Life judged in light of the absolute word of God”

“Life judged in light of the absolute word of God”

The absolute character of monastic life is a judgment for us. How can we bear this judgment when we see that we are not absolute as God?

This very comparison with the absolute God is the true judgment which the saints lived throughout their lives. Saint Sophrony writes:

“The essence of Christian ascetic effort is uninterrupted abiding in the presence of the Absolute God. This enraptures the mind, and all our being, but it also painfully tears us apart... Exhausting lack of confidence not seldom wears us out: we cannot be perfectly assured that our thought, the movements of our heart, our every deed, are entering fully into the holy stream of the pre-eternal will of the Holy of Holies... We see what prayer Christ prayed in Gethsemane. If to Him was given such a difficult convergence of His will with the will of the Father, then where do I find myself? In this torn state, of both hope and agony, pass days, years, decades, our whole life.”

Whoever judges himself in this life in the light of the absolute word of the Lord, of His absolute divine commandments, will be free from judgment on the last day. This will be a surprise to the righteous, who continually judge and condemn themselves in the light of the truth of God’s word. On the great day of the Last Judgment, when the Lord will attribute to them so many good works, His word will resound inwardly in them, shaking their whole being and transforming their whole existence. They will not cease to marvel: ‘But when, Lord, have we ever done any good thing upon earth?’ Then, He will accept them and allow them to abide in His presence eternally.

In contrast, those who do not accept the word of Christ will have a painful surprise, which will be their torment. Even when the Eternal Judge speaks to them, they will justify themselves because they will hear His word outwardly, not from within their hearts.

Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou 

“Wavering in Quest of the Kingdom which cannot be moved”