Within Eastern Orthodoxy, we believe that there is one path to God, that is, salvation through Jesus Christ alone. It is the work that Jesus accomplished that brought man out from under the power of death. It is now our responsibility to use the tools, provided by the church, to attain theosis. God became man so that man can become God, not in the ontological sense, but in the union sense. As part of the body of Christ, we come into close, intimate communion/union with God.
With that in mind, we see two possibilities. There is the monastic path and the lay path. Both are the same, in that, both are striving after holiness, through love for God and love for neighbor. One thing that really jumped out at me this morning, as I sat musing while drinking coffee, was the monastic example.
The monastics are those who have devoted their lives to a singular focus on purifying their souls and seeking after God. The layperson is the one who has (acceptably) chosen to take on the responsibilities of spouse, children and finances. But we lay people can and should look to the model of the monastic for our own efforts toward holiness. One thing that is very distinctive of the Orthodox monastic is their insistence upon work. The monastic is not one who simply does nothing but pray and depend upon others for their livelihood. No, the monastic, while he is praying, is working with his hands and supporting himself. We laypeople could take notice and emulate them.
In whatever vocation we have, we can pray. The Orthodox church has, for centuries, strongly encouraged the "Jesus Prayer", "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." This prayer contains it all, recognition of who Jesus is, who we are and our need of God.
So the question then is, "Who are we emulating?" Do we look to the world, the successful businessmen, the entertainers, or the athletes for a model of our lives?
Who forms our lives?
With that in mind, we see two possibilities. There is the monastic path and the lay path. Both are the same, in that, both are striving after holiness, through love for God and love for neighbor. One thing that really jumped out at me this morning, as I sat musing while drinking coffee, was the monastic example.
The monastics are those who have devoted their lives to a singular focus on purifying their souls and seeking after God. The layperson is the one who has (acceptably) chosen to take on the responsibilities of spouse, children and finances. But we lay people can and should look to the model of the monastic for our own efforts toward holiness. One thing that is very distinctive of the Orthodox monastic is their insistence upon work. The monastic is not one who simply does nothing but pray and depend upon others for their livelihood. No, the monastic, while he is praying, is working with his hands and supporting himself. We laypeople could take notice and emulate them.
In whatever vocation we have, we can pray. The Orthodox church has, for centuries, strongly encouraged the "Jesus Prayer", "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." This prayer contains it all, recognition of who Jesus is, who we are and our need of God.
So the question then is, "Who are we emulating?" Do we look to the world, the successful businessmen, the entertainers, or the athletes for a model of our lives?
Who forms our lives?
No comments:
Post a Comment