a Catholic teaching, frequently copied in Orthodox presentations. Classically, the RC’s said there were seven, while the Lutherans said there were two (Baptism and Eucharist). The Orthodox, when asked, assumed that we couldn’t possibly have fewer than Rome so we answered “seven,” though there are books that sometimes answered “nine” (adding monastic tonsure and another that I’ve forgotten). And there are other Orthodox sources that would answere that the number of sacraments is infinite, that the whole world is a sacrament.

    It helps, I think, to use the older Orthodox (Greek) term, “mystery,” instead of the Latin “sacrament.” Essentially, a sacrament or mystery refers to something by which God give us grace – or better defined – something by which we enter into the grace of communion with God.

    In truth, everything is given to us for wuch a gracious communion. There are, indeed, specific actions within the Church in which in our prayers we ask for the Holy Spirit to “make” or “show” something to be just such a means of grace. And, it’s correct to enumerate them for the purposes of teaching.

    Catholic teaching sometimes has made a distinction between a “sacrament” and a “sacramental,” the latter being somehow distinct. A classical example might be the sign of the Cross as a “sacramental.” It’s not language used in Orthodoxy (we’re less defined).

    But, if the world is not secular (a neutral zone without God), then the whole world is given to us for communion with God. All things are holy: “heaven and earth are full of Your glory.” As we relate to them, with thanksgiving, they open to us and allow us to know and see the grace of God in all things.

    One way that I have used in teaching about the sacraments of the Church (the seven or nine) is to point out that they are all about “union with God.” That has helped me in thinking about it as well.

    “Sacrament,” as a word, has been borrowed from Western (Latin) usage. It’s original meaning was an “oath,” but came to be used for the seven major actions of the Church. The Greek term, “Mysterion,” (Mystery), is the term found in the Eastern Fathers. By and large, it was not a topic of great discussion (as in, the “seven mysteries” or so). But, during the Reformation, one of the points of debate between Protestants and Catholics became “how many sacraments are there,” inasmuch as Reformers were criticizing Rome, particularly denying Confession as a sacrament, etc. So, Orthodox picked up that manner of speech which, in point of fact, had been pretty much alien to our history – inasmuch as it had never been an argument in the East.

    History does funny things.

  15. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Laurie,
    I’m not sure based on what you’ve said whether that’s an ADHD problem or just introversion, etc. Raising children can be overwhelming for anyone! I certainly was overwhelmed from time to time when our kids were young. I probably made all the mistakes that anyone else makes. I learned to apologize a lot (and still do). I talked to my wife a lot as we went through that stage of life (as I continue to do). We encouraged each other – but there were still tears from time to time. It’s hard.

  16. Mark Spurlock Avatar
    Mark Spurlock

    Laurie,

    Some things that would have been helpful to me to learn earlier, particularly when I was raising my children:

    1. Not to worry about all the things I didn’t get done, as long as I got some things done–hopefully, the more important things. One nice facet of having too much to do is that you have justification for neglecting less important chores that you dislike anyway! (My use of the iron and ironing board was probably once a year at best.)

    2. As we are taught in Orthodoxy, this moment and this person deserve our attention. Do not let worry rob you of your mindfulness and thus your best self. Per Nathan’s comment, I think it’s okay to have times set aside for planning and getting organized, prayer, but when we are “executing” is the time we take no thought for the morrow. That would be second guessing and a distracted loss of focus. Peter properly asked Jesus to bid him (Peter) to come to Him before climbing out of the boat, but once on the water Peter should not have worried about the wind.

    3. My children have turned out pretty good, but the biggest mistake I likely made as an introvert was trying not to let (good) people help me. I still struggle with this, but, along with alone time, healthy socializing–i.e., time spent with others in good ways–is not to be neglected. Going back to #1, as introverts, we like to use being too busy as an excuse to lump spending time with others as an unimportant “chore,” but I think that neglecting it is in the same category as eating poorly or going without sleep. In other words, bad for you 🙂

  17. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Dear Father,
    Your answer and explanation was very helpful. Thank you so much!

