Ἅγιος Νικόλαος Καβάσιλας: Περὶ τοῦ τρίτου μακαρισμοῦ

Περὶ τοῦ τρίτου μακαρισμοῦ· ὅτι τὸ πρᾴους εἶναι
διὰ τῆς εἰρημένης κατορθοῦται μελέτης.
Πρᾳότητος δὲ πέρι καὶ τοῦ θυμοῦ κρατεῖν, καὶ μὴ πρὸς
τοὺς λελυπηκότας χαλεπῶς ἔχειν, πολλῶν ὄντων δι᾿ ὧν τὴν
ἀληθῆ φιλοσοφίαν ὁ Σωτὴρ εἰσήνεγκεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, τὰ
πλεῖστα πάντων καὶ μέγιστα προτέθεικε παραδείγματα, καὶ
οἷς εἶπε καὶ οἷς ἐποίησε καὶ ὧν ἠνέσχετο πάσχων.
(66.) Αὐτίκα γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῶν λελυπηκότων, αἵματος ἠνέσ-
χετο καὶ σαρκός· καὶ τούτους ἦλθε λῦσαι ζητῶν, οἷς τὰ
δεινότατα πάντων εἶχεν ἐγκαλεῖν· καὶ παρ᾿ ὧν ἔπειτα ταῖς
εὐεργεσίαις αἷς τὴν φύσιν ἐπηνώρθου, τῶν βασκάνων
ἐπιθεμένων οὐκ ἀνῆκεν εὐεργετῶν· ἀλλ᾿ ὅτι τοὺς δαίμονας
ἐξέβαλλε τῶν ἀνθρώπων, Βεελζεβοὺλ καὶ δαιμονίων ἄρχων
καὶ δεινότατα πάντων ἀκούων, οὐδὲν ἧττον ἤλαυνε· καὶ
τῶν μαθητῶν ἕνα πρὸς αὐτὸν διαφθαρέντα, τοσοῦτον
ἀπέσχεν ἐκβαλεῖν τοῦ χοροῦ, ὥστε καὶ συνῆν ἃ συνεῖναι
φίλοις εἰκός, καὶ ἁλῶν ἐκοινώνει τῷ φονευτῇ καὶ τῶν
ἀπορρήτων τῷ προδότῃ καὶ τῶν αἱμάτων αὐτῶν, καὶ
τελευταῖον παρέσχε περιβαλεῖν καὶ φιλῆσαι.
(67.) Καὶ τὰ μὲν πάντων καινότατα ἐτολμᾶτο· ὑπὲρ ὧν
εὖ πεποίηκεν ἀπέθνῃσκεν· αὐτοὶ τὸ ξίφος ὤθησαν οἱ
παθόντες εὖ· ὁ φίλος τοῦ φόνου τοῖς φονευταῖς ἡγήσατο·
τὸ φίλημα ἦν τοῦ φόνου σύνθημα. Καὶ ὁ ταῦτα πάσχων
οὕτως ἡμέρως εἶχε καὶ φιλανθρώπως, ὥστε ὑπό του τῶν
μαθητῶν πληγέντος τῶν κυνῶν ἐκείνων ἑνός, αὐτὸν τὴν
πληγὴν μὴ παραδραμεῖν, ἀλλ᾿ εὐθὺς ἰάσασθαι, τοῦ μέλους
ἁψάμενον. Καὶ οὕτω σημεῖον ἐξενεγκόντος τῆς τε ὑπερφυοῦς
ἰσχύος καὶ ἡμερότητος τῆς ἐσχάτης, οὔτε ταύτην φοβη-
θέντας οὔτ᾿ ἐκείνην αἰδεσθέντας, οὐκ ἀπώλεσεν οὐδὲ πῦρ
ὗσε τοῖς μιαροῖς οὐδὲ κεραυνοῖς ἔβαλε, δικαίους ὄντας καὶ
τούτων καὶ εἴ τι χεῖρον.
Ἀλλ᾿ ὁ μὲν τῶν ἀγγέλων χορὸς ἀδεῶς οὐδὲ προσβλέπειν
εἶχον αὐτῷ, τοῖς δὲ ἕλκουσιν ἠκολούθει καὶ παρεῖχε
συνδῆσαι χεῖρας, αἷς ὑπεχώρει δεσμὰ νόσου καὶ δαιμόνων
ἐλύετο τυραννίς· καὶ παίσαντα κατὰ κόρρης αὐτὸν τὸν
κάκιστ᾿ ἀπολούμενον δοῦλον ἐξόν, οὐ διέφθειρεν, ἀλλ᾿ ἠπίως
μάλα καὶ φιλανθρώπως λόγων ἠξίου καὶ διωρθοῦτο τὴν
γνώμην τό γ᾿ ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ.
(68.) Εἶτα θανάτου τιμησάντων αὐτῷ τῶν μιαρῶν δικασ-
τῶν σιωπῇ φέρει τὴν ψῆφον· καὶ δεξάμενος τὸ τίμημα
καὶ προσηλωθεὶς ἤδη τῷ ξύλῳ, τὸ πρὸς τοὺς φονευτὰς
οὕτως οὐ διέλυσε φίλτρον, ὥστε τοῦ γεγεννηκότος ἐδεῖτο
τοῦ πρὸς τὸν Μονογενῆ τολμήματος μηδεμίαν παρ᾿ αὐτῶν
εἰσπράξασθαι δίκην· καὶ οὐ παρῃτεῖτο περὶ αὐτῶν μόνον,
