Every man is a mystery

Man today has expanded his knowledge frighteningly. However, although he knows what is happening in the four corners of the earth and in the infinite universe, he remains completely ignorant regarding his own self. We have information from the galaxies, from the five continents, and we have difficulty communicating with our neighbor. However, undeniably, what we know is certainly much less than what we do not know. Technology is developing excessively and unimaginably much, yet it is impossible for us to prevent evil from occurring.

Today, we know only 1/10 of the functions of our brain. Man is as small as he is, so great, as wise as he is, as foolish as he is, as rich as he is, as poor as he is, as good as he is, as bad. We know a lot, but we ignore even more. Every man is an untold and bottomless mystery. Why does he choose this and why does he like one and not the other, why does he hate something so mortally, why does he cry, how does he suffer, why does he express himself in this way, how is he different from another, why is he silent, why does he blaspheme and shout, why is he melancholic, when he fears, that is, more directly, diversity, difference, opinion, longing, creativity, choice, anatomy, soul structure, character, style, character, individuality. All these special characteristics separate him and distinguish him by the unsurpassed greatness of holy uniqueness.

A young man who asks himself questions asks himself about the connection of the soul with the body, more precisely, what the soul is and what death is. What is the morality necessary to preserve the sanctity of life? When life begins and when it ends is not always something known with precision. Life is not determined by some worldly laws, because it is a mystery that is difficult to interpret. Bishop Nicholas of Mesogheia says: we are incredibly small, extraordinarily alone, people of a moment in relation to the times of the universe, so that we can say that: 1) we know the universe, 2) that we understand it, and 3) that we can communicate with it.

Despite such great communication and so many social contacts, contemporary man suffers from great loneliness. Our loneliness and ignorance meet in our uniqueness. The rich scientific knowledge wants to exclude God. It believes that it can make any progress without the presence of His power, and even more so, without His help. The scientist trusts in his knowledge and his powers and never wants any other presence. Elder Paisius used to say: "I investigate and discuss all things, except for the existence of God; I do not ask anything. It is as if you were to tell me that I was not born of a mother or that my race is not black! What discussion should we have?" “Here, lads,” he would say to two students who visited him, “even dumb animals believe in God, but man, endowed with reason and judgment, does not believe…” And at that very moment, a lizard passed by. And the elder said to the lizard: “Is there a God?” And the lizard nodded its head yes. (In another version, I heard the same thing, that the lizard spoke out loud and said: “Yes, there is a God”).

In all of Eastern Orthodoxy, such a question has never arisen. People could have sinned, but it never crossed their minds that perhaps there is no God. For this reason, none of the Holy Fathers enlightened by God wrote a single word that would prove the existence of God. This question was formulated in the West, dominated by rationalism. The Orthodox tradition, both in faith and in life, has never dealt with the question of whether God exists. It has only spoken of His certain coming. God cannot be proven scientifically. If He could be proven in this way, it would not even be worth believing in. But here it is rather a matter of futile effort. God is alive and reveals Himself. He does not discover Himself, nor does He prove Himself through the means of science. Only through living does God communicate with His creation and fill its life with joy and fullness.

The incomprehensible cannot be understood, the incomprehensible cannot be comprehended. The mind must descend into the pure heart, according to Saint Gregory Palamas, in order to encounter Him, to know Him, and to appropriate God. The mystery is not investigated, elucidated, or understood, but is lived empirically, through experience, and communicated in an incomprehensible way with the mind. God is not unapproachable, but is close and proper through His uncreated energies. God is All-Perfect, All-Powerful, All-Good, All-Just. His justice does not abolish His love. His justice does not make Him punishing and vengeful. If it were so, it would be evil. There is no element of evil in the Godhead, say the Holy Fathers, bearers of God. The Passionless One was crucified for us, the passionate ones, out of boundless love, in order to lead us into the all-enjoyable and boundless eternity. His love is subtle, full of benevolence, noble, it does not elude our freedom. His power does not threaten us, does not frighten us, and never wants to exterminate us, but moves us, excites us, and pierces us to the heart. In England, there are entire advertisements that question the existence of God. Why so much fierce struggle for something that does not even exist? We, the Easterners, cannot prove the existence of God; frankly, this does not interest us at all, but we fight with all our might and most of all to discover His amazing beauty within us.

Moses the Hagiorite