LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT STEP FOUR
STEP FOUR: PRACTICING OBEDIENCE
The Philokalia on “Prayer” states: When the soul has been purified through the keeping of all the commandments, it makes the intellect steadfast and able to receive the state needed for prayer.. That state? Obedience. It goes on: Obedience to God's Commandments is the first step in the spiritual life.
Obedience... The fourth step on the Ladder of Divine Ascent... The first step in living the fullness of the life of prayer.
“The heart of obedience is listening. To listen we must be silent and still. Then we can hear and know what to say and how to act. To be obedient is to be a person of humble and quiet meditation and contemplative prayer in all things.... Obedience is not done out of mere compulsion or religious law. It is done out of love, it is love that impels us...” John Michael Talbot “Blessings of St Benedict”
Obedience the first of 4 Fundamental Virtues
Obedience (4) Repentance (5) Remembrance of Death (6) Joyful Sorrow (7)
First observance: The fourth rung on the ladder is labeled “Obedience.” He describes it thus:
“….a total renunciation of our own life, and it shows up clearly in the way we act. Obedience is the burial place of the will….”
He is very insistent that without obedience no one will attain heaven. We do not obey so that we may fulfill some external set of rules and earn God’s favor and love. Our obedience does not earn us anything. Rather, the act of obedience changes us and makes us ready to receive the love which God has already given to mankind in Christ. It was disobedience which lost Paradise for mankind. It is obedience which will regain it.
Humility arises out of obedience, and from humility itself comes dispassion, for “the Lord remembered us in our humility and saved us from our enemies.”
Obedience is necessary because to obey is to cut off our self-will and pride. It is our own stubborn self-will which will keep us from ascending the ladder. It is a demanding that things be done our way on our own time schedule which destroys us spiritually. Obedience is the cure for this disease. It is the way to cut off our own will and thus achieve sanctity.
What is this life of obedience and what is its spiritual importance?
Second Observance: If we limit our understanding of what John is saying in this chapter on obedience to the simple following of rules and instructions, we are limiting ourselves to the most superficial meaning of obedience. In its simplest sense to obey means to follow an instruction. Yet, this is not really what John means. To John, obedience is something quite different. He defines obedience as “absolute renunciation of our own life, clearly expressed in our bodily actions.” St. John goes on, “(Obedience is) the tomb of the will and resurrection of humility” (3).
Obedience in this sense, is neither about following a rule or instruction, nor about who or what you are obedient to, it is about learning to subject your own will in order to grow closer to the kingdom of God. It is “the tomb of the will and the resurrection of humility” (John, 4:1,3). The humility of Christ is the goal of our existence, obedience is the tool and means to obtain it. ”From obedience is born humility and from humility comes dispassion.”
The truth of this is shown when John invites us to look at the devil as an example. The devil cannot act contrary to his own will, and in fact always and only seeks after his own will. Thus, to assert our own will is to follow the devil. Conversely, “if anyone surrenders himself to simplicity and voluntary innocence, then he no longer gives the devil either time or place to attack him.” This is where obedience brings us spiritual benefit.
1. Our treatise now appropriately touches upon warriors (prizefighters) and athletes of Christ. As the flower precedes the fruit so exiles (those detached) either of body or will always precedes obedience. For with the help of these two virtues, the holy soul ascends to heaven as upon golden wings. And perhaps it was about this that he who had received the Holy Spirit sang: Who will give me wings like a dove? And I will fly by activity, and be at rest by contemplation and humility (Psalm 55:6).
2. But let us not fail, if you agree, to describe clearly in our treatise the weapons of these brave warriors: how they hold the shield of faith in God and their trainer (gymnasties – the trainer of athletes… Referring to a spiritual director or superior) and with it (the shield of faith) they ward off, so to speak, every thought of unbelief and vacilliation (indecision and wavering) (see Scripture below 2 Cor 10:5) … how they constantly raise the drawn sword of the Spirit and slay every wish of their own that approaches them; how, clad in the iron armour of meekness and patience, they avert every insult, injury and missle (fiery dart).. And for a helmet of salvation they have their superior’s protection through prayer. And they do not stand with their feet together, for one is stretched out in service and the other is immovable in prayer.. (Ephesians 6).
2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exaleth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…”
Note closely the statement: And they do not stand with their feet together, for one is stretched out in service and the other is immovable in prayer. Always note the pose of a swordsman, his feet are never together. The front foot moves while, realistically, the hide foot stays in place. This is for balance..
