"Not everything to everyone explicitly..."
(Philosopher Pythagoras of Samos, 580-490 BC)
INTERPRETATION: Not everything can be said to everyone...
When/wherever the all-good God wills and blesses… the unproud Christ-worshippers experience superlative mysteries (the proud, of course, never get a 'fragrance' of these heavenly Fragrances, which only the "humble in heart" enjoy...) from the miraculous energy of Divine Grace within their soul! But, how easily these heavenly gifts can be degraded and lost... if, by any chance, their administrators think of and attempt a... profane 'rationalization' of their superlative nature! Some spiritual goods... in which our ungrateful God is pleased to have His humble and grateful servants secretly indulge, should they perhaps be enclosed in respectful silence... remaining 'untouched' by the lustful gaze of our cerebral curiosity and by the sacrilegious denunciation of an 'expository' description...?!
In front of every project… three 'types' of workers are recognized: a) Those who are 'self-called' in (proactively) taking up a work initiative…, b) Those who are 'hetero-called' in (hesitantly) accepting a delegated responsibility… and c) Others who are 'God-called' in (wholeheartedly) obeying a difficult mission…! Self-called are those who undertake a project on their own, without seriously considering whether they have the enlightenment, knowledge and strength for it. Hetero-called are those who are called by others to undertake a job, without being certain that they meet the conditions (of experience and security) for it. God-called are those whom God calls to a sacred mission, with the awareness that they have sufficient experience in the invisible war... and are spiritually secured in humility... so that they are not in danger!
Of these three types of hardworking workers, the God-called undertakes a task without having any personal 'ambition' for it. He humbly obeys the will of God, hoping for the help of His Grace, to bring it to fruition. In this way he is protected from vain thoughts of selfish pursuits. The hetero-called begins the task he undertook at the urging of others, without proceeding to it from his own ambitious impulse. He recognizes and humbly confesses his weakness... and condescends to the 'noble' persistence [ 1 ] of those who invite him, asking for their leniency... and hoping for divine assistance! The self-called, as a rule (with bright exceptions...), is 'led and carried' by an, almost obvious, 'humane' disposition for confirmation on the part of others! In doing so, however, he legitimately questions his 'competence' and 'adequacy' for the initiative he took out of passionate selfish ambition...!
Feelings of complete embarrassment and complete inadequacy grip my soul… as I attempt to ‘touch’ the most delicate aspects of the mystery of life in Christ. For, the spiritual ‘anatomy’ of what takes place ‘in God’ within us, presupposes virtues (experience and humility…) in which the undersigned falls woefully short. Of course, I do not act ‘self-initiated’… impelled by ‘self-confidence’ of a supposed ‘spiritual self-sufficiency’ of mine. I condescend ‘heterocletely’ – honestly confessing complete inadequacy! – because this was persistently asked of me by friendly souls… whom I do not want to pity by refusing. But I declare, right from the start, 'mental poverty' [ 2 ], requesting amnesty for any lack of intellectual precision... which may leave gaps in perception, as what is being attempted is an attempt to 'rationalize vices'!
“The Spirit blows where he wills… and you hear his voice… but you do not know where he comes from or where he goes…” (John 3:8)
INTERPRETATION: The Most Holy Spirit of God 'runs' like the wind that blows everywhere, wherever His secret omnipotent will 'calls' it! And while we hear the distinctive 'thunder' of His humble passage, we are unaware of where He comes from and where He goes...
The dynamic 'invasion' of Divine Grace in our lives (when it falls secretly "as the dew of Hermon" [ 3 ] on the entire spectrum of existence: mind, heart and senses...) can - under certain conditions - be detected symptomatically...! Because, despite Its gentleness and softness, [ 4 ] Divine Grace is... 'sweeping' in terms of the subversive changes it brings to our entire psycho/physical being! We can, in other words, discern (us on others… and others on us…) the external, behavioral changes of people, which 'betray' that something shocking is 'happening' within them, while we are unable to see inwardly how the "stream of tenderness" [ 5 ] that Christ pours out [ 6 ] 'flows' into the thirsty pastures of Christ-worshipping souls, who long for Him and thirst for Him… as "in a land desolate and barren and waterless..." (Psalm 62:2)!
