We Don't Recognize How Much Pride We Have Because Pride Blinds Us. Sermon by Metropolitan Demetrius

Summary

The video explores the teachings of the 'watchful fathers' on how to think normally, avoiding the delusions of the mind. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing and overcoming these delusions to achieve holiness and accept Jesus Christ. Through examples of deluded thinking, the script highlights the need for self-examination and reliance on God's mercy for salvation. The message encourages humility, repentance, and the rejection of pride, urging believers to open their hearts to divine grace for true spiritual growth and salvation.

Takeaways

• 🧘‍♂️ The writings of the attentive fathers teach us how to think normally, avoiding delusions.
• 🧠 We often create non-existent scenarios in our minds, leading to delusions and false assumptions.
• 🙏 The fathers emphasize the importance of recognizing and addressing these mental delusions.
• 📖 The gospel teaches us to seek holiness by thinking realistically and avoiding lies.
• 🚫 Lying can become a habit, leading to a life filled with deception and self-delusion.
• 💡 We must examine ourselves and avoid blaming others or God for our problems.
• 🏆 Richness in passions and avarice can prevent us from achieving eternal life unless addressed.
• 🪜 Spiritual growth requires humility, self-examination, and acknowledging our unworthiness.
• 🌟 The saints teach us the importance of crushing pride to avoid being blinded by it.
• 💖 Salvation comes from God's love and mercy, not from our deeds, and requires us to open our hearts to Him.

Q & A

Who are the 'watchful fathers' mentioned in the script?

The 'watchful fathers' are spiritual guides in the Christian monastic tradition who teach how to think normally and avoid delusions.

What is one example of a delusion of the mind described in the script?

One example is when someone creates imaginary scenarios in their mind, such as thinking about telling someone something and imagining a whole scenario that never actually happened.

What does the script say about assuming others' thoughts?

The script mentions that assuming what others are thinking and creating scenarios based on those assumptions is another form of delusion.

According to the script, how do the fathers help in overcoming delusions?

The fathers point out these delusions and teach how to recognize and correct them, understanding them as a form of mental sickness.

What does the script say about lies and their levels?

The script describes three levels of lies: simple lies, compulsive lying where one starts believing their own lies, and living a life that is entirely a lie.

How does the script explain the interaction between Jesus and the rich man in the gospel?

Jesus tells the rich man that he lacks one thing: to sell all his possessions and give to the poor to inherit eternal life. The man is very rich and avaricious, and he fails the test.

What is the significance of the phrase 'it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle'?

It illustrates the difficulty for a rich person, particularly those who are very possessive and avaricious, to enter the kingdom of heaven.

What does the script suggest about the relationship between pride and spiritual blindness?

The script suggests that pride blinds individuals to their own faults and that recognizing and fighting against pride is crucial for spiritual growth.

How should Christians approach God, according to the script?

Christians should approach God with humility, recognizing their limitations and relying on God's mercy and grace.

What is the ultimate message of hope conveyed in the script?

The ultimate message is that salvation is possible through God's grace and mercy, not because of our own worthiness, but because of God's love for us.

Outlines

00:00

🧘‍♂️ Understanding the Delusions of the Mind

This paragraph explores the teachings of the watchful fathers who emphasize the importance of normal thinking and the dangers of delusions. It discusses how the mind can create non-existent scenarios and assumptions leading to mental warfare. The fathers highlight the need to recognize and address these delusions to achieve holiness and think realistically. The paragraph also touches on the different levels of lying and the importance of truth in spiritual life.

05:02

💸 The Rich Man and Spiritual Poverty

This paragraph reflects on the gospel story of a rich man who approached Jesus seeking eternal life. Jesus instructs him to sell his possessions and give to the poor, revealing his deep attachment to wealth and avarice. The narrative discusses the dangers of blaming others and God for one's problems and the need for self-examination. It emphasizes that true wealth in spiritual terms is found in humility, generosity, and a relationship with God.

10:02

🙏 The Path to True Humility and Grace

This paragraph delves into the necessity of humility and repentance for salvation. It quotes saints who express their deep sense of unworthiness and the pervasive nature of pride, which blinds individuals to their faults. The paragraph calls for an open heart to receive God's grace, stressing that understanding and crushing pride is essential for spiritual growth. It encourages listeners to genuinely open their hearts to God and become vessels of the Holy Spirit.

