God’s Wonder is Everywhere
To be grateful for life and to have an awesome reverence for God’s Creation, means that we have an awareness that He is everywhere present, filling all things; He is the Treasury of blessings and Giver of life.
In this world preoccupied with looking down at cell phones and not upward to the heavens, how do we inspire people around us to see and appreciate the majesty of His universe?
St. Paisios the Athonite writes: “He who succeeds in keeping his mind constantly on God, constantly senses the presence of God and is moved by gratitude, because he sees all things as the blessing of God. One look around suffices for him to understand that God closely follows not only one person, but the entire universe, even the smallest and most insignificant details. Wherever he looks, he sees the splendors of God. He takes one look at the heavens and is transformed by the presence of God. He takes a look at the earth; he sees the birds, the trees, and he sees God, their Creator. That is also prayer; it is also remembrance of God” (Spiritual Counsels. Vol. 6: On Prayer, p. 204).
Seeing the Wonder Through (not with) the Eyes
When we see “through” the windows of our eyes, we are seeing the world with our souls. Since the Creator fashioned us in His image, He intended for us to see through the eye and with our conscience where His decrees are imprinted. When we see with the eye devoid of conscience, all kinds of temptations and misguided beliefs can invade our minds.
The poet William Blake in The Everlasting Gospel (1818) writes:
This life’s dim windows of the soul
Distort the heavens from pole to pole
And leads you to believe a lie
When you see with, not through, the eye….
The Wonder of Compassion
[See Seattle Special Olympics Story, 8-SEP-2008 by Georgy, turnbacktogod.com]
At the 2008 Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally challenged, assembled at the starting line for the 100-meter dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win.
All that is, except one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The others heard the boy. They slowed down, looked back, turned around and went to pick him up. Every one of them. One girl with Down’s Syndrome bent down, kissed him and said: “This will make it better.” Then all nine linked arms and walked across the finish line together. Everyone in the stadium stood up and, with tear-filled eyes, cheered them for several minutes.
The Wonder of What we Observe
The Orthodox faith is not about simply avoiding corrupting and worthless things, but learning to see, enjoy and embrace eternal things that truly bring meaning, purpose, and joy into our lives. St. Paul calls us to “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
St. Paul also exhorts: “… whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
Beware though, because wicked and tempting things can allure us at times. We need to focus on God and do right by Him and by the people around us within the harmony of God’s Creation.
The Wonder and Benefits of Fasting
In his book, A Toolkit for Spiritual Growth, Fr. Evan Armatas writes about how we can be in harmony with Creation when we live within the rhythm of fasting and feasting. “The fasting and feasting cycles of the Church are not only a manifestation of this harmony with Creation, but they form a cornerstone of it as a foundational principle (along with prayer and almsgiving). Nowhere is the rhythm more physically felt than in fasting and feasting – especially in our culture!” He then writes about the wonder of this rhythm: “Have you ever noticed that food tastes even better after a fast? Have you ever been in a situation where you could not eat much food, or ate poor-quality food for an extended period of time? The first real meal you eat after that period is nothing short of amazing. But we also know that if you ate nothing but amazing meals every time you were hungry, your definition of ‘amazing’ would change; you would become jaded and gluttonous, experiencing nothing special. Fasting, in addition to having scientifically proven health benefits, helps put us back into a harmonious rhythm with God’s will for His Church.”
The Wonder of Life with Limits
Just like we see the benefits of fasting from foods, we can also reap wondrous benefits from limiting our leisure and entertainment, disciplining ourselves in meeting our goals, and sacrificing time to help someone in need.
If we love our families and love being with them and going to Church with them, we can’t work as many hours as we’d like to. Though we’d love to spend money whenever we want things, or stay up late and sleep in everyday, or eat and drink as much as we want – doing everything we “want,” we will lead ourselves to a deeply disordered life, full of “limitations” on our health and well-being. Since the Garden of Eden, we humans have tried to push against limits. But Christ reminds us to enter through the narrow gate – though it is harder – and live in obedience to Him, within the limits of His will and commandments (Matthew 7:13-14). When we live with such limits, these limits actually make us freer; freer to experience the fullness and wonder of Creation.
Learning to See the Wonder
In this digital world we need to open our eyes at the wonder of Creation. We see it in all of nature. But we also see it in the creations of others – a beautiful church or building, a colourful garden tended by a gardener, a delicious meal prepared by a chef, a smoothly running car repaired by a mechanic. In appreciation, we are moved at their God-given talents and efforts to achieve their best.
The Wonder of Right Thoughts
To recognize these blessings, we must be humble and grateful. When Christ said we have to be like children, this is what He meant: We have to keep our innocence, to keep our sense of wonder which allows us to nurture goodness and kindness for the people in our lives and our community. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (I Corinthians 12:7). “Our life depends on the kinds of thoughts we nurture. If our thoughts are peaceful, calm, meek, and kind, then that is what our life is like” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives).
Wonder in Suffering
Is there wonder in suffering? Suffering is a part of life which we must accept. It’s a mystery pointing to something deeper. In The Holy Fathers on Illness, Father Alexey Young writes: “’We should not dread any human ill, save sin alone; neither poverty, nor disease, nor insult, nor malicious treatment, nor humiliation, nor death’ (St. John Chrysostom, On the Statues)… The only real ‘calamity’ in this life is offending God. If we have this basic understanding of the purpose of life, then the spiritual meaning of bodily infirmity can be opened for us…’ ‘Sickness is a lesson from God and serves to help us in our progress if we give thanks to Him’ (Sts. Barsanuphius and John, Philokalia). ‘You who believe when you are well, see to it that you do not fall away from God in the time of misfortune’” (St. John of Kronstadt). Praise be to God! “O Lord, our Lord, how wondrous is Your name in all the earth. For Your splendour is exalted far beyond the heavens” (Psalm 8:1).