Christ-worshipping souls who are overwhelmed by the "waters of God" (inexpressible changes from the energy of the Paraclete Spirit...) are unable to become an 'object' of descriptive observation by others [ 7 ], even by themselves! Because, after the 'sovereign' arrival/passage/passage of the Holy Spirit from their existence, Christ-worshipping souls are voluntarily captured by a complete loving devotion and attraction of the living God... which makes their earthly life 'flow' completely differently than before!... And when everything, afterwards, finds a new, 'smooth flow' of spiritualized everyday life... there is no longer anything in the previous 'memories of the heart' that their soul can humanly yearn for!
Divine Love, then, when it wants (with the only condition for this, our own good will… and a deep humility in our thoughts!) merits us to become 'empirical sharers' of the virtues-super-verbal-super-sensible… deriving (without deserving it) a shocking 'sense of immortal life'…! And so far, good. Beyond… but?! How can we pass unscathed, from the secret 'society' of the virtues within us… to an outwardly apparent 'communication' (i.e. revelation) of secret experiences… without risking, thus, losing the spiritual treasure that was generously bestowed upon us - despite our unworthiness - by the all-good God, when we 'manage' the 'entrusted' gifts so thoughtlessly and irresponsibly…?! [ 8 ]
HOW to speak, in words, about the ineffable…?! HOW to express, in words, the superlative…?! HOW to formulate, with tangible symbols, supersensible truths… that we have ‘felt’ through the extreme condescension of the Merciful God?! These, “unto man speak” [which it is impossible for man to ‘communicate’ to man] (11 Cor. 31, XNUMX);! And if we try… HOW will we succeed?! HOW will others ‘understand’ intellectually… those things that they have never experienced empirically…?! Just like we ourselves: we could in no way understand theoretically… those things that we only heard from others, who experienced them empirically, since we would have complete experiential ignorance and inexperience about these ‘heards’…?!
Indeed, when we attempt to speak 'clarifyingly' about issues that, in their experiential dimension, indescribably exceed our communication systems (human languages), we understand that every effort we make is fruitless, since the 'transfer' of experience cannot be done verbally. Furthermore, every 'descriptive' attempt is likely to be detrimental, since in this way the 'silent majesty' of truth can be... 'rationally debased'! Because, the empirical 'grasp' of a truth... can, without simplistic analyses, be received experientially (instead of attempting to understand it cerebrally...) by every well-intentioned soul, if and when the necessary 'conditions' of a Mysterious life in Christ are met in it...!
However, even if it is logically impossible to understand - through a verbal formulation - the transcendent Mystery of every soul that "lives in God" (...), it could be illuminated by certain obvious 'symptoms' of imperceptible 'behaviors' of the one who experiences it secretly within him. Because, "living in God" one... unwittingly 'betrays' this secret 'pregnancy' of the heart (as the swelling of her abdomen... the vomiting... and the incessant food craving... 'betray' a pregnant woman)! Symptoms, which are - more or less - a common 'secret experience' of all Christ-worshippers, who have surrendered 'unconditionally' to the absolute sovereignty, within them, of Divine Love. This 'absolute sovereignty' of Crucified All-Love in the human heart does not prevent, on the contrary, the abundant outpouring of powerful indications of a sacrificial love, in Christ, for every rational and irrational creature of God!
There are some invisible realities that our poor mind, embarrassed... as to that omnipotent Cause (Divine Omnipotence) that can temporarily or permanently suspend... and even definitively abolish, the natural laws and the logical 'constants' of this material world, 'sees' - under conditions of deep humiliation and mourning of repentance! Thus, if 'cracks' open in the 'castle walls' of our sensualistic captivity... and our intellectualistic entrapment, the uncreated Light of Christ will naturally and imperceptibly penetrate within us! And by penetrating this, it will illuminate beyond all measure all the darkness of our mind and heart, at the same time spreading the unfathomable light upon our senses as well! Then, it will harmonize all the functions of the 'spiritualized' existence with the new 'rhythms of life' of the mind... the heart... and the senses... of the renewed, in Christ, man!
