Man’s cure is achieved by God’s energy and man’s synergy. The Grace of
God is offered to man in the sacraments of the Church. In the
Catechismal period man is cleansed from the passions tormenting him;
with the sacrament of Baptism he becomes a member of the Body of Christ;
with Chrismation he becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit; with Holy
Communion he partakes of the Body and Blood of Christ. Of course, his
own cooperation is required for the Grace of God to be activated.
The Church has certain textbooks on cure
that demonstrate what exactly the cure is and how it is achieved. There
one finds the task of the clerics. Three typical textbooks on cure are
the following:
First, the Holy Scripture.
Through the Old and the New Testament man learns the will of God, which
he must apply in his life. According to recent research, the first three
Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are actually catechism companions for
the Church. The Catechumens were taught from these Gospels what
Christian faith is and how to rid themselves of the rule of the devil.
The fourth Gospel (John) is for the baptized ones, to learn the
perfection of life in Christ. On the other hand, it is known that the
epistles of the Apostles gave answers to topics of concern to local
churches of the first period.
Therefore, Holy Scripture is a textbook
on cure from which man is taught what illness and health are, how cure
is achieved, and how to attain union with God. Of course, the Holy
Scripture has to be interpreted from within the Orth-odox church
tradition. If it is not part of the church atmosphere, it does not help
man to be saved, but rather encloses him within the limits of
selfishness, as we observe in the use of the Holy Scripture by various
heretics in our days.
What happens with Holy Scripture is
similar to what happens with medical textbooks. For someone to learn to
operate on various parts of the human body, it is not sufficient to read
and memorize a textbook. He must contact the author-doctor, be trained
by him on this task. and himself be a surgeon. If he does not study the
textbook in this context, he will soon lead people to the cemetery. The
same happens with Holy Scripture. To comprehend it and use it for our
therapy, we require the knowledge of God as revealed to the Prophets and
the Apostles, or at least the knowledge of the Fathers who interpret
the Holy Scripture according to the Church. Then we are certain that
Holy Scripture cures man.
Texts of the rites constitute a
second textbook on cure. The rites of the Church play an important role
in the transformation of man’s personality and his rebirth. During the
rites, especially the Divine Liturgy, man opens his heart to God and to
the suffering of the whole world, since he prays for all kinds of
people; he feels the Church as the Body of Christ and receives the Grace
and blessing of God.
In the texts of the services, it is
clear that the Church is a therapeutic center, Christ is our healer, and
the deeper task and purpose of the Church is to heal man who is wounded
by sin. In the prayers read by the priest in the Vespers it is said:
“Be charitable to us, physician and therapist of our souls. Guide us to
the port of your will. Illumine the eyes of our hearts to the knowledge
of your truth . . .” In the Matins, while the reader reads the six
Psalms, the priest reads twelve prayers. Among these, he prays as in
confession: “Lord, have mercy, according to your great mercy, on us who
have fallen to many and grave misdemeanors, and blot out our
transgressions according to the multitude of thy tender mercies; for we
have sinned to you, O Lord, you who know the unspoken and secrets of
men’s hearts and have the sole power to remit sins. You, who have
created in us a clean heart, and upheld us by a free spirit, and made
known to us the joy of thy salvation, cast us not away from thy presence
. . .” In another prayer of the Matins the priest prays: “ . . .
merciful and all-powerful God. Shine in our heart the true Sun of your
justice, illumine our nous and uphold all our senses, so that, as in a day, respectfully walking in the path of your commandments, we reach eternal life.”
In these prayers we see the aim of the
Church, which is its deeper purpose. It is the cure of man and his
guidance to the uncreated Light, to union with God. The purpose of man’s
existence is deification.
All Church hymns refer to cure. They ask
for God’s mercy, salvation, which is not an abstract condition and the
soul’s exit from the body, but the coming of the Grace of God to the
heart. Most hymns of the Church are confessional. Let me cite one of
them:
My whole life sinful, my soul lustful the body full of dirt, the nous
impure, the deeds all defiled, I am fully responsible for condemnation
and conviction. Where shall I turn now? where shall I go if not to you?
Our Lady have mercy and come to my salvation.
The third textbook on cure is the Prayer book
of the Church. This is a book containing the texts and the order of the
Church sacraments, as well as many other prayers used by the priest in
his pastoral service. Reading the Prayer book carefully, one can see
that the Grace of God takes over man from his birth to his death and is
personally interested in him. There are prayers to be read right after
birth, then man becomes part of the Body of the Church by Holy Baptism;
if he leaves the Church, Grace brings him back by the sacrament of
repentance; Grace is present in his wedding and follows him in all his
activities until his sleep and beyond. In the Prayer book it is clear
that the Church is personally interested in each man.
All these textbooks show that the Church
is a Hospital-therapeutic center that cures man. We can see all its
work in this perspective. If we have a different view of the Church,
then we have in mind a secular Church that does not save man. Instead,
it holds him captive to the conditions and circumstances of the fallen
world.
This article was originally published by the Monastery of St. John, www.monasteryofstjohn.org, in The Divine Ascent Vol. 3/4.
This and other publications can be found
on their bookstore website, www.stjohnsbookstore.com.
This article was posted here with permission.
on their bookstore website, www.stjohnsbookstore.com.
This article was posted here with permission.
Source-Pemptousia.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment