June 23, 2015

Who is my elder?

1 Peter 5:5

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

“God resists the proud,But gives grace to the humble.”

Personal Challenge

The note on this passage in the Orthodox Study Bible says,

Humility is the foundation of virtue; it is learned through submission and obedience to godly elders. In submitting to one another, we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.

An interesting, and disheartening, phenomena that I have seen since I converted to Orthodoxy has been seeing how many converts come into the faith and wield and attitude of superiority over others, including their priests and fellow parishioners who have been Orthodox their entire lives. Even converted priests are doing this and expecting others to adopt their version of Orthodoxy. This attitude is not one of humility and submissiveness. Coming from Protestantism, the elder is almost always interpreted to be the leader in the church. Could it not also be used to identify someone who is older in the faith than I, someone who has been on their journey longer, making them more seasoned and, therefore, worthy of my respect? And even if not, being humble and submissive would still dictate that I elevate them above myself. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!