LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT STEP FIVE
STEP 5 “TURNING OUR BACKS ON SIN”
THE REPUGNANT (offensive) NATURE OF SIN AS REFLECTED IN THE PENANCE OF THE MONKS OF THE "PRISON"
John speaks of the value of penitence and the humility needed to embrace such a path.
The causes of moral lapses are considered and the need for courage and perseverance in the face of recurring failures. John exhorts the penitent to trust in the mercy and grace of God but also warns against presumption. Humility is key and true repentance will keep one from judging or even recognizing another's faults.
John concludes by telling his readers to above all let the image of the inmates at the "Prison" be imprinted upon their minds and hearts. They are to let the example of these holy men be their rule and model for repentance.
ON PENITENCE AND THE AVOIDANCE OF PRESUMPTION
John begins this step with a somewhat moderate and encouraging tone by describing repentance as a "renewal of one's baptism and a contract with God for a fresh start in life." With repentance there is always hope and never despair. As penitents we stand before our God guilty, but never disgraced. Indeed, we inflict punishments on ourselves out of love for God, in an attempt to reconcile ourselves to him and to receive the peace that comes through his forgiveness.
However, if there is a step in the "Ladder" which pierces one's heart, if there is any part of the book which really shakes us and brings the message home, it is precisely this step concerning those blessed and compunctionate (uneasiness prompted by guilt) and voluntary inmates of "the Prison." For truly these holy ones, crazed for Christ, described by John, are a mirror for us, the sluggish and indolent, to look into and to behold how wanting we are in the realm of true heartfelt repentance. They were earnest and serious about their repentance; we are light and distracted concerning our salvation. Some are repelled by the Prison of the "Ladder", while others are pierced and moved by the love for God and strength of soul of these stouthearted inmates, and mourn the lack of both in themselves.
If we thought Step 4 on obedience was difficult, then we should just turn back now and abandon our quest. For Step 5 is a call to a life of struggle with repentance.
Once John outran Peter (John 20:4), and now obedience is placed before repentance. For the one who arrived first represents obedience, the other repentance.
With these words St John Climacus introduces us to Rung Five of the Ladder which leads to heaven. His definition of repentance is striking.
Repentance is the renewal of baptism and is a contract with God for a fresh start in life. Repentance goes shopping for humility and is ever distrustful of bodily comfort. Repentance is critical awareness and a sure watch over oneself. Repentance is the daughter of hope and the refusal of despair. (The repentant stands guilty – but undisgraced.) Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the performance of good deeds which are the opposites of the sins. It is the purification of conscience and the voluntary endurance of afflicition. The penitent deals out his own punishment (the penitent is then inflicter of his own punishment… It was he who sinned in the first place.. it wasn’t someone else), for repentance is the fierce persecution of the stomach and the flogging of the soul into intense awareness. (1)
The spirit of this monastic advice is in keeping with the words of St John Climacus. Not that we shouldn’t try hard to do things right, but we should realize at all times and in all things that we are, to use the words of Jesus, but unprofitable servants.
We should indeed try harder to repent that to do anything else. We should be more concerned with finding our faults than we are with noticing our accomplishments. We should sorrow more for our failures than we rejoice In our successes. We should blame ourselves more readily than others. We should accept the rebukes of others as just and worthy. And we should accept the disappointments and difficulties of life without complaint.
Let all of us who have suffered an unexpected and inglorious fall listen, watch and act. Rise and be seated, who through your falls are lying prostrate. Attend, my brothers, attend to my word. Incline your ears, you who wish to be reconciled afresh with God by a true conversion. (2)
1 Corinthians 2:9 “But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
A proof of our having been delivered from our failings is the unceasing acknowledging of our indebtedness…. A sign of true repentance is the admission that all our troubles, and more besides, whether visible or not, were richly deserved.
Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly the angel who guards you will honor your patience………. Many from long neglect become incurable (Neglecting the fact of a need for repentance… The reason of sin is our own neglect of being righteous, our disobedience). (But even then) But with God all things are possible (30) (Matt 19:26).
