SANE MADNESS
Abba Anthony said, ‘A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him saying, “You are mad, you are not like us.”’ — St. Anthony of Egypt, 4th century.
I wonder if St. Anthony meant our time, when through the eyes of faith he beheld our absurd age, reflected in the simmering heat of the barren Egyptian sand dunes? Then again, I often wonder if I’m the “mad one,” if being a Christian in a godless world is sane or sensible? After all, it was but a generation ago that half of the world’s people lived under the bloody banner of Revolution, and it was not uncommon for a Christian in the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, or Romania, to find himself in a state psychiatric facility, classified as psychotic and pumped full of psychotropic meds: this man or woman rejects the surrounding material reality, refuses to accept the established order, believes in an invisible being in the sky, and claims that this being will one make himself visible, destroying the proud achievements of human civilization….
So went the official diagnosis, and I’m half-tempted to agree with it. There are many days when the Christian Faith seems unreasonable and irrational in our advanced and progressive age. And so I wonder if Jesus — when preaching the hard and seemingly irrational sayings of the Sermon on the Mount — was met with grimacing or jeer with the soft mocking of placating and “understanding” smiles: “Sure, Rabbi, what you say is noble and ideal, but it is impossible in the real world — it will never work.” Perhaps it was in response to such smugness that the Son of God thundered from Mount Olivet, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matt. 24:35) NIV
These sound like the words of a madman, only they happen to be true. As we, in the 21st century, stand on the smoldering rubble of past civilizations and empires, we marvel to see the Gospel preached all over the world, when it should have been stamped out and smothered a hundred times over. If the Roman juggernaut failed to eradicate the Faith in Church’s infancy, then it should have collapsed in the age of the Empire, capsizing from within and being crushed from without by the powers that be, during each successive historical cycle. But this “pernicious superstition” (as the cosmopolitan Roman historian Tacitus called it) appears to have 99 lives, die 99 deaths, and resurrect every time, to paraphrase G.K. Chesterton. It is absurd and illogical, but then ours is the King Who reigns from the Cross.
So what is “sane” in this advanced world of ours, as we gallop along happily on our progressive treadmill? The Biblical diagnosis of our state of affairs has not changed in the last 3,000 years: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1) As someone who basked in his foolishness, I now understand that the chief distinction between a Christian and a non-Christian is that the former knows he is a sinner because he knows the Savior, while the latter does not know himself. Today, I’m fully aware of my former folly, and struggle daily to overcome it in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Such knowledge is a gift, it is a life of grace, not an occasion for a superiority complex. Ours is the God who wept for Jerusalem that crucified Him, ours is the Savior who bring consolation to the comfortless. An atheist is to be prayed for and pitied with Christian charity, not with a triumphalist tone: the path of unbelief is a lonely road, short and full of disappointments. Blow after blow, human frailty, sickness and death smash all joy on the anvil of life. This world promises much and delivers little, and the best an unbeliever could hope for is a bittersweet “celebration of life” at his funeral, a belated sort of a birthday party in one’s absence,
borne from a desire to avoid the stark and sober reality of death…
I remember hearing an atheist from New York speak of his experience after the 9/11 tragedy. He said it was the loneliest, most depressing time of his life. He felt helpless in the face of evil, could not ward off his fears, had no one to pray to and had no strength to forgive the attackers or to understand why this happened… He was forced to live with his agony, which somehow reflects the tragic state described by Jesus Christ of the time right before His return: “On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will fain from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” (Luke 21:25-26) NIV
The cruel irony of this depressing statement is that it should come from a Galilean Jew, living on the peaceful shore of the eastern Mediterranean coast in the 1st century, and not from the latest environmentalist pamphlet or some apocalyptic Hollywood flick, all of whom have suddenly subscribed to a modern version of Noah’s Flood due to global warming. The beating of doomsday drums comes for the very sector whose slogan may very well be: “Let us eat and drink , for tomorrow we die.” (1Cor. 15:32)
The world today is like someone with a terminal illness who refuses to look at the dire diagnosis, but who will readily bury his face in a cup of whiskey in order to forget all of his troubles. Such hedonism is a sad sign of today’s hopelessness, but why should it be surprising? It is a natural result of unbelief, of a rational denial of the world to come. The absurd reality of a secular ethic was well summarized by a certain Russian Orthodox philosopher over a hundred years ago: “Man is descended from a monkey, consequently we shall love one another,” Lord, have mercy!
A godless world may still produce another Chairman Mao, but not another Mother Teresa. It may yet fill itself with superstition and “psychic networks,” but it will never confess the timeless truth of the Nicene Creed: “We believe in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.” The world may admire Christ’s lofty ethic, but it will never accept His teaching. It may weep over the fact that He did not “Live out his self-realizing potential,” as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:8) NKJV
As I wrestle with living out the insanity of the Gospel in our world where life is but a mad dance of molecules and a pleasure quest, I can take comfort in the hope that the One whom the Church preaches was also called a madman during His sojourn on earth, and that by the power of His resurrection He has overturned the molecular reality! Impossible? It is indeed for men, but not for God. This is why an early Church Father proclaimed: “I believe because it is impossible,” and we believe because it is absurd.