ἀλλ᾿ ἤδη καὶ ἀπελογεῖτο, καὶ ἦν ἡ φωνὴ τῆς ἀπολογίας,
σφόδρα περικαιομένου καὶ ἐλεοῦντος· «Ἄφες γὰρ αὐτοῖς,
φησί, Πάτερ· οὐ γὰρ οἴδασι τί ποιοῦσι». Καὶ καθάπερ
πατὴρ φιλόστοργος ἀφραίνοντας διὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν παῖδας
οἰκτείρων, ἥμερον αὐτοῖς εἰργάζετο τὸν σωφρονιστήν· καὶ
τότε μὲν μετὰ τούτων ἀπέθνῃσκε τῶν φωνῶν.
(69.) Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀνεβίω καὶ τῆς ἑορτῆς ἔδει κοινωνοὺς λαβεῖν
τῶν ἐπιτηδείων οἷς ἐνέμεινεν ἡ γνώμη, μὴ μνησικακήσας
ὑπὲρ ὧν ἔλιπον αὐτὸν φυγόντες ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ κινδύνων,
τοὺς μαθητὰς συνεκάλει· καὶ μηνύσας οἷ δεῖ γενομένους
αὐτῷ συνελθεῖν, ἐπεὶ συνῆλθε φανείς, οὐ προφέρει τὴν
φυγήν, οὐδὲ φαίνεταί που πρὸς αὐτοὺς τοσούτου δή τινος
μεμνημένος, καὶ ὡς ἰσχυρίσαντο μὲν αὐτῷ θανάτου πάντες
κοινωνήσειν καὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων, οἱ δ᾿ οὐδὲ τὴν θέαν ἤνεγκαν,
καὶ ταῦτα οὐδὲ παρόντων ἀλλ᾿ ἔτι μελλόντων τῶν δεινῶν.
Ἀλλ᾿ εἰρήνης καὶ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου καὶ τῶν τοιούτων
αὐτοῖς μεταδούς, τὴν τῆς οἰκουμένης ἔπειτα πάσης
ἐπιτρέπει κηδεμονίαν, καταστήσας αὐτοὺς ἄρχοντας ἐπὶ
πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν.
(70.) Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν εἴργαστο κοινῇ τὸν χορόν· τὸν δὲ
κορυφαῖον αὐτόν, πολλάκις ἤδη τὸ πρὸς αὐτὸν προδεδωκότα
φίλτρον καὶ τὴν στοργὴν ἠρνημένον, ὁποῖα; Οὐ γὰρ ὅσον
τὴν ἄρνησιν οὐκ εἰς μέσον ἤγαγεν, οὐδ᾿ ἀνέμνησε τῶν
συνθηκῶν ἐν αἷς ἀπώμοτον ἦν αὐτῷ τὸ μὴ μετασχεῖν τοῦ
θανάτου τῷ διδασκάλῳ, ὧν αὐτίκα παραβάτης ἦν οὐδὲ
μικρὸν διαλιπὼν χρόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἀγγελοῦντας τὴν
ἀνάστασιν πέμψας χωρὶς τῶν ἄλλων αὐτῷ καὶ ταύτῃ
τιμήσας, ὁ δὲ καὶ συνελθὼν τὰ φιλικὰ διελέχθη, καὶ
πυνθάνεται τὸν ἑαυτοῦ πόθον εἰ μείζων ἢ παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις
τῶν ἑταίρων ἐστὶν ἐν αὐτῷ· καὶ τοῦ Πέτρου φιλεῖν εἰπόντος,
ἔτι ταὐτὸ πυνθάνεται, καὶ τό· «Φιλῶ σε» πάλιν ἀκούσας,
ἀνείρετ᾿ αὖθις εἰ φιλοῖτο· καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ἐρωτῶν
ἀνῆκεν πολλάκις εἰ μὴ Πέτρος ἀπεῖπεν ἀνιαθείς, εἰ πρὸς
τὸ μαθεῖν ὅτι φιλοῖτο πολλῶν δέοιτο λόγων, πάντα εἰδώς.
Καίτοι ταῦτα ἦν, οὔτε τὸν φίλον ἀγνοοῦντος, οὔτε τὸν
ἀγνοοῦντα πλαττομένου· τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἦν πλανᾶσθαι, τὸ δ᾿
ἀπατᾶν, ὧν οὐδέτερον τῆς εἰλικρινοῦς ἀληθείας. Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο
