The refining of the saints

Iron is not removed of its impurities without smelting it in a furnace. A steel sword is not tempered and strengthened without putting it in fire. Diamonds are counted among the most beautiful of gems and the most difficult to destroy—indeed, a diamond blade will cut through steel and rock, with no harm to the blade. Yet diamonds are formed only under extreme pressures and heat. Should you be like the graphite in a pencil tip, then, which is flaky and falls apart when handled even lightly? But take that graphite, and put it under great pressures and temperatures, and it will stop being graphite, and turn into diamond. In this way, the saints are forged in the furnaces of trials and sufferings, and sin is burned away by the fire and grace of the Holy Spirit. 

The Apostle St. Paul writes “We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4)

God gives grace and comfort in secret to those who suffer. Though we bear crosses, this is not so that we should bear them alone, but so that Christ may step in and bear our crosses for us, and with us, "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:30). In this way we learn to lean on God for all things. I do not carry my cross by my own strength—which is weakness—but by the strength of God. Yet God does not remove the trial from me. We are promised tribulations and sufferings: “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Christ has overcome the world! So we fear no trial that the world burdens us with. We are subjected to these trials for a little while, in this life, so that they may produce in us faith and hope. Trials often purify the heart, opening it, so that the heart may more readily perceive the light of God. My suffering causes me to turn to God, to cry out for a good Creator, to say, “O God, where are you?”. I fail to cry out for Him and to seek Him when I am sated and filled, and entertained by pleasures. Then I forget about him. And what worse fate is there, than to forget about God? Hell is for those who forget God, who do not even recognize Him.

And as by fire we are refined and purified; by correction we are disciplined and set right in all things.

So the saints do not fear suffering, but are forged in it. For these present sufferings are for but just a little while, and for good purpose, as God says “I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined” (Zechariah 13:9). It is not that God intended such suffering; yet because it exists, He has brought it to serve Himself, having “made a footstool of His enemies” (Psalm 110:1).

Thus fear not fire and pressure, and sufferings, but even give thanks for them, as they are the furnace in which the saints are refined, and God carries us by His strength through all tribulation.

On wealth and those who toil for riches

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:24) 

The rich are poor in understanding. For in Paradise God provides all things for Adam, and Adam in Paradise did not labor in order to eat or to clothe himself. To those who suffer God gives comfort, and to those who are poor in worldly riches, God gives heavenly riches. Those who toil for riches have no rest. But those who rely on God, though they be poor in the eyes of the world, will have their daily bread provided for them, and they shall be granted rest from their labors, and they shall see God.

Your great wealth does not profit you. For you worry only about your life in this world; you have no hope for the next, and no thought to the hereafter. Wealth only profits a man when he gains, but when he loses, it brings him sorrow. Even when he gains, what has he gained? It is hard to fly with the weight of gold in one’s pockets. For he spends his days counting his riches and taking care of the great many things he has accumulated, such that he has no time for the joy of contemplating God. The clutter he stores up for himself becomes clutter in his mind; it gives him no peace. 

But love profits a man even when he must part with what he owns. His mind is at peace; it is not disturbed by a loss, for from the love in his heart, he counts even a loss as a gain. For when I give to my brother or sister in need, I also receive. What have I parted with? I lose only an earthly good, but I gain a heavenly reward. For when my brother or sister profits, whom I love, so do I profit as well. I lose only what will return to dust and ashes, but I gain joy. And in Christ, what is my brother's is also mine, so that I have lost nothing at all.

Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! (Proverbs 23:4)

There is one alone, without companion: he has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity and a grave misfortune. (Ecclesiastes 4:8)

Why does the monk depart the world?

The monk, departing from this world, attempts to save this world. For one, he beckons the world to follow him and thereby also to be saved. But moreover, he departs from the world to become closer to God, free of worldly distractions. Therefore he departs so that he may pray. Being without distraction, the power of his prayer is increased. With fervent prayer he prays for the world. For even when he prays for mercy upon himself, he also prays for mercy upon the world. This is because he loves the world. He departs the world out of love for the world, not hatred of it.

St. Paisios, the Elder of Mt. Athos, said the following:

Of course, when their unit is in danger, some mindless soldiers also share the irrational demand … that the radio operator should leave the radio aside and grab his rifle, as if by adding one more gun to the two hundred others he will salvage the situation. While the radio operator clamours to make contact, yelling "calling headquarters, come in, come in" etc., the others think that he calls pointlessly into the wind. However, astute radio operators pay no attention, even if they are reviled. They struggle until they make contact and then ask for immediate help from Headquarters and the air forces arrive, as well as the armed forces, the navy etc. Thus, in this way, and not with their meagre rifles, the unit is saved. The same applies to monks who advance with divine power, with their prayer, and not with their negligible individual powers. It is especially the case in our age, when evil is so widespread, that we are in need of God's intervention. (Epistles)

Notably, St. Paisios (as a layman named Arsenios) served as a radio operator in the civil war in Greece. He would later become a "spiritual radio operator" as a monk. As radio operators communicate through radio waves, which are like waves of light, so do monks communicate with God through the divine energies, which are light. The heart, dwelling in prayer, is the radio by which the monk listens and speaks to God.

The Orthodox Christian, even if he is not a monk or she is not a nun, also departs from this world in a sense. He lives in this world, though he is not of it: "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." (John 15:19)

He or she begins to live the eternal life even in this life, taking refuge not in worldly things, but in the Church and Her sacred mysteries. He does not allow the ways of the world to drag him out to sea. He aims to be free from sin in a society that celebrates sin. He does not care for wealth or possessions, nor for sensual pleasure. He does not fear pain nor death. His feet may be on earth but his head is in heaven. And so he is caught up in prayer, not moved easily by the distractions of daily life. So we must live also.

Some indignant persons may accuse him of idleness or of fantasy or detachment. They may say he gives not enough care to the work they think needs to be done, nor to the things of this life. In the same way, they accuse the monks and nuns. But recall how Martha was troubled that her sister Mary was not helping serve the guests, while Mary was sitting at Christ's feet in contemplation of His word. Jesus then said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42) 

And so those "mindless soldiers" who call for the radio operator to take up his gun and leave his post are like Martha, but the radio operator is like Mary. And while there is a right time for service in the manner of Martha, Christ says of Mary that she "has chosen the better portion." For this reason the monk departs for the contemplative life, setting an example for all Christians, even those in the world, to follow.

Give to receive

This is the miracle: that when we lay everything down on the line, and give it all away, we find our treasury remains filled. Something remains, which God wants us to have. He insists that we keep it. It seemed not ours to keep, yet God has given it to us for keeping. 

When we empty our cups, the Master of the feast comes around and says, “Why, do you have no drink? The night is far from over!” Then He beckons his servants over, and in a moment we find our cups filled with more.

For this is the usefulness of a cup: If a cup is full, its use is to be emptied. And when it is empty, its use is to be filled. 

If I give away my cloak, I know yet that God will clothe me. If I give away my food, I know yet that God will feed me. If I forsake pleasure, I know yet that a greater pleasure, more sublime, will greet me. If I give away my time, I know yet that God gives me eternity. And if I give up even my life, I know yet that God will raise me.

Therefore give away all things and yet you will receive, so that your cup never remains truly empty, but filled. Indeed there is no shortage of wine at the feast.