“It was just recently. In Black Africa, in the very heart of the jungle, an old doctor died. He was very old and died of old age and fatigue, he died quietly, as if he had fallen asleep. How the leaves fall, how his patients, the Africans, knew how to die. He is very tired. More than fifty years ago, he came to the stuffy, unbearably hot jungle of Gabon to treat the people... And then he died. On the sun-scorched area under his windows, Africans and whites sat on the ground. The Gabonians sang rhythmically. And the tom-toms pounded the villages, announcing the death of the Great White Doctor. And the fires flickered in the night. And how many old people thought that night about him and about themselves, tossing and turning sleeplessly on the bare ground: “He died, poor old man, and who will heal my ulcers?” The Old Jungle Doctor has died. The lepers put together a crude coffin without a lid and covered the Doctor with palm branches. Black and white hands carried him to the grave. And the white sisters sang “Ah, bleib mit deiner Gnade,” the old hymn that he loved so much, which his father the pastor, and his grandfather the pastor, and all the winegrowers of the Munster Valley sang back at home. The children from the leper village sang harmoniously in their own way, and the mourners began to cry out in Galoa: “Leani inina kende kende.” Many spoke that day the same five words, in Galoa and Pahuan, in French and German, in Dutch, Czech or English: “He was like a father to us.” And a person from the government flew in from the president himself. He said that the oldest and most famous Gabonese had died. Maybe even more famous than the president himself.”
(Boris Nosik, “Albert Schweitzer”).
The priest moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer's life. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer. A pilgrim of spirit, unlike the world, revealed himself to his heart's gaze. The inexpressible secret of Schweitzer’s selfless service was resurrecting and captivating the consciousness. He touched the shrines of life. The spirit was approaching the great “brotherhood of those marked by pain.” A tearful fog washed over the long-dusty soul. The soul communed with the Eternal, rushed towards Meaning. Vanity, toil and confusion disappeared into the past. No vexation of spirit and no doubt. Together with the Great Doctor, the priest began to live in the virgin forest of equatorial Africa - “between the water and the virgin forest.” The ascetic/zealous service and aspirations of the Old Doctor charged and enlightened. Albert Schweitzer - how much light, love, compassion and pain there are in his pure eyes! And how much reverence for life, for all life! And how much pain! And how much pain there is for all those suffering! “Reverence for life” is what Schweitzer is all about. These short words contain the whole meaning of his bright life. “I am life that wants to live, I am life among life that wants to live... The way in which the commandment forbidding us to kill and torture entered my heart became the greatest experience of my childhood and my youth. Everything else faded next to him... Reverence for life does not allow a person to neglect the interests of the world. It constantly forces him to take part in everything that happens around him and to feel responsible for it” (A. Schweitzer). No, he is not only a great scientist, a talented musician, an unusual philosopher, an informal theologian, a merciful doctor, the “thirteenth apostle,” and a Nobel laureate. Albert Schweitzer is a man not of our vanity, not of our world! He is from the “brotherhood of those marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer. This is what the priest thought as he moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer’s life. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self.
Baby Albert was born physically weak/weak and unsightly, “with a yellow face.” The appearance of the baby caused sincere regret among those around him. “Look at my baby!” – the mother’s enthusiastic voice was drowned in the terrible silence of the pastors’ wives who visited the Schweitzer house. The women said nothing and remained politely silent. A burning pain pierced the heart of little Albert's mother. She quickly took her son to another room and burst into tears. Like Rachel, inconsolable. Then she did not yet know what genius she “brought” into this world. Then she did not yet realize what kind of Great Doctor she was preparing for the “continent of death”! No one knew except the all-knowing Lord. According to the recollections of Schweitzer himself, “the milk from our neighbor Leopold’s cow and the beautiful air of Günsbach performed a miracle. From the age of two I began to grow stronger and soon became a healthy child.”
The ways and destinies of the Lord are unknown and inscrutable for us mortals. From his mother’s womb, Schweitzer was foreknown for a special mission - to live and serve in the virgin forest of equatorial Africa, “between water and virgin forest.” Years will pass, the time will come when the once sickly boy and shy youth will come out to serve and appear to the world. He would live for almost a century and become the inspiration for the “brotherhood of those marked by pain.” Seeking consolation for the most outcast! The son of a poor Alsatian pastor will consciously renounce worldly glory, fame and career, he will confidently leave his comfort zone, collect all his savings, “get into debt” and sail with his beloved wife far from his home - into a zone of pain, suffering and grief! His friends and relatives will not understand him; they will call him crazy, frantic, strange. Without his mother's approval and blessing, he will leave the European oasis and set off on an unknown journey. He will be buried on African soil, next to his wife, who loved him selflessly and was devoted to their service; next to a village and a leper hospital, which he built with money from the Nobel Prize.
