Saint Nino Orthodox Church - Stillwater, OK

Orthodox Church in Stillwater and Enid - Oklahoma

UPCOMING EVENTS

Jan
7
Sun
all-day Nativity
Nativity
Jan 7 all-day
 
Jan
19
Fri
all-day Theophany
Theophany
Jan 19 all-day
 
Jan
27
Sat
all-day Saint Nino Feast Day
Saint Nino Feast Day
Jan 27 all-day
 
Jan
7
Tue
all-day Nativity
Nativity
Jan 7 all-day
 
Jan
19
Sun
all-day Theophany
Theophany
Jan 19 all-day
 
More »
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Leadership
    • St. Nino of Georgia
    • Powerful Prayers
  • About Orthodoxy
  • Calendar
  • Help Us Grow ?
  • Kursk Root Icon
  • Photos & Fun Stuff
  • Theology

AM I BEING DRAGGED THROUGH LIFE BY MY STRUGGLES?

May 30, 2017 By stninoorthodox

I have never met anyone who did not struggle with someone or something. They struggle at work, or struggle at school. They struggle with a friend or with an enemy. They struggle with the bills and they struggle with debt. They struggle with their spouse or their boyfriend or girlfriend.   They struggle with Democrats and liberals or they struggle with Republicans and conservatives.  They struggle with loneliness and depression and they struggle even more as they watch those they believe live without depression and seem to have it all. They struggle with mental, physical, and emotional illness and again struggle as they watch the rich and the young and the strong and the beautiful who seem to live above it all. The list could go on and on, but surely the Lord sees our struggle as we bear the cross that life has placed upon us. And now we come to the Orthodox Church that tells us that to be Orthodox is to struggle.  Given all my other struggles, maybe this is why I don’t attend as much as I should.  I carry enough burdens as it is.

Jesus said that we must pick up our cross, deny ourselves and follow him. Surely all of my burdens and struggles fulfill this command (at least they do to me).  Well, not so fast. I came across a statement from the Blessed Augustine that flipped things around. In His Letters to Laetus, 243, he said the following:

“For, when I noticed that you were being slowed down in your divine purpose by your preoccupation with domestic cares, I felt you were being carried and dragged along by your cross rather than that you were carrying it.”

St. Augustine tells me that what is happening is that I am being dragged through life by my struggles. I am not carrying them at all. They are carrying me. I am like a surfer on the waves on my struggles.

Is this what Jesus meant? Not really. After all, if just carrying your own life burdens is carrying your cross, then everyone is fulfilling the Lord’s command. No. Carrying our burdens is not in itself carrying a cross with Christ.  What does it mean then to carry a cross and follow Jesus?  It means death and it means life.

As always, St. Paul puts it very distinctly: “I am crucified to the world and the world is crucified to me.”  So often, my burdens come from the fact that I judge myself by the standards of this society. The world defines what is necessary for happiness and I believe it. The world defines what is beautiful and what is not, and I believe it. The world tells me what is moral and what is not, and I believe it. The world tells me what is rich and what is poor, and I believe it. The world tells me what is brave and what is cowardly, and I believe it. The first work of the cross is to crucify me to this worldly propaganda and lunacy.

It is a two way street. I am to be crucified to the world, but then the world must be crucified to me. If in my heart I still envy the rich, the proud, the beautiful, the successful, etc., then even if I dress plainly, and live in a modest house and walk to work, I am still alive to the world. The Church attempts to help us. Today, we lift up and remember the Cross of Christ and the command that we follow Him.  In Holy Tradition, we have all that we need to break this inner worldliness so that we can not only be crucified to the world, we can also follow Him.

So, the Lord seeks to kill us; that is, He calls us to put our worldliness to death, inwardly and outwardly. How this is possible since surviving our personal struggles is tough enough? Remember these words:

“Cast your cares and burdens upon me….my yoke is easy and my burdens are light…I came that you might have life and have it in abundance.”

We may find that when we let The Master tell us what is true, what is beautiful, what is strong, what is successful, what is rich and what is poor, etc., we may find that the burdens of the heart will roll away and we will find life everlasting.

Let’s not forget that we have a powerful ally, the Holy Spirit who is greater in us than all the struggles that we face. He is the Lord, the Giver of Life.  This Spirit can turn the water of our struggle into wine.

It is our choice. We can pick up the heavy load of our own struggles and cry as we carry them under the whip of our task masters; or, we can pick up the Cross of Christ, and being crucified to the world, we can follow Him.

SOURCE:  Ramblings of a Redneck Priest

​


St Nino Is Listed In The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops Directory of Parishes

Orthodox Church – Stillwater OK

Orthodox Church – Enid, OK

Orthodox Church – Ponca City, OK

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Christian Living, Deny Yourself, Interesting Things, The Cross

Log infacebook

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
 

Loading Comments...