Eating Your Way to Paradise

It is interesting that the story of mankind’s first sin involved eating. We didn’t eat too much, only the wrong thing in the wrong way. But as sins go, it seems rather mundane. Murder is more dramatic (that was a second generation sin). Betrayal makes for a better novel. But there it was – we ate our way to perdition.

It’s not widely known, but you can eat your way to paradise as well, at least, in a manner of speaking.

In Classical Christianity it’s called “asceticism.” The word is derived from the Greek for “exercise.” It refers to fasting (not eating some things), prayer (uniting ourselves to God), generosity (sharing what you have), and watchfulness (paying attention to where you are and when you are). And that is the spiritual life.

When I was young I imagined many things about the spiritual life. Caves and mountaintops, far out experiences of bliss and enlightenment, deep piercing words wrapped  in exotic disguise. Today I wear the exotic disguise of an Orthodox priest, though after a while the cassock becomes more comical than exotic. An Orthodox priest in the South is not an object of admiration and wonder. He is more like a circus clown and a topic for conversation about “you won’t believe what I saw today at Walmart.”

But asceticism is not exotic nor even very difficult. Eating and not eating do not reach the level of difficulty of even a simple sport. Children do them all the time. Generosity is in no way complicated, again children do it with delight (except when they don’t). Prayer is hard, perhaps the hardest thing a person ever does as is the simple, continual act of watchfulness. It is in these two latter disciplines that the spiritual life most often stumbles.

But again, neither prayer nor watchfulness are outside or beyond the normal bounds of human activity. Prayer is talking (or not talking). Who you talk to and what you say apply to many other daily activities. It’s not complicated.

Watchfulness can be exhausting, but is quite normal. Every driver of a car has to practice some form of watchfulness. Mind-wandering, day-dreaming, and other more nefarious activities (texting), at 80 miles an hour are descriptions of how not to drive. And though such things happen all the time, they are certainly curbed sufficiently to allow most drivers, most of the time, to reach most of their destinations safely.

So the essential actions of the spiritual life are not complicated. We do them all the time – but in different ways and for different reasons. The ways and reasons of the spiritual life are thus the final, most fundamental question.

Why do I eat? Why do I pray? Why should I be generous? What am I watching for? The answer is counterintuitive. The answer to these basic questions of life is death:

Just as bread is the most necessary of all foods, so the thought of death is the most essential of all works. The remembrance of death brings labors and meditations, or rather, the sweetness of dishonor to those living in community, whereas for those living away from turbulence it produces freedom from daily worries and breeds constant prayer and guarding of the mind, virtues that are the cause and the effect of the thought of death. – St. John Climacus

I could state this more positively by saying that the ways and reasons of the spiritual life are found in uniting ourselves with Christ. But our sense of self-preservation will almost always want to find Christ without His Cross. St. John Climacus brings the matter of our life to a sharp point. You are alive – you are going to die. We have to work it backwards – live in a manner such that your death will not undo the whole of your life.

Fasting is learning how to eat in order to live. And the life that we live is the life of Christ. Therefore I eat a little less and share a little more. I eat a little less and pray a little more. I eat a little less and pay attention to my life.

Why do I pray? I talk to God because He alone is life. The true life-giving conversation is the one I have with God. I learn to say thank you, from the depths of my being. I learn to use my voice to offer thanksgiving in the name of all creation. I talk to God because He alone tells me the truth about myself and the world around me. God never lies.

I share what I have with others because they, too, are my life. They are not my rivals and my enemies. I don’t win if we all don’t win.

I pay attention and watch myself because I know that I have a tendency to wander. I forget who I am and why I am alive. I watch because I do not want to come to my last moment and realize that I forgot to live.

Oh, and don’t forget to say you’re sorry and forgive everyone for everything.

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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23 responses to “Eating Your Way to Paradise”

  1. Stephania Avatar
    Stephania

    Dear Father Stephen,

    thank you for sending us this helpful and clear preparation for the coming weeks. It is the map of where and how to walk until the day of Christ’s resurrection and beyond.
    It reaches my heart.

    Peace of Christ

    Stephania

  2. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Stephania,
    You’re very welcome. God give you good strength in our coming labors!

  3. Ann Dibble Avatar
    Ann Dibble

    THIS. I’m in!

  4. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Could we also say, Fr. Stephen, that we eat our way to Paradise everytime we partake of the Mystery of the Eucharist? That´s what immediately came to me after reading only the title of this article.

