Begotten of the Father

No revelation is more central to the Christian faith than God as Father. Some might immediately respond that the Trinity should be seen as the central revelation. But, in Orthodox understanding, the Trinity has its source (πηγή) in the Father.  We should understand this not only as a matter of Trinitarian thought, but as the proper grounding of the spiritual life as well. To be a Christian in the proper sense, to worship God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is to acknowledge that our life does not have its source in ourselves, but in God. Living by this, moment by moment, is what it means to have a true and authentic existence – to be truly human.

Christ, particularly in St. John’s gospel, makes frequent reference to the Father as the origin and source of all that He has and does:

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will…. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself…(Joh 5:19-21 and 26)

The dynamic of the relationship between the Father and the Son described by Christ is also a dynamic that lies at the very heart of authentic existence. It is a dynamic that seems quite foreign in our cultural context. The modern world is a culture of “fatherless children” (sometimes quite literally). The past (and thus the place and source of our origins) is always seen as something to be overcome. The notion of “progress” includes a forgetting of the past and the reduction of its power in our lives. We seek to self-create and self-define our lives as though we had no source outside of ourselves.

Orthodoxy makes frequent mention of the “Church Fathers.” For many, the phrase is simply seen as another set of authoritative ideas. As such, in true modern form, we seek to appropriate for ourselves (and on our own terms), what we choose and prefer within their writings, and then imagine that they have authority in our lives. But this misses the dynamic that “Church Fathers” is meant to convey. For like Christ’s reference to God the Father (“the Son can do nothing of Himself”), so the Church makes reference to those who have gone before. The Christian faith is always “that which is received,” and not “that which is chosen.” And this receiving is dynamic and living, a present action within the life of the Church and no mere acknowledgement of history’s importance.

It is a dynamic that all too easily feels like tyranny to the modern mind. Modernity equates liberty with the freedom to decide and choose, to define ourselves and the world around us. In the words of Justice Anthony Kennedy (Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, 1992):

At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.

We relish this concept of unfettered freedom. But, of course, it is absurd, even for a secularist. For whether we choose to admit it or not, we “brought nothing into this world” (1 Tim. 6:7). Everything in our lives is derived and gifted. We are not the inventors of the world nor of our lives. And though we struggle to understand and even master our own DNA, it remains a primary component of our destiny, a genetic memory of the history of our coming into being across the ages. To be told that we have some portion of DNA contributed by Neanderthals reminds us that even such obscure ancestors are “selves we have received” through our genetically traditioned existence.

Of course, our genetic makeup is only one aspect of our traditioned existence. Our culture and our language are equally derived. For though most people are not aware of the history that shaped the words of their speech, the history remains. The Battle of Hastings in 1066 lives in a host of French-based words that the Norman Conquest brought into English. Indeed, the vast vocabulary of the English language is a testimony to the successive waves of invasion and immigration that shaped those island people – just as the world today labors (or thrives) under an Anglo-American hegemony that has marked speech, customs and cultures across the world.

I could, of course, use other nations and languages as examples of this traditioned part of our lives. Justice Kennedy’s nonsensical musings on the nature of liberty are not an invention out of whole cloth. They (like all of modernity) are an aberration, a genetic defect, in the cultural fabric of our world.

Orthodox Christian teaching holds that the truth of our existence is only made manifest in the realization and fulfillment of our nature. Modernity, on the other hand, seeks to re-define and overcome nature. The Church’s teaching is a proper and true humanism – modernity represents anti-humanism.

“The Fathers” are indeed an “authority,” but more rightly understood by considering the meaning of authority. The root of the word has to do with authorship – with sources and beginnings. The Christian faith is never our own creation, but is gifted to us. We must receive it.

St. Paul said to the Corinthians:

For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. (1Co 4:15)

To live a life that is “fathered” or “received” is an essential part of a eucharistic (eucharist=thanksgiving) existence. We say of Christ in the Divine Liturgy:

You are the offerer and the offered, the receiver and the received.

We cannot give thanks for that which has not been received. The modern refusal to acknowledge the giftedness of all life is an anti-eucharistic form of existence. It bears a striking resemblance to the times in the apostolic warning:

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. (2Ti 3:1-5)

I used to marvel at this passage, wondering why “disobedient to parents” was included. At what time in the past have children not been disobedient? But this disobedience must be seen in the larger context of an anti-eucharistic existence. Indeed, the entire apostolic list in 2Timothy should be seen as an exposition of anti-eucharistic life. Every vice mentioned has its root in the failure to live in constant giving of thanks, the life of a received and “fathered” existence.

Our salvation is a return to sanity, a recognition of the truth of our lives. It is to live in the awareness and presence of giftedness:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. (Jam 1:17)

Giving thanks always and for all things, we acknowledge our Father in heaven. We accept and receive the “fathered” character of the whole of our life and faith. This fulfills the life that Christ has promised:

For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me….Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are…. the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. (Joh 17:8, 11, 22-23)

About Fr. Stephen Freeman

Fr. Stephen is a retired Archpriest of the Orthodox Church in America, Pastor Emeritus of St. Anne Orthodox Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 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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106 responses to “Begotten of the Father”

  1. Alec Brooks Avatar
    Alec Brooks

    Thank you for the clear and edifying reminder of these wise and necessary truths which have been lost or ignored at great cost.

  2. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Father, for me the only cure for modernity has been in repentance and submission to the Cross. Even as the Cross is literally foundational in even the smallest of our parish worship space up to the altar and the fountain of His Grace and Mercy.

    As the homily at my parish pointed out: obedience is the key. Without it, we swim alone in the dark.

    Matthew 4:17: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”.

    But repentance only works if we accept and acknowledge His Mercy to begin with. That is also of the Cross upon which He begs His Father to forgive us in our ignorance.

    An interesting word ignorance. Break it apart and it begins with the word ignore.

    May our Lord forgive us.

  3. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Thank you for this Father.

    I must admit that I often turn to the Church Fathers (in a very easy form, a set of book that synthesize their commentary) because — somewhere in the back of my mind anyway — I feel like they are somehow “closer” to Christ and the early Church and have a better grasp on these things for it. That even concerns time: in terms of time they’re closer. Is that silly?

    But at any rate it is true that when I turn to them they set me on a better path and sort of clarify what I’m muddling about. I might have a clue, but their insights are stronger, better, more accurate. I know they were all the brilliant minds of their time and perhaps that is of course a part of it. But anyway, I wonder if you have more insights into this. Is there more that I am missing? I somehow feel there must be.

