Mission Monthly Newsletter January 2003

...Meditate on These Things. Phillipians 4.8

"Orthodox spirituality is knowledge acquired through suffering rather than through learning."

            Mother Gavrilia   

    Most people when asked if they consider themselves to be “spiritual” will answer, “Yes.”  In a recent conversation a friend told me how “the pursuit of a more spiritual path” provided him with a much needed boost in self-esteem and confidence for a healthier future (along with becoming a vegetarian).  In another conversation some years ago I remember an acquaintance showing distain for the “overuse” of the term “spirituality.”  He said, “What does that really mean?”  I find this to be a very interesting discussion; one that reveals just how frequently this term can be used (or overused) and yet have many different meanings.  Mother Gavrilia’s meaning is a difficult one.

     I have many opportunities to discuss the topic of spirituality.  Mother Gavrilia’s quote is an answer I will seek to learn from for my own growth, and will use when discussing this challenging subject with others.  Unfortunately, while some will understand the depth of this view, I tend to believe that most will at best be confused and more likely be put-off.  Why?  Because the basic presentation of “spirituality” in today’s co-dependent, therapeutic culture is much more about receiving than it is about giving.  It is much more about coping than healing.  It is much more about self-realization than self-emptying.  It is much more about self-actualization than Godly fulfillment.  Spirituality has become a term synonymous with self-discovery when our personhood has all but vanished in the black hole of busyness, material pursuit, career success and moral ambiguity.  When the crisis of “self” comes (and yes, it will come) where does one turn but to the solutions found in self-help books, meditation and New Age music.  Next time you go to a Borders or Barnes & Noble bookstore see how many shelves of these books and rows of CDs there are to fill this demand.  The whole point of this cultural milieu is completely contrary to the spirituality of Mother Gavrilia, producing only a counterfeit self by denying the importance of suffering as a core element of our spirituality.

     I do not reject the value and benefit which qualified therapists can provide when there are legitimate needs for intervention and counseling.  Nor do I reject the ethereal beauty of some New Age music.  I certainly do not criticize those who have chosen to live as vegetarian.  My complaint against these avenues of pursuit is how they can become a spirituality of self-indulgence and escape from suffering rather than an understanding of Godly sacrifice, experience and search for an unselfish identity.

     One of the most common questions I am asked is, “How can a good God really want us to suffer?”  Many times when I hear this question I can barely even muster a dignified response.  It is especially difficult when an Orthodox Christian fails to understand the theology of creation, sin and redemption; “after all, didn’t Jesus die on the cross so that we wouldn’t have to suffer?”  Oh, if it were only that simple.  Jesus did not live, die and rise from the dead in order to take away our suffering but rather to transform our suffering.  Jesus did not endure His passion in order that our lives would be free from suffering, rather His passion is what gives meaning to our suffering.  Creation was not redeemed in order that mankind might sit back and take its ease, rather we have been redeemed for this purpose: to repent and to serve.

     When people struggle and seek to find answers or reasons for their suffering it is my prayer that they would find hope in this one Truth: God created us not for sorrow, but for joy.  Armed with this “knowledge” there is hope for those who suffer; God is in all our struggles.  One writer once said, “With God it would be well even in hell.”  How do we find God in our struggles?  I believe I can say with some certainty it will not be through intellectual, therapeutic, or even theological learning (unless the “theological” learning primarily includes prayer, fasting and works of charity).  Here, then, is our answer.  The spirituality Mother Gavrilia is speaking about is one found not in books but one found in obedience to God and to His Holy Church.  If this life is being lived correctly then there will necessarily be sacrifices and, yes, some form of suffering; either through our voluntarily offerings of Christian discipline (self-denial) or through the involuntarily disciplines that God allows for our correction.  The spirituality which results from these faith-filled experiences of sacrifice and suffering should be one sharply attentive to dependence upon God, not ourselves, and therefore be true spirituality.