The Orthodox Church sometimes appears weak in its human aspect and yet we see that She rises through a Divine visitation as the Lord has promised Her:” I betroth you to me forever, I betroth you to me in righteousness, justice, love and compassion.” (Hosea 2: 19)
As humans, spiritual death is our companion. It draws us away from Christ yet He calls those chosen ones to go forth in Him. And He gives us life with what He bestows on us of His grace. The Christian people are human and are subject to the weaknesses of all humans though they are in a longing for the renewal that is wrought by the Lord’s presence in them. The glorious and radiant Church is a promise of the Lord which is realized to some extent only. The glory of the Church does not shine in us wholly as long as we are in this body and as long as sin has a place in us; that happens when the flesh is “ceased to be” through death, then we can taste the promises of glory, given to those who have repented.
The Church is glorious in hope (or in the promise); and that is an eschatological truth (a truth of the age to come). Sin is nested in the human soul in which also dwells the call for glory and the capacity to taste the Kingdom to come. In other words, we long for and desire that glory; and that desire itself is only “some” of that glory the accomplishment of which takes place on the Last Day.
You live in a Church which is fragile due to our fall, and which is great due to God’s grace; and you long for holiness which you are granted in hope but is not fully realized in you. There is no full victory in this world but also there is no despair since sin does not swallow you completely; your soul stands on the promises of God and the Divine pledge.
What is true about all the brethren in this human reality does not mean that the believers are not on the paths of salvation even though they vary in the effort they make and their abilities. And according to the Orthodox tradition, there is no believer who is in Heaven except Mary who was raised from the dead, and those who shed their blood for the Lord. But all the other Saints, like everybody else, dwell in Hope.
The above mentioned is an exhortation to behold the spiritual beauty found in some people. When we talk about some of the Saints, it is not to attribute to them glory. This is only for Mary and those who have given their blood as martyrs for the Lord.
All that the Lord has given us He has done so as a word of promise; and a promise is somewhat a realization. Because of that the “march” towards Him lasts till the Lord takes us to Himself after death.
And the “march” or journey of some is so advanced to the extent that you see it as if it has reached Heaven. The Kingdom ever comes with Christ as He comes; and, in some people, He is so vested that you feel that they are His “presence”; we see the Lord directly in the Word and quite often we see Him in faces of those who have been illuminated; and it would be hard for us to make a distinction between their faces and that of the Lord.
Humanity thrives on those and the Lord bears testimony to Himself through them. And it is by virtue of those that the Lord does not get confined in His Heaven; as such He comes down to the earth making the earth another Heaven in which righteousness dwells.
Your soul seeks such people so that it gets refreshed. No human lives by himself, but he lives in the communion of love. That in Christianity is called “the Church”.
There is nothing like that because it is the radiance of the Divine Incarnation which “visits” us after few days (on Christmas day). All what Christianity has to say is that Man has become the dwelling of God on Earth. And when the Blessed One was crucified, God appeared coming to us in His poured blood; and in that “pouring down” He lifted us up to the Heavens.
To such light is all of humanity summoned. Except that that is not realized in all of humanity. The Light chooses how He reveals Himself. You do not dictate to the Lord how and where He reveals Himself. He chooses this the way He wishes. And it is up to you to recognize the “places” of His revelation in people.
There are those we can know in the beauty of their virtues and ignore their defects or not see them because we see the Lord in them. The saved are the dwelling of God. How does the Incarnation go on if we do not see it in the good ones who bestow on us their sweetness, gentleness and candidness? The above mentioned “Incarnation” is given to people who have made God their portion in life. You do not find God if you just seek Him; that is a way. But you can also find Him with those who have made Him their companion through obedience that is through selflessness; and you can receive Him in the “giving of yourself”. God is not in people who close themselves up from others; He is in the others and in you when you get in communion with each other. God is in such a type of people.
The spiritual life demands that those who are spiritual to get together. He who is spiritual should not be to himself. Of course there is light in him, but light is intensified by the coming of the righteous together. The meeting of the righteous results in an efficacy which is a product of their communion. Being together helps in spiritual efficacy. And such togetherness strengthens the Christians in their mission.
I am not one who condones cliquishness in the spiritual life. But the togetherness of the righteous makes their giving bounteous and multiplies it. Of course, the righteous do not make a party or show fanaticism, but in their togetherness God dwells. The wicked are numerous and they go their way; but the righteous shock them by their understanding, their profoundness and truthfulness; and their witness is strengthened by their togetherness.
The wicked are “destroyed” only through martyrdom; and their numerousness is not frightful. One righteous man does undo their evil completely. This is why it is necessary that the righteous cooperate together, not only in their purity, but also in their culture and steadfastness and togetherness; since such togetherness brings the presence of God in this world.
Translated by Riad Moufarrij
Original Text: “عطاء الأبرار” – An Nahar – 22.12.2012