    As to Father, I must say I didn’t have a perfect human father (I suppose not a lot of us did). Turning to God the Father, and to Christ as perfect reflection, I found much that I needed to sort of “round out” my own experience of a deeply loving Father with what I will say is a more perfect expression of what that is. I can’t help but feel that is part of our healing in God — as you point out it is such a widespread problem, and I think one more aspect of healing by Christ. Would welcome your correct/addition on these thoughts! We turn to you as Father too here! 🙂

  4. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Janine,
    Once again, your thoughts make me ponder. I think you’re describing the importance of a relationship with God and the familiarity and understanding that such a close relationship might bring. And by having a relationship with the saints (fathers and mothers of the saints), we might, with their help, be brought closer.

    I’m still grappling with another feature in Father’s writing. That of *receiving*… Michael repeats ‘repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand’. And then, in the prior article, we had a conversation in the comments about the Kingdom of God. If I understand Father’s intentions in this writing, I believe he’s saying that the Kingdom (indeed, I think this is in your reference to the relationship with God) is something we receive, not something we create or manage. But can we ‘bring it on’ (via repenting)? Father, can you help me with such a thought? I think the answer is no, we don’t bring it on, but it is received as something like how love is received and that we cannot earn love or direct or manage love, and all that we might do is humbly ask for it (God loves us already whether we know it or not–perhaps we need not ask for His love?) or give thanks for it when we perceive that we have received it.

    Father, will you help with my understanding?

  5. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    I’m thinking about this a little further. If we are receptive then we receive God’s love into our hearts. But we are already loved.

  6. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Ah … once again a wonderful message to offer us hope in a cynical and secular age. Beginning with the Reformation and moving forward into the Enlightenment the west has been plagued with the sickness of self-identification; it exists in a land of high octane rationalism; it basks in the sun of the 5 senses.

    There is a world beyond what we inhabit daily as human beings. Aslan and Narnia exist. Puddleglum knew this. May we all also know this.

  7. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Hello Dee.

    I think in some real sense we lay hold of the kingdom via repenting, but laying hold of something that already exists as a present reality is, in my mind, quite different than building something from scratch. We are receiving, not constructing.

    I hope Fr. Stephen offers up some thoughts about all this.

  8. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Dee,
    Very good questions. I’ll have to confess that I don’t have a plan in what I write/post on the blog. It’s much more like scattering the seeds that God gives me and seeing what grows. The inner consistency (and I think there is one) is just the consistency of what I perceive to be true. Sometimes, things weigh heavily on my heart and become something like a recurring theme. You’ve certainly touched on one.

    Receptivity, receiving, perhaps a number of other terms could be used as well, is an essential disposition of the heart in our knowledge of God and our life in Christ. To give thanks is the “sound” of receiving – to give thanks for all things is to recognize ourselves as “receivers” in all things.

    This, among other things, is the sad error of the “building the Kingdom” train of thought (which is nothing more than Modernism disguised as theology). We imagine ourselves as “builders and makers,” the “managers” of all things (not just the planet, but now the Kingdom of God as well).

    St. Paul says “the Kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” We do not and cannot create righteousness, peace, or joy. They are gifts. Modernity tries to substitute pseudo-morality for righteousness, prosperity for peace, and pseudo-happiness for joy. It is therefore common that we imagine the middle-class or higher to be the “sweet spot” of life. Christ consistently rebukes such notions, pointing to the poor, those who mourn, the persecuted, etc., as those who possess the Kingdom. “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

    Perhaps the most frightening words of Christ are, “If you would be perfect, sell what you have, give it to the poor, and follow me.” It is a phrase that Christians rush to explain away. Surely He didn’t mean that. Surely He meant something else.

    We are saved by our weakness, by our poverty, by our dependence on God, not by our strenth/intelligence/hard-work/etc..

    In our culture, the message of those who rule us (not just politically, but in positions all across the board), is that those who are weak, poor, dependent, etc., need to be “fixed” and “helped.” We do not want to be in such needy positions.

    The Kingdom of God has come in the Person of Jesus Christ. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lk. 12:32). There will come the Day when everything will be swallowed up by the Kingdom, and God will be “all in all” (Cor. 15:28). But, it theological terms, we can say that the Kingdom of God is the Divine Energies – nothing less than that. We can’t build the Divine Energies. We receive them, live in communion with them, give thanks for them, etc.

    Modernity is selling condo’s in the Tower of Babel.

  9. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Matthew, I agree that the Kingdom already exists but it lays hold of us and builds us up from inside through the Grace of the Holy Trinity by Jesus Christ.

  10. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Dear Father,
    Thank you so much for your beautiful words. –food my hungry soul!

  11. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Dee, thanks so much for your replies to my comment, which are very helpful and insightful. You reminded me of this note from the Orthodox Study Bible, on the passage in Matthew 18 regarding Jesus’ answer to, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus replies “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (NKJV). And of course there is much more to read in Christ’s teachings in response. But a note in the Study Bible reads, “Pointing to a little child as the model of true discipleship, Jesus emphasizes the virtues required for entrance into the kingdom of heaven: humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved. Infants are the standard of faith by which adults receive the kingdom of God, and not the other way around.”

    So, the thing I think you put your finger on is this “willingness to love and be loved” among the rest of the things taught by Christ and in that note. A child remains in need of that love and to give it. So perhaps it is we in humility recognizing our real need for God’s love that enables us to receive the love that is there for us. What I personally have found is that (anyway in my experience) we often don’t really know what love is and this is a learning curve. As Father often speaks about a consumerist society, so often love is portrayed as just indulgence, but love teaches like Jesus did. Like a good teacher balances love and discipline for the sake of the pupil. I hope this makes sense! Anyway with a little child as the model, maybe that connects us with how we are capable of receiving a little better, and all the real needs that children have for learning to grow.

  12. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    PS Michael, you frequently write about repentance. Begging your pardon if I’m mistaken, but it seems to me that repentance is key to being like a little child: it starts one on the road toward receiving what one needs to grow. Repentance (in that “change of mind” sense that the Greek word for repentance implies) is like saying, “I don’t know it all, show me what I need”

  13. Drewster2000 Avatar
    Drewster2000

    Fr. Stephen,

    In your last post you recommended that we have the mind of a refugee, to remember always that we are strangers in a strange land.

