Something for Sunday Morning

The Father of Mysticism, Gregory of Nyssa, illustrated the problem of weakness with a story about a trained monkey who danced for money. The monkey's owner put a mask on the monkey, so the spectators thought he was a boy dancing with remarkable agility and would throw money onto the stage. It was a clever, and lucrative, trick. Until a man threw almonds (a favorite with monkeys) onto the stage. The monkey tore away his mask, abandoned the dance, and pounced on the almonds. Every one quickly figured out that the human exterior was false; that the dancer was just a savage monkey–thus revealing the monkey as a monkey and making his owner look ridiculous.

The same happens when the good Christian man loses all semblance of virtue when tempted or tried. He may attend church frequently, but commits a sexual sin when tempted or frequently loses his temper whenever something goes wrong. He then looks like a savage creature; and his Owner looks false.

In the same letter, Gregory also imagined what would happen if a king hired an artist to paint his picture so he could send it to people who had never seen the king. If the artist painted an absurd caricature, the king would be furious because the painting, being the only likeness of the king available, would cause the foreigners to think the king was hideous. Likewise, the purported Christian who does not understand the proper religious life, who cultivates pride at his humility and obedience to God, presents a false picture to non-believers. And such a “Christian” can only hope that his King will not be furious.

So the Christian's virtue must be well-formed, both intellectually and internally. He needs wisdom and order. One without the other will make him look ridiculous. And make God look ridiculous, on Whose reputation rides the salvation of souls.