Mission Monthly Newsletter April 2000

...Meditate on These Things. Phillipians 4.8

"This life has been given to you for repentance; do not waste it in vain pursuits."

St. Issac of Syria

     How many times have you asked yourself the question, “What is the meaning of life?”  Between my own repeated askings and the opportunity to help others I myself have asked this question countless times.

     A different impression comes to mind when selfishness distorts this question, turning it inward and making it all about “me.”  What is the meaning of life “for me?”  Effectively this type of thinking feeds the fires of vanity by serving the “I” as the center of all purpose and intent.  The sincere desire to find an answer to this question, however, demands that we look beyond the “me.”  Rather than asking what is the meaning of life, I believe that we should ask, “What can I do to bring meaning to life?”

     Self-centeredness is a tricky beast.  Questions always arise when decisions directly impact the “self.”  One indicator of spiritual maturity is an objective insight called self-knowledge (a gift which many fathers consider a greater miracle than raising the dead).  Self-examination is the ongoing process by which we seek this knowledge, further exposing aspects of ourselves which are yet unknown (even the unpleasing).  Self-knowledge as a consequence of basic faith is fundamental to our salvation; but self-knowledge without Godly purpose and discipline, accountability and love, can quickly turn this beautiful gift into a self-pleasing vanity.  Without proper orientation even those who make offerings to God can fall dangerously close to one of scripture’s greatest cautions, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1).

     “What brings meaning to life?” can only truly be answered with one word: REPENTANCE.  The proper understanding of repentance is an inner change which leads the entire person to a complete transformation.  The way a man looks at God, himself, and at others is fundamentally transfigured into a new, holy outlook as revealed in the life of the Church.  The Greek term for repentance, metanoia, means “change of mind.”  Its meaning is exemplified by the repentant person who not only has profound regret for his past but also the fulfilled hope in the potential of God’s grace to continually bear the fruit of healing and true reconciliation in himself, with others, and most especially with God.

     John the Baptist “prepared the way of the Lord” when he preached in the wilderness.  Jesus fulfilled and perfected the message, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Truly, repentance, the  capable, necessary and fundamental process of change “from one degree of glory to another,” is not a one time event; it is THE purpose which brings meaning to our life.

     We are now less than a month away from celebrating Holy Pascha, the indescribable Passover of Christ from death to Life.  His voluntary Passion and Resurrection must have meaning for our lives beyond liturgy, beautiful hymnography, and the permission to eat meat.  It has to be the seizing of His great salvation and the humble desire to worship Him with every element of our being.  “Christ is risen!” are not just words empty of consequence.  They are words of Truth zealously inspiring us to accept the glory of God’s Divine Love and to respond as children having freely received this most precious gift.  The inner work of repentance is what will set us free to discern and fight the “vain pursuits” of our lives, which will in turn allow us to work outwardly in faith, love and virtue.  Beloved, vanity is not just about outward appearance.  It is also the tragedy of isolation that occurs in an obstinate heart.  The joy of the Resurrection will only be found when we surrender ourselves completely to the will and grace of God, exposing the “vain pursuits” hidden behind our masks of pride and self-determination.  Nicodemus once asked the Lord, “How can a man be born [again] when he is old?” (John 3:4).  The answer is simple: by embracing life at its Source and accepting the consequence of that one faithful embrace, the life of repentance in the Risen Christ.