St. Isaac the Syrian, like many ascetic writers, could be quite rigorous in his discussions concerning the behavior expected by monks; if one only read such appeals, he would appear to be one of many moralistic writers, offering, perhaps, some sound advice, but without the deep spiritual core needed to make such advice anything but a burden upon the listener. For that is what happens with legalist: even if they are technically correct, in so far as they go, they do not go far enough; their focus is too narrow, and because of that, they take some element of the good and make it into a dead-end instead of the foundation for a greater, lively spiritual encounter with God. The letter kills, and sadly, many who read and employ ascetic literature do so without the spirit intended, turning what was to be prudential advice into absolute rules, leaving many who read secondary literature unable to appreciate the lively and generous spirit of ascetic saints. Thus, while Isaac spoke concerning the moral expectations he had for his audience, all those expectations were written so that the monk (as he wrote for and spoke to monks) would die to themselves and open themselves up to God, that is, so they would be open to the love God had for them and likewise be able to return that love back to God. It is this which made sure Isaac did not end up as merely one among many legalistic writers; indeed, it is this which gives context for his morality. Thanks to the love God has for us, love flows from love, and it is love, not works, which repays loves; we should respect or fear God, not because we fear God’s wrath due to our sins, but because we fear disappointing God just as we would fear disappointing anyone whom we love:
Fear God because of His love, and not because of the reputation of austerity that has been attributed to Him. Love Him as you ought to love Him; not only for what He will give you in the future, but also for what we have received. And indeed, for this world alone which He has created for us, who can repay Him? Where is His repayment to be found in our works? Who persuaded Him in the beginning to bring us into being? Who intercedes for us before Him, when we shall posses no [faculty] of memory, as though we never existed? Who will awake this our body for that life? Again, when descends the notion of knowledge into dust? O the wonderous mercy of God! [1]
St. Antony the Great once said he no longer feared God because he loved God; what Antony meant is that he learned no longer to think of God merely as a judge looking down upon humanity seeking reasons to condemn us; likewise, we should not fear God in such a manner, but rather, we should experience God’s great wonder and majesty, and find ourselves drawn in to God, to desire to be with God. When we do so, we will find and experience how love will serve as the foundation for all that we do. Our fear should be that we will not grow further in love, for it is that growth which will allow us to experience and participate in greater and greater forms of God’s love. Ascetic treatises, which Isaac could and did give, serve as exhortations and as advice, helping them to abandon all that would get in the way of such love. From time to time, Isaac would make that clear, such as when he said:
This will for you a clear sign of your soul’s limpid purity: when, after thoroughly examining yourself, you find that you are full of mercy for all mankind, and that your heart is afflicted by the intensity of your pity for men and burns as with fire, without making distinctions between persons. By this, when it is continuously present, the image of the heavenly Father will be seen in you. [2]
We are to become lovers, acting out of pure love; when we do so, we will reflect God’s love to the world. We will love others just as God loves them, and so we will burn as if with fire with such a strong love for them and their well-being, no matter who they are and what they have done. This does not mean we will approve of what all that anyone has done; injustice must be overcome and the damage it has done healed. But the reason why we care about injustice is because of love, not because injustice merely breaks a set of rules which we think must be enforced; we look for the common good and want all to experience it. We want to promote and work for harmony in the world, and so we will confront and fight against all that works against such justice and harmony. But the point is that when we do so, it should be done out of love and not out of spite or legalism. Injustice thrives when love burns low, but when love grows strong, injustice, and all the sin associated with injustice, will be overturned, leaving behind what is good and pure. Or, it could be said, impure desires which lead to abuse and injustice are replaced by the goodness of love. “For the God who loves humanity wanted to cleanse their soul from the desire. But a desire is cleansed and expelled not when there is a lack of the thing desired, but whenever someone replaces what is desired with someone else, so that the desire is rejected.” [3]
As God is love, we, should find ourselves to reflect the image and likeness of God within us, which means, we should become persons so filled with love, all that we do is a reflection of that love. Where there is unlove in our lives, we should strive to turn ourselves around, to find out what leads us to hold such unlove, and dispel it. Then, we will find ourselves acting out of love, doing what we can to keep that love strong so that we will fear whatever would get in the way of that love and the glory which we experience in it, and it is that fear which is appropriate, because it is not one which gets in the way of our own spiritual transformation but rather encourages it.
[1] Saint Isaac the Syrian, The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian. Trans. Monks of the Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Rev. 2nd ed (Boston, MA: Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 2011), 388 [Homily 51].
[2] Saint Isaac the Syrian, The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, 552 [Appendix A Homily I].
[3] Origen, Homilies on the Psalms: Codex Monacensis Graecus 314. Trans. Joseph W. Trigg (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2020), 341 [Homily 5 on Psalm 77].
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