So, “as” in the commandment “love another (neighbor) as yourself!” – this is not a moral indication of opposition, of comparison (that is, to what extent to love – just as you love yourself, to that extent and with the same intensity love others). No, it is not about this (in this commandment “as” is not an ethical category, but an ontological one, indicating consubstantiality (man is a single human nature in billions of human hypostases) and personal hypostatic being as communion: the other is me, the neighbor (“You”) is me), but about: love your neighbor, because he is you, because your happiness, existence, being entirely depends on Others (neighbors, each neighbor in particular!), I am only because Others are, I am happy only because Others are Happy-Blessed! Therefore, to love your neighbor as yourself means that each neighbor is me, is the content and meaning, the purpose of my being (Being, Well-being – is communion of hypostases, outside of communion-perichoresis – death, “non-being”).
So, who wants to become themselves, free (a person, a Christian – a partaker of the Hypostatic Life of the Holy Trinity) – let them deny themselves (their selfish, passionate, proud will of their being, which is sick-sinful with self-pride-egoism-isolation), take up their cross (accept as their own all reality, everything that is outside my “I,” my consciousness – this is all, by the way, God’s Gift, God’s Love, Goodness and Purposefulness!) and follow Jesus Christ (diligently fulfill all God’s commandments of Jesus Christ) to the Father, to divinization! Therefore, all the effort of the proclamation – constant self-denial, denial of one’s will, struggle with passions-desires (greed, love of glory, love of pleasure – with poverty, obedience and chastity) and moving after Christ, to Christ, carrying one’s cross (diligently fulfilling all Christ’s commandments (Love God and the image of God) every moment, in every circumstance, in every situation)! On this path, the catechumen learns their weakness, their sin, their hell and, most importantly, God’s Love, God’s Mercy to themselves – this knowledge-awareness and is humility, which is a necessary (and sufficient) condition for the baptism of the Holy Spirit (which the Lord accomplishes without delay when He finds a humble and contrite heart, a humble spirit, obedient, poor in spirit, chaste hypostasis)!
We just mentioned three words: poverty, obedience, chastity. These are the main categories-principles of repentance-proclamation, so we will say (we have already talked about them, even literally, in previous chapters: “Give thanks for everything!” and “Be careful how you listen!”) a few more words about these spiritual states-works. We talked about poverty in the chapter “Give thanks for everything!”. To be poor means that I am nothing (in the literal sense of the word: because I was created from “nothing,” from “non-being”; because “I” is not “something,” but “someone”: “I” is not nature, not “what,” but that which is different from nature, that (the one) who hypostasizes nature; and in the ascetic (existential, free realization of oneself in life; I do not love, so I as a hypostasis am “no one”) sense: I can do no good; all the good in me is accomplished by God, and I can only sin)! Everything I have, what I possess – it is all a Gift, a Present, Mercy, Love! (Humility – is the state of knowing that I am nothing and that I am Loved and Gifted with everything!). Obedience (see “Be careful how you listen!”) – is to look into, listen to God’s Gifts, in the Gift of Christ, in the Other-Neighbor, so as not to offend, not to hurt Those (God and neighbors), by whose love-mercy I am, exist, live, and be grateful, that is, to thank, to serve the Benefactors (fulfilling their Good will-desires). Chastity – is to thank, serve joyfully those who Love-Mercy me. Chastity – is the fulfillment of the will of the Beloved. To thank, to serve well – is to fulfill the will-desires of the Beloved, the Benefactors, and this implies poverty (to know that I, a nothing, have been given something (everything), because everything I am, what I possess, what I have – is not mine, but a Gift of Love of Others) and obedience (to look into-listen to, to know who gave the gift, who is the benefactor and to know how I can repay them, what I can do for them, serve, how to please them, reciprocally make them Happy). Chastity, virtue – is the realization of the works of obedience and poverty – thanksgiving, well-serving the Beautiful (Love is always Beautiful, and the One who Loves – He (She) is Beautiful, Most Beautiful! Jesus Christ is the most beautiful of all human sons because He Loves the most, Loves Divinely as the Son of God).
To better understand what we are talking about when we speak of chastity (holistic wisdom, purposeful wisdom, wisdom that leads to the Goal-Happiness), let’s provide a few examples. A gift (a declaration of Love) can be rejected, one can refuse the relationship, one can appropriate it, use it selfishly for oneself, but one can and should be grateful, thank, and serve the Giver. Chastity in the case of a desire for beauty, love: love can be suppressed, one can refuse any relationship; one can use the beloved selfishly, lustfully – use a beautiful woman for oneself, commit adultery; or one can and should give oneself entirely to the Other, serve her (his) Happiness, Blossoming. Another example: a person walks down the street and sees beauty (e.g., beautiful flowers) – they can turn away, not to see it, they can appropriate it, pick the flowers for themselves, or they can serve beauty (for the Beautiful), so that these flowers bloom even more, become even more beautiful! Chastity is service-thanksgiving, well-serving Beauty, complete self-giving to the Beautiful, Who, by evoking desire in me, calls me to communion-union with the Desired! The goal is not beauty (not the Gift), but the Beautiful, the Hypostasis-Person, the Other, and to reach the Goal (not to get lost, not to fall into error, not to stray), great wisdom is needed, humble, obedient wisdom, poverty of Spirit! (To reach the Goal, one must not be tempted by the cross, but accept the sufferings of this life, to unite with the sufferings of Christ. I have not yet reached the goal, but I strive for it. Christ also ran, His goal was me. I also want to run purposefully, to the Goal – every moment to deny myself, my own, take up my cross and go to Christ (see Philippians 3:7-21)).