Sunday, March 21, 2004
Lenten Fast (Tone 7)
Sunday of John of the Ladder
Kellia: Wisdom 1:16-2:22 Epistle: Hebrews 6:13-20 Gospel: St. Mark 9:17-31
Wisdom 1:16-2:22 RSV, especially vs. 13: "He professes to have knowledge of God, and calls
himself a child of the Lord." As we continue toward the radiance of Pascha, the Church urges us to "honor John, that pride
of ascetics, that angel on earth, that man of God in heaven....[who], planted in the house of God...flourished with justice;
and like a cedar tree in the wilderness...caused the flock of Christ to grow." The monastic community of the Holy
Transfiguration in Brookline, Massachusetts, has given us a superb English translation of St John's Ladder of Divine
Ascent. In the Introduction, the monks summarize the life of our holy father in these words: St. John "lived and struggled
for a whole lifetime on the God-trodden Mountain of Sinai, having entered the monastic struggles while but a youth in his
teens. For forty years he lived as a hermit at Thola, about five miles from the monastery. Later he became the abbot of
Sinai....He lived to the age of eighty, having reposed in the Lord in the year 603."
Today's reading from the Wisdom of Solomon provides a searing profile of the present godless age, an era which stands in
marked contrast to the life of all true Christians such as the righteous John. From it, we may develop a wholly inverse and
luminous portrait of this deified Saint of God and of the true Faith in Christ which he revealed - like a photographic
negative.
The ungodly confront us with the depressing conclusion that this life is only "short and sorrowful" (vs. 1), while St. John
reveals the "bliss of virtues and good deeds," speaking as one who "willingly left the things of the world...for the sake of
the future Kingdom" (Step 1:5).
When one holds a somber view of human life and destiny, such as the secularized world accepts in sad resignation, he is
forced to allege that "there is no remedy when a man comes to his end, and no one has been known to return from Hades"
(vs. 1).
However, John, "that man of God in heaven," disclosed for us "the Heaven of the mind within the heart" (Step 29:2), a
pure dispassion that is "the harbinger of the general resurrection" (Step 29:7). He provides a glimpse into the ultimate
restoration of human life which the Lord Jesus first revealed by His Resurrection, verifying for all men God's true promise
of eternal life.
The poor people of this age, whose only light is godless 'wisdom,' contend that "hereafter we shall be as though we had
never been" (vs. 2); but, Brethren, we are blessed by the prayers of the "righteous John of perpetual memory [who] ceasest
not to intercede for our sakes."
The voices of the men of this age who have "exchanged the truth of God for the lie" (Rom. 1:25), flood us through the
media with invitations to join them: "Come...let us enjoy the good things that exist, and make use of the creation to its full
as in youth" (Wis. 2:6). The wise John, however, "didst turn aside from worldly luxury because it is loathsome; and
emaciating [his] body with abstinence...didst renew the power of [his] soul...with heavenly glory."
Under many ideologies and banners, the ungodly of this age have lived by a common, shared rule: "Let our might be our
law of right for what is weak proves itself to be useless" (vs. 11); but John, that beacon of mystical light, taught us to reap
virtues with fasting and prayer which leave the body weak but "renew the power...of the soul" (Step. 24:10).
Yes, this present evil age is ready to "lie in wait for the righteous Man because He is inconvenient to us and oppresses our
actions." Thus it was that the world tested Christ "with insult and torture," but found Him gentle and forbearing.
Nonetheless, they condemned Him "to a shameful death" (vs. 12). and have done so to all, like St. John, who have followed
in His way.
O Master of labor, let us, like the Blessed John, reap virtues with fasting and prayers; and do Thou also redeem our souls
from the debt of sin, for Thou alone art most compassionate.
