You Have to Lose Your Life to Save It
In a world backwards and upside down, the wisdom of Jesus will look like a paradox. But, in reality, following Jesus makes your life whole!
What is the most significant barrier to people's finding a peaceful and happy life? Bad habits? Not enough money? External enemies that oppress them? Human philosophies and religions have been trying to answer that question for a long time with limited success.
A recent study revealed that the top two choices a person makes in life that significantly influence whether a person is happy are Your Spouse and Your Career. If you make strong choices in relationships and find a meaningful way to use your gifts in a career, you have a greater chance of being happy!
What if I told you the reason you don’t have peace and happiness in your life has little to do with external circumstances and everything to do with you?!
And to make matters worse, what if I told you that the only remedy for this internal reality is something that doesn’t make sense?!?!
This is precisely what the message of Normal Orthodoxy extends to every person.
The deep brokenness of humans has, as its most significant barrier, our ego, our pride.
The only medicine that will heal this brokenness is showing us that our intellect, our self-assured belief that we know how to change, is based on weakness. The Message of Orthodoxy attacks this spiritual sickness in us through the reality of paradox!
Look at our Gospel Lesson today in Luke 9:23-27:
The Lord said to his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
Our Lord is once again offering His disciples insight and wisdom into embracing this mystery of life as an invitation to be truly human, truly free. And the purpose of this humanity, this freedom, is to enter into the fantastic invitation by God, the Uncreated, to become His companions.
And the only way to do this is the paradox of faith: Whoever saves his life will lose it; whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. What good is it to gain the whole world and lose one’s soul? Our short-sightedness will not be healed unless we are confronted with this paradox.
The power of this wisdom means I cannot reduce my faith to automatic pilot.
The Fathers insist that wakefulness is always necessary to break the “gravitational pull” of a selfish world and escape the all too easy selfish focus on pleasure.
But this wakefulness will “feel” like death in the sense that I am invited to “die” to the shallow expectations of success and achievement as measured by this world and “come alive” to the real measure of success in becoming what we were all created to become: fit companions for the Uncreated God. Only this cosmic goal is worth abandoning the fantasy of success and achievement that ends at the grave!
St. Lucian was a Christian hero from the early part of the fourth century AD. He was born in the ancient city of Samosata to very committed Christian parents. His maturity and wisdom were widely known in Antioch, where he established a catechetical school and taught many. He even translated the Old Testament and rigorously defended the Orthodox Christian understanding and teaching. He went to Nicomedia (modern-day Izmit, Turkey) to help the Christians there. While there, he was brought before Maximinus to face the accusations of being a Christian. St. Lucian offered a powerful and convincing defense of Orthodox Christianity, and the leaders condemned him to prison. There, he was starved to death in 311 AD. St. Lucian embraced the paradox that to save his life, he had to let his life go!
Today, please know that this struggle to enter into the paradox of faith is a daily struggle and necessary; sometimes, it’s moment by moment! Don’t let that surprise you or discourage you. No, turn once again today to the invitation of your faith through Christ and shoulder the cross of paradox, knowing it will take you to the place where your fantasy life will die and your authentic self will be revealed. Know that the daily practice of the Faith enables you to “not be ashamed” of the paradox of Jesus Christ and His wisdom in a world that constantly offers us the exact opposite of His wisdom. Embracing the paradox of Orthodoxy will enable you to live a Normal Orthodox life!
P.S. We all gloriously acclaim you with hymns, O Lucian, you most brilliant luminary, who were first illustrious in asceticism and then shone forth in contest: Intercede unceasingly for us all.
Special Note: All October you can support Faith Encouraged by subscribing at a special Fall rate!
https://frbarnabaspowell.substack.com/FallSpecial
So, for all your free subscribers, try a paid subscription!
Fr. Barnabas Powell is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA. He is also the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries and produces the Faith Encouraged Daily Devotional on Substack. Watch the Faith Encouraged YouTube Channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@FaithEncouragedTV
