Suffering with Christ

How does one truly, learn, and understand the Gospel of Jesus?
Here is a letter from a Soviet forced labour camp. 

It is only by being a prisoner for religious convictions in a Soviet camp that one can really understand the mystery of the fall of the first man, the mystical meaning of the redemption of all creation, and the great victory of Christ over the forces of evil. It is only when we suffer for the ideals of the Holy Gospel that we can realize our sinful infirmity and our unworthiness in comparison with the great martyrs of the first Christian church. Only then can we grasp the absolute necessity for profound meekness and humility, without which we cannot be saved; only then can we begin to discern the passing image of the seen, and the eternal life of the Unseen.  

 On Easter Day all of us who were imprisoned for religious convictions were united in the one joy of Christ. We were all taken into one feeling, into one spiritual triumph, glorifying the one eternal God. There was no solemn Paschal service with the ringing of church bells, no possibility in our camp to gather for worship, to dress up for the festival, to prepare Easter dishes. On the contrary, there was even more work and more interference than usual. All the prisoners here for religious convictions, whatever their denomination, were surrounded by more spying, by more threats from the secret police.  

 Yet Easter was there: great, holy, spiritual, unforgettable. It was blessed by the presence of the risen God among us – blessed by the silent Siberian stars and by our sorrows. How our hearts beat joyfully in communion with the great Resurrection! Death is conquered, fear is no more, an eternal Easter is given to us! Full of this marvelous Easter, we send you from our prison camp the victorious and joyful tidings: Christ is Risen!

This letter is quoted at the end of chapter 4, ``God as Man" in The Orthodox Way.

Interactions with such Christians while in a camp, led Alexander Solzhenitsyn to embrace faith in Jesus.

How is God a Mystery?

This month in the theology reading group we are discussing the second half of The Orthodox Way, by

Kallistos Ware. The first chapter is entitled, God as Mystery. Here are a few quotations. 

“In the Christian context, we do not mean by a "mystery" merely that which is baffling and mysterious, an enigma or insoluble problem. A mystery is, on the contrary, something that is revealed for our understanding, but which we never understand exhaustively because it leads into the depth or the darkness of God. The eyes are closed—but they are also opened.”

``while there can be no logical demonstrations of the divine reality, there are certain ``pointers''''

1. The world around us.
``If there is a `problem of evil 'there is also a `problem of good." Beauty is everywhere!

2. Within ourselves.

``Why, distinct from my desire for pleasure and dislike of pain, do I have within myself a feeling of duty and moral obligation, a sense of right and wrong, a conscience?....Within myself I bear a source of wonder, a source of constant self-transcendence.''

3. In my relationships with other humans.
At special moments we have encounters with the personhood of another, as they disclose their deepest being to us.

All three above are pointers to the transcendent, something beyond ourselves.

``It is fundamental to my character as a human being that I search everywhere for meaningful explanations... Faith in God enables me to make sense of things, to see them as a coherent whole, in a way that nothing else can do.''

More quotations from the book are here.