The priest moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer's life. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer. The priest analyzed his life, work and ministry. And deep down in his soul he already understood that he couldn’t live like this any longer! That he had lost something important in his life. That his Christianity is lame on both knees, frail and wretched. That there is a great gulf between the field of his theological knowledge and the field of his practical affairs. That he needs radical changes in his relationship with God and his neighbors. And his conscience told him that the music of his life needed adjustment, that there were too many dissonances and false notes in it, that he urgently needed to reconsider his priorities and values. “Many of us live in the perspective of only earthly, temporary life. Often we exist in vanity and languor of spirit, spinning like a squirrel in a wheel, in pursuit of illusory goals - seduced by fame, hoarding, temporary pleasures, ostentatious luxury. From dawn to dusk we work on our “credit history”, on our own reputation. Modern “commercial Babylon” is doing its best to draw us into materialism, numbness with material means. Consciousness is imperceptibly saturated with ideas about success, well-being, personal peace and well-being. We naively believe that a “bright future” is just around the corner. And “all information technologies work to instill in us this utopian idea,” the priest thought as he moved through the pages of the life of Albert Schweitzer. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer.
“Even before school, my father started teaching me how to play the old harpsichord... I played the notes a little. But improvisations brought me special joy, as well as songs and chorales with independently found accompaniment... And when I heard wind instruments for the first time, I almost lost consciousness... On one fine October day, my father for the first time put a slate under my arm and took me to the teacher, and I cried all the way. I had a presentiment that my dreams and my wonderful freedom had come to an end... I was a quiet and dreamy student who learned to read and write with some difficulty” (Albert Schweitzer).
At the age of eight, little Albert asked his father for the New Testament and began to read it. At the age of 9 he was transferred to a “realshule” - a real school. I had to walk alone, through the mountains, three kilometers. The Law of God was taught in a real school by the amazing Pastor Schaeffer.
“I still remember how he wept sitting at the pulpit, and we sobbed at our desks when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers...” (Albert Schweitzer).
One day, while driving a horse, little Albert hit it hard with a whip. Arriving home, he noticed how heavily her lathered sides were heaving, and how tired she was. Albert greatly regretted his blow: “And what good was it that I looked into her tired eyes and silently begged for forgiveness?” …That was the kind of heart he had! Reverent before life, before all life! The heart of Albert Schweitzer. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer.
The priest moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer's life. Not only for the thought of God, but for his deaf soul, for insight and healing of a blind/petrified heart, he wrote as a confession. "Why are you crying?" – his wife noticed tears in his eyes... unusually light tears. The rain of awakening watered the shepherd's callous soul. Heavy heavenly rain! The priest wept for himself, for his people, for his church, he grieved inconsolably. And he wrote…almost a cry from the heart—for a soul tired of vain religiosity, superficial Christianity and mundane faith.
“I read and heard from missionaries about the physical suffering of the natives living in the virgin forest... It seemed to me that in the parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus, it was about us. We are the rich one, for the development of medicine has endowed us with extensive knowledge about diseases and many remedies against pain. We take the immeasurable benefits that this wealth gives us for granted. And somewhere in the distant colonies there is a beggar Lazarus - peoples of color who are susceptible to illness and pain just like us, and even to a greater extent, and who have no means to fight them. Just as the rich man, through his thoughtlessness, sinned before the poor man, who lay at his gate, because he did not put himself in his place and did not want to obey the voice of his heart, so we also sin... Under the influence of these thoughts, I decided, when I was already thirty years old, to study medicine and go there to test my beliefs in practice” (A. Schweitzer).
The priest moved through the pages of the life of Albert Schweitzer, a man with a tremendous intellectual conscience, a man not of our vanity. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer. And he felt ashamed, hurt and ashamed - both for himself and for his Christianity. The rain of awakening watered his callous soul. Heavy heavenly rain! And the soul wept and wept!
