The Heart: The Inner Kingdom ~ Part I

St. Matthew 14:35-15:11 (7/30) Gospel,


Wednesday of the Seventh Weekafter Pentecost

The Heart: The Inner Kingdom ~ Part I:

St. Matthew 14:35-15:11, especiallyvs. 15:8:

"These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me withtheir lips, but their heart is far from Me." A group of "scribes andPharisees who were from Jerusalem" (vs. 15:1) approached and then criticizedthe Lord Jesus for allowing His disciples to "transgress the tradition ofthe elders" (vs. 15:2). Our Lord pointed out that the Pharisees were usingthe "tradition of the elders" to exploit their parents (vss. 15:3-6). Hethen concluded His critique of these first-century religious leaders byindicting them for their heartless formalism, quoting a divine judgment fromthe prophesies of Isaiah (vss. 15:8,9 from Is. 29:13).

The Scribes and Pharisees were highly respected in the first century for therigorous way in which they kept the traditions. The Lord revealed thatbecause they obsessed about the externals of the faith, their hearts weredevoid of love toward God and men. Excessive focus on form cuts one offfrom knowing and loving the God Who gives us true religion.

Beloved, Orthodox Christianity has a rich, well-developed Tradition that ourHoly Fathers have taught us to uphold with fierce dedication. Hence, it iswell that we pay urgent attention to this indictment by Christ our Godagainst those who neglect the state of their heart by emphasizing thedetails of Tradition. Clearly, God wants us to uphold His commandments (Jn.14:15), but His greatest desire is that we do so from hearts filled withlove for Him. Remember His greatest commandment: "'You shall love the Lordyour God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind'"(Mt. 22:37). So, let us consider "hearts that are 'near' to God."

St. Peter reminds us that the grace of God takes root within the heart:"...until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Pet.1:19). We meet God in the heart, yet, of course, He "is greater than ourheart" (1 Jn. 3:20), which is the seat of all thoughts, emotions, andchoices. The Lord Jesus promises, when the heart is pure, we shall see God(Mt. 5:8), for being created by and for God, only in Him can our lives havedeep, lasting joy, and meaning. As St. Augustine says: "Thou madest us forThyself, and our heart is restless until it repose in Thee."

True Christian life has so much to do with our "inner life," over which ourhearts preside. The externals of life are performed rightly only from aheart that loves God. Intense faithfulness to the letter of God'scommandments and the dictates of Tradition never saves us if we have nothearts filled with the living God - when we are not in love with Him.

How then may we address the state of our heart? St. Theoliptos ofPhiladelphia urges: "Put an end to conversations with the outer world andwrestle with your inner thoughts until you find the place of pure prayer andthe home in which Christ dwells." The "home" he refers to is our heartwhere is contained the seed of grace that God gave us in our Baptism.

The central work of Christian living is to enter the heart through prayer,and there seek the grace that God gives, the treasure He buries there. Godgives fortunes. As we keep in God's presence by prayer, His gifts becomeavailable to us and transform us and all we do. By our labor at prayer, weuncover His gifts. Best of all, by His Holy Spirit, He aids us in thiswork.

Finally, as we persist, we shall discover that the Divine Treasure is GodHimself. Archimandrite Sophrony reminds us that in the moment in which wefind God, the great Treasure, "love and cognition merge into a single act."By directing our efforts toward meeting our Lord in the heart, we have atrue hope for carrying out right actions: "If you love Me, keep Mycommandments." (Jn. 14:15).

And the sayings of my mouth shall be unto Thy good pleasure, and themeditation of my heart shall be before Thee, for ever, O Lord, my Helper andRedeemer (Ps. 18:14).