μὲν ἐκεῖνο δεικνύντος, ὡς οὐ μνησικακῶν εἴη, τῶν προτέρων
ὁμολογιῶν πεπατημένων· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐζήτει δευτέρας· τοῦτο
δὲ τὸ φίλτρον ἀνάπτων τῷ Πέτρῳ, κινδυνεῦσαν ἤδη
σβεσθῆναι μικροῦ. Τὸ γὰρ τοιαύτας μὲν πεύσεις προσάγειν,
πρὸς τοιαύτας δὲ παρακαλεῖν ἀποκρίσεις, πρὸς ἑταιρίαν
παντὸς δύναται μᾶλλον· καὶ μνήμη τῶν φιλικῶν, καὶ τὸ
περὶ τούτων τι λέγειν, οὐχ ὅσον μείζω πεποίηκεν οὖσαν,
ἀλλὰ καὶ μήπω φῦσαν ἐδυνήθη τεκεῖν. Εἶεν.
Οὕτω μὲν οὖν ὁ Σωτὴρ ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων ἐκβάλλων φαίνεται
τὴν ὀργήν· διδάσκοντι δὲ καὶ νομοθετοῦντι, ἆρ᾿ ἔστιν ὃ πρὸ
τῆς πρᾳότητός ἐστιν αὐτῷ;
(71.) Καὶ γὰρ καὶ προσευχὴν αὐτὴν καὶ θυσίαν, μὴ ἂν
προσέσθαι φησίν, ἣν ὀργίλως ἔχοντες ἢ θύωμεν ἢ προσευ-
χώμεθα· καὶ ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν τὸ κοινὸν ἅπασι δῶρον,
τοῖς ὑπὲρ ἑαυτῶν ὀργιζομένοις οὔποτε δώσειν, κἂν ὑπὲρ
τούτου πάντα ποιῶμεν, κἂν ποταμοὺς ἱδρώτων καὶ δακρύων
χέωμεν, κἂν αὐτὸ ξίφει καὶ πυρὶ προδῶμεν τὸ σῶμα·
τοσούτου τινὸς ἄγων φαίνεται πρᾳότητα.
(72.) Καὶ οὕτως ἀκόλουθον τοὺς τὰ ἐκείνου λογιζομένους,
τὴν καρδίαν πρὸς τοὺς ἀνιῶντας ἥμερον ἔχειν. Ὃ καὶ
δεικνύς, ἂν ἐμὲ γνῶτε, φησίν, ὅπως ἡμερότητος ἔχω, καὶ
ὑμῖν κατασταίη ἂν ἡ καρδία· «Μάθετε γάρ, φησίν, ἀπ᾿
ἐμοῦ ὅτι πρᾷός εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ, καὶ εὑρήσετε
ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν.»
(73.) Ἔτι δὲ καὶ τόνδε τὸν τρόπον τῆς περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ
μελέτης ἡ πρᾳότης γένοιτ᾿ ἂν ἔργον. Τῆς μὲν γὰρ ἱερᾶς
τραπέζης ἀνάγκη λαβεῖν ἔρωτα, τὸν ἐν τούτοις ζῶντα τοῖς
λογισμοῖς· ταύτης δὲ οὐκ ἐξὸν τυγχάνειν μνησικακοῦντα,
πρὸς πᾶσαν ὀργὴν οὗτος στήσεται, καὶ μίσους τηρήσει
καθαρὰν τὴν ψυχήν. Τὸ γὰρ αἷμα τοῦτο πρὸς διαλλαγὰς
καθαρὰν τὴν ψυχήν. Τὸ γὰρ αἷμα τοῦτο πρὸς διαλλαγὰς
χεθὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς, οὐκ ἀνάσχοιτ᾿ ἂν δικαίως τῶν ὀργῇ καὶ
θυμῷ δουλευόντων. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ φωνὴν πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα
περὶ τῶν μιαιφόνων ἀφῆκε, καθάπερ τὸ Ἄβελ αἷμα
χεθέν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἐγράψατο παρ᾿ αὐτῷ τοὺς ἠδικηκότας,
οὐδὲ δίκας ἀπῄτησεν ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνο τὸν ἀδελφόν· ἀλλὰ
τοὐναντίον, καὶ γὰρ ἀπελύετο, καὶ ἡ τοῦ σφαγέντος φωνὴ
συγγώμην εἶχε τοῖς φονευταῖς.

