“He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man’s heart” (Psalm 104:14)
We soon come to memorize this lovely passage of God’s blessings through nature, because it is chanted at the start of every vespers. The brilliant spiritual writer Nikitas Stethatos uses the verse to describe the progress of a human being on the way to spiritual perfection (On the Inner Nature of Things, 90).
He realizes that for a beginner on the way to union with the Lord, he or she will be attacked by the demons at the place where the passions often run rampant. It’s natural for young persons to be challenged with temptations of the flesh, especially in our society of promiscuity. In a culture where people are encouraged to give vent to their emotions even to the stage of violence, the Lord feeds us with the example of Jesus Christ who was gentle, humble and forgiving. We read the gospel and nourish ourselves on the Sermon on the Mount. We taste and see how good the Lord is—good meaning kind and understanding, seeking the will of His Father, not asserting Himself.
Stethatos studied the personality types of those who are working out their own salvation. He recognized the temptation of those who had made some progress in suppressing their emotions and instincts. They have learned how to use the power of prayer against the demons. They feel the joy of having given themselves to Christ. They obey God’s commandments instinctively. They have ordered their lives so that there is time for work, prayer, study and sleep. However, they can fall into the trap of the Pharisees. They impose their self-discipline and rituals on all others, and they disdain those who have not risen to their level of grace. To paraphrase Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, “Why can’t [they] be like us?” That attitude is “the letter that kills.” The wine of gladness is intended to mellow the harsh attitude of the prig who measures everybody with his own behavior pattern. What would heaven be like if it were filled with the joyless self-righteous who elect themselves God’s chosen ones on earth?
When the Lord blesses those who persevere against all obstacles to attain the fullness of grace bestowed on the saints, they are anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit. Are not all of us given that blessing, “The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit,” when we are chrismated into the Body of Christ? Indeed, we are; but what is given as pure gift must be earned through a lifetime of openness to the Spirit of God. We are presented to the Holy Trinity by our sponsors, parents and priest, towards the east, the place of the rising sun, so that the spiritual illumination will shine on our faces through each day and stage of our lives. Just as the sun softens and warms things on the earth, so our faces should shine with kindness, gentleness, serenity and affection for all living things. Only the humble are worthy to be called God’s children.
Finally, all three elements grow from the earth and yet require cooperation from humans in order to utilize them in the best ways possible. In the same way we are given natural life from our mothers’ wombs, but it is up to us to develop and grow to our greatest potential by returning the only gift God wishes to have—the human being offering in freedom himself and herself to the Creator.