The Will Of The Father; Lenten Reflections
Lent is always a deep time for reflection upon the spiritual life, where I silence my phone, limit my distractions including social media, and do my best to attend Church more, pray more, and ultimately love God sanctifying my heart to Him (1 Peter 3:15). I’ve found the value of journaling the last 2 years has tremendously helped me as well. Here I will share some of the lessons or insights that I have gleamed in said journaling. And for my fellow bookworms, I have a list of my Lent reading at the end of the article if you’re interested. Maybe some of these same things you were perceiving too, may the Lord be glorified in all of it. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Will of the Father
In Luke 9:51 the Holy Scriptures say our Lord Jesus Christ “steadfastly set His Face upon Jerusalem”fulfilling the will of the Father. This would entail first the Cross, then death, and then Resurrection. He did not turn away from it but went forward. All of that is included as a package deal with what happens in the life of Christ.
Yet I think of how many times I just want the Resurrection without the Cross, or my own dying daily; but as Lent is reminding again; embrace your cross and death. It is easy and light with Him, and true life comes after it. Earlier in the same chapter (Luke 9:23) Jesus says if we want to follow Him we must take up our cross, meaning our cross is in God’s will.
It was the Father’s will that the Son should be sent to save us (John 6:39), part of that saving was the Cross. If we want to be followers of Christ, not simply admirers, that includes emulating our Savior in bearing our own unique cross.
I think of the inscription on Mt. Athos, “Die before you die, so you won’t die when you die.” Which to me is the same thing as Jesus setting His Face steadfastly on Jerusalem. On submitting to the will of the Father, which is fulfillment and the fullness of joy. Resurrection.
“If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My Love, even as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:10-11.
What Do I Do? Set Yourself Beyond Worldly Standards
Discerning God’s will and not holding ourselves to worldly standards is a difficult endeavor sometimes, especially in secular society it tries to exert its influence on us. In Hebrews 11 it speaks of how Moses chose “to share ill-treatment with God’s people rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt because he had his eyes fixed on the reward.” This verse resonates with how Moses found peace in God’s correction rather than false comforts of the world; an example of not setting ourselves to the world’s standard of success or happiness.
St. Ephraim of Katounakia, a wonderful modern saint, talks about discerning God’s will too. He says the devils cannot imitate humility, nor any true fruits of the spirit. When a young man came to St. Ephraim and asked him “what do I do?” about this or that situation in life. St. Ephraim said to pray, stand at the door and knock, be persistent, and follow the path that brings true peace. The young man asked again indecisively “what if I still choose wrong?” St. Ephraim shruggingly said “God will nudge you then, do what little good you know how to do and the rest will be revealed.“
Abraham Believed In The Resurrection
Abraham offering Isaac in sacrifice is moving to once again see his faith, as he was promised to be the father of many nations and then God tells him to offer his own son. Logically it doesn’t make sense. I think of how I myself would doubt, but God is always calling us beyond human reasoning to complete faith in him.
What I find even more striking is right before in Genesis 22:5, Abraham tells his servants, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship, and we will come back to you.”Many of the church fathers place a huge emphasis on the phrasing “WE will come back” connecting it to what St. Paul says in Hebrews 11:19, that Abraham’s faith was so great that he believed even if he killed his own son, God would resurrect Isaac.
“Abraham concluded that God was even able to raise up the dead and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from the dead.” Hebrews 11:19.
America Is Identical To Sodom & Gomorrah
We tend to think of Sodom & Gomorrah only in the raining down of fire and brimstone in it’s destruction, that it was a place full of sin. We forget that it was described as a lush place, full of extravagance, wealth, comfort, and luxury; identically to like America is today.
Abraham showed his humility in letting Lot pick the land first (Genesis 13), Lot chose the bountiful rich place outwardly but the inwardly rotting place. While Abraham chose to dwell in the poor land of Canaan outwardly, but was inwardly spiritually rich. Lot immediately builds his own house in Sodom, while the first thing Abraham builds is an altar to the Lord. There’s a ton of symbolic reference there.
