At the end of the millennium, the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard reflected on the implosion of social institutions in Western postmodern societies. Among his many observations on the present times, he noted this paradox, that “things – signs and actions – continue to function long after their ideas have disappeared, and they do so in total indifference to their own content… A thing which has lost its idea is like a man who has lost his shadow, and it must either fall under the sway of madness or perish” (The Transparency of Evil, 1993:6).

The most influential Orthodox theologian in the West at this time, Alexander Schmemann, wrote in his diary: “Christianity in general (is) now undergoing a real test to determine what will enable (us) to remain alive in the world of today” (The Journals, 2002:24).

It makes sense to read the last quote in the light of the first. Clearly, today, the very identity of the church is threatened as mainstream Christianity seems to have lost the idea of what it means to be the Church of Christ in the world.

The root of this confusion is to be found in the Enlightenment’s understanding of religion, where Christianity in particular is considered to be pure obscurantism, because its religious claims cannot be proved by reason. Despite this reservation, a deistic notion of a Supreme Being was still warmly embraced. To use Montesquieu’s expression, “A little bit of religion”, can serve as social glue and induce motivation for good deeds. In the same vein “sin” must be redefined as those things which hinder the common good. Consequently, “the truth” of religious ideas is pragmatically decided according to the criterion of political usefulness. From this position, Rousseau praises the virtues of Islam over against Christianity as the Christian faith falsely distinguishes the temporal and the spiritual, the religious and the political.

Nevertheless, in certain church quarters today, the pulpit is used as platform for their “leftist” agenda. Usually, their “progressive” statements are very clear and direct but paradoxically silence reigns about the present conflicts around core issues in Christian ethics, such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

Of course, the rejection of the role of churches as one-sided political activists is not to say that there is no need for social change in today’s world. The point is simply that social justice is mankind’s common ethical endeavour across religious lines. “Political” statements must therefore be expressed in the name of reason and not from the pulpit on behalf private sympathies, be it in one way or another.

Moreover, there are enough historical examples to show that political compliance will not legitimate the Christian faith in the eyes of the given establishment but rather breed contempt.

The Life of the Church in the World – A Eucharistic Other-worldliness

The God given task of the Christian Church is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. This is the one standard by which the mission of the Church must be judged. The grace of God calls people to repentance and holiness. Thus a demarcation line is set between faith and unbelief. Alienated from the Gospel truths, the “Church” becomes an empty shell. In fact, the substitution of the biblical narrative with moral appeals has made the original message of Christianity disappear, to return to the quote from Baudrillard.

What are we then to do to overcome this loss of faith? Alexander Schmemann prescribed his vision for renewal by saying that we must recover an eschatological understanding of life itself, an “other-worldliness” derived from the Eucharist as the center of Christian living. Christians must see this world in Christ and through Christ.

In this perspective we approach the current crisis of faith by returning to the basis of the Christian pilgrimage in the present world. With the liturgical exclamation “Come Lord Jesus”, the Eucharist proclaims the Healing of the nations and Paradise regained (Rev. 22:20). Thus, the Eucharistic Assembly proclaims the coming world, while at the same time manifesting the Church in this world as a present community. Gathered around the Eucharistic table, the altar, as the people of God (1 Cor. 10:16f), we nourish the faith, love and hope which give meaning and value to everything in life (13:13).

The story of Pentecost is the archetype of this communion. The Apostles are gathered to receive the Holy Spirit “with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1f). Faith is essentially the power of union, the miracle that arises between men and women in the love of Christ and in love for Christ. The Church is not set in this world for any other reason than to be the body of Christ, “the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:23).

In the gospels of St. Mathew and St. Luke we find with the same wording a saying of Jesus often called “The Hymn of Jubilation”. We read: “Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father'” (Matthew 11:25f, Luke 10:21f).

Jesus seems here to refer to Jeremiah’s prophesy of a new covenant when God will reveal himself directly to his chosen people: “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah… I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer 31:31,33).

Inviting his disciples to the Kingdom of God, Jesus presents himself as the fulfilment of these prophesies. Through him, God the Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, reveals his will to the hearts of the faithful. The stumbling block is that this revelation springs out of God’s own initiative in contrast to human cunning and sagacity. Moreover, it must be received in humility. The knowledge of God is given to “babes”.

Elsewhere in the Gospels Jesus refers to his disciples as “the poor in spirit”, “the pure in heart” or “the lowly” (Matthew 5:3,8; Luke 1: 52). In a similar vein, St. Paul paradoxically demands that “the wise of this world, must become a fool, that he may become wise” (1 Cor. 3:18).

