THE 1996 LENTEN ENCYCLICAL

Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

The parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, my beloved, is most instructive, especially as we approach the Holy and Great Forty-day fast. Together with the many lessons that we glean from this Gospel passage, we are also taught how much morality differs from sanctity. The difference between the two is great. even though many may be completely unaware that such a difference even exists.

Morality has to do with our behavior—primarily our external behavior—in this world, in our society. For example, we call a person moral or ethical when he is honest in all his dealings as regards his work, his family, and his friends; when he does his work conscientiously and commits no fraud; when he is faithful to his spouse; and when he is loyal to his friends and is law-abiding, not engaging in behavior that is immoral or criminal.

I am certain that all of us have met and know many such honorable people. They are good people, good neighbors, good friends, good citizens. We cherish them and enjoy their company. and we know that should we ever have need of their assistance, they would certainly come to our aid and do whatever they could for us.

Many of these good. honest, and decent people are Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, Moslems, and yes, even atheists, and sometimes they excel Orthodox Christians in this kind of moral and ethical behavior.

Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Outwardly, the Pharisees exceeded the common people in righteousness, but within, as we learn from the holy Gospels, they were "full of extortion and excess. . .full of dead men’s bones and all uncleaness. . .full of hypocrisy and iniquity (Matt. 23:25, 27, 28). Their inner malice and seething hatred for our Saviour came out into the open when He rebuked them and demonstrated to them that their "righteousness," their "morality," was only skin deep. They did not possess what they appeared to possess; their morality was only for appearances, for the eyes of others, and for their own self-esteem. It was only a personal and social righteousness, a completely earthbound morality, that had no thought of a final Judgment or of Almighty God, Who knows and sees the heart and the inner thoughts of men. They were "moral" and "ethical" in their social behavior, but they were not holy.

Certainly, this does not mean that social morality automatically implies the presence of hypocrisy or pharisecism; but if each of us were to examine our consciences carefully, we would find that the sins of pride, self-righteousness and the condemnation of others nestle secretely in the hearts of us all, even though we ourselves are not pure. This is why, if we have not attained to true sanctity, we often fall into the very trap which the Pharisee fell into.

Morality and sanctity, however, do not differ only in what is apparent to others and what really exists within. They differ also in what is expected of us.

In contrast to sanctity, the social code of ethics has nothing to teach us about fasting, or prostrations, or repentance with tears. It has nothing to say to us regarding the Orthodox Faith, the confession of our sins and thoughts, or unceasing prayer, or vigils. How would it deal with our Fools for Christ, or with some desert fathers, or Saint Mary of Egypt, who went about completely unclothed, because they had literally renounced all things or given all that they had to the poor? Futhermore, ethics has nothing to tell us about loving one’s enemies, or doing good to those that hate us and persecute us. If anything, mere social ethics would most likely declare that loving one’s enemies and doing good to those that persecute us is utter insanity, and that putting such teachings into practice would only overturn the entire legal system of our country!

In short, morality and ethics are concerned only with the justice—the righteousness—of this world. They are basically indifferent—and, at times, even inimical—to the righteousness our Saviour asks of us if we are to gain the Heavenly Kingdom. Without a doubt, it is expected of us to be kind, decent, honest, and moral in all our dealings with others. But in addition to, and above all this, as Orthodox Christians, we are called to be perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect. We are expected to be holy: "Be ye holy, for I am holy" (I Peter I:16: cf. Lev. 11:45).

In a sermon given many years ago, Metropolitan Philaret of blessed memory offered an example of the self-reproach that is the mark of true sanctity. In his sermon, he referred to an incident that occured during the meeting of two great Saints of the Church. One of these holy men was Saint Basil the Great: the other was Saint Ephraim the Syrian, "the harp of the Spirit," and author of the prayer, "O Lord and Master of my life...." which we repeat so often during Great Lent. In this sermon, then, Metropolitan Philaret relates the following:

It came to pass, then, that these two great men met. And when they began to converse, it was not like our conversations, with our love for meaningless chats. They did not speak of the latest news: they showed no curiosity of the world’s affairs. No, Saint Basil began to speak of those things that are needful. And knowing to what a great ascetic he spoke, he asked Saint Ephraim, "Tell me, my Abba Ephraim, how should one withstand the attacks of sin? How might one block the path of the passions, that they might not enter the soul and gain mastery over it?"

And Saint Ephraim. knowing in his turn the stature of the pillar of Orthodoxy who was questioning him, permitted himself no word, but he answered Saint Basil only with many tears. He bent his head, fell silent, and began to weep.

This sublime understanding of our own failings, my beloved, is the reason for our spiritual training in fasting, vigils, prostrations, self-denial, unceasing prayers, self-reproach, confession, repentance, and in loving and doing good to those that hate us and persecute us. This is how we open the doors of our hearts to God’s healing and sanctifying grace. This, indeed, is the lesson that is imparted unto us during the course of the Holy Fast.

Therefore, with this awareness of the difference between the mere morality of this world and the holiness that is expected of us if we are to enter into life everlasting, let us take up the weapons of faith that are offered to us during the holy season of Great Lent that we may be counted worthy of the Resurrection and of the eternal crowns of the Saints. Amen.

The stadium of the virtues is opened: enter in, ye that desire to contest, and gird yourselves for the good contest of the Fast. For they that contest lawfully are justly crowned. And taking up the full weaponry of the Cross, we shall fight against the enemy, having the Faith as an unshakable battlement, and prayer as a breastplate, and almsgiving as a helmet, and in the stead of a sword, fasting, which cutteth every evil away from our hearts. He that doeth these things doth receive the true crown of Christ, the King of all, in the day of judgment.