    I replied with the need for balance. For example, we are strangers and yet we are called to be in communion with people here in this world and to love our neighbor. And we need to share our heart and home, even though we have no true home here and our heart belongs to another world.

    Your response was that the insistence on having to maintain a balance always puzzled you.

    Therefore I’m asking you to spell it out for us a bit. What does it look like to live as a refugee in this world? Please draw me a picture that isn’t just full of the theoretical and romantic view.

    Otherwise this sentiment takes me to a mind of becoming the solitary hermit, providing for myself. Or if living amongst the populace, only dealing with people on levels of suspicion or utility. If I deem you safe enough to be around, then I’ll trust you enough to do transactions and get some benefit from you. We might even become friends, but I’ll never totally relax. I will always be ready for fight or flight if you should trigger my inner red flags.

    And as for creation and whatever possessions I own, they are a means to an end. I will recycle and be a “good Christian” but these things will pass away all these things are really only for my use. I’ll not go so far as truly being a good steward and bestowing any love on what is inherently temporal.

    But I feel certain this is not the direction you would take the refugee lifestyle. So please expound on the idea when you get a chance.

  14. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Janine, I probably write too much. Fr. Stephen is the one to ask. I do trust in Mt 4:17 especially in context.

  15. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Michael, well, I will await Father’s response 🙂

  16. Thomas Avatar
    Thomas

    If we read that passage eucharistically, could this line: “having a form of godliness but denying its power” refer to those who still practice some of the sacraments but view them as mere symbols?
    Just a thought that popped in my head as I read. Thanks.

  17. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Drewster,
    I suppose my pushing back on balance, is that what I really hear is “the image of being a refugee doesn’t really speak to me right now,” and that is legitimate and good. Perhaps, my article is also me saying, “Right now, reading about a refugee speaks to me, and here’s some thoughts on what it says.”

    For us all, I had in mind the “culture wars” and the “fall of Western Civilization,” which many people express. I think we are all refugees in that larger sense, unless we’ve married ourselves to the spirit of the age. However, there’s times in our lives in which “refugee” just doesn’t speak to us. There’s a time, for example, when our children are at certain ages in which a great part of our energy is given to creating stability – a time when they really don’t need us going “refugee” on them. I mentioned the woman fleeing Paris who forgot one of her five children – a tragic reality when the status of refugee wasn’t chosen but was thrust on her.

    I remember a phrase from somewhere of “living lightly.” I’m aging. We’re likely pulling up stakes and moving in the coming year (part of my on-going retirement). So, we’re sorting through a lot of stuff (we’ve lived here for 35 years) and getting rid of it. I’ve already given away about a third of my library some 5 years ago. We’ll see what happens in the coming year.

  18. Kyriaki Avatar
    Kyriaki

    Thank you dear Father Stephen. This is a healing balm for me especially now.

  19. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Janine, I will add the the old Greek “mind” carried a connotation of one’s whole being, not just our brain.

    Deep repentance only comes through Grace.

    Avenues can be the Jesus Prayer, Confession, entreating forgiveness from those you know you have hurt, etc.

    But one needs to work with one’s priest or spiritual Father.

  20. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Thanks, Michael. That note about “mind” is important; the word I was thinking of is metanoia which is translated as repentance. It really does imply that powerful and mysterious deep transformation. I just think this is ongoing in our deepening dependence upon God.

    I had a strange dream the other day: it was getting dark and it was only noon. I didn’t want to walk in the dark so I thought of calling my mother (in real life, now passed for several years) to pick me up in her car. But I felt foolish at my age to call my mother to pick me up! My husband suggested it was a dream about the Theotokos, and that makes a lot of sense. I guess we never get too big for Mothers or Fathers!

    But Father, of course, can speak much more to this, but I do think it’s important to distinguish between a sense of repentance that is plagued with guilt and thoughts of punishment, to perhaps a broader question of our own need for learning, growth, correction, and opening ourselves to that. This doesn’t have to come with the giant burden of perhaps morbid guilt that so often seems to define “repentance.”

    It seems like all the themes in this article and thread touch on this somehow: our dependency upon God, being like little children, our need for growth (and hence change, repentance), our need for guidance, to be open to receive, etc.

    Okay, hope I’m not posting too much!

  21. Drewster2000 Avatar
    Drewster2000

    Fr. Stephen,

    I really appreciate your response and totally agree concerning your “speaks to me” idea. It’s quite true that human beings can really only reflect the light that’s shining on them at the moment, so thanks for your candor on that front.

    The last 5 years for me have been midlife crisis where God is shaking me loose from all I depended upon besides Him. So I have very much been feeling that vibe. But as that was the experience of the wave sliding off the beach and back into the ocean, lately it has come crashing back up as my wife is drawing closer to me and my mother is needing more with the onset of dementia and so on.

    Right now I’m channeling and reflecting Robert Frost when he wrote “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”…

    The woods [of refugee status] are lovely, dark and deep,
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep.

    Or maybe I’ve just been listening to Tom Petty too often telling me that actually “You don’t — have — to live like a refugee!”

    In any case, thanks for the response. May God bless your transition and may I highly recommend The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson.

  22. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Will you be leaving TN, Fr. Stephen?

  23. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Matthew,
    Looks like we’re going to be re-locating to the Upstate of South Carolina. It’s where I’m “from,” where I grew up, where I met my wife, etc. So, after a fashion, we’ll be “going home.” Plans haven’t been finalized but that seems to be how it’s shaping up.

  24. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Wishing you good retirement, Father. That sounds nice, to “go home.” But I’m sure you will still be very busy!!

  25. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Janine,
    I officially “retired” in January of 2020. I’ve continued to write, to travel, and to speak, and to fill-in when asked in the altar. It’ll be much the same in S.C. God-willing, I’ve some good years left (physically), though I am clearly beginning to slow down a bit. As I said earlier, nothing is set in stone at the moment, but this seems to be the plan as it’s unfolding. When the plans become clear, I’ll probably write an article about it.

  26. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Janine, you are correct. Real repentance has nothing to do with guilt. Real repentance is acknowledging the reasons that one is separated from Jesus Christ and asking Him to heal the pain and the separation.

    Guilt is a tool of the evil one to keep us in sin

  27. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Thank you Michael

  28. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    I will also say that guilt and shame are brothers if not quite identical twins

  29. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    I of course wish you and yours all the best Fr. Stephen. I spent some years in Clemson for university studies. I know the Upstate of S.C. rather well.

