"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit....But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." (1 Cor. 12: 4, 11)
"And he took bread, and gave thanks, and break it, and gave unto them, saying: This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me." (Luke 22: 19)
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Remembrance
May, 367 A.D. - the Egyptian desert
It's been quite an eventful year thus far for one who has committed himself to a life of solitude and stability. The literal resurrection from the dead that had taken place in the community some months ago was still the talk of the nearby towns. Another trip to the Sfeerspons Skete had provided plenty of coffee to help enliven the early morning Vigils as well as a glimpse into their newly re-organised life. No longer saddled with an expensive property that they couldn't really afford, the monks of Sfeerspons (it was purchased by a developer and turned into trendy condos that cost twice as much as they ought to due in no small part to clever advertising that convinced people that marble and aluminum fixtures, as opposed to some elbow room and a yard, in a cramped space is what they really wanted) opened a coffee shop, some of them got married, all live on their own but support each other financially, and everyone is now a lot happier.
Walking back to his cave, Paphnutius was thinking about all these things and pondered the greatness of God's generosity, to wit:
Gifts have been, are continuing to be, and will be given to us. Even the most depressive and neurotic, though they may have to dig down deep, can see that (however subconscious) as an anchor and grasp it on the way to recovery.
On the other hand, it wouldn't be a gift if you couldn't say no.
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal and destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10: 10)
Thus in Genesis the thief has come, has stolen and maimed that which was (being as participated in by creation) by making it look at, consider, taste, and ingest something of its counterpart (non-being). But even this is not enough to blot out the memory, the anamnesis, of: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness". (Gen. 1: 26)
Thus, the full force of the Incarnation: "The mainstay, which we steadily keep, remains the anamnesis of Christ's redemptive work which permeates our existence and continuously transforms it. The anamnesis is not a simple intellectual function; it is an action. It has an incomparably wider spectrum, which includes the element of thought and makes it an existential, personal event. As members of the eucharistic community we recall again to consciousness the economy of God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, the incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection of Christ, his ascension, and Pentecost. We live them. We share in them. We do this not through our own human abilities but through the grace of the Holy Spirit, through the uncreated energy of God which accomplishes the sacraments.
"Do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor.11:24), the Lord ordered "on the night when he was betrayed" (1 Cor. 11:23). The continuously proceeding divine energy culminates in the sacrament of the eucharist which has for twenty centuries formed the pivot of a Christian's worship. In liturgical language, the term "anamnesis" defines the core of the eucharistic anaphora, the consecrated offering." - by Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and All Albania (http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/assembly/1998-harare/together-on-the-way-official-report-of-the-eighth-assembly/together-on-the-way-2-the-theme-turn-to-god-rejoice-in-hope/22-anamnesis)
This (John 10:10), more than a pious thought or a nice wish to have the material benefits of a mortal existence that we are told we should aspire to, is serious business (O man, look beyond thyself, step outside of time and schedule! There is no second storey!) and our life now is a life of both participation via membership in the body of the Church and her anamnetic practice and consequence via the final judgment which is the state where the last act of the human will takes place, i.e. we will clearly see who we really are and where we stand in the light of Christ, thus accepting our place either on His right or on His left.
Looking up, Paphnutius realised he had covered 10 kilometers without even noticing it. Almost home, yet place isn't really all that important. No matter where you are at, how you live and what you bear in remembrance in each moment - that is what makes all the difference. For we remember not ourselves, but He Who Is the way, and the truth and the life. Each day is a gift, that's why it is called 'the present'.
To be continued...