****One of the most important elements of historical fencing study is that of basic fighting stances and guard positions. Nothing is more fundamental than these two things. Stances or guards (leger/huten or guardia/posta) are in many ways the very foundation of Medieval swordsmanship. The offensive and defensive postures and ready positions from which to deliver all manner of blows lie at the heart of any fighting method. Unquestionably, they represent the beginning of study. All principles and techniques of fighting all are employed in relation to these postures. But they are not "static" postures, but dynamic "ready positions" from which to strike or counter-strike.
5. You who have decided to strip for the arena of this of this spiritual confession, you who wish to take on your neck the yoke of Christ, you who are therefore trying to lay your own burden on another’s shoulders, you who are hastening to sign a pledge that you are voluntarily surrendering yourself to slavery, and in return want freedom written to your account, you who are being supported by the hands of others as you swim across this great sea – you should know that you have decided to travel by a short but rough way, from which there is only one deflection, and its called singularity (self rule, self-will, independence).
Translation here… No lone rangers!!!!!
…For obedience is distrust of oneself in everything, however good it may be, right up to the end of one’s life…(John, 4:5)
7. For the more faith flourishes in the heart, the more alacrity (eager willingness, readiness, shown by quick action) the body has in service. But he who has stumbled on distrust has already fallen for all that does not spring from faith, is sin… (Romans 14:23).
“But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith, for whatever is not from faith is sin….”
8. The Fathers have laid down that psalmody (the acts, practice or art of singing the psalms in worship) is a weapon, and prayer is a wall, and honest tears are a bath; but blessed obedience in their judgment is confession of faith, without which no one subject to passions will see the Lord.
“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness.. without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
Note closely, the statement… “Blessed obedience, in their judgment, is confession of faith.” By our obedience, we are making confessions to faith.
“Let them neither dominate nor seek power over one another, but let them willingly serve and obey “one another with the mutual love which comes from the spirit.” St Francis
“Obedience does not come from a battle of opinions or a superimposing of one will over another, but from a place of profound humility and respect.” Clare Condon SGS
In Psychology, it is taught that the enemy of obedience is conformity
46. He who exposes every snake shows that he has real faith; but he who hides them will wander in trackless wastes.
It is an interesting thought, that “real Faith” will expose every snake that has moved in to attack our spiritual walk. Obedience to that “real faith” keeps our feet in line with the Word and Will of God.
In the following block of teaching.. Pay close attention…..
57. He who lives in obedience has eluded two snares and remains in future an obedient servant of Christ.
It is by and through obedience that we can overcome and have victory over attacks by and of the demons, who lay out snares to entangle us… In obedience, we elude these snares.
THE FIRST SNARE
58. The devil battles with those in obedience, sometimes to defile them with bodily pollutions and make them hard hearted, and sometimes to provoke more than usual restlessness. At other times he makes them dry and barren, sluggish in prayer, drowsy and confused by spiritual darkness in order to tear them away from their struggle by making them think they have gained nothing by their obedience but are only backsliding…
Remember Jesus said the thief, the devil, comes to steal, to kill and to destroy (John 10:10).
59. However, some have often repelled that deceiver by patience; but while he is still speaking, another angel (devil) stands by us and after a little while tries to hoodwink (blindfold, deceive, dupe) us in another way…
THE SECOND SNARE
I have seen some living in obedience who, through their father’s direction, became filled with compunction, meek, temperate, zealous, free from inner conflicts and fervent. But demons came to them and sowed in them the thought that they now had the qualifications for the solitary life, and that in solitude they would attain to freedom from passion as the final prize. Thus deceived, they left the harbor and put out to sea, but when a storm came down upon them, they were pitifully exposed to danger from this foul and bitter ocean through being unprovided with pilots.
62. Do not be deceived son and obedient servant of the Lord, by the spirit of conceit, so that you confess your own sins to your master as if they were another person’s. You cannot escape shame except by shame. It is often the habit of the demons to persuade us either not to confess, or to do so as if we were confessing another person’s sins, or to lay blame for our sins on others. Lay bare, lay bare your wound to the physician and, without being ashamed, say, “It is my wound, Father, it is my plague, caused by my own negligence, and not by anything else. No one is to blame for this, no man, no spirit, no body, nothing but my own carelessness.”
71. From obedience comes humility, and from humility comes dispassion……
By obedience and humility, we are able to unlock ourselves, detach ourselves from our own passions.
125. He who has come to know his weakness by living in solitude (quiet prayer, inner inventory by and through prayer), and has then changed his place and sold himself to obedience, has without trouble recovered his sight and seen Christ.
126. Keep at it, brother athletes, and I will say it again, keep running, as you hear Wisdom crying of you. As gold in the furnace, or rather, in a community, the Lord has tried them, and as a whole burnt offering has He received them into His bosom…
This step is equal in number to the Evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). Athlete, keep running fearlessly.