15:04

🌟 Embracing Divine Mercy and Salvation

In the concluding paragraph, the speaker summarizes the lesson of renouncing avarice and other passions. It emphasizes the hope in God's mercy and love as the foundation of salvation. The paragraph encourages faith in the possibility of salvation through God's grace rather than personal worthiness. It ends with a call to be receptive to Jesus Christ's love and to glorify the Holy Trinity eternally.

Keywords

💡Watchful Fathers

The 'Watchful Fathers' refer to the early Christian monastic figures who dedicated their lives to spiritual vigilance and self-awareness. They taught methods to purify the mind from delusions and erroneous thoughts, guiding both monastics and laypeople towards thinking and living in alignment with Christian teachings. The video highlights their role in helping individuals recognize and correct deluded thinking patterns.

💡Delusions

In the context of the video, 'delusions' are misconceptions and false beliefs that distort reality. The speaker explains how the mind often creates scenarios that never occurred or misinterprets others' intentions, leading to conflicts and misunderstandings. The Watchful Fathers provide teachings to help identify and overcome these delusions, enabling clearer and more truthful thinking.

💡Therapy

Therapy, as used in the video, refers to the spiritual practices and disciplines prescribed by the Watchful Fathers to heal the mind from its delusions. This 'therapy' helps individuals achieve mental clarity and spiritual health by aligning their thoughts with the truth of Christ's teachings. It is a process aimed at restoring normal, realistic thinking.

💡Levels of Lies

The video describes three levels of lies: simple lies or white lies, compulsive lying where one starts believing their own falsehoods, and living an entire life based on falsehood. These levels illustrate the progression and deepening of deceit in a person's life. Recognizing and avoiding these lies is essential for spiritual growth and integrity.

💡Rich in Passions

Being 'rich in passions' refers to having a strong attachment to earthly desires and possessions, which can hinder spiritual progress. The speaker compares this to the rich man in the Gospel who was unable to give up his wealth to follow Christ, indicating that excessive attachment to material things can prevent one from achieving eternal life.

💡Humility

Humility is emphasized as a crucial virtue in the video's message. It involves recognizing one's limitations and sins, and approaching God with a sincere and repentant heart. The speaker underscores that true understanding and acceptance of God's grace come from a humble acknowledgment of our own unworthiness and need for divine help.

💡Avarice

Avarice, or extreme greed for wealth, is depicted as a major obstacle to entering the kingdom of heaven. The video uses the example of the rich man who couldn't part with his possessions to illustrate how avarice can dominate one's life and priorities, making it difficult to follow Christ's teachings and achieve spiritual fulfillment.

💡Divine Liturgy

The 'Divine Liturgy' is the central act of worship in Orthodox Christianity, where believers gather to receive God's grace and partake in the Eucharist. The speaker stresses its profound significance as a moment of encountering God's presence and receiving spiritual nourishment, urging believers to approach it with open hearts and deep reverence.

💡Grace and Mercy

Grace and mercy are central themes in the video, representing God's unconditional love and forgiveness towards humanity. The speaker highlights that salvation is not achieved through our deeds but through God's grace and mercy, which are extended to us despite our unworthiness. This underscores the importance of trusting in God's compassion and seeking His help in our spiritual journey.

💡Pride

Pride is identified as the greatest spiritual sickness and barrier to recognizing one's need for God's grace. It blinds individuals to their faults and leads them to rely on their own strength rather than seeking God's help. The video emphasizes that overcoming pride is essential for spiritual growth and aligning oneself with God's will.

Highlights

Monastics and laypeople alike strive towards the same goal of spiritual growth.

The writings of the watchful fathers teach us how to think normally and avoid delusions.

Delusional thinking includes creating non-existent scenarios and making false assumptions about others.

Spiritual therapy helps us recognize and correct delusional thoughts.

The goal is to achieve holiness and think realistically, accepting Jesus Christ as the truth.

Abaddos identifies three levels of lying, culminating in a life consumed by lies.

The importance of self-examination and recognizing one's spiritual state.

Jesus’ conversation with the rich man highlights the challenges of spiritual wealth and avarice.

Understanding the gradual steps of spiritual growth and the need for personal accountability.

The story of Judas emphasizes the dangers of avarice and the importance of personal responsibility.

The rich man’s failure to give up his wealth demonstrates the difficulty of entering the kingdom of heaven with attachments.

Jesus teaches that salvation is possible with God’s help, even for those burdened by wealth.