Saint Nicholas Kavasilas: The Mania of Love

This is the most astounding thing of all.  Not only did He endure the most terrible pains and die from His wounds, but also, after He came to life and raised up His body from corruption, He still retained those wounds.  He saw fit to cherish them because by means of them he found him who was lost, and by being wounded He laid hold of him whom He loved.

What could be equal to that affection? What has a man ever loved so greatly? What mother ever loved so tenderly (Is. 49:15), what father so loved his children? Who has ever been seized by such a mania of love for anything beautiful whatever, so that because of it he not only willingly allows himself to be wounded by the object of his love without swerving from his affection towards the ungrateful one, but even prizes the very wounds above everything? Though these prove not only that He loves us but also that He greatly honors us, yet it belongs to the greatest honor that He is not ashamed even of the infirmities of our nature but is seated on His royal throne with the scars which He has acquired from human weakness.

Dumbing Down my Smart Phone

One year ago I was invited to the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Memphis TN to deliver a Lenten Lecture.  In the lecture I attempted to distinguish between four “images”- Idols, art, Icons, and the digital image (http://synaxisstudy.blogspot.com/2012/08/idols-ipods-and-icons.html ).  For the most part this lecture and subsequent discussions, as is more often than not the case, raised many questions and provided few answers.  At the same time I have discussed with nearly a dozen groups of Orthodox teenagers the topic of the place of technology in their lives (GOYA, camp programs, Lenten retreats, OCF etc.)  I would begin by asking the young people how many hours of television they watched in a given week.  How much time they surfed the internet, were on Facebook, texted, etc.  After each question we rather unscientifically decided on a number that best represented the hours spent engaged with that specific technology.  I truly believe that I was really quite generous with choosing this number, meaning I think the number of hours we decided on was really on the lower end.  At the end of this discussion we added up the hours. Sixty hours.  Sixty hours engaged with technology.  The young people were shocked but did not argue with the outcome.  We decided after further discussion to look at the number as being forty hours on the assumption that twenty hours out of the sixty were home work related.  Over the last ten years of regularly having this discussion these numbers have interestingly been quite consistent.  What has changed is that when the young people hear sixty hours (or forty for that matter) they are no longer shocked.