  18. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    In order to provide myself clarity, I went back to Webster’s definition of Sacrament. “A ceremony that imparts Grace. Humility is not a ceremony exactly but it does seem to be a way of living that defers and puts aside my will and desire to know and accomplish God’s Will and wishes. In that sense it is turns living into a constant ceremony/offering. Even my pain and frustration.

    Is that what you are getting at, Father?

  19. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Michael,
    Webster’s is not a good source for Orthodox theology, fwiw. But, the Scriptures tell us that God “gives grace to the humble.” The practice of humility, according to many contemporary fathers, “draws down” grace from heaven – it is a means of uniting ourselves to Christ. Humility, among many things, includes a willingness to embrace what is given to us rather than railing at it, or needing to control, or manage everything. Reality gives us a constant stream of opportunities in which to practice humility.

  20. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Father, I never use Webster’s as an authoritative source, mostly as a clue where not to go and to see what the mind of the world thinks. The word ‘ceremony’ is a key of where not to go. In modern thought a ‘ceremony’ is a empty of substance and meaning.

  21. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    I just thought of the parable of “The Pearl of Great Price” and in the process of getting older and contemplating moving how much stuff there is to go through: physical, emotional and spiritual.

    To do it with any type of sanity requires learning humility better. At least in my case.

    Somewhere under all of my outrageous fancies is something, indeed someone who is real, and bright and truly sacred of whom I am totally unworthy but loves me with a great mercy anyway. His Grace reveals the Sacred that we would barely perceive otherwise. Humility reveals the Personhood of God and our own partaking of it in what/who He makes Sacred.

  22. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Webster’s is more apophatic.

  23. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Father, just want to say a deep thank you for this article, especially the framing of sacraments and the sacramental. It is extremely helpful to me. I have quoted you several times in one of my own blog posts and linked to this article.

    It is really something to keep thinking about, that “sacramental” is for communion (well, that seems obvious haha) but you are speaking about more than what we general call Communion! For me there is in the beauty of the created world so much that uplifts. I have lived in the middle of big cities for most of my adult life but more recently have a home (inherited and bought out my siblings) which I have kept mostly for the garden I have been able to landscape and help cultivate. I dedicated it to the Theotokos and get inspiration for design by praying. It has really been a kind of remarkable transformation and it seems to me a “sacramental” thing which has taught me a lot. Again, a tautology where my language kind of fails but just to say there is so much mystery in sacrament beyond the big Mystery we could name!

  24. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Janine,
    Your garden sounds so beautiful. Thank you for sharing. Your thoughts are inspiring and edifying.

  25. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Oh thank you so much Dee!

  26. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Our priest gave a wonderful sermon today on what is really happening in our Divine Liturgy. One virtue he emphasized was the utter humility of our Lord, God and Savior: offering Himself: both the offerer and the offered.

    And much more. What a blessing.

    I wish my memory were better.

  27. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Dear Michael,
    Your sharing is edifying and is a blessing in itself. Do not worry about your memory.

  28. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Dee, thank you but it was such a sermon I wish I could recall every word, gesture and nuance of it. As it is I think it has imprinted on my heart in a special way. John Chapter 6 was central underpinning. Esp. verses 53-58

    I do not see how those who rely “only on the Bible miss John 6

  29. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Michael,
    I was speaking (some years back) at an evangelical (of sorts) college, and I brought up John 6 and the Eucharist. I had a young man tear into me over it, with him insisting that Christ is being purely metaphorical in the passage. I thought it was one of the most perverse treatments I’d ever heard. I would not be surprised if the young man is not Orthodox or Catholic now…he was fighting so desperately against the obvious meaning.

  30. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    What would he do with: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” John 14:6

    It is an amazing reductionism that denies the entire Incarnation and salvation. Perverse indeed

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