In the world we live in, its hard to proclaim your religious beliefs. It's not easy. It's not even appropriate amongst friends. And my faith certainly isn't something that has come easily to me, and I wouldn't presume to inflict my beliefs on anyone else. However, my path has brought me to a place whereby my faith sustains me. It has made me stronger. And since it's a big part of my life, its hard not to talk about it.
I search for a more clear understanding of what my religion is, so that I don't simply accept it at face value. The beautiful thing is, the more I search, the more enthusiastic I am about what I find.
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Based on the Christian Orthodox Faith:
"In any unfortunate situation, there always exists the danger that suffering and difficulties can cause a person to become bitter, angry and worst of all, full of despair. Christ can help only those who are open to His help. An extremely important concept within our Orthodox theology is the idea of synergy – God working together with man.
Yes, God wants all people to be saved, and enter into an intimate, living, dynamic relationship with Him. God is always near us, knocking on the door of our hearts, and desiring to enter within. Yet, he loves us so much, He respects our freedom. We are free to choose to welcome Him, to accept Him, to dwell with Him forever, but also we are free to ignore Him, reject Him, and basically live apart from Him. It depends on us, not on Him! He is always ready to dwell with us and help us IF AND WHEN we are willing to work together with Him" -Fr. Luke Veronis
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Lent is about to start, and it is the perfect opportunity to reexamine ourselves. My goal is to push myself out of my comfort zone during this period. It's the least I can do, given how much my faith has given me. This link explains the Orthodox perspective on lent. This is why I've never been one to simply give up chocolate, or soda or something simple like that. That is far too easy. Lent is also the perfect opportunity to take notice of the fact that no matter how hard you try to stay on a path, any path, you will absolutely veer off. We are not perfect. No one is!
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The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.- Mark 14:38
I read the above and it immediately sounded familiar. Why? Because I had been singing it here and there in my head for over 15 years. When I was in church youth group as a kid, I learned this song, which when sung in harmony was one of the most beautiful and uplifting things I've ever heard. This is a plea to God, acknowledging our weaknesses, and asking for help. I call that, the "big ask."
The words to the first portion of the song, by Bill Maxwell:
I stand to praise You,
But I fall to my knees.
My spirit is hungry,
But my flesh is so weak.
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Let it happen to me as you have said.- Luke 1:38 (this is about letting go!)
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Forgiveness is something I'm not great at. I'm not even mildly good at it. The little things aren't the problem. Like most folks, its the big grievances that I can never let go of. I think about this shortcoming of mine often. If we're being fair it's easy to say, "hey! no one is good at this, don't beat yourself up." But that's not good enough. Since I'm aware of the problem, I would be foolish not to attempt to work on it. In fact, it's a sin not to forgive. Which is one great reason why I'm a big fat sinner, even if I'm a pretty nice person by most people's estimations.
This article on forgiveness is helpful to me. He even touches why it may be harder to forgive those we are closest to.
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Jesus said, “Live ecstatically. Move out of that place of death and toward life because I am the God who is living. Wherever I am, there is life, there is change, there is growth, there is hope, there is increase and blossoming and something new. I am going to make everything new.” For us to dare to live a life in which we continue to move out of the static places and take trusting steps in new directions – that is what faith is all about. Henri Nouwen
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Every one of us is in the image of God, and every one of us is like a damaged icon. But if we were given an icon damaged by time, damaged by circumstances, or desecrated by human hatred, we would treat it with reverence, with tenderness, with broken-heartedness. We would not pay attention primarily to the fact that it is damaged, but to the tragedy of its being damaged. We would concentrate on what is left of its beauty, and not on what is lost of its beauty. And this is what we must learn to do with regard to each person as an individual, but also - and this is not always as easy - with regard to groups of people, whether it be a parish or a denomination, or a nation. We must learn to look, and look until we have seen the underlying beauty of this group of people. Only then can we even begin to do something to call out all the beauty that is there. Listen to other people, and whenever you discern something, which sounds true, which is a revelation of harmony and beauty, emphasize it and help it to flower. Strengthen it and encourage it to live. Metropolitan Anthony Bloom