At the end of the discussion I asked the young people to do a three day fast from technology.  10 years ago most of the young people at least attempted to do this fast but over the years there has been much more resistance.   In recent years I have asked the young people to do a one day fast.  I remember vividly one young person humbly tell me that he tried but could not do it.  Another young person smiled and said she did not mind the fast because she was able to TiVo her favorite shows. 

I suppose that I am not unique in these early years of the 21^st  century in that I have an Iphone, Nook, netbook, computer, etc.  I am probably a little more resistant to new technologies than others because of certain romantic Luddite inclinations in my personality but in the end I succumb and get, if not the latest gadget, the gadget of a few years past.

I have struggled with the increasing technologization of my life and often thought dreamingly of dispensing of it entirely, but have always in the end resisted acting on it.  Things are different now.  I have made the decision to stupefy my smart phone and leave my computer in the office.  Everything changed for me on a Friday in April.

To understand the importance of this Friday it requires a little autobiographical information.  While in College and at Seminary I attended Church in Watertown MA, spent every Friday with the GOYA, ate almost exclusively at Watertown restaurants, and did most of my shopping there.  It was my home for seven years.  It is also the home to my sister and countless friends. 

I woke up early Friday morning with my phone ringing hearing an iris alert that there was a situation in Watertown.  I immediately picked up my Iphone and saw what was happening and called my sister.  All day Friday I was constantly turning to the Iphone, reading articles, listening to news, watching video, etc.  Friday evening I finally put down the Iphone, vested, and began the Akathist.  As I stood before the Icon of Panagia I realized that all day my attention had been on my Iphone.  I should have brought my fear, anxiety, and confusion to the feet of Panagia.  The problem was not the phone; it was my ego and my lack of faith.  My ego because I felt that if somehow I just knew more of what was going on I could do something and not feel so completely helpless.  Lack of faith because I was unable all day to turn to Christ and Panagia and say I don’t know what is going on, I am scared and worried for those I love, but I trust You. 

I have begun the long and painful process of making my smart phone stupid, looking at technology as an area that requires real ascesis, and realizing that my life has become increasing de-personalized by social media. 

I don’t remember the last time I walked outside barefoot, watched a sunset, or most importantly the last time I was confronted by a problem and picked up my komboskini before trying to Google my way out of the impasse.  I am writing this not to judge, condemn, or even convince, but just to say I think we need to examine our lives, have serious discussions on how we relate to technology, and make sure we are not deaf to the Logoi amidst the wonders of creation’s Phenomena.

Granted I am not a particularly regular blogger, I have been over the thrill of Facebook for quite some time, and I seldom text, but never the less you will probably see less of me but hopefully that might lead you to visit me! 

Here are two remarkable articles about the relationship between technology and theology-

1. Orthodox Spirituality and the Technological Revolution by Archimandrite Aimilianos:

 http://elderaimilianos.blogspot.com/2009/01/orthodox-spirituality-and-technological.html

2. How to be a Human Being by Davor Džalto:

http://www.redeggreview.org/author/davor-dzalto/

Elder Paisios: On Divine Justice

 

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20)

I always wondered how someone could become a saint and what was the distinctive trait, which made the saints receptive to God’s grace. One day, I went to Father Paisios and asked him:
- Elder, what do saints have that makes them different from the rest of us and thus they receive the grace of God?
- Our saints had divine justice instead of human justice, he replied.
What is divine justice? I asked him once again.