Go “to the people” and you will hear a host of voices asking: Do we have a future? Why is life so sad in our troubled, faithless days? Why does nostalgia sometimes affect even the strongest and most mature? Why do internal splits and disharmony of the soul affect modern man? What is he missing? Exercises? Faith? What will happen to our children? Gambling addiction, drug addiction, sex addiction, suicide addiction... What is happening to society? “Isn’t it because all this is happening that we are not just moving further and further, but are flying away from the Source of Life? Is it because we are becoming more and more internally, spiritually orphaned, relying on ourselves and our own strengths, our spirituality and religious programs? And is the leadership from Above for us purely theoretical, at the level of proclamations? But the acoustic waves we emit quickly fade; there is no spirit of life in them. And our theology is only armchair. And spirituality is abstract, sterile, dead! The realities of life include emptiness, dissatisfaction and bitterness, even with material well-being and “a crowd of people.” After all, a soul without God is an orphan. Our sufficiency is only in Him! Without Christ, without the Father, without the Spirit, the church is an orphan. Without the presence and action of His Holy Spirit, the church turns into a bureaucratic institution, a business structure, a dusty museum, a club of interests. They celebrated, congratulated, took photographs, finished the concert, gathered, preached, sang, played, prayed, listened, stared, sat for a long time. And Christ says: go, heal, visit, clothe, feed! Lord heal our souls, families and churches from the bustle of brightly noisy, almost theatrical, entertaining, carnival-like, non-saving vanity! Heal our spirit, which is already almost dead, from narcissism, selfism, egoism, giftism and other emptiness! Heal us, Lord, heal, heal, heal! Don’t leave us, Lord!” the priest tearfully prayed, moving through the pages of Albert Schweitzer’s life. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer. The rain of awakening watered his callous soul. Heavy heavenly rain!
Schweitzer searched for a long time for the “historical Jesus.” And finally he broke through, broke through to Him. To the True Savior and Teacher! “Jesus the Unknown” (according to Merezhkovsky) was again revealed to the world... by the selfless service of the Great Doctor! In every sense of the word, a doctor and a doctor! Schweitzer ends his book about the search for the “historical Jesus” with significant words: “He comes to us Unknown, just as He once came to the shore of the lake to people who did not know Him. He also says to us: “Follow Me!” and presents us with challenges appropriate to our times. He's calling. And to those who obey Him - the wise and the common people - He reveals Himself in the work, in the struggle, in the suffering through which He leads His disciples; and through their own experience, like an unspeakable mystery, they will comprehend who He is.”
The ineffable mystery of Christ is the ineffable mystery of ministry. Serving Others, far and near; service of selfless, healing, godmother, saving. French philosopher Emanuel Levinas wrote about the importance of “encountering the Other.” The “other” is the neighbor, the orphan, the widow, the stranger, the neighbor, the despairing, the outcast, the fallen. The “other” is someone for whom we accept responsibility, to whom we show compassion and mercy. The “other” is the one “who calls for his protection by his very existence.” Our power now manifests itself in the care and responsibility we take upon ourselves when encountering the Other. “The entire edifice of the created world seems to rest on my shoulders,” writes Levinas. A self-centered person resists this way of life - for him it is strange, unnatural. But Jesus Christ showed us the perfect example of living a selfless life for others. A life doomed to non-reciprocity. As one old song says: “Into the terrible swamps of despondency / Into the gorges where the shadow of death / He descends to this day!” This is the spiritual liturgy. The Greek term liturgy means “carrying out service”, and completely freely, without calculation or benefit, wasting oneself for the sake of another. Moreover, true liturgy is the sacrificial giving of oneself, one’s means, perhaps one’s entire life, to another! Such liturgy is the shortage of our time. This liturgy was performed by Albert Schweitzer. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer. He even operated on monkeys and antelopes, everyone who needed it. Everyone! That was the kind of heart he had. Heart of the Great Doctor.
“One fine summer morning in Günsbach, on Whitsunday (it was in 1896), I woke up with the thought that I should not take the happiness I had received for granted, but was obliged to give something in return. Continuing to slowly ponder this thought in bed with the birds chirping outside the window, I decided that I could consider my life justified if I lived for science and art until the age of thirty, and after that devoted myself to direct service to people. Many times before, I tried to understand what Jesus’ words meant to me personally: “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel’s sake will save it.” Now the answer has been found. In addition to external happiness, I now had internal happiness. What the nature of my future activities would be, I could not yet say. Circumstances will dictate this. Only one thing was certain: it had to be direct service to people, even if unnoticed and not conspicuous” (Albert Schweitzer).
The priest moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer's life. The rain of awakening watered his parched soul. Heavy heavenly rain! And it seemed to him that the whole world should awaken and change from the testimony/life of the Old Doctor! But only Heaven listened to his pure dreams...
