September 20, 2005

• On the Love and Humility of God

  
  

  But I shall not proceed to recount the events that show the infinite riches of the ineffable love of the heavenly Father towards us; for the more man's mind is enlightened to grasp the love of his Creator for His creation, the more evident our ingratitude and failure to recognize such an affectionate and true Father becomes.

  
  

  We live in this vain world and are truly ignorant--or rather, we have not yet understood why we are alive, what goal this life of ours has, and what purpose man has on earth! Unfortunately, we have become almost like the irrational beasts; we live without considering that the time of our life here is the most precious thing for our future restoration. We use up and waste this time with no regret, and when we come to our senses we shall be unable to bring this time back. Therefore, how truly wise is the man who has realized the great value of time in this transient life and takes advantage of it accordingly, enriching his life with good works, so that when the grievous hour of death comes, his conscience will be confident and say in his defense before the spiritual prosecutors, the demons: "I have done what I should. So why are you still raging?" In the Holy Gospel, Jesus spoke about the purpose of man: "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father." (Jn.16:28) Here our Savior is speaking humanly, for as God, consubstantial with the Father, He was never separated from Him. The fact that man is destined to leave the world at the time determined by God and to go to God where he came from, can be inferred from the Holy Scriptures in Genesis: "And God formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed upon his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul." (Gen.2:7) The divine breath came out of the tri-hypostatic God--not that the breath itself became a soul in man, but the soul of man was created by a divine insufflation, which is why it has to return to its God.

  
  

   

  
  

   Here is something remarkable: the breath of God went out and created the soul of man. He made it holy, pure, innocent, good, etc. So when the frightful hour of death comes for the soul, I wonder, will it still have its original sanctity and purity? Unfortunately not, for we all have sinned as descendants of Adam. God, however, Who knows our weakness and that the mind of man is inclined to evil from his youth, (Gen.8:21) certainly does not demand the impeccable purity of its initial state, but what does He seek? He seeks true, sincere repentance, abstention from sin, a heart broken and humbled; He seeks mourning and tears in order to give us a consoling ambrosia, "which the unrepentant world knows not." (Jn.1:10)

  
  

   

  
  

  So when a person sincerely repents, God welcomes him with open arms, simultaneously giving him the divine features with which he will be able to ascend unimpeded into the boundless kingdom of God, so that he may live thenceforth with the heavenly Father. Behold, the purpose of man!

  
  

   

  
  

  The mind stands in amazement when it grasps this grand and lofty divine purpose! And yet how great is man's insensibility and how thick a darkness covers the eyes of his soul, so that he does not think why he exists here on earth and what God wants from him. Unfortunately, his mind's vision has been impaired by the illness of sin, and especially by self-love.

  
  

   

  
  

   How long, my God, shall we remain sluggish and callous towards this great purpose of ours? Send us a little illumination. Why, has the sun never stopped sending its abundant light? How much more so will You, the infinite Sun of love, never stop shining! Woe to us, my Lord, for we voluntarily do every evil deed. But since You have have endless oceans of love, pour upon us love and affection, compassion and forbearance again and again--perhaps some more souls will be saved before your just judgement breaks out upon us! Yes, Lord, take pity on me, the miserable one, who does not practice what he preaches, and grant me repentance before I leave this world! Enlighten Your world, for which You poured out Your awesome and all-holy Blood, and give repentance to all. 

  
  

   

  
  

   Selected from Counsels from the Holy Mountain
   From  the Letters and Homilies of Elder Ephraim
  

  
  

   

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  • 12:28 am
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