He answered by telling me some charming stories:
- Suppose, two men are sitting at the table to eat. In front of them, there is a plate with ten peaches. If one of them greedily eats seven peaches leaving three for his friend, he is being unfair to him. This is injustice.
Instead, if he says: “Well, we are two and the peaches are ten. So, each one of us is entitled to eat five peaches.” If he eats the five peaches and leaves the other five for his friend, then he applies human justice. That is why, many times, we go to court to find human justice.
However, if he understands that his friend likes peaches very much, he can pretend that he is not very fond of them and eat only one, and then says to him: “please eat the rest of the peaches, as I don’t really like them; besides, my stomach aches and I should not eat any more.” This person has divine justice; he prefers to be unfair to himself by human standards and be rewarded for his sacrifice by God’s grace, which he will abundantly receive.
I will tell you another story, so you can have a better understanding. If someone tells me: “Father, you must leave your cell because it belongs to me. Go down and stay by the cypress tree (which is located in the garden of the cell).” If I have divine justice, I will gladly accept it, thank him for his offer and be satisfied, because he allowed me to have my cypress tree back. However, if I acted according to human justice, because this is what I wish to apply to my life, I would reject his offer and start arguing with him, and eventually end up in court.

The true Christian must never condemn, or press charges against his fellow men, even if someone takes by force his clothes. There is a difference between those people who believe in Christ and those who do not. Christians abide by the law of divine justice whereas the unfaithful ones by the law of human justice.

Human justice is zero compared to divine justice. Our Lord was the first one to apply divine justice. Neither did He find excuses for Himself when He was being accused, nor protested when people spat on Him, or threatened when He was suffering. He patiently and silently endured everything, without reacting in the least. He even let them tear His clothes off; thus God was ridiculed for standing naked in the presence of His own creations. The most important thing was that He did not only seek help from human justice, but, instead, He justified His persecutors and prayed to His Father to forgive them. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Lk 23:34).

Unfortunately, we do not follow the example of God and never cease to condemn others in order, for example, to take back the money they owe us, sometimes demanding also its interest. Consequently, what appears at first like justice turns out to be the beginning of an injustice.

Some people say that we should not let others, especially Christians, usurp our property, for it is our forebearance that makes them act unjustly. This is a wiseless excuse indicating that we love our material belongings more than our souls. When we neglect our prayer and spiritual work, and instead take to court the people who treat us unjustly, we obviously consider our material possessions more valuable than the salvation of our soul, as the command of the Gospel that says “And of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again,” (Lk 6:30) if, according to Apostle Paul, we cannot gladly tolerate the looting or stealing of our possessions, bearing in mind that the pressing of charges and return of our belongings will not erase the sin off the greedy robber.

Hence, it is good for us to endure the rudeness of those who wrong us, and pray for them to be released from greediness through repentance. We shouldn’t be asking to get back whatever has been taken away from us. God’s justice aims at man himself and hopes that the greedy person will return to Christ, free from sin. God’s justice has no interest in material possessions themselves.

When someone wavers between human and divine justice, he resembles the one who sometimes worships God and other times the idols.
Divine justice is against human law. Human law is inflexibly equal to all, for it never deviates, but attributes justice to everyone, by putting more emphasis on its regulations than on each individual person. However, divine justice at times deviates and is sympathetically granted to all; it doesn’t mistreat people who deserve punishment, while it plentifully rewards the praiseworthy ones.

So, divine justice and charity is an expression of God’s sympathy towards humanity, whereas human justice and fair judgment tend to be an expression of ill-will. Human justice exists to bar the evildoings of malicious people. Just as dry weed cannot grow where there is a fire burning, divine justice cannot co-exist with impartial judgment. The person who has trust in divine justice is neither upset when treated unfairly, nor seeks his justice; on the contrary, he accepts the false accusations as if they were true, and does not try to convince others that he has been slandered; instead he asks to be forgiven.
Some of our saints called themselves intemperate, without of course being so, because they hoped and trusted in divine justice. Others endured the accusation of adultery, a sin they detested, and undertook the task of bearing its consequences. They tolerated it because they firmly believed in divine justice; that is, even if they were treated unjustly from a human point of view, they hoped divine justice, which neither makes mistakes, nor forgets, would divinely act at the right time.

