St. Paul:
"According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."So we're baptized and chrismated, commune with the Body and Blood of our Lord and confess Him throughout our lives, then die. We are justified by this--since these things will be the foundation our body uses at the Resurrection to "put on immortality" like St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 15--yet as we will (most likely) not be completely sanctified (i.e., freed from the passions) and will still have some "wood, hay and straw," there will be a final purification we all go through, and it is for this reason that we pray for the departed: that God will comfort them in their purification, and that they will swiftly go through the final repentance pains necessary to truly enjoy our Lord forever.
Thoughts?
5 comments:
Philippa,
We would say that the deposit of faith does indeed include the sacraments of the Eucharist, baptism, confession, holy orders, etc; all these are not only outlined in Scripture, but attested to by the earliest of the Church Fathers.
The "chance for redeption" isn't so much a chance for a truly lost person to find salvation, but rather an opportunity for a person who is not sanctified completely to be thus sanctified and therefore completely saved. I should say, too, that all speculation on who is saved and who is irredeemably lost is just that: speculation. We therefore assume that God will be ultimately merciful, so we err on the side of praying for the second situation. God knows, but commands that we pray for all men; whether our prayers will achieve what we ask is ultimately out of our hands, however.
Welcome to the family, btw!
Ian --
I remember that part in Bp. KALLISTOS' TOC; hence my original question. It is a thought in Orthodox theologumenon (theological opinion), so I just thought I'd throw it out, see what I got.
From elsewhere: the following link to a homily of St. John Chrysostom on the passage I quoted states that the hay, wood, and stubble are our actions, which, if they are wicked, will not shield us from the judgement.
The "saved, yet as through fire" part, St. John says, refers to a preservation of the actual person's soul--we are not annihilated in hell--but that the soul is "saved"--that is, preserved--"from annihilation in hell, yet still tormented by the fire."
Any other thoughts?
Thanks to "Paradosis" on OC.net for the link, btw...
So are you saying that we suffer for our sins after we die, at least in part? Is it our punishment?
Okay my question is, what is the fire? My statement is, I think I am being purified right now. In fact I am sure I am being purified right now through this divorce. Lord have mercy. Mercy is oil. Kyrie Elison. Olive Oil. Lord pour out Thy abundant mercy on us all!
Rhoblogy,
As far as we Orthodox know--this is what I've gathered from priests, my archbishop, reading some of the Fathers on the subject (though by no means many), that the elect who are not completely sanctified at death will suffer a final purification after death, but we are adamant in saying that this is not the punishment of God--done for His satisfaction for sins already forgiven and whatnot--but rather for our final purification. God takes no benefit from our suffering. Like any good father, I'd say He hates to see it, but knows we must go through it in order to experience Him completely unimpeded.
Olympiada,
The fire is God Himself, who is a consuming fire, as we read in Hebrews. Those who are unrighteous, like clay, will experience the fire of God's presence as torment, and will be hardened. The rightous, like wax, will melt and be pliable before their God. It depends on what you've let yourself become in this life that determines how you'll react to the fire of God on that Day.
If you are being purified through this, the cross of your divorce, rejoice! You will thus be (more) pliable in the hands of our Lord and naturally receptive to His grace and mercy. Christians who truly endure to the end will be purified either in this life or the next. Hurts both ways.
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