Self-awareness and humility are essential for spiritual growth and salvation.

Pride is a major obstacle to spiritual progress, blinding individuals to their own faults.

True repentance and humility are key to overcoming pride and achieving salvation.

Transcripts

[Music]

those of us who are

monastics

but also

many lay people

since as i've said many times we're all

working towards the same goal

have come across the writings of the

watchful fathers

the attentive fathers

who try to teach us how to think

normally

they teach us

that

if we go with the flow so to speak

of the world

our mind

will have

adapted and learned many delusions

deluded ways

and so they give us the therapy

and the means by which we can actually

think normally

for example

many of you may notice in your own

thinking process

that we think of

or we may have a tendency to think up

scenarios which are actually

non-existent

and far from the truth

for example

perhaps

someone is bothered by someone else

and he starts thinking in his mind well

if i should tell him this and that

and then a whole scenario happens as if

it actually happened in the mind this is

an example of delusion the delusion of

the mind it never happened it's not real

and of course we can find many such

examples

other times

we assume that somebody is thinking

something

and we conclude that that person is

thinking something based upon our

assumptions

and a whole scenario starts up when we

have warfare

this is another example of delusions

and so this is why the fathers teach us

and they point it out to us because if

it's not pointed out

chances are we won't really notice it

especially

if we're deeply into it

by the help of god however we can slowly

start to understand how actually this is

a sickness

and so these are the things which the

fathers try to teach us

so that we can achieve holiness and so

that we can think realistically so that

we can

accept jesus christ our savior who is

the truth

our lord doesn't want any lies

and abaddos

has a chapter on lies and he says that

there are three levels

first is when somebody just simply lies

or what one might call a white lie

or perhaps a lie which is not a white

lie

the second level is where somebody

starts

lies so much rather and he

because he lies so much he starts

believing his own lies

in modern language you will call this

a compulsive liar

and the third level is when somebody's

whole life is one big lie

you see that there are levels just as

there are spiritual levels there are

also

levels of darkness

and each person needs to examine himself

and so today in the gospel we heard

again concerning somebody who approaches

our savior

and says good master what shall i do to

inherit eternal life

and our savior says why cause thou me

good there is only one good god because

this person did not recognize

god in our lord jesus christ

and again we hear our savior enumerating

the commandments

and so the man justifying himself says

but i have accomplished all these things

and our savior says to him speaking to

him at the level that he's at

you lack one thing of course the man

lacked a lot more than one thing

but our savior as we said is speaking to

him now at the level that he is at and

with great discernment being the god of

all knowing the hearts of all men only

god knows the hearts of all men

oftentimes we even think that the saints

can read the hearts but saint sarah from

azeroth said very clearly only god can

read can see

every single detail in the heart

sometimes he reveals things to saints

sometimes he doesn't as saint seraphim

continues he says when i've done things

on my my own i've made mistakes but when

i have a revelation from god when i pray

to god then i don't

and so

our savior knowing the heart

asks

tells him rather that he lacks one thing

he needs to sell all that he has and

give to the poor so that he may inherit

eternal life and this man

was rich

very rich in passions

he was very avaricious

like judas

one may ask

well if judas was so avaricious

why did our lord entrust the money back

to him

was it not god's fault

that's what an insane person would say

because people who are dark have a

tendency to blame

others and god

for all their problems

or rather as we said certain things are

done incrementally and in steps if a

person becomes

content and used to blaming everyone

else for all their problems

and not taking the opportunity to

examine themselves to see what it is

that they have done wrong or what it is

that they can correct in themselves so

they can grow as human beings and as

christians

and the person continues

to the next step where he starts to

blame god

god

has given us freedom

and that freedom is going to be tested

and so this free man

was very grieved he was tested

and he failed the test

and our savior says how hardly shall

rich people enter into the kingdom of

the heavens again

people need to understand the language

of our savior and understand the mind of

christ the spirit it doesn't mean that

every single rich person is not going to

make it to heaven obviously

there were many rich saints

but those

who are avaricious

and who were avaricious to such a degree

that they

lived here

as if this was it as if they were going

to be living here forever and they were

very possessive

and inquisitive

they would put they were

lovers of their own possessions

and our lord gives these people also

that is those people who are rich means

by which they can redeem themselves

and he gives to them

alms giving

giving to the poor giving to the

monasteries giving to the churches

giving to the right purpose

so this person

just turned away

didn't accept

