Sin as Sickness
A kid was recently shot fairly close to where we live. In the middle of the woods, surrounded by other teens, he was shot and killed. Humanity is sick. We see the brokenness of our world just about everywhere these days. All of us feel it. We experience it in just about every realm we inhabit. The world is suffering from a sickness that is spreading.
This sickness, the early Church would say is a result of untamed passions. In our culture however, passion is often considered a good thing. We think of it as good to be “passionate.” To have passion is to really care about something.
But “passion,” as understood by the Church mothers and fathers takes a different meaning altogether. The word comes from “pascho” which literally meant: to suffer. Passion was understood to be the sickness that causes the soul to suffer. It darkens and disables allowing a pathway for sin to take root and manifest itself in the body. It is the movement which takes place in our soul. Sin, on the other hand, is that which manifests in the body. Passion leads to sin.
Vice and Virtue
God created us for union with Him. Our souls are made to be ever turned towards God. When our soul is turned toward God we long, rightly for virtue. We strive for virtue and devote ourselves to seeing life rightly. When our souls are turned away from God, we instead, lead a life of vice. Vice deprives our soul of its own natural health – which is virtue. Vice corrupts our inner beauty marking us with a spiritual ignorance; a desire rooted only in self-love and impulsive power that creeps ever towards tyranny.
Self-love is the mother of all passion according to St. John Climacus. Self-love, the mindless love for the body, eventually gives birth to gluttony, avarice and pride. It beckons mankind to turn away from God and instead turn towards himself. When we do that, it becomes increasingly easier to forget God altogether and become increasingly ignorant of him.
How Passion Develops
The question becomes how do passions develop in someone’s life? How does passion lead to the murder of 16-year-old boy in the woods? St. John Climacus provides a paradigm for the process that leads from thought to passion to sin. Murder doesn’t just happen, often it’s a result of a life cultivating anger and murderous thoughts that take root and eventually lead to passion within the soul that manifests in the body through action.
A Paradigm for Passion and Sin
- Provocation: It begins often with a simple word or image popping into our minds. This, in and of itself is not sinful. We have many thoughts that barrage our minds daily. It’s what we do with these simple thoughts that matters. Do we let them float on by or…For instance, maybe I see a picture of my old friend Gary in my minds eye. Simple enough. No intention with it either way.
- Coupling : Next, we begin to have a conversation with the thought or image. (This conversation can take place with or without passion). That picture of Gary in my mind triggers a memory of the time Gary embarrassed me in front of my children.
- Assent: Then, our soul begins to gives way, with pleasure, to that which it has encountered. (This can be either positive or negative depending upon the condition of one’s soul.) The picture of Gary, the memory of embarrassment leads me to give permission for the thought to continue to develop. “What a jerk Gary was then, why would he do that? That makes me so mad, he’s such a terrible person…” And so it goes…
- Captivity: Our assent or agreement gives grounds by which the thought can forcibly and unwillingly capture our heart. Ultimately this is a permanent lingering with what we’ve encountered or given space to in our hearts/minds. (This is where “struggling” begins with the thoughts. We must battle with the enemy so as not to commit sin). If we continue down the road with Gary’s picture and the invitation to assail his character and person, we will, if we’re not careful, succumb to hate. If we leave the door open for these thoughts, our minds will move us to a place of hatred for Gary. It all happens so very quickly
- Passion: Lastly, one surrenders to the thought, fully agreeing with it so that it lies hidden in the soul for a long time. This thought will emerge with greater regularity and ease to the degree that the soul embraces it. When we hate our brother Gary, we store that hate in not only our minds, but also our bodies. From that point forward it becomes increasingly easier to access and impugn not only Gary’s character, but others as well.
Passion Turns to Sin
From passion, our body will then have freedom to act upon the cultivated passion. From hatred, it’s a hop, skip and a jump to murder. Whether we physically murder someone with a weapon or mentally murder someone in our minds, it makes no difference. A thought can lead to cultivated passion that will make way for sin. Perhaps this is why God says to Cain, “be careful, for sin is crouching at your door.” Certainly we know the story. The thought of jealousy and embarrassment is given credence so that passion develops and sin crashes in. Unfortunately for Abel and Cain, Cain was not up for the struggle against the enemy. He succumbs and ultimately Abel paid the price with his life.
I can’t help but think of the young teenager who was shot…murder rarely begins with a gunshot. It almost always begins with a simple thought.