The man 'altered' by Divine Grace, under his same physiognomic and behavioral characteristics, secretly experiences the magnificent truth of an 'other flow' of the mystery of the 'divine life' that flows within him. A 'state' partially perceived by some manifestations... which, by God's economy, he reveals involuntarily... and which reveal a "different... but not different!" symptomatic 'behavior' of the soul, which refers to other worlds...! There are, however, 3 'administrative' fields of human life... where we can, if we pay close attention, recognize the 'symptoms' of the old (before Christ) and the new (after Christ) way of 'life and state' that the grateful servant of God, renewed by Divine Grace, lives...
a) The scope of our relationship with the PEOPLE who surround us…
People, in their vast majority, not only suffer from the 'syndrome' of communicative loneliness... but sometimes they also experience 'absolute desolation' (sometimes even 'hell'...) in their relationships with others, while they gather in 'groups' of social crowding...! Companionships of loneliness... which, instead of alleviating the feeling of loneliness, intensify it! If humanity could discern that the problem of communicative loneliness that it experiences seems to be a dead end and unsolvable... because its main (existential) problem remains 'incurable' within it: the ontological loneliness of man...! An 'existential state' of emptiness... and lack of meaning in life, which only ONE 'medicine' is needed to cure: the fullness of communion with the Holy Spirit... who is the 'carrier of communication' with all the good and luminous beings of the earthly and heavenly Church of the God-Man Christ!
Most people in the world live a life without God (atheist…), which is why they experience social loneliness to a superlative degree (and) in the interpersonal realm! At the same time, other people, with God (theists…), Communicate & Are Communicated by Life… excitingly, within a mutually-sacrificing self-transcendence of mutually-surrounded and mutually-affecting persons: an act, which is the 'secret' of divine joy… and the 'medicine' of atheistic despair…! Even if they live in otherworldly deserts… compared to the secular 'deserts' of a conventional cohabitation, where they coexist en masse without communicating interpersonally! Because, the 'secret' of the true communion of persons is hidden in one of the immense Gospel truths revealed to us by the divine mouth of our God-Man Lord: "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them..." (Matt. 18:20)!
b) The field of our relationship with the THINGS that surround us…
What really 'enriches' or 'impoverishes' people is not the excess or, respectively, the deprivation of material goods, but the apathetic or passionate reasoning with which they 'manage' these funds (wealth & poverty) that God has blessed them to possess! Thus, according to Basil the Great, the truly rich is not the one who spends a lot, but the one who needs little to live! That is why many of our fellow human beings, while they are 'vomitingly' satiated by an overabundance of material goods, feel unhappy and desperate, in their dead-end boredom! And only if they dared to... deny their good life, putting into their lives the God-loving Exercise and the brotherly Love... would they have, with God, overcome every boredom and depression, every loneliness and despair...!
In contrast to most of our fellow humans, who choose to live… without God - with all the problems of social disharmony that this entails in interpersonal relationships! - some other people, with God, although often deprived of even the most necessary goods of this world… are truly happy, in a 'heavenly life' that they live on earth, perhaps materially poor… but spiritually rich! How does this happen…?! It happens… when people are 'touched' by the Grace of God… and their soul is transformed, and their mind is broadened, and their heart is deepened and they begin to 'see' spiritually… discovering somewhere else/some other treasures (immaterial, eternal, incorruptible… and indeed immune to thieves!) that are worth aiming for… in contrast to the material riches of this world!
c) The scope of our relationship with the CIRCUMSTANCES that besiege us…
Humanity has naively reduced health to a supposedly 'supreme' good... and with it prosperity, well-being... etc., for the acquisition and lifelong preservation of which it would not hesitate to sacrifice even every value... superhuman! However, the experience of life teaches that: even the fullest possible health 'by itself', as well as wealth 'by itself', and well-being 'by itself' or even in combination, together with the absence of hard work... and every other test of life that teaches patience..., cannot give us the desired joy and happiness! Even if we were to secure the fragile 'balances' of our existence from the risk of being overturned, a life without God... would always be subject to more difficult suffering and more horrible spiritual suffering than even the most painful psychosomatic illness could hold in store for us... or extreme poverty and deprivation... or social and communicative exclusion!