The life of Albert Schweitzer was marked by secret suffering. He was given to see what was hidden from vain eyes. It was not with his mind that he knew Christ the Savior. I followed Him with my whole heart! “What do we think about when we look at our material resources and spiritual capital? Sacrificing all his finances and risking his life, Schweitzer treated and saved people from physical death and death in distant Africa. He accomplished the feat of Christ's love not in words, but in deeds. “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some,” Paul wrote to the Christians of Corinth (1 Cor. 9:22). “... Great sorrow for me and unceasing torment of my heart: I would like to be excommunicated from Christ for my brothers who are related to me according to the flesh...” - this is in a letter to the church located in Rome (Rom. 9:1-5). Albert treated and saved not relatives, distant ones... We artificially fragmented life into secular and church, personal and family, work and... others. But life is everything together, it’s every moment. And every moment of our whole life must shine before people and before God! Not only in the church, but also in our joys and sorrows, in our gains and losses, in our homes and at work. But how can we get rid of empty and weathered words and theories? From forms and rituals that have long been exhausted and useless? How can we introduce ourselves and our children to a fruitful life in God? Who will stop the deadly process of retreat? Brotherhood of those marked by pain! The pain of Christ Crucified on the Cross! On their foreheads there is a special sign—the mark of God!” – this is what the priest thought as he moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer’s life. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer.
“Ethics begins where talk ends... I would like to become a doctor so I can act without any speeches. For years I expressed myself through words. I happily practiced the profession of a theological teacher and preacher. But I could not imagine the new business as a talk about the religion of love, but only as its undoubted implementation... How can I describe my feelings when such a sufferer is brought to me! I am the only person who can help him for hundreds of kilometers around... I put my hand on the forehead of the unfortunate man who is filling the air with groans and tell him: “Calm down. In an hour you will fall asleep, and when you wake up again, you will no longer be in pain”... I call my wife to the hospital... She gives the patient anesthesia... The operation is over. In the twilight of the hospital, I watch my patient awaken. As soon as he comes to his senses, he screams in amazement, repeating again and again: “Nothing hurts me anymore, nothing hurts me!” His hand gropes for mine and doesn’t let go. Then I tell him and those around him that it was our Lord Jesus who asked the doctor and his wife to come here to Ogowa and that our white friends in Europe gave us money to live here and treat the sick!” (Albert Schweitzer).
The priest moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer's life. "Why are you crying?" – his wife noticed tears in his eyes... unusually light tears...
Re-reading Schweitzer, the priest plunged into the past, reflected on the paths of Christianity, thought about the fate of the invisible church, known only to God. The priest read, and before his eyes stood a spiritually weakened church and an almost dying civilization. Reading the amazingly vivid lines, he sighed inwardly; his soul yearned for the glory of the former temple. Although that temple was inconspicuous in appearance, although its church was persecuted then, it illuminated the world with an inexhaustible source of light; crystal clear, incapable of treason, faithfully pure souls filled her invisible spaces. His brotherhood was fruitful! Now the moral state of the church was steadily falling, and society was sliding into a deep abyss of lack of spirituality. The main Christian virtues faded into the background, while everyday well-being and comfort, material values, external success gained strength. As Nikolai Berdyaev put it, Christianity was becoming “decrepit and decrepit.” That’s why the priest wept…
There have always been troubled, dark times of apostasy in history. Thus, during the reign of the judges, the moral level of the people of Israel was so low that even those from whom the best was expected openly sinned, turning the common people away from worshiping the Lord. Unholy confusion and division reigned among the people: people worshiped God because they feared His judgment, and at the same time served Mammon - the gods of comfort, material values and pleasures. The sin of Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of the priest Eli, was disgusting and treacherous in the eyes of the Lord, and “the Lord had already decided to put them to death” (1 Sam. 2:25). And when Phinehas’ wife heard about the tragic death of her husband (during childbirth), she named her newly born son “Ichabod,” saying, “The glory has departed from Israel” (1 Sam. 4:21). “The glory is leaving our church, we are losing Divine authority, we are dissolving politically correct and tolerantly in this world, we are limping on both knees...”, as an echo flashed through the priest’s consciousness, and just from this phrase alone his soul became excruciatingly painful. Indeed, in the struggle for imaginary freedoms, for democracy, Christians crossed the line of what is permitted by God, and the process of mutation of the moral values of Christianity began, in its very core there was a division, and the devaluation of moral principles overwhelmed the culture of postmodernism. Don’t leave us, Lord!” – this is what the priest thought as he moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer’s life. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer.
