I once told him [Elder Porphyrios], “Elder, I can’t work together with this brother… he is a complainer.”
“You fool, you are an egoist. Do you know that? Because of this you suffer in many ways.”
“I know it Elder. I have been like this from my youth. Pray that God will give me a humble heart.” [The rest of this is Elder Porphyrios speaking:]
“When the heart has God-given humility it sees everything clearly. It already lives in the earthly Uncreated Church of God. I am referring to humility that is not said with words, neither is it that which we feel we have acquired. Holy humility is a gift of God to the soul. God gives it when He finds pristine preparation. Then He looks upon it with pleasure and draws this soul towards Himself. You should not say that your brother is obstinate, that he is jealous or that he gets angry, etc. Don’t say that I can’t get along with him. I can’t ever do things with him. This is not the way to act. This is not Orthodox. It is not Christian. This is not at all living in the love of God. This is the way to separate yourself from the Grace of God, because you separate Him from your brothers.
“On the contrary, you will overlook their weaknesses and without imitating them, you will become one with them in cooperation. You will accept whatever they want and the way they want it. Do they want it this way? So be it. Do they want it another way? May it be the other way. In this way, the walls that separate us from our brothers are destroyed. It is in this way that we are united with Christ.
“The more you are daily associated with your brothers, the more you mystically enter into the Love of Christ. ‘Stand in freedom’ says St. Paul.
“When I was young and I was secretly planning my departure for the Holy Mountain, I sat and thought of ways I would find olive oil to light the lantern, to acquire books and other things that are necessary for the ascetic way of life. And when I went there all these worries were resolved. Everything was taken care of.”
From The Divine Flame Elder Porphyrios Lit in My Heart, Monk Agapios, pp. 60-62

If I may dare to comment upon the words of the Elder with my limited understanding… the key lies in, “This is the way to separate yourself from the Grace of God, because you separate Him from your brothers.” When we see our brothers outside of Christ, we place ourselves out of Christ. Certainly we must see sin and strive to overcome it. But we must remember the Incarnation: that the Living God took on flesh and endured suffering, crucifixion, and death for the sake of every human being who is infinitely precious to him. He did not destroy us… rather the Lord of all became the servant of all in holy humility out of ineffable love for us. If we place ourselves in this abundance of God’s love, then we will not be constrained by the poverty of sin.

This is why we pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” If we ourselves do not enter fully into Christ’s life of inexhaustible forgiveness, we will instead always be constrained by the consequences of sin. If we do not forgive others then we cannot receive forgiveness ourselves, because we will be living a life which I guess popular religion would call “karmic“: one bound and constrained by inescapable causality, not one liberated by the forgiveness and love of the Crucified One. We will have chosen not to receive forgiveness, because we will not know the forgiveness of love: we will only know an economic forgiveness, the fallen life of “I forgive you for this purpose” or “I forgive you for this gain.” But what can we give God-crucified-for-all? Nothing! Yet he gives us everything!

If we enter into forgiveness, if we make excuses for our brother and cover his sin as Christ covers ours, then we will be one with the limitless joy of the Creator, which will enter into us effortlessly and pour forth ineffably upon all around us, transfiguring creation into the New Kingdom. Glory be to Jesus Christ, who offers humanity this incomprehensible life! Enter this life, and “all these worries” will be resolved. “Everything will be taken care of.” We will be in the fullness of God who lacks nothing and empties himself and pours himself out for us, loving Him and all perfectly. If we live in this way, although we will see our own sin clearly and deeply — indeed, more than any other person will we know ourselves a sinner — we will know the forgiveness and love of our Father who has done all for us, and we will be given all grace to overcome sin and adversity and grow in the glory of his likeness. What greater thing is there?

Advertisement