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Give your alms in secret. (Oh, I can't podcast about my encounter with a homeless guy, or wear my ribbon and medallion when the Bishop visits? Dang.)
When you pray, don't pray like the hypocrites who love to stand and pray... (Oh, you mean The Great Canon and all the Lenten services aren't standing contests? Dang.)
Pray in your closet in secret. (Oh, you mean I can't walk around with my 300 knot prayer rope dragging on the ground? Dang.)
When you fast, don't look like you are fasting. (Oh, you mean I can't drop hints about my weight loss/gain, blog about my burger-jones, or tweet out all the vegan restaurants I'm eating at? Dang.)
As if I'm really a rock star of alms, prayer and fasting anyway...
Yeah, that's me in the spotlight, losing my religion...
H/T Andrew for the photo
9 comments:
St. John Climacus (The Ladder):
The sun shines on all alike, and vainglory beams on all activities. For instance, I am vainglorious when I fast; and when I relax the fast in order to be unnoticed, I am again vainglorious over my prudence. When well-dressed I am quite overcome by vainglory, and when I put on poor clothes I am vainglorious again. When I talk I am defeated, and when I am silent I am again defeated by it. However I throw this prickly-pear, a spike stands upright.
6. A vainglorious person is a believing idolater; he apparently honours God, but he wants to please not God but man.
...because getting beat up like that at every turn, in everything you read somehow makes the Lenten experience more meaningful, more fruitful? Hmmmmm...
Of course! Wearing my Orthodox Guilt Badge in public always gets me noticed! Busted. LOL!
I think a lot of this fits together without even trying, at least with regard to the fasting in secret and praying alone in the privacy of your closet.
I was reminded this morning rather abruptly that a Lenten diet sort of causes automatic antisocial behavior whether you like it or not.
Kaboom.
Have you considered being Anonymous, Steve? Works for me.
Hell, I'm practically sinless from here.
Just pray that people don't start making pilgrimages to come visit you. "I've listened to your podcast for, like, forever, and I've read your blog, and now I finally get the chance to meet you!" Lord have mercy on all of you Orthodox "celebrities."
At least it would be tricky to get an autograph from an Orthodox superstar. Prayer rope? No space to write. Icon? Ummm, bad idea. Baptismal cross? Ink won't stick. I guess there's always the superstar's books. Good thing your book is unpublished. Hey maybe you can sign my computer!
Well, Jonathan, you could buy a copy of "Orthographs Vol. 1" linked in the sidebar. I have to admit I once had someone ask me to autograph their Orthodox Study Bible that we used to give away on the Our Life in Christ program. I declined because I didn't write the book. :)
Have you ever occured to you , that you might be wrong?"
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