February 09 Kandili
A MESSAGE FROM FATHER LOU
Lord, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner
“It is not the self-critical who reveals his humility (for does
not everyone have somehow to put up with himself?).
Rather it is the one who continues to love the person who
has criticized him.” St. John Climacus
Sunday, February 8, marks the beginning of the
Triodion in our Orthodox Church. It consists of the four
pre-Lenten Sundays, Great Lent and Holy Week with a general
theme of repentance. You may recognize the title of
this article as the words of the publican or tax collector
from the biblical parable of the “Publican and the Pharisee”
(Lk. 18:9-14). Coincidentally, this is the first passage of the
Triodion period with a focus on humility, helping us to begin
this period of repentance. The publican stands at the
back of the Temple, too ashamed of his life of fraudulent
behavior to enter any further, lowers his head and beats his
chest and recites the words, “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.”
We are told that indeed the Lord hears his prayers
rather than the Pharisee’s who, standing at the front of the
temple thanks God for making him so special – better then
others even than the publican. The parable ends with the
immortal words, “…everyone who exalts himself will be
humbled, and he whom humbles himself will be exalted.”
(Lk. 18:14)
Humility indeed is the key to repentance which
opens the gates into the presence of God. We may understand
that self-critique and self-knowledge are essential for
humility. St. John Climacus, or St. John of the Ladder,
takes us into an even deeper understanding of humility with
the quotation above. When we are criticized by others,
whether justified or not in our minds, our tendency is to get
on the defensive. We may in our mind logically try to refute
the criticism thus justifying our action. Or we may say to
ourselves or others, “Who is this person to judge me? Why
don’t they look at their own life? And by the way, they do
this or that wrong”. Our tendency when we are criticized or
judged is to in turn become their critic or judge and often,
because of hurt or anger, at even a greater degree than
the original criticism laid at our feet. Needless to say, the
cycle can continue on and on in relationships with criticism
heightening from one to another unless the cycle is
broken. The “Hatfield and McCoy” phenomenon is an
example. How many times have we heard of relationships
broken, of people, families or perhaps even whole
cultures divided because of this cycle? St. John’s tool to
break this cycle is love for others in humility. It sounds
simple enough, but in truth at times it seems all but impossible.
But remember, “All things are possible with
God.” (Mt. 19:26)
God’s creation of us and love for us help to define
us. We are not perfect, yet God still loves us in the
midst of that imperfection. Understanding our own frailties
allows us to sympathize with the frailties of others.
Therefore, when others judge, or criticize us it is either
because of our own limitations or because of the limitation
of others, or perhaps a combination of the two. In
any case this is not what defines us – our limitations,
those of others or ours together. Rather it is God’s love
for us and His grace within us that defines us. In humility
and thanksgiving we may therefore love others and
ourselves because God loves us – even though we are
not perfect.
As we prepare in the pre-Lenten Sundays to embark
upon the annual Journey of Great Lent, let’s do so
in humility with the publican’s words, “Lord, have
mercy upon me, a sinner.” (Lk. 18:13)
With our Lord’s Blessings, Fr Lou