A - Taste the Kingdom of God
Our true homeland is that which we “seek” (Heb. 13:14), but we are called to live now on this earth. What is our relationship to the present world?
The Lord is eternal life (1 John 1:2), and He appeared to us in His incarnation as God incarnate (John 1:14, Timothy 3:16). Thus the Word of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, entered the heart of the world, sanctified it, and made it live a new era or age, the age of the Kingdom of God. The Lord Himself confirmed that the Kingdom of God does not concern the future alone, but that the believing Christian lives it from now on (Luke 17:21). The sign of the beginning of the Kingdom of God is the authority of Christ over the evil forces that control the world (Matt. 12:28, Luke 11:20). But the present time is different from the comprehensive Kingdom of God, and is only a picture or introduction to it. The Kingdom will shine in its full glory in the last times, at the coming of the Lord (Rev. 20:11-22, Is. 60:1-22).
Christians live from now on in the midst of the light of the Kingdom, although not all of them enjoy this light, nor do they become “all light” or “all fire,” as has happened repeatedly in the lives of the saints of our Church.
B - The relationship of Christians with the world
“You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14; cf. Phil 2:15-16). “You are the salt of the earth” (Mt 5:13). These words of Christ define the relationship of Christians with the world, for they are its light, its salt, and its spiritual leaven (Mt 13:33; Lk 13:21; 1 Cor 5:6, etc.). They are the heart of the world, giving it its true meaning, “setting it free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom 8:21).
An ancient Christian text says: “Christians are to the world as the soul is to the body. Just as the soul is disciplined by the body, yet keeps it, so Christians who are disciplined in the world keep it as if in a prison” (Letter to Diognetus). Christ did not ask the Father to take Christians out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one (John 17:15), who after the fall became “the prince of this world” (John 12:31, 14:30). Therefore, Christians cannot help but contribute to man’s daily struggle to provide for the needs of life: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. She has no leader, nor ruler, nor governor. She prepares her food in summer, and gathers her food in harvest. Go to the bee, and learn how hardworking she is, and how much honor she gives to her work” (Prov. 6:6-8; cf. 10:4-20, 4:21-25).
However, the duty of Christians is not limited to working diligently to secure their own needs and solve the problems of their fellow human beings. Rather, they must, in the presence of Christ, expel the satanic element from the world and restore it as it was: to glorify God.
God created man and placed him in the garden “to till it and keep it” (Gen. 2:15) and to become master of all creation (Gen. 1:28; see Sirach 17:2-4; Solomon 10:2; Ps. 8:1-10). But man did not maintain his royal and priestly position in the midst of the world, and disobeyed God’s will, leading all creation to fall. But the mission that Adam did not fulfill was given to man of the new creation, and the Bible describes it as “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18), that is, the reconciliation of the world with God. The world is called to be transformed, and man’s role is to discover the secret powers of the world and transform them in order to confront the problems of daily life effectively.
Man's potential in this area is incomparable, because he is the image of God and shares, to some extent, in the divine power. The biblical vision that makes man the image of the Triune God raises man to a position that is incomparable to the greatest that philosophical and human systems have brought him to. There can be no limits or barriers to man's growth, and he bears the great responsibility that his actions be for himself and for all creation (see Psalm 8:1-10).
Man has led the whole creation into fall and corruption when he stopped using it to glorify God and to seek God’s blessing through it (Gen. 2:16-17). But the man of the new creation, the Christian, is called to transform himself, his works, and the whole world into a right relationship with God (see Deut. 8:12-18; 1 Chr. 29:14-16), as the disciples of Christ did after the Transfiguration, when they came down from Mount Tabor and went into the world to transform it, becoming “new” and “pure” (Mt. 17:1-8; 2 Cor. 5:17). Therefore, Christians do not separate themselves from the world, do not renounce their responsibilities toward it, and do not abandon it, for the Lord has commanded them to remain in the world (Jn. 17:15) and to carry out a great mission in it.
C - Social responsibility of Christians
The goal of every Christian is to live a Trinitarian life, that is, to have his life be an image of the Holy Trinity. One theologian says that the goal of every Christian is to live with his brother, or rather “in his brother,” just as the Father is “in the Son,” the Son is “in the Father,” and the Holy Spirit is “in the Father and the Son” (see Jn 17:21). Believers are called to live this truth in the divine liturgy, transforming it into action in daily life (1 Cor 10:16-17).
In the Divine Liturgy, man and all creation regain and revive the unity they have lost. Everything is restored in the Risen Body of Christ and offered anew in thanksgiving to God (Zech. 14:20-21). Therefore, in the liturgical services we repeat: “Let us commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God.”
Thus, selfish interests are eliminated from our lives, and “Christ our God” becomes the center of gravity, because He unites ourselves, our brothers, and our whole life. Christ appears to us daily in the face of our brother who awaits the fruits of our labors to rest. We place our lives, all our strengths, and our faculties in “the service of Christ God” through our service to our brothers (Matt. 25:40). These possibilities are unlimited because man, as we mentioned earlier, is the image of the all-wise and all-powerful God, and therefore he shares in God’s wisdom and power (Gen. 1:28, Ps. 8:1-10, Wisdom of Sirach 17:2-4, Wisdom of Solomon 10:2). Can we, after this, ignore the present life? Or turn a blind eye to the wounds of humanity and the world?
It is true that Christians are called to be free from the world and to go beyond it, because it is “filth” compared to the only treasure that is Christ (Phil. 3:8). But this does not mean that we should neglect our responsibility for the destiny of the world or for the problems of our brothers. If the word of God calls us to weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15), helping our brothers is an urgent duty. We must always remember the words of the Apostle James: “If a brother or sister among you is naked, and does not have daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things needed for the body, what good is your saying?” (James 2:15-16; Is. 58:1-14).
This does not mean rejecting asceticism, which involves distancing oneself from the world and living a monastic life. Monks are not far from the goal we have mentioned. The true monk does not live in inner separation from the world, nor does he ignore his responsibilities towards it. He lives for the whole world, and feels deeply united with it. The monk’s message and talent have a prophetic character and are reminiscent of the kingdom, because monastic life is nothing but a living image of the life to come.
The monk is to the world an arrow pointing towards heaven, showing the world that there is another reality, the reality of heaven. And in this lies his great gift to the world. And it is a gift that is necessary, especially in our present age, when almost everyone is drifting towards materialism, and is threatened with the danger of being condemned to death.