  5. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Matthew,
    The Orthodox answer to your question is that we (properly) never receive the Eucharist as an isolated event. Orthodox practice presumes ascetical practices (prayer, fasting, alms-giving, repentance) as part of the Eucharistic discipline. Orthodoxy does not imagine asceticism as isolated from the Eucharist – it is one life. We should not think of receiving the Eucharist as something we do on Sunday morning. It is something we are doing all week long – it’s an ongoing “slow meal.”

    Our relationships are like this as well. In a marriage, everything – every word, every action, etc., is the relationship. We cannot isolate certain moments, no matter how intimate or special, as though they exist in isolation.

  6. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Thanks Fr. Stephen. I agree.

  7. Cathy Avatar
    Cathy

    Beautiful! Wise and wonderful encouragement. God Bless and Keep You!

  8. Owen Kelly Avatar
    Owen Kelly

    Thank you for the article, Fr. Stephen. About this time every year, I tend to reassess my spiritual goals and think about the reason for fighting this battle we call the Christian life. Below are my own thoughts, sort of a pre-Lent pep talk I give to myself. I always work better toward a goal when I know the “why” of it. Why do we seek to strengthen our will during Great Lent?

    We all have a measure of life energy. A certain amount of “gas in the tank” that propels us into every area of daily living. Great Lent is about strengthening the will, and the purpose of a strong will is freedom – liberation from compulsive behavior, so that our passions can be harnessed for and directed toward the welfare of all. By training the senses through the practices of Great Lent – prayer, fasting, and generosity – we can develop a stronger and stronger will.

    As the article explains so well, this begins with eating. But the strongest sensual desire is that of sex, the fiercest adversary of the disciplined will. This battle can last a long time. As our strongest desire, it contains immense power. Strong sexual desire means a lot of “gas in the tank.” Instead of throwing away the tank, we seek to master this desire and harness its power. When sex is mastered, its power can be used to elevate our consciousness, moving us forward on the path of evolution, toward the goal of Pascha.

    I believe this is the reason that all spiritual traditions have held out celibacy as vitally important for deeply knowing God. So much power is caught up in sexual desire that, once it comes under control, it can lead even an ordinary person (like me) to great heights of spiritual wisdom and selfless action. I long for this, “as a deer longs for flowing streams.” When the will becomes strong enough to govern even sex, the heart becomes pure. And as Jesus says, none but the pure in heart shall see God. It is to purify the heart of all selfless passions that we seek to strengthen the will, ultimately realizing the power of the Resurrection.

    My two cents as we enter this season. Good strength to all.

  9. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Owen,
    I appreciate your thoughts. I think that a primary difficulty with sexual temptation in our culture is the culture itself. As you note, sexual desire is one of or even the “most” potent of human desires (though I think this varies from person to person). But, in that this is so, it is constantly stimulated by the consumerism of our culture – “sex sells.” I have to admit, however, when I toured a Pompei exhibit in Chicago back in the 70’s, I was utterly shocked by the rather omnipresent sexual element – it well exceeded our own – and reflected more deeply on St. Paul’s writings.

    I also think about Mt. Athos. In my week-long visit there – as I recall – mostly I thought about food (always hungry) – and sleep (never enough). Not much else (oh, and I prayed).

  10. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Owen said:

    “Great Lent is about strengthening the will, and the purpose of a strong will is freedom – liberation from compulsive behavior, so that our passions can be harnessed for and directed toward the welfare of all.”

    This is very good Owen. Thanks so much. I´ve been learning that although God can and does use us in our brokenness, there is this sense (I think) that our usage here pales in comparison to what it really could be. Great Lent is an opportune time to rethink; to repent; to turn away from the behaviours of which you speak so that our passions can be harnessed and directed toward the welfare of all. Great Lent can help us to undertake the inner purification necessary for divine communion with God. It is from this better place, I think, that we can truly be at the service of others in freedom and peace without the risk of burnout, desires to control, etc. As such God can and will use us in even greater ways!

    All that said, it certainly is a process and not an easy one for me. God give us grace and strength!

  11. Drewster2000 Avatar
    Drewster2000

    Fr. Stephen,

    “Technically, our nature isn’t “fallen.” Were our nature fallen, we would have a “sin nature” as in Calvinism. The problem, if we get technical, is that we are not able to live in accordance with our nature. We could say our nature is “impaired” – unable to be what it should be at present.”

    I’ve heard you explain this before, and I appreciate it. It makes sense to me and puts our humanity in a better light. However, I wonder if it’s a point that simply doesn’t take for most of us. The distinction isn’t something which really hits home fundamentally.

    I use the example of the child rising up out of bed in the morning, declaring that the sun is getting up as well – only to have her scientist father point out that actually the earth has just completed another revolution on its own axis.