  30. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Janine,
    I agree with your thoughts about responding childlike (metanoia) to Christ and being open, humble, chaste, patient, obedient, and loving. These are part of my daily prayer (asking for such a childlike spirit), and I hope and wait for our Lord to show His will, mercy, and grace.

  31. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Dear Father,
    Some consider the circumstances you face as you prepare for this move to be one of the most significant stressors in one’s life. I pray and know that the Holy Spirit is with you, abides in you, and will comfort you in all places and moments. Your life at this stage is not far from what you have written recently about, the Christian life of the refugee.

    The Refugee: When someone said he wanted to follow Him, didn’t Christ say he had nowhere to lay his head? (Luke 9:58) Dear Father, surely He walks with you.

    Begotten of the Father…”Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7)

    In Him was (is) life, and the life was (is) the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:4-5)

    None of us knows what lies ahead. May our Lord shed His glorious light and help us all to receive Him and His Life in faith and love with open hearts of thanksgiving.

  32. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Dee, Amen to all you say. Thank you for the reminder. God be with you as well–Our Lord is with you. Closer than hands and feet.

  33. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Janine, I can’t resist one more comment: Portia’s speech from The Merchant of Venice: “The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle dew from Heaven upon the earth beneath….”

  34. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Thank you so much for your kind words, Michael!

  35. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Dee, I am interested in the etymology of words and “kind” also means of the same nature and or type. Indeed we are as members of the Body of Christ by His Grace and Mercy

  36. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Father, I was just reading today’s Epistle from 2 Cor 13:3-13 in which he speaks of “building up”. As I recall he uses similar language frequently.

    How is he different than the “building up of the Kingdom” to which you object?

  37. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    “He” is, of course St. Paul.

  38. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Michael,
    I don’t know what translation you’re using such that you see the phrase “building up” in that passage. The best I can figure is that it’s a rendering of οἰκοδομὴν (oikodomen), which the NKJV has as “edification.” Metaphorically, “building up” would be a way to render it loosely. It meaning is, more or less, “household management.”

    St. Paul does speak of us/the Church as “growing” into the full stature of Christ (Eph. 4). But that is simply describing spiritual maturity rather than some historical/cumulative effect. It is obvious that the Church of the 21st century is in no way greater, stronger, healthier, etc., than the Church in the 1st century. So, that kind of “building up” is excluded from consideration.

    But, I’ve been fairly clear as to why “building up the Kingdom” or “building the Kingdom” are erroneous. We cannot “build” God. And the Kingdom of God is nothing other than the Divine Energies. The notion that is spread about (and the language of “building the Kingdom”) really have no place in historic Orthodox teaching. It is a notion and phrase that comes out of 19th Protestant theology – plain and simple.

  39. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Entering into this conversation — I’m kind of curious which verse you’re referring to here Michael. I see there is a desire expressed “that you be made perfect” in 2 Corinthians 13:9.

  40. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    From the website of my parish, taken from antiochian.org. 2 Cor 13:10. (NIV)

  41. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Father, source as noted above (NIV). I realize in context the building up the Kingdom idea is a stretch but it someone is already on that mode of thinking it would add some legitimacy to the idea..

  42. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Father, my journey before I was received was not Protestant or RC but one that was quite comfortable with Divine Energies of Christ (even if interpreted erroneously).
    The Kingdom builds each of us through the disciplines, celebrations and Grace of the Holy Trinity through and in the Church.

    One such Grace is the Chrism of the Holy Priesthood. Thank you for the way you demonstrate that Chrism.

  43. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Thanks, Michael. Yes, I see the “edification” translation in NKJV. I understood that as applying to persons, not the church. That we should “build one another up” so to speak with the good things of the Kingdom and in our faith. It seems to me, anyway, that St. Paul is defending that he is trying to save, not to condemn, so to speak! (Poking in my 2cents!)

  44. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Michael,
    All the more reason for people actually reading and understanding Greek, and to never build a theological notion without good grounding in the Fathers and in the true text of the Scriptures (rather than the frequently loose English translations we have at hand).

    There is also the very important grounding in being familiar with various modern errors within Protestant (and thus our cultural) thought. People can say what they will about converts, but I’m deeply grateful for my theological background, including having to read and study so many false “systematic theologies” when I was do my later grad work. “Been there, done that, tried it, it failed.”

    Very frustratingly (I’ll not go into the details), I spent a fair amount of time arguing (off-blog) with an Orthodox author who really lacked any of that background but (especially on the basis of NT Wright) was so convinced of the “build the Kingdom” stuff that there was no pursuading him. I’ll let that go. But the idea is out there and is being espoused by a few Orthodox thinkers who, in my judgment, simply lack the theological training and critical thought to be doing the sort of work they profess.

    There are reasons that I tend to hover very much within the Fathers themselves, critical studies of their work, as well as very solid, proven, Orthodox scholars of the contemporary period (such as Schmemann, et al) and to be cautious around anything that seems to be a new “fad.” Orthodoxy should have no fads. That’s for Protestants.

    There’s room for depth. The 20th century saw a wonderful “re-awakening” of studies grounded in St. Gregory Palamas and the Philokalia through a number of great scholars, who were equally men of faith and insight. Indeed, throwing off the “yoke” of Westernization has been a slow process with a sometimes tortured history. But, present-day writers, if they’re doing theological work, should have a good grasp of that modern historical process and their own place within it. NT Wright, for example, is an interesting Bibilical scholar – an Anglican. But he is not Orthodox and cannot be taken at face value. As far as I know, I’ve never seen an Orthodox critique of his work.

    As for my own criticism of the phrase “building the Kingdom,” it is rooted both in theology (and understanding that it is impossible to build the Kingdom), and in the historical fact that it is a modern Protestant concept with no roots whatsoever in Orthodox teaching.

    Orthodoxy pretty much never talks about the stretch of history – particularly looking forward. That we’re doing this thing or that thing historically. The entire concept is modern, Western, and foreign. Always a good test for any idea that someone puts forward for Orthodox consumption is to see how it stacks up against the words of the Liturgy. In the Liturgy, it’s clear that we “already” in the Kingdom, that the Kingdom “is to come,” etc. But never a hint of “building” it.

    However, in Protestant usage, it’s pretty much synonymous with various modern projects – “making the world more just,” “fighting poverty,” etc. The kinds of things politicians talk about – which immediately lets you know that it’s from somewhere other than God.

