Uncomprehending World
Prophet Isaiah fresco, 14th century. Gracanica Monastery, Kosovo and Metohija, Serbia.
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. (Isa. 5:20-21)
He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord. (Proverbs 17:15)
Let not us who would be Christians expect anything else than to be crucified. For to be Christian is to be crucified in this time and in any time, since Christ came for the first time. His life is the example and warning to us all.
We must be crucified personally, mystically; for trough crucifixion is the only path to resurrection. If we would rise with Christ, we must be humbled with him even to the ultimate humiliation, being devoured and spit forth by the uncomprehending world. We must be crucified outwardly in the eyes of the world, for Christ's Kingdom is not of this world and the world cannot bear it, even a single representative, even for the single moment.
The world can only accept Antichrist now or at any time.
Fr. Seraphim Rose