O.O.D.E.  Orthodox Outlet for Dogmatic Enquiry

I prefer a sinner who weeps for his fall, rather than a "christian" who prides himself for his virtue.

I prefer a person who has fallen a hundred times and a hundred times has whispered, "My God, forgive me", to one who has not fallen (or believes so) and has spent his entire life throwing stones at those who have fallen.

For there is something that is worse than sin.

Obsession.

-when one has ceased looking at their own sin, and has eyes that only see the sins of others.

-when one fasts, but "devours" their brother.

-when one prays with prostrations, without truly repenting.

-when one lights candles, yet extinguishes people.

-when one venerates icons, yet humiliates the "image of God" standing before them.

-when one partakes of the Body of Christ, then proceeds to devour a brother with their tongue.

-when one has a prayer rope in their hand and a stone in their heart.

That is the tragedy of obsession...

And what is even worse?

-it often wears religious garb.

-it speaks of Canons.

-it speaks of the Fathers.

-it speaks of sins, and of heresies.

-it speaks of who will be saved and who will be damned.

-it speaks continously of God – but has forgotten to attain a godly heart.

Christ was not crucified by atheists who hated Him - because they did not believe in God.

He was condemned and handed over by deeply religious people - people who were so certain they were defending God, that they failed to realize they were crucifying His Son.

This should terrify us.

-you could be defending God - yet also attacking Him.

-you could be holding the Gospel - without having understood a single page of it.

You could know all the rules of the Church - yet forgotten the most important one: mercy.

The Pharisees knew who the adultress was.  But Christ knew who the human being was.

They saw her sin. He saw her soul.

They had held stones. He had opened a path for her return.

That is the difference between religion and Christ:

Obsession says: "Let her pay."    Christ says: "Nor do I condemn you; go, and sin no more."

Take note: He did not imply that the sin did not exist. He did not label the darkness as light. However, He did not crush the human being in order to condemn the sin.

This is what we have forgotten.

We think that by defending the truth, we must become tough. No. Christ was Truth itself, but He also knelt down to wash feet.

What kind of truth are we defending when we humiliate, publicly shame, degrade, and condemn?

Do not pride yourself on the fact that you did not commit the other’s sin:

Perhaps you didn’t have their kind of life.

Perhaps you didn’t have their wounds.

Perhaps you didn’t undergo trials like theirs.

Perhaps you didn’t live through their nights.

Perhaps you didn’t shed their tears.

And most of all: you don’t know what had transpired between that person and God when the door was closed and they were alone.

The robber needed only a few moments on a cross to hear the words: "Today you will be with Me in Paradise."

An entire lifetime of sin didn’t prove stronger than a single moment of true repentance.

That is why you must not  hastily try to close the door of Paradise to anyone. You do not hold the keys.

And something even harsher:

Some people need repentance for their sins.

Certain religious people need repentance for their "virtue." Because they made it a throne.  They made it a yardstick to measure others. They made it a knife. They made it an alibi for their pride.

And there is a kind of virtue that, when it begets pride, can become more dangerous than a fall which can lead to a contrite heart.

That is why I prefer the sinner who repents.

Not because I love sin.

But because I believe in repentance.

I prefer the tax collector (who did not dare lift his eyes toward heaven), over the Pharisee who has lifted his gaze so high that he no longer saw the person standing near him.

I prefer the one who enters the Church wounded and cries out "Save me!" over the one who enters as if he is the owner of Paradise and decides who is worthy of being inside it.

Because the Church is not a museum of saints; it is an infirmary for sinners.  It is not a courtroom, where we are the ones sitting on the judge’s bench; it is a place where we all stand before the same Physician.

And if your faith has made you harsher, then something has gone wrong.

If your prayer has made you proud, something has gone wrong.

If your fasting has made you look down on someone who does not fast, something has gone wrong.

If your "Orthodoxy" has caused you to hate people, something has gone very wrong.

The closer one actually draws near to Christ, the more contrite they become regarding themselves, and the more compassion they will feel for others.

A saint does not say, "Look how high I have risen."   He says, "Lord, have mercy on me."

Therefore, before you raise your finger to point at a sinner, take a good look at your own hand. Was it perhaps holding a stone?

Because the person that you condemned today might weep for their sins tonight and find themselves in the bosom of God tomorrow... while you continue to stand outside the door, telling God why He should not have forgiven that person.

I do not fear the sinner who knows he is ill; I am however scared of the "Christian" who is so obsessed, he thinks he is already a saint. Because the former is seeking Christ, whereas the latter believes Christ belongs to him.

Translation A.N.