The places or people who seem outwardly great may not be, and the ones who seem insignificant may be great. God judges the heart, the inward, more than He does the outward. We often get caught up with the outward appearance, especially of ourselves. Abraham honored God first when given barren land, Lot honored himself first when given a lush land.
Abraham to St. Paul especially in Romans was the enduring standard of faith. If we have the faith of Abraham, showing again in this reading how much faith he has, how he always put God first above all things no matter where he was and encourages us to do the same.
Conquering Anger
St. Symeon’s words on anger illustrate that conquering anger is a constant struggle, especially for me, but with God there is transformation. St. John Climacus, also known as “St. John of the Ladder,” speaks a lot about anger in Step 8 of the Ladder as the same, a struggle of sweat and blood to gain spirit. This is in the Ladder of Divine Ascent.
He also speaks how much damage can be done in one moment of anger. “A strong sudden wind may fan a blaze that will cause more damage to the field of the heart than a lingering flame could ever manage to achieve." The purpose of anger in this world is to use is against sin; but too often I find myself the friend of anger, and thus sin.
"If it is true that the Holy Spirit is peace of soul, as He is said to be and as, indeed, He is, and as anger is disturbance of the heart, as it is really is, and as it is said to be, then there is no greater obstacle to the presence of the Holy Spirit in us than anger."
He goes on to speak of the solution, to say the first step in controlling anger is to silence your tongue. Don’t speak when anger is aroused, even if your heart rages. The second stage is silencing and banishing the thoughts when anger is stirred. And the final end “is an imperturbable calm under the breath of unclean winds.” All of this of course with Christ, He is peace. The victory is not so much in not falling, but in getting back up, again and again.
Make Christ The Center Of Your Life
“When I stop reverencing God, I become the center of my world,” is a big theme I’ve personally seen reinforced this Lent. Being a Christian means Christ is the center of our lives, not ourselves. Being a servant of God entails actually serving our God, not ourselves. We hear “Servant of God, _____” at the chalice. That is our identity as Christians.
I want to control my own world. I want God when His presence is convenient for me, I am guilty of this, and the temptation to put prayer, Church, etc in its own box and then live the rest of the time as if God isn’t as present as He is in those settings. It’s a constant reorientation. It made me remember a word from Fr. Joseph Copeland who said we tend to think we are people in the world who go to Church, but the reality is supposed to be we are people in the Church who go out into the world.
Instead I find myself the center of my own world, and the more I do, the more unhappy I become. The Goliath that is your old man/woman rages to put yourself first but through obedience, patience and the love of Christ they will be slain and you will become transformed into the new man/woman in Christ.
Our worship itself at the Divine Liturgy declares Christ as the center of everything, the goal is for our life to be a continual worship as well wherever we are. There will be toil, sweat, blood, tears and there will be rest, lightness, healing, joy. If God is center of your life; you know He is not absent from those former things mentioned. Live no longer for yourself.
“Jesus also told them a parable illustrating that they must always pray and not give up.” + Luke 18:1
Various Lent Readings:
Eastern Orthodox Bible. (EOB).
Archpriest Steven John Belonick. (2021). Pilgrimage to Pascha, A Daily Devotional for Great Lent.Ancient Faith Publishing.
St. John Climacus. The Ladder of Divine Ascent. Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Published 2008.
Manley, Johanna. (2011). The Bible & The Holy Fathers For Orthodox. Monastery Books.
St. Theophan the Recluse. Thoughts For Each Day of the Year: According to the Daily Church Readings From The Word of God. St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood. Published 2010.
St. Nikolai Velimirovich. Prayers By The Lake. Independent Publishing. Published 2008.
St. Ephraim of Katounakia. Elder Ephraim of Katounakia. Mount Athos. Published 2003.