By The Very Rev. Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou)
As Christ descended first to the
nethermost parts of the earth and then ascended above the heavens, so
humble love raises up a ladder in the heart of man. The same ladder
which Christ used to descend to man, man uses to ascend to God, for ‘in
his heart he has purposed to go up.’[1]
Man then led by the Spirit of God, curtails sinful practices,
eradicates desires and evil thoughts which are enmity against God. He is
healed from the pestilence of sin, cultivating the longing for heavenly
goods, performing God-pleasing works, entering into the heavenly
enlargement of holy love of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
He proceeds ‘from strength to strength’[2] becoming the son and inheritor of God and the co-heir of Christ.
God knew that no one by himself would be
able to receive all of the wealth of His gifts. That is why He did not
abandon man in the desolation of his fall, but sent his Only-begotten
Son to the world and He perfected a Body in history, the Church, to which
He imparted all the glory and perfection of His gifts. We become
members of the Church through faith in the word of Christ and repentance
so that we may conform our minds and hearts to His saving will. To
every person who repents is given a unique gift of the Holy Spirit. This
holds him united with the wondrous Body of Christ and makes him a
partaker in all the gifts of all the members of this sublime communion
of grace, of the saints in heaven and the elect of God on earth. In this
divine-human communion, man is enriched and in this he has his point of
reference, which guides him and keeps him unabated on the path of truth
which was revealed by Christ.
The relationships between the members of
the Body are distinguished by love that works in them according to the
measure in which the commandments of Christ are fulfilled. Within the
Body, as the Apostle says, ‘we consider one another to provoke unto love
and to good works.’[3]
Spiritual perfection is possible only in the Body of the Church, in the
communion of gifts of all its members. This is confirmed by the Apostle
when he says that only ‘with all the saints’ will we be able to
comprehend ‘what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height’[4] of the love of Christ.
In miniature, we see the same spiritual
progress realised in the harmonious bond in Christ of husband and wife,
when the two live together struggling with humility to complete each
other with their specific gifts and thus to arrive at the perfection of
selfless love, that is the antechamber of the Heavenly Kingdom.
In our relationships and in communion
with God and with men, wherein we must work in order to fulfill our
purpose, the freedom of the person has great importance. In God, freedom
is absolute, since He is able to create from nothing. He lacks nothing
and is in need of nothing. Nevertheless, out of overflowing love, not
only did He create man, but for his salvation He also humbled Himself
taking the form of a servant and saving sinners from the lowest hell.[5]
In man, freedom is of the heart and according to the measure of the
gift of God. The more he endeavours to live without sin, the more he is
liberated from the tyranny of the passions.
Source-Pemptousia.com
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