In contrast to most people who live on earth without God… others (philotheists and philotheists) taste - by the Grace of God - the sweetness of a true community of loving mutual care, both with their Christ brothers on earth… and with their Christ brothers in heaven! And the empirical truth of their life is not certified verbally… but only experientially, with their 'truth-making' life, which reveals that: people, even if they are sick and in pain, suffering incurably, can Sweetly Peace and Celebrate with joy…! How…?! Simply, having found an inexhaustible Source… which secretly irrigates their parched existence, with another… supra-essential 'Dew' [ 9 ]: the icy Grace of the Holy Spirit which transfuses into the mortal human being the life-giving 'antidote' of every illness and suffering… the renovating 'elixir' of every decay and decline…!
The Holy Fathers and Mothers of the Orthodox East, among the countless luminous 'models of life' that they left behind, leaving for Heaven, also bequeathed to us this: their intelligent 'renunciation' of any agonizing effort to 'understand' intellectually the 'Paradise' of the Kingdom of God, which can be experienced (as a foretaste...) already from this world! Instead (which they deemed pointless), they hastened to live in Christ spiritually... in order to experience Paradise experientially! Thus, the 'motto' of their lives was shaped into a most intelligent axiom, which was passed down from generation to generation of Orthodox Christians: "Oh, Paradise, here/now... I cannot understand you logically... but I can win you and enjoy you both here and there, eternally..."! [ 10 ]
REFERENCES-FOOTNOTES
[ 1 ] Often, the exuberant love of others towards us (or ours towards others), if expressed uncontrollably… subjects the soul to a harsh test, leaving it no room to decide freely…! A beautiful saying that is circulating regarding this is very characteristic: “Between two nobles, the… ruder prevails”! (i.e. the more persistent…)
In front of an open door, two gentlemen are talking 'savoir-vivre' with great politeness, arguing over who will go through... last! – "Please, go through...!" – "But, no... you go through first!" – "I insist, you first...!" – "Please, don't insist...!" – "I'm not discussing it, you first...!" – "You will force me to insist rudely..." – "And you will force me to refuse politely...". Well, then, the one of the two 'gentlemen' who will defeat the other with his insistence, forcing him to go through the door first, is the... ruder (i.e. the... more persistent!), since the... rude insistence of one prevailed over the polite submission of the other!...
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[ 2 ] “Your compassions, O Lord, have quickly made us understand that we have become very poor…” (Ps. 78:8)
INTERPRETATION: May Your Mercy reach us, Lord, for we have fallen into extreme existential ruin…
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[ 3 ] “As the dew of Hermon, which descends upon the mountains of Zion…” (Psalm 132:3)
INTERPRETATION: Like the cold wind of Mount Hermon, which descends as a cool breeze in the summer months, to the lower heights of the Holy Land...
Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in the Palestinian territory, and covers the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range, reaching a height of 2.814 m. above sea level. The Arabs call it "Jebel-et-Thaltz", which means "Mountain of Snow". This nickname apparently comes from the fact that Mount Hermon is covered with snow almost all year round. The snows of the Mount contribute to the condensation of night water vapor, thus producing abundant dew that descends to the lower elevations and the plains around the Mount.
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[ 4 ] A Spirit of omnipotence precedes God… “dissolving mountains and crushing rocks”, so that God may “pass by”… but He Himself is NOT in this leveling procession…! And after the leveling Spirit, a great earthquake follows that precipitates everything… but again God Himself is NOT in the earthquake…! And after the precipitating earthquake, a torrent of fire follows that consumes everything in its path… but God Himself is NOT in the fire…! And after the fire, a sweet voice like a cool breath of a gentle breeze… and the almighty God is in there: in the gentle breeze… and sweet peace… and gentle humility of Love!
As described in the First Book of Kings (19 Kings 11:13-XNUMX): “…Behold, a great and powerful spirit tore apart mountains and broke rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the spirit; and after the spirit an earthquake… but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire… but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a still, still, still, still… the Lord was angry!”
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[ 5 ] “And the sons of men… shall be drunken with the drink of thy house… and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy delight…”! (Ps. 35, 8-9)
INTERPRETATION: Humanity will be intoxicated by the sweetness of Your Kingdom, O Lord, and will be watered by the delightful torrent of Your Grace…
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[ 6 ] “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh…” (Joel, 3, 1).
INTERPRETATION: I will pour out from My Spirit a fiery breath upon all flesh!
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[ 7 ] “The spiritual man examines everything… but he himself is examined by no one.” (2 Cor. 15:XNUMX)!
