“Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. … [And] all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore, He says, ‘Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’”
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever! Forgive me, the sinner. God forgives, and I forgive.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We are reminded today by St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians that one of the goals of the Christian life is enlightenment. “Enlightenment”… what a terribly multivalent term. It can be something so mundane as flipping a switch in the living room; it can be something so extraordinary, so aberrant as the enlightenment which categorized the intellectualism and cold rationalism of 18th century Europe. What does it mean to be “enlightened,” brethren? There are clearly Christian connotations, as we hear this term so frequently in our hymnody, our sacramental services, and yes, in Holy Scripture too. Most recently, we have heard Fr. David exclaim at every Presanctified Liturgy, before the 2nd Old Testament Reading: “The light of Christ illumines [enlightens] all.” What does that mean?
Well, can you recall the Troparion of Theophany? We did not hear this so long ago:
“When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest, for the voice of the Father bore witness to Thee, and called Thee his beloved Son. And the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the truthfulness of his word. O Christ, our God, who hast revealed Thyself, and hast enlightened the world, glory to Thee” (Troparion for Theophany, Tone 1, italics mine).
Now, if you were listening to the hymn, brethren, I ask, what is the logical antecedent to Christ’s enlightenment of the world, to Christ’s self-revelation? “When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest… .” That is to say, what Christ discloses to us—the knowledge with which we are enlightened—is the existence of, the reality of the eternal communion of the Persons of the Holy Trinity. Christ enlightens the world with the knowledge of the True God. Against all paganism, all hedonism, all atheism, all false religion: Christ enlightens the world with the knowledge of the True God. And likewise, Christ reveals to the world this incredible truth: God has become a man to save all mankind.
It is most important, brethren, in our Orthodox Christian conception of “enlightenment” to properly define the objects and subjects of enlightenment. Who is being enlightened, and who is doing said enlightenment? In stark contrast to the previously mentioned intellectual movement which swept over Europe in the 17th-19th centuries, Christian enlightenment is not characterized by scientia, that is, “knowledge,” or at least not by a volume of knowledge. Christian enlightenment is not about acquiring heaps of facts, of data, of information. Christian enlightenment is a not a process of self-discovery. It is not empirical. It is not exclusively rational, although there is a rational aspect. In our Orthodox Christian worldview, man does not enlighten himself. Man is enlight-ened. A lamp does not illumine itself. A match does not ignite itself. You may think, “Splitting hairs much, deacon?” No, I think not.
Christian enlightenment is predicated on God’s revelation to us, and not on man’s discovery of God—either out there in the depths of space, or as part of the created world, or even within himself. Again, Christian enlightenment is predicated on God’s revelation to us. The incarnation, Christ’s divinity, the events of the gospel narratives, Christ’s victorious resurrection from the dead: these are all instances of God’s self-disclosure, his revelation to us. The Apostle Paul has this very exchange in mind when he writes to the Ephesians:
“But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says, ‘Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’ See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph 5: 13-17, italics mine).
“… ‘Christ will give you light.’ See then that you walk circumspectly… .” What do we walk in, brethren? Self-discernment? Rationality? A set of data points? A cost-benefit analysis? A risk-reward assessment? A Utilitarian ethic? No! We walk in the knowledge of God. We walk in the light of Christ. We walk—hear this—by the example of Christ, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…,” as the Apostle says elsewhere in Hebrews (12:2). We will not go astray, brethren, when we walk in the light of Christ. We can do no wrong so long as we keep our eyes fixed on the image and example of our Lord, who has already suffered, already died, already experienced all manner of human hardship, and… who has already resurrected from the dead, and ascended into heaven in glory. When we walk in the light of Christ, fixated on Christ, then we, like Christ, will not deviate from that path which leads to the Kingdom of Heaven. But when we over-rationalize, over-think, when we say, “Yes, I know best,” then surely, we will deviate from the path; we will fall, and we will need to repent.
Today, brethren, on the 4th Sunday of Great and Holy Lent, we commemorate our father among ascetics, St. John Climacus of The Ladder. I am sure you are all familiar with the icon of The Ladder of Divine Ascent. If not, then allow me to briefly re-hash the iconology for you. There is a ladder with thirty rungs, leading from earth to heaven. On this ladder are men—Christians—from every walk of life: monks, laymen, priests, even a bishop. The rungs are representative of the so-called thirty stages of the ascetic life, as outlined by St. John Climacus in his text. These stages include “On renunciation,” “On detachment,” “On remembrance of death,” “On bodily vigil,” “On meekness,” “On discernment of thoughts,” “On prayer.” As one progresses in the spiritual life, one progresses in the Christian virtues. The spiritual life culminates in “godly dispassion” and a perfect realization of “faith, hope, and love.” This is according to St. John’s spiritual advice and personal experience. Returning to the icon: as the Christian advances in his spiritual walk, the demons, representative of all vice and passion, attempt to pull him down (or off!) the Ladder of Divine Ascent. Once a Christian has fallen, he may return to his spiritual progress through repentance. He may ascend again.
However, the most important aspect—the most insightful spiritual element—of this icon, brethren, is not found in the men on the ladder, in the demons, in the angels which pray for and assist man in his ascent. It is not found even in the ladder itself, as pedagogical and demonstrative as such a symbol may be. Rather, it is found in the Person who stands at the top of the ladder beckoning the faithful to himself. It is Christ our God. The goal of the Christian spiritual life… is Christ! The goal of all Christian virtue, all prayer, all almsgiving, all fasting, every ritual action, every liturgical service, every-thing is Christ. Christ is the one who calls us to himself, and Christ is the one who has revealed himself to us. Christ stands at the top of the ladder as one who has himself ascended the ladder in his humanity. The blessing which Christ extends to his faithful from the top of the ladder is a blessing of self-revelation. It is the blessing of Christ himself. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28-29). “Come unto me… .”
When we fixate too much on ourselves, brethren, our successes and our failures, then we are not able to fixate on Christ. When we concern ourselves too much with spiritual striving—when we make the end of our fast the fast itself; the end of our service, our fellowship, or aid, or stewardship the virtue itself—then we are not able to fixate on Christ. When we look too closely at the passions which afflict us, that is, worrying about the demons which flit around us, then we are unable to focus on the risen Lord, who has already “shattered the gates of Hell” and “put an end to death’s dominion” by his own mighty power. Brethren, as we move deeper into the fast and closer to Holy Week, let us fixate less on the ancillary and more—as our Lord said to Martha, so concerned with activity—[and more] on the one thing needed for our salvation. “The light of Christ illumines all.”
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!