Christ healing fear

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Desert Hesychasm bears witness to the mysteries of Christ in the heart, the mystery of Baptism which it lives as purification through turning, the mystery of Chrismation which it lives as  illumination through seeing, and the mystery of the Eucharist which it lives as glorification through divine-human being.  It lives these mysteries by awakening to Christ, Christ who is the centre of centres in whom all centres coincide.  Christ holds everything together here at centre where God reveals God through God in Holy Trinity, turning self-centred fear into God-centred joy as faith, hope and love.  The demonic temptation of fear tries to intervene and undermine union with Christ with many subtle doubts and accusations, always cynical, always uneasy, always shifting and deceiving.  Fear pushes wholesome trust away, plays cynically with despair and rides rough-shod over love.  It pretends to be anxious about being deceived and so to have pious motives to undermine trust.  Fear’s twistings and turnings are endless and there is no arguing with such subtlety because within fear’s own vicious circle, fear always wins.  

Wisdom cuts through fear and leaps over its subtle insinuations by centring through Christ in the Spirit where the Father’s love surrounds and transforms fear and extinguishes its sting.  Fear has no power here in the Kingdom of the Name of Holy Trinity, because here fear has already been transfigured into love.  Fear no longer twists and turns but encircles Christ as love, demonic cynicism restored to its angelic radiance as glory restored to God-centred glorification of God.  Fear cannot cure fear within its vicious circle of fear so fear’s despair is logical, despite itself.  Wisdom cures fear by cutting through it, giving glory back love’s power to glorify God, whereas fear was unconscious vainglory, forever subtly playing out its vanity and pride.  Wisdom’s leap over fear into the embrace of glory turns fear into love.  Fear may rant and rage in the outer darkness of its lonely cynicism, but here at centre, fear is overcome, having died with Christ in his death and risen with Christ in his resurrection.  Fear at centre in glory is no longer fear but awareness of presence and presence of awareness.  Fear can only be fear on the outside, shut out of centre, without centre, without subsistence.  The moment fear awakens, it is the glory of love, awareness, presence.

Wisdom loves glory and glory loves wisdom without hindrance from the compulsive prevarications of fear.  When wisdom sings her Song of Songs, glory dances her Sacred Dance.  Fear looks in from outer darkness but sees only what fear can see, no love, no joy, nothing it can trust but only things to criticise.  Love nevertheless welcomes fear to come, see and enter in, but fear cannot trust love for long, being uneasy in case it loses control.  So if for a moment fear dares to meet love, then suddenly off it goes again in case deception deceives or delusion deludes.  Fear’s vicious circle closes in again until it hesitantly awakens to find there is no trace of fear, here where aware and present at centre, Christ is at centre where all centres coincide.  Christ is fear-free glory saying ‘Fear not,’ ‘Be not afraid,’ as he enters in behind fear’s closed doors, resurrecting fear as love, wisdom embracing love as glory.  Fear’s outer darkness remains haunted by remorse, but was never actually out or dark, because being aware, it was in God, being present it was light of glory, even in the worst moments of remorse.  Wisdom and glory lovingly bring fear in from the cold as the Name reveals its mysteries, purifying fear into light, enlightening fear as love, transfiguring fear into glory, giving glory to God.