    In the best case scenario, the child listens and learns this truth, but organically the idea of the sun rising and setting with us, journeying across the sky as we do with our own day seems to make more sense.

    It makes me wonder if in her own way the child is closer to the truth. Getting back to our nature, sometimes I get the feeling we are captivated by the understanding that we’re fallen because it makes everything else makes sense, i.e. we’re bruised from that fall, we often find ourselves looking at the ground instead of up or level, being hit with the reality that we are fallen causes us to look up for help, and so on.

    Just a thought.

  12. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Drewster,
    The child is a good example: they don’t think about natures. “Nature” is a learned notion – and segments of our culture teach the “fallen nature” thing (with a whole lot of baggage). I think we could say that we know something is wrong. And, to a degree, that’s pretty much “’nuff said.” I still think of the sun rising…despite knowing about science explanations, etc. However, since I live on this terrestial ball, it appears to “rise.” I think it was Einstein who taught us that observations are “relative.” We think of the earth as “stable” even though we’re moving through the universe, and the universe is moving, etc.

    I don’t, however, think that the earth looks “flat.” It looks “curved.” That’s the nature of the horizon if you can ever see it. Of course, I think Nevada looks like Mars (at least in the pictures).

    I have found, as a pastor, that the Orthodox language regarding human nature is much more helpful and effective when it comes to hearing confessions and guiding souls. The other stuff just never seemed to work or to be accurate.

  13. Drewster2000 Avatar
    Drewster2000

    Fr. Stephen,

    I couldn’t agree more. The priests and confessors have to know that the earth spins on its axis and the human’s nature is not fallen in order to help heal the souls of the children God has given to them, but the rest of us rise with the sun and try not to fall with the race. We truly are His children and always shall be.

  14. Ben Avatar
    Ben

    I appreciate the line “But asceticism is not exotic nor even very difficult.” Its especially true when compared to your last line. “Oh, and don’t forget to say you’re sorry and forgive everyone for everything.” I haven’t figured out how to do that one yet, especially for the people who are dangerous to me or my kids. I don’t know how to cut people out of my life AND forgive them.

  15. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Ben,
    For such situations (and they’re real), I have learned to pray, “God do not hold this (whatever it is that needs forgiving) against them on the day of judgment.” It constitutes “releasing them from a debt,” which is one of the key meanings of forgiveness. But it does not entail not protecting your family.

  16. Edward Wojciechowski Avatar
    Edward Wojciechowski

    This is great father , very practical. I think I might just need some exercise.

  17. Michael Williams Avatar

    I am sorry for my transgressions today. Like the prodigal son, “I have sinned against earth and against Thee, and I am no longer worthy to be called Thy son. Make me as one of your hired servants.”

    From todays Octoechos reading (Ode IX):

    “Now is the time for repentance and works of purity! This is the day for us to do the works of light! Flee the darkness of the passions, and cast off the sleep of evil despondency, O my soul, that thou mayest share in light divine.

    I sigh like the publican, and I shed tears like the harlot; like the thief I cry out to Thee: Remember me, O Compassionate One; and like the prodigal son I exclaim: I have sinned! And I fall down before Thee as did the Canaanite woman. O merciful Christ, disdain me not!”

    And I stand up again only with Your help. Amen.

  18. Timmy Avatar
    Timmy

    Fr. Stephen,

    Thank you for such a beautiful & salient distillation.

    Truly, this is the essence of the spiritual life, plain & simple, yet certainly not effortless.

    It is a gift to be able to phase out all the secondary sounds that can easily distract us from the primary melody, and you’ve done that so well here. Your writing helps many of us who are struggling on The Way in our noisy & distracting contemporary word.

    May God grant you many years!

  19. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Timmy,
    Many thanks! As God gives us grace, may He prosper us on the Way.

  20. Alan Avatar
    Alan

    Wow…such a simple post. Such a profound post. Thank you Father!

  21. Owen Kelly Avatar
    Owen Kelly

    “I don’t win if we all don’t win.”

    Wow. What a powerful maxim – defining a daily approach to practical life as well as our ultimate eschatological hope. All things are truly one in Christ.

  22. Ioana Avatar
    Ioana

    Hello, father. Is that Romania? Must be Oasa or Gabud, one of the two monasteries, for Christmas or Easter… It helps when one has a community. John Climacus said somewhere that most people pray when they are part of a community, but very few can pray alone. Perhaps that is why asceticism is so hard these days.

  23. Fr. Stephen Avatar

    Ioana,
    I think it’s Oasa or Iasi. Community is certainly helpful in every regard. May the Lord help us in whatever circumstances!

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