Charles+

If anyone is interested, this is from another list-serve: a discussion of
theosis, etc. with Lelan Harris of Bethel Seminary.

MLW+
=========================

Lelan:

Thanks for the comments.  I've renamed the subject line on this post because
I think there's more to the entire theosis issue than simply the sacraments.
And to be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure what I think of the Eastern
concept of theosis, even though it can be found (albeit somewhat sparingly)
in my own Anglican tradition. Both Lancelot Andrewes and John Wesley wrote
about it.

But I would like to address what you asked below:

<snip> At this time, I do not find any biblical teaching or foreshadowing 
that supports Ephrem's understanding of the nature, purpose, and 
consequences of the Daily Liturgy and Eucharist with regard to union 
with God.  Can you provide any additional insight that connects the 
traditional teaching of the Eastern Orthodox and Latin West with 
Scripture?

<snip>On the other hand, during the past months I have responded to God's 
invitations to deeper relational intimacy and union.  Although I 
wouldn't use Ephrem's exact words, my own profound and sometimes 
dramatic experiences with the Trinity enable me relate to some of 
Ephrems descriptions.  However, there has been no evident cause-and-
effect connection between my experiences and the Lord's Supper.  
Indeed, the understandings I have so far received from God point in 
other directions altogether.

I believe you've put your finger on something here: Ephrem's statements
shouldn't be read in a vacuum; meaning, that it isn't just the Eucharist
itself that is transformative, but is what might be called the "sacramental
life".  The Eucharist is simply part of that life, albeit a very fundamental
part of that life.  Not being a student of Eastern Orthodoxy I'll leave the
tie-in to Scripture to someone with more depth in that area than I have; but
I will tie it in to one particular expression of the sacramental life in the
Latin West.

I believe we can find strong evidence for the transformational nature of the
sacramental life in the writings of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross
(and, of course, their immediate predecessor, Francisco de Osuna).  While
not specifically identifying their understanding of transformation as
"theosis" or "divinization", the transformation they speak of certainly
extends far beyond the popular evangelical notion of sanctification (which
is more a moral transformation than anything else).  And for both Teresa and
John, it is an unwavering dedication to living the sacramental life that
opens one to this transformation that results in actual participation in the
Holy Trinity itself.

Fundamentally, the sacramental life is made up of three elements.  The first
is the meeting and partaking of Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar
(Eucharist).  And although neither of them wrote much about the Eucharist
directly, it is a given in their particular theological milieu:
participation in the Eucharistic life of the Church is a fundamental part of
the life of a cloistered religious.  And even though frequency of this
participation would have varied somewhat, I believe we can safely assume
that, in keeping with the calendar of the 16th century Church, Holy
Communion would have been celebrated at least weekly, and probably much more
frequently due to the number of feast days in that calendar.

As to how they viewed the efficacy of the Sacrament itself, without going
into all of the Eucharistic theology of the Tridentine and post-Tridentine
Roman Catholic Church, I think we can again safely assume that their
understanding would find it's foundation in John 6, not to mention the
patristic commentaries on both the Gospel of John and St Paul's letter to
the Corinthians.  So that would be the first element of our sacramental
transformation: frequent participation in the Eucharist.

The second would be a life dedicated to prayer, whether that be the Divine
Offices and/or personal prayer and meditation.  It is in prayer that we
begin to open ourselves to God and place ourselves in a position to commune
with the Holy Trinity on a very deep and personal level.  And this itself is
transformative because in prayer God does several things, not the least of
which is reveal to us all of the things that need to be rooted out of our
lives if we are truly going to make room for him (the third element of the
sacramental life).  Obviously, we could go on and on about what prayer is
and its benefits, etc., but in a nutshell a life devoted to prayer is one of
the fundamental and essential factors contributing to our sacramental
transformation.

Finally, as I said, there is the issue of Gospel obedience that makes room
for God in our lives.  Jesus said, "If you love me you will keep my
commandments."  And it is obedience to his commandments that removes the
barriers between us and God, barriers that prevent us from participating in
the life of the Trinity.  John of the Cross devoted the entire "Ascent of
Mount Carmel" to the idea removing our inordinate and disordered wants and
desires in order to make room for and desire God alone, and this really is
the key to union with him: there can be no barriers between us and him.  So
we must be actively pursuing a life of true Christian virtue if we are going
to live our lives "in persona Christi."

Now, when these three elements are brought into balance and actively pursued
with dedication and determination, then we will be placing ourselves in a
position to "participate" in the Holy Trinity and be "oned" with God (should
he grant us that grace): not ontologically and not in some form of
pantheism, but certainly on a level much more profound and sublime -- and
much more real -- than we probably normally think or understand.

And yes, I believe all of this can be justified by Scripture.  For instance,
St Paul says in 2 Co 3:18 that we are being "changed into his likeness from
one degree of glory to another."  Certainly this is a moral transformation,
but I believe that St Paul is talking about much more than that.  The same
thing is true of his statement in Galatians 2:20.  And St Peter says much
the same thing in 2 Pt 1:3-4 where he speaks of us becoming partakers of the
divine nature.  And there are other passages that seem to convey similar
ideas, some of which can be found in John 14.  So I think the idea of
transformation leading to sacramental union is very much in keeping with the
witness of Holy Scripture.

As an aside, one of the best studies on this topic is a book written by
Thomas Dubay entitled "Fire Within".  It might be worth looking at it,
especially chapters 7 and 8 that deal with conditions for our growth in the
sacramental life.  Certainly, as far as Teresa and John were concerned, a
very real and very deep participation in the life of the Holy Trinity is not
only possible, but should also be the Christian norm, in this life.  It's
the old three-fold path of purgation, illumination, and union all over
again.

MLW+