Where is the virtuous man?

Unless you’re a member of the SCA, I doubt the word “chivalry” or its derivatives is part of your vocabulary.  In our modern society, we generally don’t speak of men as being virtuous, gallant or noble.  Pop culture certainly doesn’t celebrate these attributes.   In fact, sitcoms take great delight in creating chuckles over homosexuality and casual sex  while branding the straight principled guy as an odd duck in need of expanding his moral horizons.

Recent headlines have reminded me of how weak mankind is.  Governor Spitzer, the fallen Eliot Ness combating corporate corruption now must face the demons of his own heart.  I read about powerful men such as Spitzer, Clinton, Edwards and wonder what their most passionate supporters thought when they learned the news of their public humiliation.  Were heads shaking?  Another man down?   Were they truly distraught, feeling a deep sense of betrayal?  Maybe it’s a fad to ‘fess up’ to extramarital affairs just as “coming out of the closet” became vogue in the last few decades.  Maybe the news left us with a shrug over coffee as we next sought the sports section.  My own thought is usually: Are they truly sorry for their actions or are they just sorry they got caught?

Our culture praises men who are “successful” (read bulky bank account here), “handsome” (translation, fit, sculpted physique whether earned or surgically enhanced, it matters not) and “powerful” (able to wield position or assets to achieve their goals) to the point of brushing their “menial , everybodydoesit sins” under the rug.   It is true that as Christians we are to forgive our brother, or those who represent us as the case may be,......but what of our task to raise noble men?  Where is the training to withstand the temptations and trials that life brings?   Where are the honorable men?

Strong men have self-control and act with integrity in all facets of their lives and above all, they are not self-seeking but are humble before  All Mighty God.  These are the men who accomplish much for the Kingdom of Heaven, who earn respect from others and define leadership on earth.  I know they exist...mostly outside of our media IV.

Much like St. Paul’s epistles to the church at Corinth which encouraged men to strive for excellence and uphold the commandments of God, the code of chivalry which evolved out of the eleventh century entreats men to act honorably in all things.  In many of St. Paul’s letters, we are encouraged to prepare for battle, to stand ready for the world’s snares by girding ourselves with Truth, putting on the breastplate of righteousness, enfolding our feet with the gospel of peace and above all, he says, taking the shield of faith in order to “quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one” (from Ephesians 6:14-16)  

The code of chivarly that developed out of the Middle Ages should not be left to Middle English authorities, Renaissance Faires and storybooks; our society is in dire need of their resurrection, for weak spirits are such easy prey.    Qualities such as fearing God, faith, charity, justice, sagacity, prudence, TRUTH, hope, diligence, respecting the honour of women, temperance and obedience are among those found in the code that build true resilience in men;  a strength of spirit which is the core of the man, enabling him to combat the snares found upon the journey.  Enabling him to go forward with a purposeful goal rather than an arbitrary wandering.

Christians in America very often seem to be in a perpetual defensive mode; reacting to injuries, towing the line of forgiveness for trespasses without much regard for equipping ourselves and our children to avoid these quagmires at the outset.  If we instruct our sons & daughters on what it is to be honorable, to “run with endurance the race that is set before us...” (Hebrews 12: 1-2), we teach an offensive mode that develops virtuous men and advances the Kingdom of Heaven.

Praise God for those in whom the branch of glory dwells-

Praise God for the honorable man filled with humility;

May God enable us to teach our sons & daughters

what it means to be noble.

*Image is from the official site of Lord of the Rings

Praise God for the heart of J.R.R. Tolkien who celebrated the virtuous man in his epic novels.

Vainglory

"Men of high spirit endure offense nobly and willingly. But only the holy and the saintly can pass unscathed through praise."

St. John Climacus

Vainglory. I’ve been thinking of this a lot lately; it’s a word our culture doesn’t employ too much. Maybe we should. Maybe it would help to draw a more distinct line between self-esteem, confidence and dignity - which is good, and arrogance, vanity , vainglory and narcissism, which is bad. By definition, vainglory means “inordinate pride in oneself or one’s accomplishments; excessive vanity.” The opposite of vainglory is humility.