Justice is like a cork; no matter how hard we press it to the bottom of the sea, it will always come back to the surface. Therefore, we should endure with pleasure any kind of injustice done to us for the sake of Christ. He urged us to always seek God’s justice and “all these things shall be yours as well” (Mt 6:33). When we apply divine justice to our lives, we will always be justified.

I will tell you an incident, which is indicative of how God rewards those who love, apply and seek divine justice, and therefore prefer to be treated unfairly by human standards.

One day, one of the pilgrims said to me:
- Elder, I constantly read the Book of Psalms and have noticed that the psalms of David refer to two categories of people; the righteous people whom God will reward: “The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like the cedar in Lebanon” (Ps 92:12), “For the Lord is righteous, he loves righteous deeds…”(Ps 11:7), “for the Lord knows the way of the righteous…”(Ps 1:6), “Rejoice in the Lord, oh righteous! Praise befits the upright” (Ps 33:1), “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of their troubles” (Ps 34:17), “For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered for ever. He is not afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord” (Ps 112; 6-7), “…Lord loves the righteous…the way of the wicked he brings to ruin” (Ps 146: 8-9); and the unjust ones for whom He foresees evil in their lives: “for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Ps 1:6), “The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates him that loves violence” (Ps 11:6), “As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before fire, let the wicked perish before God! But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God!” (Ps 68:2-3).

- I had a personal experience of this myself, the pilgrim went on, and I would like to tell you the story:
I come from a poor family; my father owned 5-6 pieces of land, which he cultivated to earn our daily living. One day, my father suddenly passed away and we were left with our mother. My five brothers decided we should sit down and discuss what will become of my father’s inheritance, as he did not have the time to write a will. They started arguing about who was going to inherit the most fertile piece of land.

I, being the youngest one and more withdraw to myself, was just sitting in a corner waiting to see which piece of land they would end up giving me. After each one took his own share, they gave me a piece of land which was sandy, and thus could not be cultivated and was located in a deserted and uninhabitable area.

After some years, I got married and due to financial difficulties, I left for Germany with my wife. With the help of God, I managed to find a job and my family and I lived quite comfortably. We stayed in Germany for twenty years. During these years, I worked hard and was able to expand my business. At one point, we decided to move back to Greece and transfer our business there as well. We had completely forgotten about the piece of land I had inherited from my father, but apparently God hadn’t. While we were away in Germany, many hotels and tourist complexes had been built on this “deserted and uninhabitable” area resulting in a tremendous increase of its value. My piece of land was greatly sought after and the offers from the interested parties were highly rated. I decided to have an auction for it and its price amounted to several million drachmas. Finally, I sold it to the one who gave me the best offer. Since I earn enough money to live a comfortable life, my family and I wish to give a portion of this money to a charitable cause and I came to seek your advise.

- What are your brothers doing? I asked him.
- They cultivate their lands for a living.
- First, you should financially assist your brothers, so they will not have any complaints against you and the rest you can give wherever you think is best.

The justice of God always reigns, Father Paisios went on. It might delay for a while, but will eventually appear in our lives. The Lord says that our justice must exceed the one of the Pharisees, because they were only aiming at human justice. That is why they were involved in punishments, trials, imprisonments, quarrels, and tried to protect their own rights and could not tolerate the looting of their belongings or any injustice done to them. Christ, however, assured each one of us that “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to the men of old (in the old days, the Old Testament law was trying to free man from injustice through human justice, and thus prepare him to accept the divine one)…Eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (this is human justice). But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you… For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?...You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:20-48).