Does this mean that the knowledge of God is reduced to an esoteric, gnostic wisdom? Truly, St. Paul teaches that “the spirit of wisdom and knowledge of God comes through the eyes of our heart being enlightened” (Eph. 1:18). However, this is not an invitation to arbitrariness. We are simply invited to interpret life in the light of the faith.

This faith perspective is summarized by St.Augustine with the phrase Credo ut intelligam – I believe so that I can understand. Augustine illustrates this insight with a wordplay found in the Greek version of the book of Isaiah: “If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not understand” (7:9).

In his autobiographic work, Confessions, St. Augustine gives an easy accessible introduction to his thinking about the relationship between faith and reason.

Man’s capacity to grasp true understanding of God requires the healing of pride and the fostering of love. Quoting the Hymn of Jubilation, St Augustine maintains that knowledge of God must be learned from Christ who himself was meek and lowly of heart. With Christ as the light of our heart – Lumen cordis – the mind can conceive the truth knowing things through God rather than God through things.

This Augustinian approach to knowledge was taken up 1200 years later by Pascal. His instrumental epistemology concludes that governed by the will, reason can neither prove nor disapprove the existence of God. However, this resignation does not mean that man is spiritually blind. For there is another path in man’s search for God. Our life experience, the wisdom man gains as he lives, feels and thinks, opens the mind to receive the mystery of God, the Father and Lord of heaven and earth. This wisdom, seen with the “eyes of the heart enlightened by God”, is what Pascal speaks of in his famous maxim: “The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing”.

+Roald Nikolai

What is Mary’s place in the history of Salvation? The best answer is given in the form of a follow-up question: If Jesus is the Son of God who is then his mother?

The child Mary bore in her womb is Christ, the Incarnate word of God. Therefore, the early councils honoured her as the Theotokos – the God-bearer. The sign for this was given by her cousin Elizabeth who greeted the pregnant Mary with the words: «Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb» (Luke 1:42).

In his poems on Mary, the Church Father Ephrem the Syrian (303-373) explains Mary’s amazement of giving birth to the Christ:

«How shall I call you,
O stranger to us
who became one of us?
Shall I call you ‘Son’?
Shall I call you ‘Brother’?
Shall I call you ‘Bridegroom’?
Shall i call you ‘Lord’?
Begetter of his Mother.
By a second birth
from out of the waters!»
(Sebastian Brock, 1975)

By referring at the end to Mary’s baptism, Ephrem understands her relationship to Jesus as a «two-way birth». First Jesus takes on Mary’s body as her son, then Mary takes on Jesus’ glory as a new birth. Thus, through his imagery and parallelism Ephrem, known as «Harp of the Spirit», brings Mary and the Christian believer close together.

A poetical adaption into Norwegian expresses the symbolic imagery in the following way:

«Da Jesus Kristus ble vår bror,
kyrieleis,
da ble Maria vår egen mor,
vår Far ble ham som i himlen bor,
Jesus og Maria.

Ved Ånden fødes Gud og mann,
kyrieleis,
hun fødte ham i Juda land,
og vi ble født utav dåpens vann,
Jesus og Maria.»
(Börre Knudsen, 1976)

The mariology developed in Ephrem’s poems to Our Lady is very different from the Roman Catholic understanding of Mary as the mediatrix. Ephrem does not pray to Mary but he prays with her to Christ. Mary is not a distant intercessor, the Queen of Heaven, but she is the Mother of the Church, one of us and one with us.

Let me start by stating the obvious, we are living in a secular culture which has made the right of self-realisation the highest value to be sought. My happiness is the meaning of life. Of course, to say that I am responsible for my own life is not a false insight but even if we embark in the pursuit of the highest human ideals, it may end up as a sort of self-absorption. My fellow man can easily be seen to stand in my way and when we speak of God we have in mind a vague presence who wants us to be good. So beyond that, is there nothing more is to be said?

The biblical message is that God is not only the source of life but also my judge. God does not not fade away simply because man wants to be the master of the universe. Thus, St. Paul admonishes the Corinthians to take a step back not to be blinded by what he calls the Spirit of the Age: «Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise» (1 Cor 3:18, see 2 Cor 4:4). Despite the values and norms dominating the culture around us, we Christians must take seriously that in the end we are to stand responsible before God: «Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves», he instructs the Corinthians (2 Cor 13:5). Likewise he tells the Galatians: «Let each one examine his own work … for each one shall bear his own load» (Gal 6:4f).

