Acknowledging passions

Imagine you were born in 2002.  You are male but you find yourself being attracted to other guys.  The culture at large will tell you that this is all fine and normal, you merely are oriented that way.  But at the same time, the Orthodox church is telling you that homosexuality is a sin and that one should never follow their passions, simply because they are “natural”.
This is the difference with the Orthodox church in comparison to the Evangelical/ Protestant world. The latter will tell you that homosexuality is a sinful perversion and you need to not do it.  That you need to be cured. Orthodoxy, on the other hand, will tell you that it is simply a passion that some people have, not much different that any other sexual passion. It’s mere presence means nothing. Natural or unnatural, as Christians we simply do not excuse away the passions we have a “natural” and then indulge. No, we fight against our passions and our soul tells our flesh what to do, not vice-versa.
The question here is not one of natural or unnatural, perverse or normal, but of who is in charge, one of to whom you are listening and following. When we think and act, these things are done according to the leadership of something. When we think or act, are we following the whims of our flesh, i.e., we "feel" like doing it. On the other hand, the Orthodox church would tell us, we ought to live in a way that is preparing us for an eternity of holiness. We can look back at the saints of historic Christianity and those things that the church has always believed and practiced, and align ourselves with this. We do not follow and practice something based on our feelings, but on what the church has identified as holy. We do not follow our passions, we follow the direction of the Holy Spirit. But this is not a personal, interpretive thing. It is a corporate, defined, articulate path of light and holiness.
Whatever our sins, whatever our inclinations are, are irrelevant. If our desires or inclinations are leading us away from holiness, we must fight against them. For our very life depends upon it.

The approaching fast

For those of you who are Orthodox, you know what the title of this post means.  For all others, I am speaking of the forty days that lead up to the celebration of Easter.  We who are Orthodox, call it Pascha.
For the next six or seven weeks, the Eastern Orthodox church lives out the most strict fast of the calendar.  Many misunderstand what this of all about. This is not about following a bunch of man made rules,  for we no longer live under law.  This is not about taking on a special diet, for our focus is on eternity, not grasping after perpetual youth. This is about balance.
This long, challenging and sanctifying fast of about forcing our flesh to live the life of faith.  This concept has really been on my mind lately.  In this fast, we choose not to eat meat, dairy, oil or wine until Pascha morning.  Food had become such a powerful force in our modern day lives that we no longer see food rightly. Food has become the driving force in our lives.
Do you think that it has not? Try going a week, eating only vegetables and drinking water.  Your desire for something tasty will fight back. Your flesh will rebel.  Your stomach will tell you otherwise.  These are the questions and statements that torment me.  My wife is a really good cook and baker.  She feeds me well. When I think of how easy it is to enjoy really good food, I see how weak I actually am.
The goal of the fast is like the training of a marathon runner. You do not run for the sake of running. You run so as to be prepared for the big race. Fight the flesh, fight the passions, fight the easy life.
Your soul and your eternity depend on it.