My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
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HOW DOES ONE BECOME A FOOL-FOR CHRIST?
"Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, 'He catches the wise in their craftiness", and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.'" (1 Corinthians 3:18-20).
"A Saint who has the title 'Fool-for-Christ is one who is known for his apparent, yet holy, insanity."
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness (I Corinthians 3:18-19).
One form of the ascetic Christian life is called foolishness for the sake of Christ. The fool-for-Christ set for himself the task of battling within himself the root of all sin, pride. In order to accomplish this, he took on an unusual style of life, appearing as someone bereft of his mental faculties, thus bringing upon himself the ridicule of others. In addition, he exposed the evil in the world through metaphorical and symbolic words and actions. He took this ascetic endeavor upon himself in order to humble himself and to also more effectively influence others since most people respond to the usual ordinary sermon with indifference. The spiritual feat of foolishness for Christ was especially widespread in Russia. (Excerpted from The Law of God, Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, N.Y. 1993).
A fool-for Christ is one who truly tries to live their life according to the Holy Gospel teachings, one who loves Jesus Christ above all else and who sincerely strives to live His Divine Teachings:
one who lives a life of sacrificial agape, love towards everyone, including our enemies, and those who seem so different from us;
one who lives in humble self-knowledge, knowing that all good comes only from God and we are but instruments, imperfect in God's hands;
one who lives in unceasing repentance, daily and continuously turning back towards God and away from our sinful passions.
A fool-for-Christ understands that life is not about being comfortable, nor about becoming wealthy and well-known or living a life of luxury. A fool-for-Christ surrenders himself to the will of God and says, "Here I am Lord. Do with me whatever you will. Make me a tool in Your Divine hands. Permit me to exalt Your Holy name in whatever means You approve. I am yours first and foremost, above all else!
Over the many centuries, our Lord Jesus Christ raised up many unusual holy men and women in order to shock us out of our lethargy and complacency, in order to bring us to the realization that there is far more to becoming a participant of the Divine nature. What does it mean to partake of the Divine nature, and how do we experience this? To give an answer, let us first address what deification (theosis) is not, and, then describe what it is.
"What deification (theosis) is not: When the Church calls us to pursue godliness, to be more like God, this does not mean that human beings become divine. We do not become like God in His nature. That would not only be heresy, it would be impossible. For we are human, always have been human, and always will be human. We cannot take on the nature of God.
Saint John of Damascus makes a remarkable observation. The word "God" in the Holy Scripture refers not to the Divine nature or essence, for hat is unknowable. "God" refers rather to the Divine energies--the power and grace of God that we can perceive in this world. The Greek word for God, Theos, comes from a verb meaning "run," "see," or "burn." These are energy words, so to speak, not essence words...
"...What deification (theosis) is: deification (theosis) means we are to become more like God through His grace according to human nature. In other words, humanity by nature is an icon or image of deity: The Divine image is in all humanity. Through sin, however, this image and likeness of God was marred, and we fell.
When the Son of God assumed our humanity in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the process of our being renewed in God's image and likeness was begun. Thus, those who are joined in Christ, through faith, in Holy Baptism begin a process of re-creation, being renewed in God's image and likeness. We become, as Saint Peter writes, "partakers of the Divine Nature (1:4).
Because of the Incarnation of the Son of God, because the fullness of God has inhabited human flesh, being joined to Christ means that it is again possible to experience theosis (deification), the fulfillment of our human nature destiny. That is, through union with Christ, we become by grace what God is by nature--we "become children of God" (John 1:12). His deity interpenetrates our humanity." (Orthodox Study Bible, p.1692).
There must be something of the holy fool in us all if our eyes are to be opened to a truth that the world does not yet see. So let us not be afraid to live according and to be out of step with the conventional wisdom, for that is how we will follow our Lord Jesus Christ through the folly of the Cross to the Glory of the empty tomb. For Christ foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of the world, and He is our salvation.
For two thousand years, the Church has preserved the memory of the Theotokos as the prototype of all Christians-- the model (paradigm) of who we are to become in Christ. The Mother of God is also our model in that she was the first person to receive Jesus Christ. As the Ever-Virgin Mary bore Christ in her womb physically, all Christians now have the privilege of bearing God within them spiritually. By God's grace and mercy, we are purified and empowered to become like Him. (Source: Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"--Saint John Chrysostom
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George