Even when we realize that we have neglected repentance, it is never too late to repent. As long as we are breathing and our physical heart is beating, it is still we can repent, for, ALL things are possible…
Without repentance no one will ascend the Ladder to heaven. This is why Satan works so hard at keeping us from true repentance. His methods are diverse.
God is merciful before a fall, inexorable after – so the demons say (31). And when you have sinned, pay no attention to him who says in regard to minor failings: “If only you had not committed that major fault! This is nothing by comparison.” The truth is that very often small gifts soften the great anger of the Judge.
He who really keeps track of what he has done will consider as lost every day during which he did not mourn, regardless of whatever good he may happen to have done… We ought to be on our guard, in case our conscience has stopped troubling us, not so much because of its being clear but because of its being immersed in sin.
The way to God is hard, and not every one that enters the race will receive the prize. Yes, God is loving and desires that all will be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. But not all are willing to endure the suffering and pain that come from embracing the truth about ourselves. Only the humble and the penitent can be saved, because only the humble and penitent are willing to embrace despair of themselves. And it is only despair of self which leads to true faith in the Infinite One, who alone can save.
He says… “Nothing equals or excels God’s mercies… (38)
He issues this warning….. All of us… Should be especially careful not to be afflicted with the disease of the godless Origen. This foul disease uses God’s love as an excuse and is very welcome to those who are lovers of pleasure (41).
We must be very careful as not to fall into the heresy of Origen.
***Origen was a scholar, early Christian theologian and Church Father, who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria. He was a prolific writer in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism, biblical exegesis and hermeneutics, philosophical theology, preaching, and spirituality. Some of his reputed teachings, such as the pre-existence of souls, the final reconciliation of all creatures, including perhaps even the devil (the apokatastasis), and the subordination of the Son of God to God the Father, later became controversial among Christian theologians. Origen was declared anathema in 553 AD by the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople and by three subsequent ecumenical councils.
Sin is serious! To offend the living and loving God is monstrous evil. To turn away from His compassion and to follow our won way is the height of rebellion and the great offense. Let us be done with playing around with sin. Let us be done with downplaying the significance of our offenses. Even the littlest offense is worthy of eternal hellfire!
Let us bow low before God and beg of Him the forgiveness of our sins. Let us beseech Him to remove far from us coldness of heart and insensitivity to offense. Let us stop pretending that we are holy when we are empty of true sanctity. Let us be honest with God and with ourselves… And let us repent!
In my meditation. Or rather, in my repentance, a fire of prayer will be kindled consuming the material. (“For my iniquities have gone over my head: Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me” Psalm 38:4). May the holy convicts (Holy monastics prisoners) mentioned above provide you with a rule, and a pattern, and a model, and a living picture of repentance; and throughout your life you will need no book at all until Christ, the Son of God and God, enlightens you in the resurrection of true repentance. Amen.
Through repentance you have reached the fifth step. You have, in this way, purified the five senses, and by choosing to accept punishment have thereby avoided the punishment that is involuntary (have escaped the punishment which is everlasting). (42)
The five senses… Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching.. Spiritually ALL need to be purified through repentance…
In the Holy Bible, the guidance to purify the senses is associated with all religious practices. It represents the preparation of the spirit to receive spiritual nourishment from the higher source within and around. Moses and Jesus pointed to "hearing" as one way of "receiving" the words of truth. Jesus used the "eye" as a symbol for spiritual awareness.
In the Old Testament, purification of the senses, sometimes the whole body, was recommended before any holy practice. "The Lord commanded Moses" to make the children of Israel wash before going into the altar or starting any holy congregation:
"And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal." (Ex:40:30) "And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat" (Ex:40:31) When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses. "And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done." (Le:8:5) "And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water."(Le:8:6)
As such, washing became a necessary part of preparation for prayers in Jewish practices.
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ stressed the purification of the senses focusing on "meaning", rather than on "form". In different occasions, he emphasized that purification is that of the heart, not of the body, certainly not denying the process of preparation for prayers. Jesus used to say when revealing his guidance "let him hear who has ears." Jesus says about some people,
"ye cannot hear my word" John 8: 43)
"they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not. Neither do they understand." (Matt 13:13).
