The French thinker and theologian Olivier Clement (1021–2009) once said that Christianity is different from other religions. If by religion we mean the sum total of precepts and rules, then Christianity is not a religion at all, but life itself. It is a renewed life in Christ. Christianity is a new life revealed to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, and it surpasses all rules and canons, because it means freedom in the Holy Spirit. And we can attain this new, different life in the Holy Spirit provided that the old man dies in us. The Savior said of this: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit (Jn. 12:24).
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By receiving Holy Baptism, each one of us died and is risen with Christ. In Baptism we have clothed ourselves with the new man who now serves God: So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God (Rom. 7:25). But death and the resurrection with Christ are not just a moment we experience in Baptism, but a process that continues throughout our lives. In essence, Christian life is the continuous performance of the sacrament of Baptism—that is, dying and rising from the dead with the Savior. Olivier Clement said that our life consists of partial dying and rising from the dead over and over again until the final death of the body, and later—until its resurrection. We die a little every day, especially when we have some negative experience. When we ask God for help, the Holy Spirit brings us back to life, and we partially experience the resurrection.
All negative experiences in the life of every human being, as well as the whole world, have a direct or indirect link to sin. And sin brings forth death. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23). In all his life experience, whether positive or negative, a believer acknowledges the work of Divine Providence and the grace of God, which mysteriously leads people to salvation. Because God will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). Thus, a Christian learns to stay away from sin and do good all the time: That we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24). However, it is not at all easy to get rid of sin—that is, to give up selfishness and excessive self-love, which strongly binds us to this world. The battle with sin must be fought to the death. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin (Heb. 12:4), the Apostle Paul writes in his Epistle.
Christ warns us: He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal (Jn. 12:25). We are talking here about a distorted, passionate love for our own life, an unhealthy preoccupation with the blessings and pleasures of this world, which prevent us from seeing the horizon of life stretching into eternity. Christ calls on us to serve Him and follow Him: If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honour (Jn. 12:26). The Apostles were the first to follow and serve Christ, and after them all subsequent generations of Christians. Serving Christ means participation in His life and mission, unity with Him in His boundless love for the world and permanent willingness to give up your life for your neighbors. Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister (Mt. 20:28). From chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew we know that the main criterion of the Last Judgment will be precisely our service to our neighbors.
But we cannot participate in the life of Christ and in His mission unless we gradually die to sin and to ourselves. It is important to overcome your selfishness and not get ever attached to worldly blessings and things. For this reason, the Orthodox Church attaches special importance to practical asceticism. Asceticism means self-restraint and struggle with yourself in order to overcome passionate desires. These desires hinder the work of the grace of God, hidden in our hearts since our Baptism.
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The Holy Fathers have left us many sayings. All the saints agree that in order for the grace of Baptism to work in a Christian, sanctifying him, a fierce struggle with sin and passions is vital. Sin does not allow the grace of God to work and leads a person to spiritual and physical death. This is where the famous ascetic saying comes from: “Give blood and receive the spirit.” The grace of God increases or decreases in our hearts depending on how we fulfill the commandments of God.
There is a mysterious interconnection between the grace of God, which we receive through Baptism and other sacraments, and the labors of a person himself. On the one hand, grace multiplies inasmuch as a believer dedicates himself to the spiritual feat. On the other hand, sustained by grace, he begins to fight sin more and more zealously, even to the point of blood. However, all the saints realized that attaining passionlessness and sanctification is not a result of our spiritual feats, but ultimately a gift from God.
The asceticism of prayer is important for each one of us. It is not always easy to pray. Quite the opposite! Prayer may bore you, it may remain superficial and scanty. That is why many Christians do not pray at all and do not force themselves to perform prayer. However, in order for us to experience the joy of prayer we must make inner efforts to pray attentively. It is necessary for our mind, which is the energy of the heart, to rise from distraction and come down into the heart so that they can unite. This is the only way we can acquire both peace of mind and peace of heart simultaneously.
There is also the asceticism of fasting—abstinence in food and drink. It demands a moderate life from us. Fasting helps us pray with concentration and introspection, attain self-control and get rid of our attachment to worldly things and blessings. There is also the asceticism of patience: it confronts us with the question of whether or not we can endure suffering patiently. The Savior prepared us for this with these words: In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (Jn. 16:33). Enduring sorrows and hardships in everyday life is an opportunity for us to prove our faith, hope in God and patience in practice. For a Christian enduring pain and sorrows turns out to be a blessing from God if he bears this cross courageously. Then pain and sorrows sanctify his life, because through them he realizes his own weakness and the need for God’s help. Through the feat of prayer, abstinence and patience the old man of our being will gradually decay, whereas the new one, supported by the grace of Baptism, will give himself up more and more to the service of others, following the example of Christ Himself. Amen.