The Philokalia on “Prayer” states: When the soul has been purified through the keeping of all the commandments, it makes the intellect steadfast and able to receive the state needed for prayer.. That state? Obedience. It goes on: Obedience to God's Commandments is the first step in the spiritual life.
Obedience... The fourth step on the Ladder of Divine Ascent... The first step in living the fullness of the life of prayer.
“The heart of obedience is listening. To listen we must be silent and still. Then we can hear and know what to say and how to act. To be obedient is to be a person of humble and quiet meditation and contemplative prayer in all things.... Obedience is not done out of mere compulsion or religious law. It is done out of love, it is love that impels us...” John Michael Talbot “Blessings of St Benedict”
Obedience the first of 4 Fundamental Virtues
Obedience (4) Repentance (5) Remembrance of Death (6) Joyful Sorrow (7)
First observance: The fourth rung on the ladder is labeled “Obedience.” He describes it thus:
“….a total renunciation of our own life, and it shows up clearly in the way we act. Obedience is the burial place of the will….”
He is very insistent that without obedience no one will attain heaven. We do not obey so that we may fulfill some external set of rules and earn God’s favor and love. Our obedience does not earn us anything. Rather, the act of obedience changes us and makes us ready to receive the love which God has already given to mankind in Christ. It was disobedience which lost Paradise for mankind. It is obedience which will regain it.
Humility arises out of obedience, and from humility itself comes dispassion, for “the Lord remembered us in our humility and saved us from our enemies.”
Obedience is necessary because to obey is to cut off our self-will and pride. It is our own stubborn self-will which will keep us from ascending the ladder. It is a demanding that things be done our way on our own time schedule which destroys us spiritually. Obedience is the cure for this disease. It is the way to cut off our own will and thus achieve sanctity.
What is this life of obedience and what is its spiritual importance?
Second Observance: If we limit our understanding of what John is saying in this chapter on obedience to the simple following of rules and instructions, we are limiting ourselves to the most superficial meaning of obedience. In its simplest sense to obey means to follow an instruction. Yet, this is not really what John means. To John, obedience is something quite different. He defines obedience as “absolute renunciation of our own life, clearly expressed in our bodily actions.” St. John goes on, “(Obedience is) the tomb of the will and resurrection of humility” (3).
Obedience in this sense, is neither about following a rule or instruction, nor about who or what you are obedient to, it is about learning to subject your own will in order to grow closer to the kingdom of God. It is “the tomb of the will and the resurrection of humility” (John, 4:1,3). The humility of Christ is the goal of our existence, obedience is the tool and means to obtain it. ”From obedience is born humility and from humility comes dispassion.”
The truth of this is shown when John invites us to look at the devil as an example. The devil cannot act contrary to his own will, and in fact always and only seeks after his own will. Thus, to assert our own will is to follow the devil. Conversely, “if anyone surrenders himself to simplicity and voluntary innocence, then he no longer gives the devil either time or place to attack him.” This is where obedience brings us spiritual benefit.
1. Our treatise now appropriately touches upon warriors (prizefighters) and athletes of Christ. As the flower precedes the fruit so exiles (those detached) either of body or will always precedes obedience. For with the help of these two virtues, the holy soul ascends to heaven as upon golden wings. And perhaps it was about this that he who had received the Holy Spirit sang: Who will give me wings like a dove? And I will fly by activity, and be at rest by contemplation and humility (Psalm 55:6).
2. But let us not fail, if you agree, to describe clearly in our treatise the weapons of these brave warriors: how they hold the shield of faith in God and their trainer (gymnasties – the trainer of athletes… Referring to a spiritual director or superior) and with it (the shield of faith) they ward off, so to speak, every thought of unbelief and vacilliation (indecision and wavering) (see Scripture below 2 Cor 10:5) … how they constantly raise the drawn sword of the Spirit and slay every wish of their own that approaches them; how, clad in the iron armour of meekness and patience, they avert every insult, injury and missle (fiery dart).. And for a helmet of salvation they have their superior’s protection through prayer. And they do not stand with their feet together, for one is stretched out in service and the other is immovable in prayer.. (Ephesians 6).
2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exaleth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…”
Note closely the statement: And they do not stand with their feet together, for one is stretched out in service and the other is immovable in prayer. Always note the pose of a swordsman, his feet are never together. The front foot moves while, realistically, the hide foot stays in place. This is for balance..
