Feasts of Faith: Reflections on
the Major Feast Days
A Light to the Gentiles: Reflections on the Gospel of Luke
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There
are of course many wonderful things, which a careful — if not devout
— reader of the Holy Scriptures can observe. Yet, the most significant
of these do not always gain our attention. Perhaps because God hides the
greatest truths more deeply, evidently in order to stimulate the vigilance
of our soul. That which is “vital”, therefore, is contained
in “secondary” phrases.
Beyond any doubt, the most significant portions of the Bible refer
to what is called “will”. More specifically, to “the will
of God and the will of man”. When the Will of God is mentioned, then
of course our attentiveness is presumably sharpened, to absorb every relevant
piece of information (either out of fear and caution, or reverence and
piety). Indeed, we could say in general terms that the main theme of the
Revelation of God is none other than making the “divine will known
to humankind.
In giving the most basic petitions of our prayer to the Most High,
Christ Himself summarises them and shows a culmination in the triple supplication:
“Hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come, your will be done”.
One does not need to look too carefully in order to understand that this
is another, more analytical, formulation of the Thrice Holy Hymn (Is.
6:3), since it involves the glorification of the entire “undivided
Trinity in one essence”. Christ not only exhorts us to beseech unceasingly
the predominance of the divine will, but also declares that there is no
higher or more sacred goal for Himself: “My food is to do the will
of Him who sent me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34).
The Apostle Paul did not neglect to underline the same priority
for the faithful, for whom it is not sufficient to simply be “faithful”,
while being certain and confessing that “we have found the Messiah”.
They must also constantly maintain in parallel the sacred uneasiness and
thirst of “those who seek the Lord”. This is why he commands:
“be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may discern
what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect’
(Rom. 12:2). Moreover, he touches upon this again by demanding the almost
impossible: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in
all circumstances” (1 Thess. 5:16). It would be superfluous to say
that the sacred writers of both the Old and New Testament command the
same thing according to each occasion.
It is only natural, then, that the faithful would continually care
about learning the will of God through every available means, in order
to fulfil it to the best of their ability. There is something however
which we would not have expected, as it has never grabbed our attention
as much as it should, and because it does not appear natural at first
glance: the interest that God has in the “human will”.
We could even say at the outset — without being blasphemous
— that God was always concerned that His will also be made known
purely for the sake of the human person. We shall see in more precise
terms below that, whenever God insists to communicate His will to man,
He does so not in order to “subdue” or reduce him, but only
to “minister” to him directly and gradually “sanctify”
the human will. The statement of Christ is therefore verified that 1 have
not come to be served but to serve’ (Mat. 20:28), which was not vain
humble talk, but rather the most consoling and salvific realism.
We must look carefully at convincing examples from Holy Scripture,
and particularly the New Testament, in order to see how paradoxical or
literally “unheard of” the mutuality is between God and man,
in terms of one’s interest in the “will’ of the other.
However, in order to briefly underline these significant points in the
Biblical narrative (and evaluate to what extent the verse of Psalms, for
example, is true “surely your mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life” (Ps. 23:6), which is perhaps the most fitting confession
on the part of man of the ceaseless love of God), we need not resort directly
to the creation of the human person “in the image of God”. We
shall only refer to this totally charismatic “endowment” given
from birth later, and perhaps then appreciate it more correctly.
We can see in the relevant passages of the New Testament that Christ
does not simply speak theoretically about the value of the human will.
He simultaneously shows in practice His respect for this, by behaving
accordingly with the specific person before Him on each occasion. Here
we shall see the most significant of these passages. Yet, we will study
them separately from each other, and indeed in some hierarchical order
of importance. In this way, there will be more scope for a description
of each. In addition, the particular significance of each will be underlined
in comparison to all the others.
Here then, are the major relevant passages.
The Lord said:
1) “Whoever wishes to follow me, let him deny himself,
take up his cross and follow me” (Mat.1 6:24)
This is of course the most important passage as it refers to the
“founding” relationship — as we would say today of Christ
with people whom He came to call to repentance. This invitation was not
simply for an isolated banquet or any other ordinary event; it was for
those who are invited to become partakers of the heavenly kingdom.
Given that it is an issue of “life or death”, one would
reasonably expect Christ to give an explicit command for all to abide
by the divine will in order to be saved, and not allow them to
sway between the uncertainties of their own human will. Christ
would at any rate have been justified in promoting such an expectation,
not only because He is “the Son of the living God”, but also
because it was He who taught how good and loving God is, Who “wants
all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth” (1
Tim 2:4). In spite of this, we see that, even at that critical moment,
Christ does not impose the will of God from the outset. Rather,
He first of all proposes and respects human will. And it is noteworthy
that He did not say “whoever is able” or “whoever knows”,
but instead “whoever wishes”. Human salvation, which depends
on one’s obedience or not to the will of God, is not a matter of
“power” or “knowledge”, but primarily of free will.