What is then the way the Christian shall pursue to happiness? St Paul’s advice to the Corinthians is that they must take proper care of their spiritual life: «Beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God» (2 Cor 7:1, 1 Cor 6:11). Likewise, in the light of the coming of Christ St. John encourages the children of God: «And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure» (1 John 3:3). Cleansed from sin, we shall be dedicated to God. Clearly this is an invitation to enter the narrow gate. Our pursuit of happiness involves a cleansing of the heart, a quest for holiness in the fear of God.

The cleansing reflects a genuine sorrow for our sins, as St. Cyprian of Carthage wrote to the faithful in Africa more than 1700 years ago about cleanliness of heart: «When it was brought to Jesus’ attention that his disciples had begun eating without having first washes their hands, he said in reply: ‘He who made the outside made the inside too. Give alms and all of you will be made clean’ (Luke 11:40f). Thus he taught that it was not your hands which should be washed but rather your heart and that uncleanness must be removed from the inside rather than from the outside. For they who have cleansed their inner selves have also cleansed what is outside, and they whose mind has been cleansed have also begun to purify their skin and body» (On works and alms, 2).

Since the Enlightenment it has been a common view that true religion must show its legitimacy by its moral usefulness. As an early response to this, moral theologians in the 19th century began to talk about «Christian values» in order to give a social legitimation to the faith. But to justify Christianity simply because it provides a foundation of morality, instead of showing the necessity of Christian morality from the truth of Christianity, is a very dangerous inversion.

Nevertheless, it is true that the three so-called cardinal virtues – faith, hope and love (1 Cor. 13:13) – are natural virtues in the sense that they express qualities needed to uphold both the individual and communal life as such. But there is more to be said. The revolutionary message of the Gospel is that Christ transforms everything by renewing man’s living contact with God. By bringing human nature back to God, Christian life is not the antithesis of the natural. The difference the gospel makes, is giving mankind a new status in a covenant with God our Creator.

Already the ethics of the Decalogue is based on the idea of a new status between God and the people of Israel. The premise, the framework around the commandments, is that God’s mighty deeds have made the chosen people free: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.» What God demands for Himself is that the Hebrews be faithful: “You shall have no other gods before me» (Ex 20:2f). Among themselves they must live a decent life according to their new status: Because they are no longer slaves but free, the people of Israel must live as men of honor and show respect for their parents and abstain from murder, whoring, stealing and lying. However, these precepts are the rules of decent behaviour among gentlemen in any culture. The motivation is nevertheless specific because it is founded on the new status given in the covenant with God. Without this starting-point also Christian ethics are easily reduced to humanistic altruism.

The relationship between natural virtues and spiritual gifts becomes clear when St. Paul speaks of the fruit of the Spirit over against the work of the flesh. The Apostle exemplifies the work of the flesh among other sins as adultery, lewdness, hatred, selfish ambitions and envy. «By contrast», writes the Apostle, «the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things» (Gal 5:22f). Nobody can with reason maintain that these virtues are exclusively the privilege of Christians or deny that the work of the flesh takes its toll also on the believers.

This leads to the question: Is there then no specific Christian ethics – only spiritually qualified human virtues? The answer must be a clear yes and no!

The point is that by living and walking in the Spirit, the believer is invited to transcend himself and enter a «zone» of divine being and activity. Thus by imparting the Spirit into the faithful, God renews their humanity (Gal 5:16ff).

The moral challenge for Christians – like the people of the Old Covenant – is to live up to our new status as God’s children. Christ must be formed in us, explains the Apostle (Gal 4:19). To clarify this imitation of Christ, St Paul uses the the word «worthy». He admonishes the Philippians: «Let your conduct be worthy of the Gospel of Christ» (1:27). Likewise he beseeches the Ephesians: «to walk worthy of calling with which you have been called» (4:1). And the Colossians are told to »walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work» (Col. 1:10). Furthermore, he impresses upon the Thessalonians: «Walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into his kingdom and glory» (1 Thess 2:12).

Using the word «worthy» to qualify Christian living, the Apostle seems to refer back to God’s demands of the people of Israel at Sinai. In both cases the moral claims are based on the dignity given in new status before God. Our self-respect as believers must be manifested in a worthy way of life in the eyes of God and mankind.

Having read this summer a little library of books on church growth and evangelising, I have obtained many useful insights into what makes a good parish. Still, I have not found a successful formula which can bring back the good old times when Sunday Mass was a natural part of European culture. There seems to be no easy fix to counter the secularisation of daily life. On the contrary, despite of our well meant endeavours, Western Christianity seems to be dying. The empty churches may signal that we are the last Christian generation.