    We are commanded to do good. God alone can do the math. We do not add to the Kingdom, subtract from the Kingdom, etc. We cannot judge such things and have no measuring stick other than Christ Himself. I dwelt in the heart of this stuff as an Anglican and I know its foolishness. Sounds good – but it’s built on misunderstandings and delusions.

    If it rhymes with modernity – run.

  45. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Thank you for the “edification” Father! 🙂 Very helpful

  46. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Father, the dangers you site are one of the reasons I have not done much with “theology”. I know I do not have the background to be that way well.

    So, I take what I see in icons, prayer and in the hearts of people I know love God and keep it simple.

    So when I first entered an Orthodox parish 40 years ago and was greeted with Joy by an Arabic grandmother and our Blessed Mother, I suspected I was in the right place.

    In other words, the Holy Presence (never seen anywhere else to the degree of the Orthodox Church any where else), the connections between myself and others (lay and clergy) as well as my feel for history and that newer is almost always worse…

    I knew that we receive goodness and truth(it is revealed) and participate in it by Grace, we do not make it. I knew that before I became Orthodox.

    What it has all boiled down to is that I know without doubt, I am a sinner BUT, Jesus promise to heal me is real. When I pray the Jesus Prayer, I am really talking to Him (not some fantasy in my brain) and He is/will/does transmit the Divine Energies as a response (Mercy). However His energies are also partaken of in each of the Holy Sacraments, if I open my heart.

    Joy and thanksgiving seem to be the primary way in which I share in those energies these days. His Grace and Mercy (ever present in indescribable amounts) builds anything of value so I try to listen and obey every once in awhile. Works more easily that way.

    Then there are the words of English playwright, Christopher Fry:
    “Shall we laugh, for the sake of laughter…it is an irrelevancy that almost amounts to a revelation.”

    Especially when it echos out of one’s heart in the midst of seeming to struggle.

  47. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Michael,
    Your life has been graced by the goodness of God. May He ever keep you in His peace.

  48. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    That is true Father and I am not alone at all.

  49. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Dear Father,
    Thank you for your elaboration. Over these years, I have sincerely appreciated your schooling in theology, which has helped us to ferret out our understandings that are not fruitful or non-Orthodox.

  50. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Dee,
    Years ago, when we were first starting St. Anne, I was getting “lobbied” for this perspective and that (a long story). I remember saying in response, “I’m taking St. Anne down the middle of the OCA in obedience to our bishop…I don’t know another way to live.” It has saved me any number of times and helped me steer clear of various distractions. My bishops have been faithful to correct me (as needed) and to pastor me (as needed). I am deeply grateful to have served under some great men.

  51. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Michael, you wrote:
    Janine, you are correct. Real repentance has nothing to do with guilt. Real repentance is acknowledging the reasons that one is separated from Jesus Christ and asking Him to heal the pain and the separation.

    From this layperson’s perspective, that’s a really good statement of theology.

    I do at times use non-conventional means to pray rather than a prayer rope. Of course, Father Stephen, if you have a correction about the following, I welcome it. I have some beautiful rosaries which I use to pray the Orthodox version of the prayers (Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary), and I don’t use visualization, just pray. I also picked up a stretchy Buddhist prayer beads in China when I kept misplacing my prayer rope for the Jesus Prayer. In all cases I ask them to be blessed by an Orthodox priest. Once I was in Greece and I asked the priest at the Church I go to regularly there to bless the rosary I had with me. Someone suggested that wasn’t okay, as it was from a Catholic tradition. The priest replied, “We bless everything.” To me that was one of the most succinct (and frankly brilliant) pieces of theology I’ve heard, and in so few words. It has served me often to ponder.

  52. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Janine,
    Thank God for the simple wisdom of the priest in Greece: “We bless everything.” People get very odd sometimes.

  53. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Amen, Father. Thank you for your helpful reply

  54. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Janine, for my statement holds any worthwhile theological truth one must first acknowledge that Jesus is real and living and that He loves us beyond anything else we experience.

    The key there is experience not just believe. Father is correct, my life has been blessed by the goodness of God. I have always accepted the truth my mother gave me when I was 18: “God is real and you need to find Him”.

    If He is real, I thought, then I can know Him, not simply “believe”.

    Belief and experience go hand in hand: each protecting and validating each other.

    Too much theology comes from a one sided approach. Belief alone leads to intellectual arrogance and heresy. Experience alone leads to irrational fanaticism and heresy.

    My teachers in the faith have clearly shown me and taught the boundaries of the Church. When I have gone outside those boundaries, I have most often been boxed about a bit.

    The combination of belief and experience brought me to reliance on Matthew 4:17: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

    That is the theology.

  55. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Nice Michael.

  56. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Thank you, Michael. Amen to what you said, and especially this bit of (to my mind) profound theology: If He is real, I thought, then I can know Him, not simply “believe”.

  57. Liz Avatar
    Liz

    Thank You Michael. Indeed, we also learn, grow in understanding through various life experiences. God bless.

  58. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Father, your prayers are part of the mercy Our Lord gives me. As are your words. Thank for both. I would not know His Joy and deep laughter except through you and others who pray for and with me.

    God is good.

  59. Byron Avatar
    Byron

    A long, and very fruitful conversation, to which I’ll add a humorous side story of my own.

    I originally studied in the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, KY. My NIV bible was riddled with notes from my classes (I added them in the margins). Upon becoming Orthodox, I jettisoned my learnings from those years as I did not have the energy to go through them and try to figure out what may be “correct” and what wasn’t. I got simple and focused on small things.

    But I kept my NIV on a bookshelf. I thought the notes in it, at some point, may be of use.

    One day I came home and my new Frenchie, who suffered from separation anxiety, had taken my absence out on my NIV. It was completely shredded! I found myself “bulldogged” a little farther into Orthodoxy. I have generally avoided theology ever since. Just trying to be humble and loving my neighbor is plenty hard enough for me!

    =======================================

    Father, will you be moving near Hal?

  60. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Byron,
    “But Lord! My dog ate my theology!” Love the story!

    ==================
    Yes. For other readers, Hal Freeman is a distant cousin whom I connected with after he became Orthodox. He has a very interesting history (including living in Russia with a Russian wife (now deceased) and children. He has moved back to the U.S. with his daughter and they now live in Greenville. He and I share a common ancestor from around 1800. Our two lines have lived in the Upstate of SC ever since – but not really “moving in the same circles.”