Jesus also points to the purity of the senses as symbolizing purity of the heart:
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matt 6: 22, 23)
THE REPUGNANT (offensive) NATURE OF SIN AS REFLECTED IN THE PENANCE OF THE MONKS OF THE "PRISON"
John speaks of the value of penitence and the humility needed to embrace such a path.
The causes of moral lapses are considered and the need for courage and perseverance in the face of recurring failures. John exhorts the penitent to trust in the mercy and grace of God but also warns against presumption. Humility is key and true repentance will keep one from judging or even recognizing another's faults.
John concludes by telling his readers to above all let the image of the inmates at the "Prison" be imprinted upon their minds and hearts. They are to let the example of these holy men be their rule and model for repentance.
ON PENITENCE AND THE AVOIDANCE OF PRESUMPTION
John begins this step with a somewhat moderate and encouraging tone by describing repentance as a "renewal of one's baptism and a contract with God for a fresh start in life." With repentance there is always hope and never despair. As penitents we stand before our God guilty, but never disgraced. Indeed, we inflict punishments on ourselves out of love for God, in an attempt to reconcile ourselves to him and to receive the peace that comes through his forgiveness.
However, if there is a step in the "Ladder" which pierces one's heart, if there is any part of the book which really shakes us and brings the message home, it is precisely this step concerning those blessed and compunctionate (uneasiness prompted by guilt) and voluntary inmates of "the Prison." For truly these holy ones, crazed for Christ, described by John, are a mirror for us, the sluggish and indolent, to look into and to behold how wanting we are in the realm of true heartfelt repentance. They were earnest and serious about their repentance; we are light and distracted concerning our salvation. Some are repelled by the Prison of the "Ladder", while others are pierced and moved by the love for God and strength of soul of these stouthearted inmates, and mourn the lack of both in themselves.
If we thought Step 4 on obedience was difficult, then we should just turn back now and abandon our quest. For Step 5 is a call to a life of struggle with repentance.
Once John outran Peter (John 20:4), and now obedience is placed before repentance. For the one who arrived first represents obedience, the other repentance.
With these words St John Climacus introduces us to Rung Five of the Ladder which leads to heaven. His definition of repentance is striking.
Repentance is the renewal of baptism and is a contract with God for a fresh start in life. Repentance goes shopping for humility and is ever distrustful of bodily comfort. Repentance is critical awareness and a sure watch over oneself. Repentance is the daughter of hope and the refusal of despair. (The repentant stands guilty – but undisgraced.) Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the performance of good deeds which are the opposites of the sins. It is the purification of conscience and the voluntary endurance of afflicition. The penitent deals out his own punishment (the penitent is then inflicter of his own punishment… It was he who sinned in the first place.. it wasn’t someone else), for repentance is the fierce persecution of the stomach and the flogging of the soul into intense awareness. (1)
The spirit of this monastic advice is in keeping with the words of St John Climacus. Not that we shouldn’t try hard to do things right, but we should realize at all times and in all things that we are, to use the words of Jesus, but unprofitable servants.
We should indeed try harder to repent that to do anything else. We should be more concerned with finding our faults than we are with noticing our accomplishments. We should sorrow more for our failures than we rejoice In our successes. We should blame ourselves more readily than others. We should accept the rebukes of others as just and worthy. And we should accept the disappointments and difficulties of life without complaint.
Let all of us who have suffered an unexpected and inglorious fall listen, watch and act. Rise and be seated, who through your falls are lying prostrate. Attend, my brothers, attend to my word. Incline your ears, you who wish to be reconciled afresh with God by a true conversion. (2)
1 Corinthians 2:9 “But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
A proof of our having been delivered from our failings is the unceasing acknowledging of our indebtedness…. A sign of true repentance is the admission that all our troubles, and more besides, whether visible or not, were richly deserved.
Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly the angel who guards you will honor your patience………. Many from long neglect become incurable (Neglecting the fact of a need for repentance… The reason of sin is our own neglect of being righteous, our disobedience). (But even then) But with God all things are possible (30) (Matt 19:26).
Even when we realize that we have neglected repentance, it is never too late to repent. As long as we are breathing and our physical heart is beating, it is still we can repent, for, ALL things are possible…
Without repentance no one will ascend the Ladder to heaven. This is why Satan works so hard at keeping us from true repentance. His methods are diverse.
