THAT YE LOVE ONE ANOTHER

"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto... a certain king, which would take account of his servants."  In numerous occasions throughout the Gospels, in fact, our Lord likens the Kingdom to this, that, or the other.  But why does he so often speak in parables, likening it to something else, rather than simply explaining to His listeners what the Kingdom actually is?  It is because those good things God has in store for those who love Him and abide by His commandments belong to a realm so far beyond anything of which the human mind is capable of conceiving that it is only through a comparison with the things of this world that we can begin to grasp that ineffable reality that transcends even the most exalted philosophical construct that is rooted in our experience of this visible and transient world.

It is through the eyes of faith alone that we can begin to perceive beyond and beneath this phenomenal world of the five senses a realm of existence rooted not in time, but in eternity, unbounded by the limitations of space and time because it is permeated by the boundless and unconditional love of God.  For truly, it seems to me (sinful and unclean though I am, mired in the mud of the passions) that the love of God (or rather, the God Who is love) is not only the foundation and ultimate goal of the entire created order, but also the only means we are given by which we might (by God's grace) cast aside the darkness of sin and despair and be made worthy in the end of that ineffable glory of eternal life in God's heavenly Kingdom. 

But meanwhile, these heartfelt words of mine are... just words.  Trials and tribulations abound for us all, for having been called forth from non-existence into being, we have been cast forth upon the sea of life, beset by the raging waves of the passions, often struggling merely to tread water amidst the tumultuous waves of this storm-tossed world.

Only, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God," Christ commands us, and all else that is necessary for us in this earthly life will be added unto us.  Therefore, "Do not be anxious for tomorrow, for sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."  Indeed it is!  As for the ultimate goal of our existence--true and eternal life in the Kingdom of God--this cannot be comprehended by words alone.  It can only be experienced --in the here and now--through striving by every possible means to live our lives in accordance with the commandments of God.  Above all, that we might abide by our Lord's first and foremost commandment, "That ye love one another."  This much we can surely  do, if we remember that God first loved us, having so loved the world that "He sent His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him" might enjoy the fullness of life in His eternal Kingdom.   And so we are enjoined to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us, and to forgive those who have trespassed against us as we ourselves have been forgiven.  Only then shall our fallen human nature be transfigured by the uncreated light of God's glory.

For if we struggle at all times during this earthly pilgrimage to keep this one simple command--that we "love one another"-- we are already close to the Kingdom--which is a Kingdom not of words and theological discourse, but rather of the power of God at work in a humble and contrite heart in which every egotistical thought and desire has been put to death, that having died with Christ in the waters of Baptism, we might be deemed worthy of resurrection to eternal life.

A GRAIN OF MUSTARD SEED

`While Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John, the other disciples were approached by a man whose son "was lunatic, and sore vexed"--but the disciples were in nowise able to cast out the demon.  At our Lord's rebuke, however, the demon "departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour."  Afterwards, when the disciples came to Jesus and asked why they could not cast out the demon, He replied, "Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you."  Now a mustard seed is indeed very tiny and seemingly of no significance, but I cannot help but wonder: do you and I, as 21st Century Christians, living in a secular, post-Christian society on the very brink of the Apocalypse have faith even in proportion to an amoeba? 

Compared to the first Christians, fervent in faith and empowered by the grace of the Holy Spirit to work miracles and to endure for the sake of Christ persecutions, sufferings, and martyrdom itself--it would seem that we are a miserable lot indeed.  It seems to me that we are, for the most part, Christians in name only, professing to believe--while hardly daring to venture beyond the limits of our comfort zone.  If our prayers are for the most part feeble and ineffective, it is because we have failed to acquire that living faith through which it is possible to overcome every obstacle upon the path of salvation.

Such a faith truly is, you see, a gift of God... but it is certainly not  a free gift.  It is only given to those who struggle for virtue and persevere unto the end upon the path of salvation.  Thus, our Lord assures his disciples that "this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."  True it is that it is by faith we are saved, and not by the works of the Law.  Nevertheless, it is an inconvertible truth that "faith without works is dead."  Christ Himself assures us that "straight and narrow is the path" that leads to true and eternal life in His heavenly Kingdom.  But let's face it: we contemporary Christians of the last and final generation are pampered and lazy, accustomed as we are  to think that life in this fallen world should be easy and essentially pain free.  The so-called "good life" is to acquire as many earthly goods as we can, and to strive to achieve a superficial happiness based upon the fulfillment of our own self-centered desires.

"For my yoke is easy and my burden is light," says our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  But this is a promise only given to those who have taken up their cross of sacrificial suffering and followed Him, enduring unto the end the trials and tribulations of this earthly life, putting to death every egotistical thought and desire, that we might say with the Holy Apostle, that it is no longer I who live... but Christ liveth in me.