    Byron, my wife and I spent an afternoon at his small apartment with him and his beautiful daughter. We had so many stories to share with each other (he is one year younger than me – the same age as my wife). So many common experiences across the decades. I look forward, God willing, to many hours with my latest cousins. Wonders never cease!

    We are literally out-of-town starting next weekend for most of October (various things). When we get back, I think we’ll begin in earnest to get this house ready for sale (de-cluttering) and begin to shop seriously for our new home. We’re more likely to be in the Spartanburg area (about 30 minutes from Greenville). When you cross the county line, you can subtract aabout $50K from the price of a house. So, all of the convenience at a lower price.

    I heard shortly ago that Greenville neighborhoods have been really smashed by Hurricane Helene as it’s moved through. Keep them in your prayers.

  61. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Byron,
    Isn’t it odd how our dear doggies seem to cooperate with the Spirit for us sometimes? I had a similar experience with my dog once upon a time.

    Going back up a ways in the conversation, Michael I agree about Portia’s speech (“the quality of mercy”). I think of it often, with “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”

    As for me, when I graduated from college, I felt I still knew nothing about a lot of things. I prayed for God to make Himself known to me, that was the start of the road to faith. I’d been raised in Church but whatever treasure was always there wasn’t known or received until that long, long ongoing journey which continues

  62. Byron Avatar
    Byron

    Wonderful news, Father! I hope someday to visit with Hal (and you again!) and get to talk face-to-face. I’m a big fan of his blog as well.

    And, yes, Janine. Whenever I wonder about how to love, I look at my dog. So much joy to learn from! Creation is really amazing, I think.

  63. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    You are always welcome to visit Germany Fr. Stephen! We´ll leave the light on!

  64. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Matthew,
    That’s very kind. 🙂

  65. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Byron,
    I so enjoyed your story. And I’m so grateful for this community.

    Dear Father, Thank you for all you have provided us in your blog.

  66. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Hello Fr. Stephen. Your move back to SC doesn”t mean the blog will end … does it?

  67. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Matthew,
    By no means. For the blog to end, they’d have to pry my laptop out of my cold, dead fingers. 🙂 Or, if my Bishop told me to stop, or my wife…and they would have good reason. 🙂

  68. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Father, have you ever written an article on obedience to one’s Bishop? I am blessed I know Bishop Basil, Antiochian. I saw and talked to him today after Liturgy. Beautiful man. He is retired, but his direction still carries authority. He is easy to obey.

  69. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Michael,
    Obedience for the laity is, to my mind, not always a strict matter… However, for clergy, we are under obedience to our bishop. Now, in certain instances, a priest could appeal to an authority above the bishop (like the Holy Synod or something), but generally speaking, the bishop is the authority under which and by which we serve (as priests). Now, it’s not an absolute authority. A priest, for example, could refuse to obey and ask to be laicized. That’s an extreme reaction, of course, but a bishop does not have an absolute authority.

    Now, in the Orthodox Church in America, our bishops and priests tend to have a fairly comrade-like relationship. Bishops don’t just move a priest around, for example. That indeed happens in some other jurisdictions. Our bishops have the authority to do that (in the OCA) but, in practice, it’s generally not done.

    I’m a retired priest – and so I’m close to the bottom of the totem pole. I do what I’m asked, where I’m needed, and other concerns come first. It really wasn’t any different when I was an Episcopal priest – thus – for the past 43 years, I’ve lived under the authority of a bishop. It just seems normal to me. Some of my bishops have been saints. Some not so much. My Episcopal bishops treated me “ok” – but were not faithful to the teaching of the gospel in several critical areas.

    The best “authority” in the world is that which works by love. I obey because I love. They ask of me, out of love. That describes my “obedience” to my wife. It’s my joy to do what I’m asked to do (and that probably goes both ways).

    I’m quite cautious about “obedience” with the laity, because I’ve seen it abused from time-to-time and taught wrongly. Parishes are not monasteries, and parish priests are not abbots (or elders). Love is always best.

  70. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Father, as I am sure you probably know, a root of the word “obey” is to hear. To hear we have to listen. Actually listening often involves putting aside one’s preconceived notions. Whether it’s in hearing a sermon, written teaching, personal instruction or directions during Confession. Or the Holy Scripture.

    I have been consciously trying to uncover God in my heart for almost 60 years. It has been a journey that is still continuing. At times it has been a bit like rummaging through a slag heap but that is what it takes. I am a stubborn man. God is kind and His Joy overcomes and heals.

    May His Mercy be with us all as we open our hearts to hear.

  71. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    That is good news Fr. Stephen!

  72. Byron Avatar
    Byron

    The best “authority” in the world is that which works by love. I obey because I love. They ask of me, out of love. That describes my “obedience” to my wife. It’s my joy to do what I’m asked to do (and that probably goes both ways).

    I’m quite cautious about “obedience” with the laity, because I’ve seen it abused from time-to-time and taught wrongly. Parishes are not monasteries, and parish priests are not abbots (or elders). Love is always best.

    One of the things I like to focus on when answering questions about the authority of the Church (or it’s Bishops and/or Priests) is that its authority is not a worldly, autocratic authority. It is an authority rooted in love, one for another. If love is absent, then so is the authority itself.

  73. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Michael,
    Invariably, it is only love that truly listens. We are hard-wired to go on the defensive when we are threatened. The kind of obedience that is rooted in coercion is inherently flawed. Only love actually works. There are many things in the world’s cultures that require some form of coerced obedience (various laws, the military, police, etc.). Those things, in a healthy culture, operate “lightly” with as little coercion as possible. A healthy culture, I would surmise, requires some kind of basis in love (on every level).

    The human problem, pretty much universally, is our failure to love one another.

  74. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Byron,
    Indeed – tyranny demands “obedience,” but it has no true authority. Last Sunday (on the Greek calendar) the gospel said, “God is kind to the evil and the unjust.” Such is His authority – it is love.

  75. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    What is love? 1 Corinthians 13?

  76. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Matthew. 1 Cor 13 is always good. Today verse 12 gets my attention: “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face; now I know in part, then I shall know l fully even as I am fully known.” (KJV)

  77. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Does love involve committment?

  78. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Matthew, great question. My initial response is no but rather a releasing of the will.

  79. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Can you be more specific Michael?

  80. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Matthew,
    Thinking about your question, I tried to imagine love without commitment and I came up blank. If the “greatest love” is to “lay down one’s life for your brother,” I think that would entail commitment (at the very least).