so our savior says it would be easier

for a camel to go through the eye

of a needle than for a rich man to enter

into the kingdom of the heavens

which meant a rope

you can't put a rope through a needle

and the apostles of our savior were

surprised

because they knew of many rich people

and so they thought who then can be

saved

so our savior gives

the answer

our savior gives

the answer

with men

this is impossible but with god all

things are possible

and every single one of us here today my

beloved orthodox christians

has to come to this point

where he

admits to our lord

lord

if i'm judged according to my deeds

i may be

doomed but because of thy love and

kindness because of thy mercy

receive me even as we read in the

prayers

before holy communion

it's the prayer i think of saint basil

great where he says i know o lord

that i commune unworthily not discerning

the body and blood of thee

but trusting in my compassions and

trusting in thy mercy

i take courage

and come forward

in other words

we are saved

because god wants to save us and he

wants from us

the reality

the ability to come to truth the ability

to understand that we need a physician

the ability to understand that we can't

do this without him

the ability to understand that every

single one of us once again has to fall

on his knees

and admit and confess before the lord of

all

my lord i am not worthy

the christians

should say

i have not

kept my baptismal vows

the way i should have

the monastics should say i have not kept

the vows of my monastic schema

and the tantra of my head the way i

should

the clergy should say

i have sullied my garments i am not

worthy

this is the language of the saints

this is the language of the saints and

even more extreme

to our ears

like saint simon theologian i've sinned

more than the harlot he says

this sounds very extreme

and yet the saints

understood things

and it's so hard for us to understand

them

because we are still too far

and the closer a person comes to god the

more he sees

our lord

teaches us that

and the saints

continue to teach us that he'd rather

accept

a repentant sinner into the heavenly

kingdom

than a so-called righteous man who is

full of pride

pride is our enemy but pride is the

biggest

sickness and contagion

that has entered into the race of

mankind

and pride is what blinds us

and so

pride

is oftentimes not even recognizable to

us

yes we may understand

to a certain degree that we have pride

but since pride by its nature blinds us

we don't even recognize how much pride

we have

but the saints did

and they fought it

and they understood that if we do not

crush our pride it will crush us

and they were fervent

and they were adamant in their purpose

and they were of set purpose

so when we come here and we hear the

gospel passages

open your hearts

open your ears

and pray the master

even as we pray in the sanctuary that

the lord will open the eyes of our

understanding to comprehend the

proclamations of the holy gospel

and that he will implant in us the fear

of his blessed commandments the fear of

him

for if we do not have these things we

become indifferent and dark and we don't

understand

where we are and what state we've come

to

so this man this rich man didn't

understand what he had right in front of

him the king of glory god before the

ages

and remember now i've mentioned so many

times that it depends on us how will we

approach god the right way or the wrong

way

so we must all approach him

with humility of heart

and understanding how limited we are how

finite we are in comparison to the

limitless and infinite god

but

here we are now

here we are now again we don't

understand this unbelievable

unbelievable grace

and blessing that our lord gives to us

the fullness of the grace the holy

spirit the sentence

this man didn't know what he had in

front of him do we know what we have in

front of us do we know what we have here

in this divine liturgy

god

yes god himself

why

because it is by his love that we shall

be saved by his grace

if things depend on us

we're not going to make it

and we hear this every single day in the

vesper services if thou should spark

iniquities o lord o lord who shall stand

for with thee there is forgiveness

and so forgiveness comes forth

from this holy altar

from the sanctuary

if

we

only understood

and if we can

just

open our hearts to the master

it's something that we hear oftentimes

and it's even used

by the heterodox oftentimes you hear

this by protestants

but the holy fathers

have enumerated

in such detail

what it actually means to open your

heart we're not talking about some type

of a form of speech

we're talking about a reality

and we must open our hearts

to the master jesus christ

to be receptive of

him and so that we can

become

vessels of grace vessels of the holy

spirit

so in today's lesson we learned to put

aside

not just avarice but all those other

passions that we are rich in

and we come to our lord

bringing forth him

his own words

with man

it is impossible but with god all things

are possible

and this is why we have great hope

that in him

and through him

we shall all be saved

that is our hope

we shall all be saved not because we

have done any good thing

not because we are worthy

but because

of how great his mercy is upon us and

because of how much he loves us

may we be

receptive to that love of jesus christ

our master

and may he help us

to understand these things

so that we may be able

to glorify father son and holy spirit

unto the ages of ages amen

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

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