INTERPRETATION: The man who is imbued with the Holy Spirit... can, with His revelatory Light, illuminate and 'interrogate' all the sensible and intelligible darknesses of the world..., while the God-bearer himself cannot be 'interrogated' by anyone...!
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[ 8 ] “Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine”… (Matthew 6:6)
INTERPRETATION: Do not reveal your spiritual 'treasures' to people who cannot appreciate them... and do not expose your 'pearls' before those who do not respect them, and will trample on them...
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[ 9 ] A few years ago today, while in Thessaloniki and wanting to go to a medical appointment, from the eastern neighborhoods where I lived, towards the city center, I stopped a passing TAXI and got in, choosing to sit in the passenger seat. Along the way, three other people (two young ladies and a middle-aged gentleman) got in the back seats of the car and were going towards the center.
At some point, in the silence of the TAXI, the driver's voice echoed (along with a 'muffled' laugh, which betrayed a... mocking mood!) asking me ironically: "Well, sir, aren't you laughing... dressed like a cabbage?!..." The mean me, being absorbed 'somewhere else' (...) at that moment, raised my bowed head and looked him straight in the face... trying to 'decode' the 'morality' of the... immoral question, which, although indifferent to everything that surrounded me, I had retained in my mind... being distinguished by its ironic and mocking character!
However, it was obvious: the taxi driver wanted to create... a 'pleasant atmosphere' at the expense of his robe-wearing customer, which seemed to be successful for the moment, since he managed to elicit the willing participation in the inelegant 'joke' of the other three customers, who, with a prolonged laughter of participatory reaction to the 'joke', showed that they were enjoying the snapshot...!
Looking straight at the miserable 'aspiring' mocker of the EVIL MAN for a moment… I responded without delay to the 'challenge' of rudeness and shallowness, quietly uttering a response that was not the result of a mental process. It was a spontaneous and 'incoherent' response… rather, than cerebral and 'sophisticated'. I said… whatever and however I felt at that moment: "My brother, there is an inner coolness… that neutralizes every external heat wave!…" – "So…?!" asked my now frowning mocker again. – "So… If a 'cooling breeze' of Divine Grace 'blows' within us… no external 'hell' can burn us…!".
Indeed, I don't know if the taxi driver's question (or rather, the intention of the question) was answered. However, the fact that the rest of our journey to Aristotelous Square -where I got off- took place in 'dead silence'... may mean that both the driver and my friendly fellow passengers may have sensed 'something' from the 'unintelligible babblings' of a BAD MAN... from the Holy Mountain of GOOD MANS!
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[ 10 ] A psychographic 'anecdotal' that I once heard, 45 years ago, in a lecture by the late Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Dr. Stavros Balogiannis (+2022), criticized the well-known 'syndrome' of many of our fellow human beings: to... exhaust their intense desire for Orthodox spirituality, at the level of studying spiritual books -only- and collecting theoretical information...without any intention of practical application of the acquired 'Orthodox' knowledge!
A Modern Greek (like me… like you…) spent his entire life searching for the 'truth'… in various worldview systems and cultural cultures of all peoples, serving everywhere for a while… and constantly leaving for new pursuits. In the twilight of his life, he found himself in front of a book on Orthodox spirituality, which literally captivated him and created in him an unprecedented sense of fulfillment! Thus, beating himself up for having lost his life unnecessarily, he began to study books on 'Orthodox spirituality' incessantly and tirelessly, wanting to make up -as much as he could- for the lost time… that he spent on meaningless studies and research. He had already gathered infinite theoretical information about Orthodox spirituality... but he felt that he had still not quenched his intellectual thirst, and he continued... without any desire to put the infinite knowledge he had already accumulated into practice.
One night, the 'oil in the lamp' of his life ran out, and death found him with a book of 'Orthodox spirituality' in his arms! As soon as his earthly eyes closed (finally) and his soul left his body, the first 'image' of eternity that his disembodied soul saw were two doors: one read "Paradise" and the other "Lecture on Paradise"! And then, full of unbridled enthusiasm, the soul of the insatiable collector of information on 'Orthodox spirituality' opened and passed through the door of the "lecture on Paradise" in order to draw more information... despising the door that would take him experientially into Paradise itself...!