Concluding the subject on divine justice, Father Paisios added with a charming discretion:
- A monk must apply divine justice to his life. He can let others take his cell and everything else he owns, if they wish to do so. On the contrary, I don’t believe a family man should apply divine justice and become the reason for the rest of his family members to be upset. They can live according to divine justice, provided they all agree to do so. If you are a monk, you can give your cell to others and wander around by yourself with just your cassock on; in general, it is easier for a monk to endure any kind of injustice or deprivation. When others depend on you, you must always take them into consideration, so they will not end up suffering or being dissatisfied.

In June 19…, on St. Paisios day, the Elder asked me to join him at 1:30 a.m. and serve the Divine Liturgy. (We were only the two of us; the Elder did not let anyone else come because he did not wish to give a special meaning to his name day.) When the service was over, we sat to have a sweet. As he was treating me to sweets, he began talking about divine justice.
He said that God does not listen to our prayers, because we are not righteous people and treat our fellow men unjustly; our all night prayers are in vain and God will not listen to us, unless we correct ourselves. Each one of us looks after himself and ignores the others. So, God cannot look after us. If we acquire divine justice, ignore ourselves, and love God and our fellow men, then God will take care of us and will see that we have everything.
When I was in the army fighting the war and the enemies were attacking us with no mercy, I sought protection inside a basin. Some minutes later, one of the soldiers asked me:
- Arsenios, can I also get in the basin with you as I am also in danger.
I told him to get in. However, the basin was too small and could not fit both of us. When he got in, he took up all the space in order to avoid the bullets and pushed me aside. Then, another soldier came and asked if he could also get inside. I said yes, and went out being totally exposed to the flying bullets. Suddenly, a bullet passed so close by me that it stripped off some of my hair; fortunately, it did not injure my skull at all. You see, when you cannot protect yourself, God does.

Source: Priestmonk Christodoulos (1998) “Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain” Holy Mountain.

Elder Aimilianos: The Chalice and the Ascension

Icon of the Ascension from the 5th c. Rabbula illuminated Gospel Book

After he has given Holy Communion to the people, the priest elevates the chalice, and says: “Always, now, and forever, and to the ages of ages.”  In so doing he reminds us of the Ascension of Christ, for this is the moment when Christ promises us that He “will be with us always”.  Having received the Holy Spirit, having beheld the secrets of the Kingdom, we can leave with our eyes brimming with the beauty that we have seen.

–Elder Aimilianos

Dr. Christos Yannaras: Looking Forward to the Resurrection

In the Church all we need to know about the end of time is the empirical knowledge acquired through the struggle for communion and love.  We are not interested in the perpetuation of our ego, as long as He whom we love exists. “None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”(Romans 14:7&8)

“We expect what God promised: a new heaven and a new earth.” (2 Peter 3:13)  Again, the reason for our expectation is the reason of relation/communion; not one that is based on the conclusions of scientific observation.  We expect that at the end, every tiny expression of God’s love will be saved: not only the beauty of the trivial wild flower but the breathtaking harmony of the rotation of galaxies, too; not only the astonishing beauty of a leopard’s gallop but also the dazzle in a child’s eye that is transformed into a smile on the lips of his mother.

We expect that the beauty and wisdom of the heavens and the earth, the offspring of the word of God and His creative energies, will be saved.  “He spoke and they were created, and the word of the Lord lasts forever.”  We expect the whole creation to be redeemed, delivered from decay, grief, and death, from the attributes of the created.  We expect everything to be saved and become one with the imperishable flesh of the Son, enthroned on the right of the Father.  We expect time itself to be saved; not as an endless and thus scary sequence of past and future; but as liberty from any predetermination, as a potential of a wonderful transformation “from glory to glory,” a potential that guides us to experience a face-to-face relation with Christ the Bridegroom, the lover of our souls. –Dr. Christos Yannaras

The sinner is unable to comprehend the grace of His resurrection. Where is gehenna, that can afflict us? Where is perdition that terrifies us in many ways and quenches the joy of His love? And what is gehenna as compared with the grace of His resurrection, when He will raise us from Hades and cause our corruptible nature to be clad in incorruption, and raise up in glory him that has fallen into Hades? – Saint Isaac of Nineveh