“Make straight the way of the Lord”
For us Orthodox, the spiritual work is almost entirely the inner work of the purification and illumination by God of our hearts. We make straight the way of the Lord within, that we may walk in it without. This infinite universe within us is not always easy to find, but by faith and discipline and perseverance, it will open to us. Our spiritual fathers and masters of prayer have taught us as much. Theology is a matter of prayer, not intellectual exercise:
“Seek the answer in God’s grace, not in doctrine; in the longing of the will, not in understanding; in the sighs of prayer, not in research; Seek the bridegroom, not the teacher.” Bonaventure
And we seek the bridegroom not in some distant place, out there, separated from us in time and space, but within:
“Try to enter your inner treasure-house and you will see the treasure-house of heaven. For both the one and the other are the same, and one and the same entrance reveals them both. The ladder leading to the kingdom is concealed within you, that is, in your soul. Wash yourself from sin and you will see the rungs of the ladder by which you can ascend thither.” St. Isaac of Syria
And in another place, St. Isaac writes:
“The practitioner of the prayer of the heart sees that the kingdom of heaven is truly within us; and seeing it now in himself, he strives with pure prayer to keep it and strengthen it there. “
And from St. Macarios of Egypt:
“The heart is a small vessel, but all things are contained in it; God is there, the angels are there, and there also is life and the Kingdom, the heavenly cities and the treasures of grace.”
Thus our fathers teach, and with faith and praxis, it will become a reality for us. This is what the life of the Church, at least in holy Orthodoxy, is all about. The life of the heart as it is purified and then illumined by the grace of God to be able to commune with Him there in the stillness of His peace.
That communion is what we seek all our lives, sometimes never cognizant that we need only go within. There we meet God, and there He speaks to us and fashions us by His Spirit into the likeness of His beloved Son.
St. Simeon the New Theologian writes:
“Can a man who has in his heart the Divine fire of the Holy Spirit burning naked, not be set on fire, not shine and glitter and not take on the radiance of the Deity in the degree of his purification and penetration by fire? For penetration by fire follows upon purification of the heart, and again, purification of heart follows upon penetration by fire, that is, inasmuch as the heart is purified, so it receives Divine grace, and again, inasmuch as it receives grace, so it is purified. When this is completed (that is, purification of heart and acquisition of grace have attained their fullness and perfection), through grace a man becomes wholly a god.”
Our God is a consuming fire, writes St. Paul to the Hebrews, consuming everything which impedes our communion with Him, if we will but offer it up for sacrifice on the Altar of the Divine mercy. This is our part. If we are faithful, if we pursue with full intention the purification of our heart and the grace of God, then we will be fashioned into the likeness of Christ, our archetype, and the fullness of life will open to us, here and now, and eternal life hereafter.
Why is the path to the heart so difficult for us? Why is silent, contemplative prayer so hard? Why are we so easily distracted? Because we are afraid to die. To enter that cleansing fire of God within is to be crucified to self. It is a kenosis – a self-emptying, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. If our heart is full of self-love, there isn’t room for anything else….we have to die – and we are afraid to.
But the same God who is a consuming fire is also the God who has sought us out in the Incarnation to unite us once again to Himself. The God of deep love for His creation, unwilling that it be allowed to return to non-being through corruption. Die now, that we not have to die the second death later.
This is all the result of the Incarnation of the Son of God by the gracious mercy of God. This is the manifestation of the love of the One who has created us with the potential for divine communion, redeemed us even when we rejected that communion, and brings us to holiness and glory if we simply apply our hearts unto wisdom.