Step 21:Dispassion

“Dispassion is an uncompleted perfection of the perfect.”

--St. John Climacus

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is not longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

--Galatians 2:20

This step on The Ladder is about as monkish as Climacus gets.  He says of dispassion, “Its effect is to sanctify the mind and to detach it from material things, and it does so in such a way that, after entering this heavenly harbor, a man, for most of his earthly life, is enraptured, like someone already in heaven, and he is lifted up to the contemplation of God.”

Dispassion is not so much a step in itself as it is the fruit of all the previous steps.  When we get our priorities straight, when we confront our own sinfulness and mortality, bring our emotions, our tongues, and our desires under control, when we leave behind fear and vanity, then we will achieve this perfect communion with God.  And that, some of you may be thinking, will be the day pigs fly.

Achieving this spiritual perfection seems impossible.  That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.  The very opposite is true.  Impossible goals are the most important ones to strive for.  We may never attain them, but we are better for having made the attempt.

There’s also another way of looking at this step of dispassion.  At the beginning of a long trip there is a period of adjustment to being on the road.  If it’s a long hike, your leg muscles have to get warmed up and you have to get used to the weight of your backpack.  If it’s a car trip, it’s getting everything situated in the car so that what you need is near at hand, the seat and mirrors in the right position, the right CD in the player.  And you have to get used to your traveling companions, find the right divisions of labor, the right balance between talking and silence, make your compromises for each other’s comfort.  Eventually, you find your rhythm.  Your legs loosen up and you hit your stride or you settle in for the long haul.  You get comfortable with your fellow travelers and work together with them to make the trip successful. Climacus’ idea of dispassion is kind of like this.

Eventually as we make our pilgrim way through life, spirituality becomes less of a struggle.  We may hit rough patches, but as we progress we learn how to deal with them.  We find the rhythm of life lived on the way to God.  Praying and serving, holy living and awareness of God’s presence become more natural to us.  We find our place in the community of God’s people and God becomes a friend.  For most of us dispassion is the confident assurance that we are on the right trail with the right equipment, with a few miles of experience behind us and a good guide in front of us.

Prayer:

O God, bring us to the place where we can rest in you.  Help us to keep living the Christian life until it becomes as natural as breathing for us and your way becomes truly ours, through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

St. John Climacus, pray for us.