However, in order that the priority which is given to the human
will by God Himself not be misunderstood, with the danger of driving
man to arrogance or to eventual rebellion, Christ immediately adds the
very significant phrase let him deny himself”.
This new element requested by Christ of future followers clearly
does not annul or overturn the previously given freedom of choice
(“whoever wishes”). On the contrary, such freedom is thereby
enhanced and glorified further, as it illumines its substantial content
and deeper phronema. When choice demands the sacrifice even of
our own self, which we have committed forever to a new way of life, only
then can it be seen how unreserved, unnegotiable and unconditional, i.e.
how absolutely free and brave that choice was.
The direct connection between “whoever wishes” and
“let him deny himself” naturally reveals the human will
to us in its most superhuman dimensions. Following this, we begin
to suspect to what extent the mutuality of honour between the will
of God and the will of man is not as unheard of as it
may have at first appeared.
2) “Do to others as you would have them do to you”
(Luke 6:31).
If the first passage was particularly significant because it presents
the presuppositions under which one is called to follow Christ, this second
passage is no less important. For, it unreservedly defines the model according
to which one must regulate one’s behaviour with fellow human beings.
The gross violation of the divine will by people, not only
within the context of natural law (original sin), but also within the
exceptionally charismatic context of the Divine Revelation of the Old
and New Testament, becomes a pretext for a new “kenosis” or
self-emptying of the divine will before the human will.
For this reason, Christ refers here to the human will and the personal
sense of honour of each person: “Do to others as you would
have them do to you.”
At first glance, one could say that, in making people drastically
realise their responsibility, Christ was taking a necessary pedagogical
measure. In reality, however, this is not a pedagogical step, but another
example of how the measureless love and wisdom of God knows how to turn
even human faults into advantages. Recognising that the most characteristic
and enduring feature of man is love of self, Christ places this,
the cursed root of original sin, as a measure of one’s sensitivity
to a fellow human being. The unexpected miracle then occurs which makes
the “centripetal” force level with the “centrifugal”,
therefore securing the “balance” between the mutually conflicting
interests.
3) a) “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you
as you wish” (Mat. 15:28).
b) “‘Do you want to be made well?’ The sick man
answered Him, ‘Sir I have no one’“ (John 5:6).
Both these passages, as we can see, do not contain a general rule
which is indefinitely directed to a multitude of anonymous people —
as with the two previous ones — but rather refer to an immediate
response of Christ to a specific issue of a specific person, and under
clearly described conditions. This at any rate is the reason why we are
contrasting them here, yet this does not mean that we do not acknowledge
the greater significance of the first passage. The importance lies in
the fact that, in this passage, Christ not only responds to the anguished
request of the Canaanite woman, but also expresses His unreserved admiration
for the faith maintained by the woman in light of His pedagogical
refusal to consent immediately to her request.
In both cases, it is important for us to note the fact that Christ,
while being God omniscient, does not hastily cure human pain, or
any other need, on His own accord before being asked to do so, even when
this is done persistently. Why would the merciful Lord do that?
The first thing which we must categorically state here is that
the apparent “reluctance” of Christ to be “self appointed”
in His involvement with human suffering cannot of course signify indifference
or neglect of the conditions of this life which, in any case, the Christian
considers to be a testing ground on which eternal salvation depends.
We should therefore search for a deeper and more spiritual reason
in the interpretation of this curious behaviour. And that deeper reason
could of course be none other than the benefit of the human person. Indeed,
by waiting for the person to realize by himself how much he needs the
assistance of God, and then ask for it, Christ indirectly guides that
person through such dependence to feel closer, and therefore more at home,
with the invisible and transcendent God. When this closeness is discovered
through painful suffering or any other trial, then the human will can
follow the will of God more readily and obey more creatively, in which
case the human person truly becomes a “co-worker of God”. In
this way, therefore, God does not simply test, but also honours and
glorifies the human will, thereby giving prominence to the mystery
of synergy between God and man.
Following all of the above, we can say by way of conclusion that
we now better understand the importance of the steadfast efforts of the
Church in combating monothelitism. For, if the Church accepted
that, in the person of Christ, who is both God and man, the human will
was totally absorbed by His incomparably superior divine will, this
would be tantamount to a complete negation, refutation and frustration
of the creation of the human person “in the image” of God.
And this would not only be a mutilation of human nature; it would be an
insult to the all-loving God Himself. For, in respecting the freedom of
the human will, God is essentially respecting His own image in each person.
It is therefore upon this mystical foundation of being created “in
the image of God” that the “unprecedented mutuality” of
honour between the will of God and the human will is based.
Yet, that which also becomes apparent to the devout observer in all its
startling significance is that the unheard of grace of God is transferred
already to the charismatic nature of man.
from Voice of Orthodoxy, vol 19/7-8, July and August 1998
the official publication of the Greek Orthodox Archbiocese of Australia
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