    Michael, I’m not sure what “releasing of the will” means. The will is an inherent part of who we are, and, even when it’s feeble, it’s still there. We may, with Christ say, “Not my will but Thine be done,” but this is not a releasing of the will – it is willing what God wills. I’m very cautious about speaking of the will – like the topic of obedience – the “will” is also something that frequently gets abused in many problematic versions of spirituality. Rather than the language of suppressing the will and such (in various schemes of “obedience”), I think it is best simply to work at doing good – to keep the commandments of Christ. It’s hard enough.

  81. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Fr. When I really love my wife, I am not thinking as much about what I want or need to do. (My will). I release what “I want”. For me, love involves surrender of what “I want”.

    In joy, there is a laughter that breaks darkness apart and surrenders to the love of our Lord as experienced in another person who, since I am married, I am one flesh with. My experience is that my will impedes the union both with my wife and my Lord. So, I must surrender in faith.
    Hope that makes sen

  82. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Obedience, in my experience, is a joining of one’s will with the Will of Jesus.
    Having spent a number of years “under obedience” in a fake situation, I understand the difference.
    God is good.

  83. Mark Spurlock Avatar
    Mark Spurlock

    Matthew,

    I would not use the word “involve” about love because (like God) love to me is best approached apophatically. Corinthians 13 does so; even those of its statements framed positively are complements to apophatic rhetoric. (If love is kind, it is not unkind; if love is patient, it is not impatient, etc.)

    In designing data structures for a computer program, a strategy is to consider whether a relationship “is” or “has a”: a dog is a mammal that has a bark–the difference being that the dog can lose its bark but cannot lose the quality of being mammal and still be a dog. Likewise, love *is* commitment (in my opinion), rather than *involves* (has) commitment.

    Going back to Corinthians 13: “[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” To me, “always” goes beyond only involving commitment: it *is* commitment.

  84. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Michael,
    Thank for the explanation.

  85. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Michael,
    I appreciate that you “know the difference.” I tend to tread very carefully around the conversations of the will and obedience because there are many there among my readers who may very well be in situations where these things are abused – or have been abused in such settings – and need to hear a careful word.

  86. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Part of the wide spread misuse of obedience is in thinking in terms of authority. Obey, in its natural form, simply means to listen and hear.

    To really hear requires a suspension of disbelief on the part of the listener; a willingness to really listen.

    When one takes a vow of obedience as priests do, there is the obligation to listen and do what is said.

    That ultimately requires an active recognition of the mercy of Jesus Christ and a suspension of one’s own desire.

    The fake obedience is based on human will alone and a rejection of our Lord’s Mercy flowing from the Cross. Real obedience requires a mutual submission, in humility, to His sacrifice that opened up Mercy to us.

    Difficult many times. Too easy to consider it an act of will alone.

  87. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Michael,
    I would prefer that we drop the topic of obedience for the time being.

  88. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    Sure. I will do that here but the conversation here has begun a new quest in my heart to learn about it in an appropriate way. Please forgive my pushing it.

  89. Simon Avatar
    Simon

    I’ve been following and thinking about the comments about obedience. Frankly, I don’t see any merit in it. It’s the easiest way to handle existential dilemmas. I do what I’m told. I think what I’m told to think. I say what I’m told to say. It’s boring. Outside of a monastery how can anyone really understand it. I miss my priest. The only man I ever respected enough to kneel before. Hopefully, that means something in the grand scheme.

  90. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Simon,
    I am largely of a similar opinion. I see obedience as part of the monastic life – where it is carefully defined. Although, there are stories within monastic literature of its abuse even there…and it discusses the problem.

    A hallmark of what is termed “cult-like” behavior is often “spiritual abuse,” which is often characterized by the manipulation of shame and an effort to control. In my experience, it really has little or no place within a local parish. Obviously, there has to be order in certain settings – someone has to make certain decisions. But when that decision-making starts having a “mission creep” – then red flags should begin to appear. Fortunately, within my jurisdiction, and in most places of Orthodoxy, there are Deans – priests who have an immediate authority to intervene in parish situations. I served as a Dean for about 8 years (I think that’s right). When the system works – it’s good.

    I’m cautious, as I’ve said, about talk of obedience in local parish settings. People read monastic writings and make the mistake of thinking that it is describing universal Orthodox practice. That is simply not the case.

    Generally, if love fails, then nothing else works effectively. The question for me is how to repair relationships when love fails – how to heal the souls involved. Christ came to us as the Great Physician, not the great lawyer or even the commander-in-chief. As a “commander” he washed feet and told those whom he was placing in authority to do the same.

    It’s also the case that we fail to love one another – in the Church, in the family, on the job, etc. We need a Savior.

  91. Simon Avatar
    Simon

    With my son I really try to be mindful of not appealing to “because I told you so.” It’s a lazy way to parent. There are times of course where his strict cooperation is important because I have to keep him safe and we have discussed this at length. There are times when my son is uncooperative, but I can see in that an emerging sense of self and the nascent blossoming of a personality. Is that lack of cooperation to be considered disobedience? Is it wrong? Frankly, I don’t even think about his behavior in terms of “right/wrong”, “good/bad”. It’s just too simplistic. How can these dichotomies be of any real use in guiding a personality to a healthy maturity? I am not saying there aren’t boundaries and consequences. I am saying that the traditional finger wagging followed by some assembly line, black-and-white packaging of human behavior just doesn’t help. I am not trying to steer the conversation back to a discussion Fr. Stephen has expressly said to leave alone. However, for me this ties into how we understand sin and what we mean by confession. I think much of monastic culture(s) gets idealized. From what I can tell most people wouldn’t survive it. It seems like the kind of thing a person is born to do. To posit that as an ideal or as the norm or to mythologize seems dangerous. It seems to me the danger is that it sets us up for certain failure. My son and my marriage is all the obedience I can handle.

  92. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Simon,
    Families are a good example. No two are really alike. Personalities and so much more make words like “obedience” little more than a “place holder” for a behavior and understanding that varies a great deal from one family to another.

    Actually, monasteries are quite similar to families. I have been in monasteries where I felt quite uncomfortable (similar to how I feel in some homes). There are other monasteries where I indeed felt quite at home. When I’ve counseled someone who wants to try the monastic life, I tell them that they might have to look around to find a monastery where they actually “fit.” It’s certainly not “one size fits all.” Thus, even something as universal as monastic obedience will look one way in this monastery and another way in that – for a variety of reasons.