****One of the most important elements of historical fencing study is that of basic fighting stances and guard positions. Nothing is more fundamental than these two things. Stances or guards (leger/huten or guardia/posta) are in many ways the very foundation of Medieval swordsmanship. The offensive and defensive postures and ready positions from which to deliver all manner of blows lie at the heart of any fighting method. Unquestionably, they represent the beginning of study. All principles and techniques of fighting all are employed in relation to these postures. But they are not "static" postures, but dynamic "ready positions" from which to strike or counter-strike.
5. You who have decided to strip for the arena of this of this spiritual confession, you who wish to take on your neck the yoke of Christ, you who are therefore trying to lay your own burden on another’s shoulders, you who are hastening to sign a pledge that you are voluntarily surrendering yourself to slavery, and in return want freedom written to your account, you who are being supported by the hands of others as you swim across this great sea – you should know that you have decided to travel by a short but rough way, from which there is only one deflection, and its called singularity (self rule, self-will, independence).
Translation here… No lone rangers!!!!!
…For obedience is distrust of oneself in everything, however good it may be, right up to the end of one’s life…(John, 4:5)
7. For the more faith flourishes in the heart, the more alacrity (eager willingness, readiness, shown by quick action) the body has in service. But he who has stumbled on distrust has already fallen for all that does not spring from faith, is sin… (Romans 14:23).
“But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith, for whatever is not from faith is sin….”
8. The Fathers have laid down that psalmody (the acts, practice or art of singing the psalms in worship) is a weapon, and prayer is a wall, and honest tears are a bath; but blessed obedience in their judgment is confession of faith, without which no one subject to passions will see the Lord.
“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness.. without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
Note closely, the statement… “Blessed obedience, in their judgment, is confession of faith.” By our obedience, we are making confessions to faith.
“Let them neither dominate nor seek power over one another, but let them willingly serve and obey “one another with the mutual love which comes from the spirit.” St Francis
“Obedience does not come from a battle of opinions or a superimposing of one will over another, but from a place of profound humility and respect.” Clare Condon SGS
In Psychology, it is taught that the enemy of obedience is conformity
46. He who exposes every snake shows that he has real faith; but he who hides them will wander in trackless wastes.
It is an interesting thought, that “real Faith” will expose every snake that has moved in to attack our spiritual walk. Obedience to that “real faith” keeps our feet in line with the Word and Will of God.
In the following block of teaching.. Pay close attention…..
57. He who lives in obedience has eluded two snares and remains in future an obedient servant of Christ.
It is by and through obedience that we can overcome and have victory over attacks by and of the demons, who lay out snares to entangle us… In obedience, we elude these snares.
THE FIRST SNARE
58. The devil battles with those in obedience, sometimes to defile them with bodily pollutions and make them hard hearted, and sometimes to provoke more than usual restlessness. At other times he makes them dry and barren, sluggish in prayer, drowsy and confused by spiritual darkness in order to tear them away from their struggle by making them think they have gained nothing by their obedience but are only backsliding…
Remember Jesus said the thief, the devil, comes to steal, to kill and to destroy (John 10:10).
59. However, some have often repelled that deceiver by patience; but while he is still speaking, another angel (devil) stands by us and after a little while tries to hoodwink (blindfold, deceive, dupe) us in another way…
THE SECOND SNARE
I have seen some living in obedience who, through their father’s direction, became filled with compunction, meek, temperate, zealous, free from inner conflicts and fervent. But demons came to them and sowed in them the thought that they now had the qualifications for the solitary life, and that in solitude they would attain to freedom from passion as the final prize. Thus deceived, they left the harbor and put out to sea, but when a storm came down upon them, they were pitifully exposed to danger from this foul and bitter ocean through being unprovided with pilots.
62. Do not be deceived son and obedient servant of the Lord, by the spirit of conceit, so that you confess your own sins to your master as if they were another person’s. You cannot escape shame except by shame. It is often the habit of the demons to persuade us either not to confess, or to do so as if we were confessing another person’s sins, or to lay blame for our sins on others. Lay bare, lay bare your wound to the physician and, without being ashamed, say, “It is my wound, Father, it is my plague, caused by my own negligence, and not by anything else. No one is to blame for this, no man, no spirit, no body, nothing but my own carelessness.”
71. From obedience comes humility, and from humility comes dispassion……
By obedience and humility, we are able to unlock ourselves, detach ourselves from our own passions.
125. He who has come to know his weakness by living in solitude (quiet prayer, inner inventory by and through prayer), and has then changed his place and sold himself to obedience, has without trouble recovered his sight and seen Christ.
126. Keep at it, brother athletes, and I will say it again, keep running, as you hear Wisdom crying of you. As gold in the furnace, or rather, in a community, the Lord has tried them, and as a whole burnt offering has He received them into His bosom…
This step is equal in number to the Evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). Athlete, keep running fearlessly.
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