If one is to be a fool for Christ, he ought to be able to laugh at himself from time to time. This film affords the faithful, living in this post-modern world, such an opportunity by providing a satirical, surrealist perspective on extreme asceticism, specifically an ascetical form of Roman Catholicism which is obsessed with suffering, from the iconoclastic vantage point of its unbelieving, Marxist director, Luis Buñuel (1900 - 1983). In this cinematographic masterpiece, Buñuel forces us to question the priorities of our own spirituality. How do we misuse the gracious capacities we have received from God? How do we use God's gifts to demonstrate, not Love, but ugliness and odious abusiveness? Is suffering really the focus of Christian spirituality? Is Christ's suffering more important than His teachings? More important than His kindness and compassion? Or could it be that His volitional suffering is itself an expression of His teaching, which is self-surrendering Love? When Orthodox Christians try to sell Orthodox asceticism by hatefully and triumphalistically exalting it in relation to other forms of spirituality might they, in fact, be distancing themselves from the humble Lord Jesus? How does "Christian" hatefulness and lack of compassion betray the Love of God? Is Christ depicted in the Gospels as Someone consumed with suffering and grief? Surely, the Prophet Isaiah calls Him "a man of sorrows, familiar with bearing sickness," but is that description of Him comprehensive? If that is all He is--a man of sorrows--do we not end up with the kind of caricature we see portrayed in SIMON OF THE DESERT? Unlike Christ, Simon seems enraptured at times, perhaps pridefully, with his own ascetical endeavors. At times, he seems to portray the humble penitence of the publican, while at other times, perhaps in reaction to his own fleshly proclivities, he exhibits intolerance and the self-righteous judgmentalism characterizing the Pharisee. The decay and corruption of flesh is seen throughout the film, but so is the corruption of spirit, the decay of religiosity. By demeaning the body, Simon seeks to exalt the soul, but is not the body the Temple of God? Clearly, the Christian ought not to unite his body in the unchastity of promiscuity with a harlot, but should he, on the other hand, seek to unite his body with maggots and putrefaction? As the Orthodox Christian views this film, he or she ought to consider the following words of the Apostle Paul:

“If with Christ you died to the elemental spiritual forces of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—'Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch' (things going to perish when consumed)—according to human precepts and teachings? Such things do indeed have a pretense of wisdom—in gratuitous acts of religious devotion, a humble sensibility, and bodily austerity—but not held with any honor, being in the interest of gratifying the flesh.

“So since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual promiscuity, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator. Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 2:20-3:17).

We ought not to lose sight of the promise of spiritual realities made present in our current experience through the working of the Holy Spirit. While we yet remain in this existence of fleshly mortality, all need not be death, dying, suffering, and mortification because askesis, or spiritual discipline, is but a means to an end, and that end, or goal, is Divine Life to be experienced here and now in this present life, even while we are surrounded by death and corruption. As Saint Paul also tells us: “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, that we might perceive the things freely given to us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12). “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in our bodies the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:8-11).

Does God wish us to live a miserable life void of pleasure? With such a morbid outlook, how can we venture to sing to God with thankfulness in our hearts, as Saint Paul commands us? Rather, the Apostle proclaims freedom to us, saying, “whatever you do, in word or deed...,” thus allowing us to choose freely what we do or say... As he says elsewhere, “'All things are lawful for me,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful for me,' but I will not be dominated by anything. 'Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food'—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for promiscuity, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by His power” (1 Corinthians 6:12-14). So we are free to choose what we do and say in this life, but we are commanded to recognize that we don't belong to ourselves; we belong to God. Through Holy Baptism our body has become the Lord's Temple. Whatever we choose to do, we should do in His Name, not surrendering our freedom to enslavement by irrational passions, but offering ourselves rationally as living sacrifices in thanksgiving to God, Who has called us to love as He loved us. As Saint John the Theologian writes, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16), even as the faithful of the first church in Jerusalem “were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people” (Acts 2:44-47). “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

May God make us worthy to begin receiving this Divine Kingdom here and now through the compassions of His only-begotten Son and the operations of His all-Holy and Good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. ( )