Second Terrace

the imperatives of psalm 36

On Monday mornings, one of the appointed Psalms is Psalm 36 (37 in the non-LXX numbering). This Psalm has a list of imperatives (i.e., commands) that are especially meaningful in an increasingly alienated, violent culture:

"Hope in the Lord and give grace generously,
dwell in His land, and you will be tended by its richness.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Reveal your way to the Lord,
set your hope only in Him, and He shall bring your hope to pass" (36.3-5)

"Submit to the Lord,
plead with Him alone for your needs,
never envy the one who prospers in his self-made way,
never envy the one who appears successful in wicked schemes.
Cease from all anger and forsake wrath,
let not envy lead to evil deeds" (36.7-8)

"Depart from evil and do good,
dwell forevermore in the [transfigured] earth, the inheritance of the meek" (36.27)

"Wait on the Lord,
endure patiently His way [through this wilderness], and He will exalt you to inherit the earth; and you shall see all the demonic works utterly destroyed [eventually in the Parousia]" (36.34)

"Preserve innocence,
witness and confirm uprightness, for such is what remains for the peaceful" (36.37)

Obviously, this is a paraphrase. It is my own and thus has no authority.

But these imperatives seem to me a more authoritative rubric for this Lent. Fasting (and other ascetic works) is valuable and rewarding, to be sure -- only insofar as it aids in love, and prayer, and the accomplishment of these greater commands.

Presently, it appears that human society is breaking apart like melting arctic ice.

Leadership structures have become increasingly partisan and tribalistic. And some of this is at least partly true in the church itself (at least in its institutional contours).

"Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples," the Prophet Isaiah said for times like these. "I will wait for Lord, Who is [now] hiding His face from the house of Jacob [could that be us? even us Orthodox?], but I will still hope in Him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord Sabaoth, Who dwells on Mount Zion. And when they say to you, 'Consult the mediums and the wizards who chirp and mutter,' should not a people consult their God instead? Should they consult the dead [i.e., dead, secularized minds and authorities] on behalf of the living? To the teaching and the testimony!" (Isaiah 8.16-20a)

We've too long put too much trust in mortal princes (whose incompetence in the true economy is becoming increasingly more apparent). Now we are forced by time and history to put our trust in God alone.

So now it's high time we hie to the teaching and testimony. It's wisdom and the theology of the Logos that our people need, not to mention the poignant need of our own souls.

What prayer (and Orthodoxy) is, and what it's not

Today is the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. It is a moment on the cusp of the Great Fast that we take a step away from controversies, news cycles and even ecclesiastical difficulties.

We remember that rubrics and ascetical efforts (like fasting, like giving money to the church) are only means to an end. They are not goals.

If fasting and giving money and praying in church and doing prostrations -- if all these things do not produce more love for God and each other and our neighbor, then they are worthless, no matter how many miracles you’ve seen (or may have performed).

These days, we have crowded our perceptions of neighborhoods, the nation, the world and even our own church communities with entire populations of Publicans and Samaritans.

And we still get shocked when Jesus prefers Zacchaeus.

Prayer, which was failed by the rubrically and ascetically perfect Pharisee, is only kenotic. Prayer is always the complete opening up of self to God, Whose Triune Communion is always completely engaged in perichoresis -- the total self-donation that results in total co-inherence.

If God is just that way, then He looks for His creatures to reflect that same nature.

The poet king and Prophet David says repeatedly in the Psalms “O Lord, know me completely, try me and search my heart.” He says, confidently, “Judge me O God,” and in saying this he does not fear, because the judgment of God is only gentle and merciful to the poor and the meek. Only the violent and arrogant have cause to fear the judgment of God.

David says, just as often, that he gives his heart only and completely to God. “Put your trust in God alone, and not in mortal princes” — he repeats this at least five times in the Psalms. “I hope only in You, I trust only You.” David poured himself out to God in sacrifice — and that is what prayer really means.

Unlike the Pharisee, the Publican had no illusions about himself. He knew he was a leper inside. He knew he was in trouble, bankrupt and powerless. He put it all out there, only to God. He spoke to God: in contrast, the Pharisee — in talking about himself — ended up talking only to himself.

So we pray as paupers, as Publicans, who have nothing to hide, because we are all wrong, on all sides, we have all failed each other — whether Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, American, rich, poor, Orthodox, non-Orthodox, Christian, non-Christian, atheist ... we pray only when we are not engaged in denunciation and crusade, when we put down our tattered banners in the vestibule where hope is abandoned.

Lord have mercy on us, indeed.