How, then, can one drift from the ever-present God? Not through physical distance, but through the mind, will, and heart. One's heart is separated from God when love for Him diminishes; one's will is separated when desires oppose God’s will; and the mind separates when one forgets God and becomes absorbed in worldly thoughts. Thus, the first ancestors of humanity fell away from God when they turned from Him mentally and emotionally, succumbing to deception and yielding their wills against God’s commandments. They fell into sin, leading to death and devastation. Consequently, since the nature of the first people was gravely marred, and their offspring inherited this flawed condition, Adam, as the sacred account reveals, “begat a son after his own kind, and after his own image” (Genesis 5:3); thus, he fathered a sinner destined for mortality and decay. As a result, all of us, descendants of Adam, carry within us the seed of iniquity and the onset of death and ruin, and who among us can claim to be free from the legacy of sin sprung from individual transgressions? Consequently, Scripture reminds us that outside of Christ’s grace, we are “dead in trespasses,” and “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:1-3).
Moreover, at man's creation, God bestowed upon him “dominion” (Gen. 1:26) over the creatures of the visible world, guiding him not through mere external authority, but through the internal strength derived from His image within. Thus, the corruption of humanity must inevitably influence the nature of the visible creation; leading to the intrusion of death and destruction, which emerged through corrupt actions and cataclysmic disturbances, ultimately culminating in the present “earth, ... and the works that are upon it shall be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10), and the current visible “heavens ... shall perish” (Heb. 1:10-11).
Here lies the lost, all of humanity, in dire need of God’s mercy for rescue and salvation. Some fail to perceive the sinful death and ruin now articulated; they indulge their own desires and, at times, believe they experience fleeting happiness. But is this enviable? On the contrary, it is a pitiful state. Such individuals resemble a sleeper in prison who, unaware of his confinement, dreams of freedom, or a feverish patient who, in his delirium, believes he is in good health, yet remains perilously ill because of his unawareness. If one is blind to their sinfulness and the death and destruction it conceals, they estrange themselves from Him who “came ... to seek and to save the lost.” Awake, you inattentive soul; turn away from the alluring fantasies of sensual pleasures; illuminate your conscience with the light of God's law, and you will recognize that sin has bound you in the dungeon of spiritual darkness, the depths of which lead to the prison of hell; and you will comprehend why He, who never endured material confinement, cried out to God, “Bring my soul out of prison to confess to Thy name” (Psalm 141:8).
Come, soul afflicted by sin and troubled by the specter of death and destruction that follows. Hasten in repentance and faith to seek Him who can save you. He has already come. The ages yearned for His arrival and sustained hope in it as their lifeblood. The only begotten Son of God, without abandoning His divine throne, descended from heaven in secret; He took on human nature, as if donning a traveler’s cloak and became known as the Son of Man, Jesus Christ; and not only walked the earth, but also ventured into hell, seeking lost souls to redeem. What lengths has He gone to for this mission? When man strayed from God mentally, the Son of God “came and gave us light and understanding, that we might know the true God, and that we might be in His true Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 5:20). When man diverged from God's will and law, the incarnate Son of God fulfilled the entirety of God’s will and law on our behalf, furnishing us with the motivation, example, and strength to follow God’s commands.
When man strayed from love for God, our Savior renewed the “commandment of love” (John 13:34) and poured out God’s love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us (Rom. 5:5). Since humanity, ensnared in sin, not only fell but also became subject to death through divine justice, He who came to save took upon Himself our guilt and death, annihilating our death with His eternal life, and restoring heavenly life within us through His sacrifice. Ultimately, in redeeming humankind, He also aspires to renew the world that fell through man: and we await “new heavens and a new earth according to His promise, in which dwells righteousness” (2 Pet. 3:13).
O “Good Shepherd” (John 10:11-14), the infinitely gracious divine Shepherd of souls! There are near Thee “ninety and nine” (Matt. 18:12) in heaven, even thousands and thousands under Thy watchful care, guided by Thy voice, nourished by Thy light. Is this insufficient? Yet, You do not dismiss the wayward sheep that has strayed from You. You seek those lost (Matthew 18:12). Who can grasp the expanse of Your mercy? We do not see, yet we believe that You have come to this temple for the purpose of searching for the lost, saving them, and gathering the wayward sheep with the sweet melody of spiritual hymns, nourishing them with the word of life and the grace of sacraments. You alone perceive who among those present is near to You in spirit, and who “in heart ... is far from Thee” (Matthew 15:8), lost in their own delusion. Show mercy to all. Bring the perishing from the depths of corruption, find the forsaken, turn and draw in the distant, welcome and save those who return to You, and beautify those who are redeemed. To You be glory with Your immaculate Father and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
THEOSIS