THE STRUGGLE ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT (posted 1/4/2011)

THE STRUGGLE ACCORDING to the SPIRIT

As Christians, we often fail because we struggle according to the flesh. We fail because we struggle merely according to our own energies, efforts, and abilities.

When David was preparing to fight Goliath, King Saul clothed him with armor and a sword. But David removed the armor and sword, and instead took up his staff and selected five smooth stones for his sling. [I Samuel 17:38-40] The armor of King Saul symbolizes human and material strength, which are liabilities rather than assets in spiritual warfare. David saw the challenge of Goliath as a spiritual battle, and therefore he approached the giant with the weapons of faith.

David's staff symbolizes the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Good Shepherd that protects His sheep. [St. John 10:11-14] And the Holy Spirit is the Comforter of the righteous. [Psalm 23:4; St. John 14:16, 26; 15:26] David's wooden staff also typifies the Cross, which defeated sin and death.

Theologians have speculated about the significance of the five smooth stones. What do they represent? And what is the significance of David choosing five? My personal opinion* is that these five smooth stones symbolize three things:
1) The five wounds of Our Lord
2) The five commandments that are to be kept according to the Ethiopian  Orthodox Tewahedo Church
3) The five pillars of Mystery according to the Orthodox Tewahedo Faith.

The five commandments of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church are:

1. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength." [St. Luke 10:25-28] This commandment contains all our duties towards God and every commandment having any reference to God.

2. "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." [St. Luke 10:27] This contains all our duties towards Christ, who became Neighbor to us, and whom we ought to love as He also first loved us. In this is every commandment referring to Christ.

3. "A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye love one another." [St. John 13:34-35] This contains all our duties towards our brethren and the brethren of Christ, and every commandment having reference to the Christian Brotherhood.

4. "Ye shall love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you." [St. Luke 6:27-28] This contains all our duties towards the enemies and persecutors of the faith and teaching of Christ, and every commandment having reference to this order of men.

5. "All things therefore which you would that men should do to you, do even so to them." [St. Matthew 7:12; St. Luke 6:13] This contains all our duties to all men whether ill disposed towards us or friendly, and every commandment having reference to them.

These commandments are not laden with the harsh legalisms of the old covenant. Instead, these five commandments center on the law of love, through which there is liberation, strength, power, and victory.

The Five Pillars of Mystery are:
1. The Mystery of the Holy Trinity
 2. The Mystery of the Incarnation
 3. The Mystery of Baptism
 4. The Mystery of the Eucharist
 5. The Mystery of the Resurrection of the Dead

The Church is established upon these five pillars of Holy Mystery. To accept and embrace these divine mysteries is to accept Our Lord Jesus Christ and enter into communion with His Church. These Holy Mysteries are necessary for our Christian development, and they provide us with the spiritual power to overcome sin and Satan.

We all face Goliaths in our lives. And as long as we fight these giants with our own strengths and abilities, then we will continue to be defeated. Therefore, we must understand that the Christian struggle is a spiritual struggle that must be fought with spiritual weapons. Struggle is fraught with temporary failures and setbacks, but apart from struggle there can be no hope for victory. We must also remember that grace is most profoundly present in the midst of struggle. So let us struggle with vigilance; but as we do, let us also be aware of the grace of Our Lord in which our souls find rest. There is spiritual security in the Good Shepherd's fold; but apart from the Shepherd's presence, we are vulnerable and powerless.

Our Lord told His disciples, "If any man will come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me." [St. Luke 9:23]
But He also said:
"Come unto to me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." [St. Matthew 11:28-30]
It is a mystical paradox that we only truly find divine rest when we carry the cross of suffering and struggle.

Instead of focusing on Goliath, we must focus on God. Instead of comparing the enemy's power with our own power, we must focus only on divine power. We must place ourselves in the presence of the Lord, and then we will have the power to conquer our spiritual giants. As St. James writes:

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [St. James 4:7]

Victory over sin, evil, temptation, and demonic forces comes when we stop struggling by our own strength, and rely upon the power of Our Lord. How this occurs cannot be put into any succinct formula. It is a mystical experience that is ultimately indefinable. But those that have experienced spiritual victory have a clear understanding of how it works.

David did not write any books on "The Art of War." He simply wrote Psalms of praise to God who alone is able to provide spiritual power for spiritual victory. Therefore, let us stop wrestling against the flesh and blood of this world. Let us instead rely upon the redemptive Body and Blood of Our Lord by which we receive Him into our lives. Let us focus less on laboring against the world, and focus more on loving our neighbors who are in the world. Let us stop striving to understand spiritual truths via the power of the intellect; instead, let us trust and rest in the mysteries of the Holy Orthodox Church. As we struggle according to the Spirit, we will surely see the giants in our lives begin to fall.

-Gebre Menfes Kidus-

*In offering my own speculative opinion on this particular point, I do not mean to state with authority that this is the official Teaching of the Church. I am confident that this opinion does not contradict Church Teaching, but nevertheless I do not want to promote it as anything more than my own humble personal opinion.