DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Becoming Little Children: St. Mark 10:11-16, especially
vs. 15: “...whoever does not
receive the
St. John Chrysostom points out that “the soul of a
little child is pure from all the passions.” Though we show
“him the queen with a diadem, he prefers her not to his mother clad in
rags...and nothing more than necessary things doth he seek.” Furthermore, “The young child is
not grieved at what we are grieved, as at the loss of money and such things as
that, and he doth not rejoice again at what we rejoice, namely, at these
temporal things.” The
Lord’s injunction to become as little children is given so that we
“by choice should practice these things, which young children have
naturally.” The secret of
being little children lies in recovering our natural, God-given virtues.
Notice that this passage clearly states that children did
not come to the Lord “on their own account.” They were “brought to Him”
(vs. 13). To be “brought to
Him” one needs “good” parents who can bring us to
Christ. Thus, if we are not borne
in the arms of our Mother the Church, then we shall pursue the virtues of the
world - which are not virtues.
Instead, we shall depend on our imperfect, rational minds, and we shall
be led astray. To have good Fathers
- which we require - St. Nil Sorsky declares that the
Holy Fathers who followed the Apostles must be the “main guide for those
who wish to be saved and...attain Christian
perfection.”
The Lord sharply corrected His as-yet-unillumined
disciples when they prevented children from coming to Him (vs. 13). Following His example, let us
countermand in ourselves whatever prevents our coming to Him as innocents (vs.
14). Acquiring pure, simple,
natural virtues requires diligent work directed against all that arises from
the sinful self, the world, and the devils - the attractions that suggest that
we should indulge ourselves. As
Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos reminds us:
“when a person struggles to subject his body to his soul and his soul to
God, the virtues of body and soul are produced.” Let us begin this work, of restraining
and retraining.
Consider: the Lord’s desire that “little
children” come to Him (vs. 14) is truly a positive prompting to cultivate
those godly virtues that the Church reveals. Metropolitan Hierotheos
provides us with some obvious starting points: “Self-control and love rid
us of impassioned thoughts. By
controlling anger and desire we quickly do away with evil thoughts. Vigils also contribute a great deal.…Let us receive everything with a good
thought. Even if everything is
ugly, let us receive it with equanimity, and then God will right the anomalies
of things.”
Every newly awakened Christian who addresses the negative
and positive work spoken of above, discovers the
monumental task of coming to Christ as a little child. Let us not imagine that we can
accomplish purity of life and holiness in our own strength. That fatal delusion will eventually
plunge us into certain despair.
Rather, let us be dependent upon the Church to bring us to Christ, and
there learn to receive the touch of the Lord Jesus’ hand, His healing,
and His blessing (vs. 16). The
Church gives us birth and helps us put on the new man. St. Gregory Palamas
says, “the deified saints...are engendered by
God, God gave them the power to become children of God.”
Burn Thou the thorns of all my transgressions, cleanse my
soul, and hallow my thoughts.
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