The Disciples of the Cross and of the Kingdom of God

Father Zacharias from Essex speaks to us

Our faith is not merely an inner fact, but always reflects the times in which we live as Christians. The Fathers of the fourth century – a period of great spiritual inspiration and flourishing of the Church – repeatedly showed that, in the latter times, Christians would no longer be able to bear the harshness of ascetic struggle, nor perform the divine deeds of the ancient Fathers. They added, however, that those who will only manage to preserve faith will receive more glory in heaven than the Fathers who performed miracles and raised the dead.

Therefore, the privilege of our era is to preserve the fullness of faith, and this presupposes a measure of grace even greater than that of the Fathers who raised the dead. The Lord's words also express the same thing: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”. Truly, it will be a great and wonderful thing if people manage to preserve faith until the Second Coming of Christ! Undoubtedly, God will judge us taking into account our generation, the times in which we live. Father Sophrony said that every person is a small leaf in the huge tree of humanity, and his life cannot be separated from the lives of his fellow human beings. Therefore, if our time is characterized by a falling away from the faith of our Fathers, then the fact that we succeed in preserving this faith, despite the general apostasy that surrounds us, is a matter of great honor before God.

However, we must be resolute: either we live according to our faith, or we die. The Book of Revelation reminds us that we are not allowed to delude ourselves with the false security offered by the so-called “middle ground” – being neither cold nor hot. In our days, we witness a dynamic growth of evil, which swallows us all in the ever-increasing wave of iniquity. As Christians, however, we ought to engage in another dynamic growth: a movement in the opposite direction, intended to draw us closer, and not to distance us from God, so that even evil may be an impetus for us to accomplish good. Possessing the gift of discernment and knowing the mystery of the path to salvation for each person individually, Father Sophrony knew how to help those who sought his advice in troubles and sufferings. He was convinced that even the most tragic circumstances can bring us spiritual benefit, but the responsibility for the path we choose is entirely ours: either we succumb to a state of spiritual languor, or we engage in the dynamic growth of life in God.

The spiritual consequences of this choice are described in the Book of Revelation: “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” And when speaking of the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven in the Parable of the Talents, the Lord tells those who succeeded in multiplying the talents entrusted to them: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.” In other words, the Christian is not only a disciple of the Cross, but also of the blessing of the Kingdom of God, for by following the path of the Cross, he becomes a disciple of the blessed life that springs from the Cross and the Resurrection of the Lord.

Therefore, if we too wish to hear Christ's words on the Last Day: “Well done, good and faithful servant...”, we must acquire that unwavering faith which is so pleasing to the Lord.

From “Remember your first love”

(Doxologia Publishing House, 2015)