God is merciful before a fall, inexorable after – so the demons say (31). And when you have sinned, pay no attention to him who says in regard to minor failings: “If only you had not committed that major fault! This is nothing by comparison.” The truth is that very often small gifts soften the great anger of the Judge.
He who really keeps track of what he has done will consider as lost every day during which he did not mourn, regardless of whatever good he may happen to have done… We ought to be on our guard, in case our conscience has stopped troubling us, not so much because of its being clear but because of its being immersed in sin.
The way to God is hard, and not every one that enters the race will receive the prize. Yes, God is loving and desires that all will be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. But not all are willing to endure the suffering and pain that come from embracing the truth about ourselves. Only the humble and the penitent can be saved, because only the humble and penitent are willing to embrace despair of themselves. And it is only despair of self which leads to true faith in the Infinite One, who alone can save.
He says… “Nothing equals or excels God’s mercies… (38)
He issues this warning….. All of us… Should be especially careful not to be afflicted with the disease of the godless Origen. This foul disease uses God’s love as an excuse and is very welcome to those who are lovers of pleasure (41).
We must be very careful as not to fall into the heresy of Origen.
***Origen was a scholar, early Christian theologian and Church Father, who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria. He was a prolific writer in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism, biblical exegesis and hermeneutics, philosophical theology, preaching, and spirituality. Some of his reputed teachings, such as the pre-existence of souls, the final reconciliation of all creatures, including perhaps even the devil (the apokatastasis), and the subordination of the Son of God to God the Father, later became controversial among Christian theologians. Origen was declared anathema in 553 AD by the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople and by three subsequent ecumenical councils.
Sin is serious! To offend the living and loving God is monstrous evil. To turn away from His compassion and to follow our won way is the height of rebellion and the great offense. Let us be done with playing around with sin. Let us be done with downplaying the significance of our offenses. Even the littlest offense is worthy of eternal hellfire!
Let us bow low before God and beg of Him the forgiveness of our sins. Let us beseech Him to remove far from us coldness of heart and insensitivity to offense. Let us stop pretending that we are holy when we are empty of true sanctity. Let us be honest with God and with ourselves… And let us repent!
In my meditation. Or rather, in my repentance, a fire of prayer will be kindled consuming the material. (“For my iniquities have gone over my head: Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me” Psalm 38:4). May the holy convicts (Holy monastics prisoners) mentioned above provide you with a rule, and a pattern, and a model, and a living picture of repentance; and throughout your life you will need no book at all until Christ, the Son of God and God, enlightens you in the resurrection of true repentance. Amen.
Through repentance you have reached the fifth step. You have, in this way, purified the five senses, and by choosing to accept punishment have thereby avoided the punishment that is involuntary (have escaped the punishment which is everlasting). (42)
The five senses… Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching.. Spiritually ALL need to be purified through repentance…
In the Holy Bible, the guidance to purify the senses is associated with all religious practices. It represents the preparation of the spirit to receive spiritual nourishment from the higher source within and around. Moses and Jesus pointed to "hearing" as one way of "receiving" the words of truth. Jesus used the "eye" as a symbol for spiritual awareness.
In the Old Testament, purification of the senses, sometimes the whole body, was recommended before any holy practice. "The Lord commanded Moses" to make the children of Israel wash before going into the altar or starting any holy congregation:
"And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal." (Ex:40:30) "And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat" (Ex:40:31) When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses. "And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done." (Le:8:5) "And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water."(Le:8:6)
As such, washing became a necessary part of preparation for prayers in Jewish practices.
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ stressed the purification of the senses focusing on "meaning", rather than on "form". In different occasions, he emphasized that purification is that of the heart, not of the body, certainly not denying the process of preparation for prayers. Jesus used to say when revealing his guidance "let him hear who has ears." Jesus says about some people,
"ye cannot hear my word" John 8: 43)
"they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not. Neither do they understand." (Matt 13:13).
Jesus also points to the purity of the senses as symbolizing purity of the heart:
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matt 6: 22, 23)
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