In this climate, it is perhaps understandable that many parishes in desesperation try to lower the threshold, accommodating to modern culture by giving up traditional worship and instead adapting to forms of communication that we associate with the market place. To put aside what seems to be offensive to the modern mindset may give some results in the short run, but it is a blind alley as a way to growth. Rather than asking ourselves how to attract people to fill the pews, we must search for ways to grow spiritually. Our calling is to prepare ourselves for what looks like a long winter and thus lay the foundation for a bridgehead for the future.

Thus, the starting point should be a reflection on the nature of what we call mission and evangelisation. Fortunately, the Lord himself enlightens us when in the great commission, He urges the apostles to make disciples baptising and teaching them as he had commanded (Matt 28:19f).

Jesus describes the task of his disciples then and now as a form of harvesting (Joh 4:35ff). As labourers in God’s field reaping his harvest (Matt 9:37f, 1 Cor 3:6f), our evangelising is part of God’s salvation history and must therefore be understood in an eschatological perspective (Apoc 14:15). We are acting in God’s name adding to the church those to be saved (Acts 2:41,47). Thus, with Christ as the cornerstone the church grows into a ”holy temple in the Lord, a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph 2:21f). This is real church growth.

Understood in this perspective, what we call evangelisation must be seen as our participation in God’s own work. Consequently, it is God who gives us growth (Matt 9:37). We are only sowers and the seed is the word of God (Luk 8:5ff). Whether we are many or few will in the end be God’s own decision. Paradoxically, this does not mean that we are free from the great commission. The parable of the talents teaches us that we are under obligation to put ourselves and our resources at God’s disposition knowing that we are but worthless servants.

In the perspective of salvation history, the Father is the sower and Jesus is the reaper who sends his disciples to collect the harvest. The English hymn We plough the Fields expresses this penetration of God’s mystery in relation to our work:

We plough the fields, and scatter
The good seed on the land,
But it is fed and watered
By God’s almighty hand;
He sends the snow in winter,
The warmth to swell the grain,
The breezes and the sunshine,
And soft refreshing rain.

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It is not always so easy to come to terms with the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as Christians. Sometimes our understanding seems to be «lofty», to the point of being vague. In the following little meditation I will try to elucidate the role of the Spirit through three questions: Who is the Spirit? What does the Spirit do? What is the relation between the Spirit and the Church?

The Holy Spirit

The Apostle Paul explains how the Spirit «searches everything, even the hidden depths of God’s purpose… only God’s Spirit knows all about God» (1 Cor. 2:10f). The Apostle Peter clarifies this further stating that «God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit» (Acts 10:38). However, in the history of salvation, the presence of the Holy Spirit is depicted, not in a personal way, but with the help of symbolic images. When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit came down like a «dove» (Matt. 3:16, John 1:32). At Pentecost the Spirit was present like a «strong wind» and in form of «tongues of fire» (Acts 2:2f).

What does the Spirit for us?

These shifting metaphors help us to understand that the Spirit is not acting on its own. The Spirit remains somewhat «anonymous» as he comes to us pointing to Christ as the Saviour of all men. St. John quotes Jesus saying, «He does not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears» (John 16:13). In this way we can tell who the Spirit is by what he does. The Spirit is the light wherein Jesus is seen as the Son of the Father. The Spirit receives from the Father the authority and power to communicate the Son. In the economy of salvation, the Spirit is at the same time God’s Spirit and the Spirit of Christ (Rom 8:9).

The Spirit and the Church

Serving our salvation, the Spirit comes to us as our Advocate proving the world wrong about sin and reminding us of what Christ taught the apostles (John 14:26, 16:7f). Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness interceding for us with sighs too deep for words (Rom 8:25). Moreover, the Spirit guides the Church in her ministry to the world (Acts 10:19f, 13:2).

As the Spirit works and prays for us, we are at the same time called to put ourselves in the service of the Spirit. St Paul instructs us bluntly: «Let the Spirit direct your lives» (Gal. 5:16). And elsewhere he admonishes us, that we, filled by the Spirit, are to sing to one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and offer praise to the Lord (Eph.5:18f). If the «inexpressible groanings» of the Spirit are «too deep for words», he instead inspires us to speak for him. Thus, in her witness and praise the Church shall give voice to the Spirit.

Addressing the Lord

In the final words of the Bible the relationship between the Spirit and the Church is expressed as a dialogue, when the Spirit and the Church jointly address Christ in his glory: «The Spirit and the Bride say, Come» (Rev 22:17). At the end of our time the Spirit speaks words of comfort assuring us: «Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord» (Rev 14:13).

Joyous Pentecost!