Synergism – God’s and human activity

Syncretism – God’s and human activity
The Son of God descended from heaven, the Fathers say, just because
so that we may ascend to heaven. According to the old definition, prayer, and therefore religion itself, is the ascent (Greek anabasis) of the soul to God. Ascent means effort and work. And what if it’s a job in vain? Who performs on the top, although closer to the light, is almost as far from the sun as the one who remained below. It is no wonder that Christian doctors have shown a fundamental distrust of human endeavor. We are not saved by works, but only by faith. Faith is then a gift, not merit. It is a well-known sentence that became a slogan at the time of the Reformation. We humans don’t ascend to heaven, but God has come down to us, to save us. In ascetic theology they pose the same problem in form questions: What is the function, what is the importance of human forces there, where is it about God’s life in us, about gaining grace? If we call human endeavor “asceticism” and connection with God “mysticism”, then the authors ask: What is the relationship between them? We know very well that in both the Eastern and Western Churches monasticism became the main revival movement. Catholic even non-Catholic church historians are then united in when they consider as one of the main pillars of religious life a firm belief that there is unity between asceticism and mysticism. Progress in the spiritual life corresponds to the effort of a person who works with grace. Greek this is often referred to as synergism, the joint action of human forces and the Holy Spirit.  “But then grace is no longer grace, voluntary and the gift of God! ” objected by the opponents. With a simple and nice comparison, he responds to the objection already in the 4th century Pseudo-Makarios. Human effort is like work farmer. Everyone knows that it is not enough just to plow and sow. The harvest depends on the sun, rain, weather. It happens that they come a year} ‘, when little is gained with great effort, or vice versa. And yet it is normal: the better the field is cultivated, the better the yield. The same is true «Normal law of grace». Here, too, it is true: “Man, do it and God will help you! ” But grace is a free, voluntary gift from God. What God gives, is life, activity, and it animates the whole man, all his heart, mind and all his strength (cf. Mt 22:37). God’s love must meet human love here.