    God give us grace to fit.

  93. Michael Bauman Avatar
    Michael Bauman

    I have to ask forgiveness for starting the conversation in bad direction. I had no idea that obedience was such a specialized, arcane and sensitive subject or that it would create confusion.
    Even when I was in a often abusive application of obedience, it always seemed essential in one level or another to the Christian life.
    One of the most beautiful examples I ever had was when I attended a Friends church in a Sunday in 1985. It was astounding as all sat in obedience (listening for the Holy Spirit). Occasionally one of the members spoke what they heard in obedience.

    That is when I began looking at the root of the word which simple connotes listening for the word of God and responding.

    It is actually impossible to impose obedience in reality–it must be given out of love and humility, IMO.

    I can walk into the Sanctuary of my parish and be surrounded by obedient brothers and sisters and our Holy Mother, her Son in her lap, her arms outstretched in welcome asking me to worship and receive her Son, our Savior. To open my heart as best I am able is obedience.
    To open my heart to my clergy and hear their words and receive their blessings is also to obey.

    May our Lord forgive me a sinner, and forgive me Father for speaking on the topic again. I am done.

  94. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Thanks so much Michael, Mark and Fr. Stephen. Your comments about love have been helpful. If love “is” committment, rather than simply “involving” committment, then I continue to be saddened.

    My 80 year old mother, who is also a Christian, has decided to divorce her 86 year old husband after about 23 years of marriage. She has said that she never loved him. I am not in agreement with my mother´s decision, but my wife has said I should suspend judgment.

    It is all so difficult to understand and navigate.

  95. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    About the suspension of judgment …

    How do the Orthodox understand mindfulness (which seems to me to be a Buddhist practice), or being encapsulated in the “now”? Is such a state a taste of union with God? Is such an experience even necessary? I ask because those who talk about mindfulness seem to say that it is necessary to suspend all judgment in order to enter into this space. I find that VERY difficult to do!

    A friend who is a Christian, but who has been heavily influenced by secular psychological therapy, went to hear Eckhardt Tolle speak the other night. Tolle is famous for talking about the “now” and living in it, though he seldom speaks of Jesus.

    Sorry for taking us a bit off track, but I am searching for answers regarding this topic … Orthodox answers. Thank you.

  96. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Matthew,
    It’s difficult when people we love (like your mother) make decisions that sadden us. May God give you grace.

  97. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Matthew,
    Orthodox spiritual writings generally commend the “continual remembrance of the name of God” by which is meant the practice of the Jesus Prayer, though there are other ways to keep the saying. The point being a “mindfulness” of Christ rather than “mindfulness” of the present moment. I agree that the present mindfulness fad is largely inspired by pop psychology’s borrowings from Buddhism. It’s a bit like being “spiritual but not religious.”

    It’s not sinful – but mostly (to my mind) represents a sort of fascination with the self that is a hallmark of the modern middle-class. We struggle to be happy and at peace.

    I’ve paid attention over the years to the many people for whom something other than “mindfulness” or even being happy and at peace is a struggle – particularly when it’s generated by brain issues. As someone with ADHD, I have had to learn to live with a certain “noisiness” as a fact of life. It’s not unlike the tinnitus (ringing in the ears) that I’ve had for around 30 years. You learn to factor it in, not get bent out of shape about it, and soldier on.

    Christ tells us to “take no thought for the morrow” – but doesn’t seem to say this in order to teach us a mind technique. Rather, He says it in the context of assuring us of God’s good will and providence. The point is God.

    It’s for such reasons that I draw our attention back to the commandments of Christ – to “do the next good thing” that He brings into our lives. All of us will have good days or bad days (in our heads). Nevertheless, it is possible to be mindful of Christ, to keep His commandments, and not be overly concerned with how our brains are functioning at any given moment.

    I once stated that modern Americans “want the spiritual life of Mother Theresa and all of the shoes of Imelda Marcos” (that latter reference dates the comment). I probably need to find a more contemporary illustration. Our modern popular gurus tend to offer some version of this.

  98. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Thanks so much for the helpful words Fr. Stephen, especially regarding my mum´s decision and my involvement in it.

    I think it is interesting that Eckhardt Tolle – a popular modern guru – has literally 1000`s at his talks and at my church there are very, very few. 1/3 of the real estate in our diocese has to be sold. Such is the sad state of the Catholic Church in Western Europe. 🙁

    Thanks again Fr. Stephen.

  99. Dee of St Herman Avatar
    Dee of St Herman

    Matthew,
    I so appreciate your presence and contributions to this blog and the questions you ask.

    I’ve been thinking about this phenomenon you describe about the popularity of this man’s thinking to draw such a crowd. Somehow, it seems directly related to what Father is saying about the spirituality of Mother Teresa while owning all the shoes of Imelda Marcos.

    If I were to draw on one or two words that would distinguish the Orthodox Way from this, I would choose fasting or prayer, not obedience or will (with all the triggers such words have in our culture). When the disciples attempted to uproot the Adversary within a child who was thrown into the fire by such a spirit, they couldn’t do it. When Jesus came along, He ordered it out. Then, His disciples asked why they couldn’t do it. His response was that such required prayer and fasting. I have noticed that just like Father said, prayer and fasting come most accessible to me within a heart open to Christ to be filled with love. There is a mutuality of love in such grace.

  100. Janine Avatar
    Janine

    Thank you, everyone, for all of your comments. They are edifying and helpful.

    I would like to add the word “economia” to the discussion. As I understand it, economia is how we make decisions when some sort of black and white clarity of right or wrong is not there. For the most part, this comes into play with just about everything IMO. So economia says basically that we err on the side of mercy (Father can correct or elaborate on this I’m certain!). But it’s a really important concept to be coupled with the topic of discussion. You don’t get rules without economia. This surprisingly filters into a lot of culture that might puzzle people in Orthodox countries (like, for example, a certain attitude toward rules and regulations or laws on the books! but forgive me, I digress).

    On the topic of commitment, I find in myself a kind of loyalty that makes itself felt. This suggestion of loyalty is in my faith, and it’s also in my relationships, and it’s even related to economia. Of course, experience is in all of this, everything is on a curve. A line might be crossed. But love isn’t or shouldn’t be totally blind; love has its own measure to take and involves also correction (as in a rebuke from Christ, or a parent trying to get a little one to brush their teeth 🙂 ) – and sometimes silence is the only way to stay away from further harm in a relationship in my experience.

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