With all the flurry of Christmas shopping and the stress of excess of the season, it may be tempting to escape the “civilized world” and retreat, just to find some peace and be alone with God. After all, Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, right? It’s about love and joy, no? Don’t let the gifts and parties take priority over the true reason we celebrate.
Sure, we love one another, and we love God. We want to give gifts to honor each other, and celebrate God within us, and among us. We may also want to have some peace on a cold winter’s night. We may even want to escape to other places: caves, desert lands, and peaceful snow-covered forests – just to commune with God in silence, leaving all our problems behind.
Here’s something old that’s new again: asceticism! Become an ascetic! Do like they did in the time of Jesus: leave the crazy stressful word of excess debt and mundane materiality, tawdry affairs and debilitating addictions. Run off to Egypt to live in a cave like St. Antony did in the late 3rd century. Retreat to Mt. Sinai, to St. Catherine’s Monastery like St. John Climacus did in the 6th century! Take a trip to Greece, to Mount Athos, a secluded peninsula only for monks. Learn the ways of St. Gregory Palamas from the 13th century. Discover the Jesus Prayer (“Lord Have Mercy, short form, or “lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”), thought by some monks as having originated with the Apostles.
Or, find peace and experience God as the ancient ascetics did (at least for a couple of hours) in our new documentary movie, “Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer.” Escape with Very Reverend John McGuckin and me to these ancient places of profound peace – join our pilgrimage to the heart of an ancient spirituality. Be one of the first to see our movie, eight years in the making, now playing on the SnagFilms Collection on Comcast Video-On-Demand and Verizon FiOS Video-On-Demand. Coming soon to other On-Demand and downloads, and on DVD’s. (Details at www.MysteriesoftheJesusPrayer.com)
Father John writes:
Ascesis was the Greek term for athletic training, and was used by the Christian writers, especially the monastic spiritual writers of the 4th to 6th centuries, to take up the athletic imagery first used by Paul (cf. 2 Tim. 4.7), to signify the need of Christians to train themselves by rigorous observances (sexual renunciation, fasting, and deprivations) to observe the commandments with exceptional zeal. The ascetical movement in Christianity is already prevalent in the New Testament literature, which develops apocalyptic themes by contrasting the life lived in accordance with the Kingdom, with the ease of a worldly existence. The ascetical message resonated well with Hellenistic ideas about the ‘sober life’ of the wise man or woman (sophrosyne) and much of late 1st and 2nd century Christian literature such as the Didache, the Clementine Letters or the Shepherd of Hermas, began to stress the need for sobriety as a fundamental character of Christian discipleship.
True ascesis, or the life of Christian renunciation is not something to take lightly. It is a rigorous and intense life of diligent penance, obedience, constant prayer and service to others. Not something for just anyone.
We can, however, learn the ancient, powerful ways of ancient single-mindedness and spiritual discipline by reciting the Jesus Prayer for a few minutes a day. Find a place of quiet and peace, and be alone with God for Christmas.
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