Well-Baby Check-Ups and Spiritual Health
Most parents realize that keeping our babies healthy requires taking them to the pediatrician for their "well baby" check-ups. At each visit the doctor weighs and measures our kids to make sure they are growing at a healthy rate, checking eyesight and hearing, and answering any questions about behavior and health issues.
As parents, we can't wait for our children to reach important milestones – the first pounds gained, sitting up straight, rolling over, crawling, walking and eating solid food. Indeed, any parent would be devastated if the doctor diagnosed their child with "failure to thrive." Failure to thrive is a term used to describe a child whose growth falls below the expected norm.
Are We Growing Spiritually?
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. —Hebrews 5:13-14
So often, as we grow up into adulthood, we avoid going to the doctor. Many people fear looking directly at what might ail them, or hearing that they are falling into the category of "failing to grow and thrive." Yet, as Christians, we are commanded to "be not afraid!" and this applies to honesty about our mental, physical and spiritual health.
Just as it is important to visit our doctor to take the pulse of our mental and physical health, we need to ask ourselves: are we actively pursuing "solid food," growing into maturity as Christian men and women? If so, we are in the process of transformation! If we receive the spiritual diagnosis "failure to thrive," then in fact we are dying and in need of help and intervention.
The Opportunity of Great Lent
During Great Lent, we have a tremendous opportunity to nurture our spiritual health – to grow, to develop, to change! But this change requires effort, discipline, concentration and application. We do not automatically receive Christian maturity if we go to church a few times a month, do our cross and leave it at that. It is unreasonable to expect spiritual growth to require no effort.
St. Paul's comparison of our spiritual development to the rigorous training of an athlete applies to our spiritual discipline as well. We are called to fast! We are encouraged to pray! We are commanded to forgive! Our mindset should be to extend compassion and love to others!
Taking Personal Responsibility
Each of us must take personal responsibility for our own spiritual health and direction. Christ our Lord wants to run towards us like the father of the prodigal son. He stands at the door, waiting for our knock! He is ready to fill our hearts with His love and forgiveness. We, like the prodigal, must recognize our state—our sin, our failure to thrive—and make every effort to return to Him!
Returning to Jesus requires honest self-reflection with no excuses. We must rid ourselves of If only... It's because... I'm too busy... I wish things were different... It is time for each of us to take responsibility. No more excuses! We should strive to thrive, doing our best to live our spiritual life fully and to the best of our ability. Nothing is more important than the pursuit of a spiritual life and being united with Jesus.
Watching Our Hearts
St. John of Kronstadt says:
Watch your heart throughout your life; examine it, listen to it, and see what prevents it from uniting itself with the Lord. Let this be your supreme and constant study, and with God's help you will easily observe what estranges you from Him, and what draws you to Him and unites you to Him. It is the evil spirit more than anything else that stands between our hearts and God; he estranges us from God by the several vices, or by the desires of the flesh, and by worldly pride. So examine yourself more often. See where the eyes of your heart are looking.
Being an Orthodox Christian is more than a one-day celebration where we produce a baptismal certificate. We are called to be mindful of God and be watchful of our heart, seeking to do whatever it takes to be united with the love of God. We are created to have inner peace and freedom, to have a new sense of direction and purpose in our lives. We are created to experience the power, joy and love of Jesus Christ as he resurrects us from dead hope, dead dreams, dead lives, from the deadness of sin to a new life—a life of glory, peace, hope and joy in the Lord.
Begin Today
At Holy Apostles, we are blessed to have a community committed to growing in Christ, to examining and listening to what unites us with Jesus. You are not alone. We are a church that desires maturity, desires faith, desires love. We are a body seeking to live a transfigured life in Christ. As your priest, I am committed to helping you along this process towards running the race and growing in your relationship with God during Great Lent.
Please consider making an appointment for the sacrament of Holy Confession. Slow down your pace and allow for silence to penetrate your soul. Please make every effort to attend Wednesday and Friday services when Lent begins. Prioritize bringing your family every week (not just once in a while) to Sunday OASIS classes and making the most out of this glorious season of transformation.
Begin today. Begin by opening your heart to God. Begin with "Lord, Have Mercy."
+fr. Tom
Originally published in the Holy Apostles E-bulletin. Subscribe here.
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