Maybe this is on my mind because I’m currently witnessing the negative effects of vainglory which is packaged up neatly in New Age philosophy through Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra and their ilk. The “enlightenment” of knowing thyself and listening to that voice within is not new. The terms are tweaked, Holy Scripture revised to tickle the ears of modern man and voilà, you have their bottom line: man is god. The idea is unoriginal and it’s disheartening to see how many still fall for this old lie. What was created as dignity morphs into vainglory:

“Vainglory cannot be killed; it strikes unseen by the victim, but is obvious to those around them who are often powerless to lend any assistance.” -Brian Price

The message of the Gospel is denying self in order to follow Christ; this is the only real freedom because ‘in Him we live and move and have our being’ (paraphrased from Acts 17). New Age philosophies appeal to that bedrock of our passions- desiring personal happiness & having what we want, now. This, of course, disregards anything or anyone who may get in our way. Oh,.. yeah, there’s also that little inconvenience of fact; when absolute truth is subjective, that child molester you read about in the news is justified. He’s just living out “his truth” after all. Drawing boundaries around morality includes various shades of gray.

As you can discern from my previous posts relating to chivalry, I view the ideals of the knight as closely related to life in Christ. As the knight denies self for the “higher good”, so I see the christian life. We lay down our passions - our gluttony, pride, lust, etc - in order to sink roots and blossom in this life. The fruits of which are love, peace, kindness, self-control, gentleness, patience, faithfulness and joy. One of the best articles I’ve ever read on the virtue of humility and the bane of vainglory comes not from a christian source, per se, but by Brian Price of the SCA: An Open Letter to Siobhan Medhbh O’ Roarke: On Humility.

Depicted in the artwork above is St. George.

For the purpose of this article, I think it's a great illustration of nobility suppressing vainglory.

Sacred Paths

“The fragrant path of Orthodoxy...” is an oft-repeated phrase I use when talking about my conversion from Protestantism to Orthodoxy.  In fact, there are several pathways that ushered me to the door of the church:

*The path of history; the ancient Celts

*The path of John Calvin & St. Augustine

*The path of circumstance and healing

And, I might be tempted to add another one here, “The path of J.R.R. Tolkien”, but that wouldn’t exactly be correct.  In truth, it was as I was making discoveries along these pathways that The Lord of the Rings  came into my life.  It was an exhilarating time; sort of like stumbling along an overgrown trail in the woods and then, by chance, to meet up with a friendly local.  Someone who not only gives you directions, but is most glad to show you the way.  I am indebted to Professor Tolkien for seeing spiritual truths with new eyes.  

The first and still the most traveled path in my religious reading is the path of history and of the Celtic peoples in particular.  Maybe it’s because my mom is Irish that I have a fondness for all things related to the British Isles.  Growing up listening to her records of pipes and drums, Irish jigs and the like, maybe there is a sentimental value linked to reading about this culture.   I began reading romance novels about knights and damsels in distress in high school, but by college was keen to learn about the real men who wore armour and swore allegiance to a king centuries ago.  What made them so loyal?  How did this system really work?  What were their religious beliefs?

Soon I discovered the story of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (1208-1265) and the romance that I had found so entertaining in earlier novels was replaced by an infatuation with war, siege engines, codes of chivalry and that one element I most wondered about: loyalty.  War tactics evolve, but loyalty is an immortal lion.

It is said that a Bishop spoke these words to Simon’s eldest son, Henry: "My beloved child, both you and your father will meet your deaths on one day, and by one kind of death, but it will be in the name of justice and truth."

Somewhere in here, in this wonder upon the Medieval period and the faith of men came a song of the sparrow which said:  whatever was true then is true now.  God is unchanging.  

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  Hebrews 13:8

We are the ones who change, who fall and get back up again.  We are the ones who fail to learn from history because we will not own it.   Of the Middle Ages, some might say men were consumed with the power inherent in the Roman Catholic Church, but I wondered about the farmers, the serfs who had no thought of power and manipulation.  What kind of faith did they have?

*Painting is by Alan Ayers