No ancient Greek tragedy, no medieval Shakespearean drama, no story in this world will ever compare to the insane and illogical love of God in Christ. And for us who humbly follow in His steps, it is the only sane reality in a world gone mad.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
NEXT EVOLUTIONARY LEAP
Amidst the chaos, this is strange:
God’s truth remains, it does not change;
Amidst the noise and worldly clamor
He still abides in stillness ever —
And forever!
When time is spent and when rolls up the sky,
Then we will see His splendor set on high,
Then we will know that life was not a game,
Then we will grasp true glory and our shame…
— From Mikhail, Sunny Corcoran,
January 17th, 2012, feast of St. Anthony.
The Proper Ways to Fast During Lent
If one really wants to FAST, he/she must avoid sin! The true spiritual fast is a fast from bad thoughts, words and deeds! All people have weaknesses and are “prone” to sin. Thus, if we practice a physical fast (from food), we train ourselves for spiritual fasting. Even the terminology we use to explain fasting is a misnomer, why? Because not eating certain foods is actually called abstention. To fast means not to eat or drink anything. Thus, we abstain from foods during certain periods and we fast before we receive Holy Communion. May I offer to you these following guidelines for fasting:
1. Try to do the best you can without condemning your fellow man.
2. Read the suggested “degrees of fasting” list below and select one which you
believe you can accomplish. Then try to do a bit more than that.
During each “fasting” period, try to “upgrade” your previous “degree of
fasting” until you reach a level which inspires you to seek a higher spiritual
degree of fasting.
In addition, strict abstinence is not allowed on Saturday or Sunday. These two days are considered Church Feast Days. (Saturday is the 7 th day of Creation the Day of Rest; Sunday is the Day of Resurrection). The only exception is Holy Saturday which anticipates the Resurrection and is a strict fast day. To properly abstain, use one of these suggested guidelines:
THE MINIMUM DEGREE :
The first week of Lent – abstain from meat.
On all Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent – abstain from meat.
Holy Week – abstain from meat, fish, dairy products
(this includes milk, eggs, butter, etc.) oil and wine –
including Holy Saturday .
LIGHT DEGREE
The first week of Lent – abstain from meat, fish and dairy products
On all Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent – abstain from meat.
Holy Week – abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (this includes milk, eggs, butter, etc.) oil and wine –
including ALL DAY
Holy Saturday.
MODERATE DEGREE
The first week of Lent – abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (this includes milk, eggs, butter etc.) oil and wine.
On all Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent – abstain from meat, fish, and dairy products.
Mid-Lent – abstain from meat all week
Holy Week – abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (this includes milk, eggs, butter, etc.) oil and wine – including ALL DAY Holy Week.
CONSERVATIVE DEGREE:
The first week of Lent – abstain from meat, fish and dairy products.
During Lent – abstain from meat, fish and dairy products.
Holy Week – abstain from meat, fish and dairy products (this includes milk, eggs, butter, etc.) oil and wine – including ALL DAY Holy Saturday.
STRICT DEGREE :
The first week of Lent – abstain from meat, fish, oil, wine and dairy products.
All during Lent – abstain from meat, fish, dairy products, oil and wine.
Holy Week – abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (this includes milk, eggs, butter, etc.) oil and wine – including ALL DAY Holy Saturday.
CANONICAL DEGREE :
The first week of Lent – all during Lent and Holy Week, a glass of water and “morsel” of bread each day. (This is a strict degree normally done by some monastics or hermits).
NOTE : Even the strictest fast should be broken on March 25 th (Annunciation) and Palm Sunday – Fish is allowed.
Please do your best, without judging either yourself or others. In all cases, spend more time in PRAYER , by attending the Lenten services and by giving more attention to private prayer. MEDITATE on God’s love for you – and how you can return that love to God through serving your fellow man. Partake often of the HOLY SACRAMENTS . Read your BIBLE as well as some spiritually inspiring readings of our CHURCH FATHERS such as St. Basil, St. Athanasios, St. John Chysostom, etc. GIVE to those less fortunate. OFFER more to your Church. Turn off the TV and share that time with your family. Use
MODERATION in food, drink, and social engagements. JUDGE not, rather HUMBLY seek to REPENT – CHANGE and to RETURN to the path of Righteousness which your soul continually seeks each day.
NOTE: Persons who are ill, pregnant, nursing, on prescribed diets or have other valid reasons, are exempted from fasts which could harm their health. When fish is mentioned, it refers to blood fish only. Shellfish is permitted at all times during a strict abstention because it is bloodless.
May you have a blessed and spiritually inspiring Lent.
