DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Basic
Weapons: St. Mark 9:17-31,
especially vss. 28, 29: “...His disciples asked Him privately,
‘Why could we not cast it out?’ So He said to them, ‘This kind can
come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.’” This passage from St. Mark is not simply
another account of a healing by the Lord Jesus. It is an instructive “action report”
from the battlefield of spiritual warfare.
A father and his son are being overrun by the enemy (vss. 17,18). The disciples skirmish with an unclean
spirit but cannot dislodge it (vs. 18).
Then, the Lord, enters what is becoming a rout, and defeats the foe
(vss. 19-27). Afterwards, the
victorious Commander uses the day’s events to teach His initiates how
certain weapons are crucial in spiritual combat (vss. 28-29). In the last verses, the Lord Jesus
announces His approaching spiritual battle and victory (vss. 30-31). This Gospel is for every one of the
Faithful. After all, we are
constantly engaged in spiritual warfare.
The Christian warrior should pair this reading from St. Mark with a
passage from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (Eph. 6:10-18),
for both contain the primary rules of engagement in spiritual combat. The Epistle reveals that our strength
comes fundamentally from the Lord (Eph. 6:10). Use of the armor He provides (Eph.
6:11,13) is essential when confronted with the wiles, power, and evil of our
enemy (Eph. 6:14-16). In addition,
the Apostle describes the basic weapons we have for winning in spiritual
struggle: Holy Scripture, prayer, the Holy Mysteries, and watchfulness (Eph. 6:10,17-18). The only offensive weapon
Blessed Theophylact speaks of the relationship between fasting and
prayer: “Both are necessary.
Good sense dictates that...one...must not only fast, but also pray; and
he must not only pray, but also fast, for true prayer is rendered when it is
yoked to fasting.” Why? It is as St. John Chrysostom observes:
“He that fasts is light, and winged, and prays with wakefulness, and
quenches his wicked lusts, and propitiates God, and humbles his soul when
lifted up.” Therefore, review
thoughtfully the five essential weapons we have for the spiritual struggle.
Holy Scriptures, the life-giving words of God, are a must for
discerning the Lord Jesus’ will and truth amidst the myriad of attacks
against us. As the inner core of
Orthodox Tradition, Scripture provides God’s Light for cutting through
the “clouds” of lies from the enemy.
Prayer is the Christian’s second essential weapon and
ought always to be drawn from Holy Scripture. In fact, disciples should become adept
at using the language of Scripture to form our words at prayer. The Divine Liturgy, “soaked”
in Scripture, richly demonstrates the method.
The Holy Mysteries are the third weapon of us as embattled
disciples, moving us, as St. Basil the Great says, to
“boldness...increase of virtue...[and] keeping of [God’s]
commandments,” for they mold and shape our live to make them firm in
Christ.
Fasting, as the Church provides, sharpens spiritual awareness
in the world and heightens the perception of what is happening around and
within us. Observe the days,
seasons, and times of fasting along with the directions that Orthodox practice
provides as a minimum in fasting.
Watchfulness is the hallmark of the Christian warrior at all
times and in all circumstances. We
are especially blessed in this, having the Jesus Prayer to aid us in the
struggle against “the evil imaginations, wicked deeds and work of the
devil” that oppose us.
O Lord of mercies, enlighten the eyes of our understanding by Thy Holy
Scriptures, enable us by Thy Spirit to pray as we ought to pray, strengthen our
wretched souls and bodies through Thy Holy Gifts, help us to subject our flesh
by abstinence and blameless fasting, and awaken us to cultivate watchfulness
zealously that we may be victors unto the end.