“The sick appear at my door at all times of the day... I was very upset that I did not have a room for examining and treating the sick... At first I began to receive the sick and do bandages in front of the house in the fresh air. When the evening thunderstorm broke out, everything had to be hastily transferred back to the veranda. It was very exhausting to receive patients in the sun... There was nothing to be done, I had to set up a hospital in the room where the missionary Morel, who lived in this house in front of me, had a chicken coop... I felt at the height of happiness... What a bliss it was when the rain began to patter on the roof for the first time and the incredible became a reality - I could calmly continue my bandages! (Albert Schweitzer).
The priest read... and thought his sad thoughts. He worried about his imperfect church, about the shaken authority of Christian society, about temptations and deviations from the principles of honor, he thought about the consolation of his spiritually devastated people. After all, muddy streams of unbelief have descended into the very subsoil; the bitter waters of liberal Christianity threaten to erode the foundation of its church. Don't leave us, Lord! The priest tearfully prayed as he moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer’s life. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer.
“On average, I have to see from thirty to forty patients every day. Mainly these are various kinds of skin diseases, malaria, sleeping sickness, leprosy, elephantiasis, heart disease, joint diseases and tropical dysentery... In the hot season there is no way to work in a chicken coop... I also worry about the fact that I have almost no medicine left. There were much more patients than I could have expected... But what do all these passing troubles mean compared to the joy that comes from working in these places and the opportunity to help people! Even though the funds are still very limited, I achieve a lot with them. For the sake of the joy alone of seeing how people with purulent ulcers are finally bandaged with clean bandages and no longer have to walk with their wounded feet in the mud, for the sake of this joy alone it would be worth working here! ...It often happens that the leg is one continuous wound, in which the bones and tendons turn white in separate islands... The pain is unbearable. The smell is so disgusting that those around him are not able to stand it... But what a joy it is when he, even lame, because his bad leg turns out to be twisted from scars, but so happy, freed from pain and the vile smell, gets into a canoe to go home! (Albert Schweitzer).
The priest read... he compared modern mundane, petty, relaxed Christianity with the brotherhood of those marked by pain, with the cloud of witnesses of Christ, “of whom the whole world was not worthy” (Heb. 11:38), but who wandered through the deserts and mountains, went through the crucible of trials and did not renounce their faith, “some were martyred.” “What is happening to our generation? Why do we sell ourselves so easily, betraying our sacred faith? How long will we have to limp on both knees? Have mercy on us, Lord, save and have mercy on our people... Increase, Lord, the number of Your spiritual warriors, capable of waging spiritual warfare against the passions of this vicious world, against the “spirits of evil,” to fight in Your full armor and in Your name, Lord, to go and “wash away the shame from the face of Christ,” perhaps at the cost of their comfort and well-being, even at the cost of their very lives, Lord...", the priest's heart turned upside down, and all his pity for the people flared up...
“I have a lot of work with lepers... I don’t even have to think about isolating lepers. In my hospital, among other patients, there are sometimes four or five lepers... Our health is not brilliant, but we cannot say that it is completely bad. There is, however, tropical anemia. It manifests itself in rapid fatigue. It is enough for me to climb from the hospital to the hill where my house is located, and I am completely exhausted... We also notice in ourselves that extraordinary nervousness that usually accompanies tropical anemia. In addition, our teeth are in poor condition... Toothache in a virgin forest... It’s been several weeks since I myself turned from a doctor into a patient. Even during my first stay here, I had foot ulcers, which later healed well; Now, during construction, I happened to hurt my leg several times, and as a result of new injuries, my ulcers opened again and are causing me a lot of trouble. I limp, but I continue to walk. When I get really bad, they put me in the hospital…. The worst thing with such foot ulcers is the nervous excitement caused by lingering burning pain” (Albert Schweitzer).
The priest was reading... the priest was sobbing. Financial opacity, unscrupulousness of some churches, missionaries/missions, “ministry” leaders and even charity foundations—the spirit of Gehazi in the church body. Ashamed. Hurt. The disease of love of money is ancient, deadly, Judas, hellish. It is destructive and murderous—the root of all evil, scandal, reproach, destruction and even death. Gehazi’s tragedy is not just personal. Leprosy for all generations! Finance is a very “subtle” matter. Financial transparency/openness/cleanliness always inspires sincere respect and trust. Unfortunately, some charitable foundations/missions/churches/priests/teachers have long lost their honor and reputation precisely because of financial opacity.
It’s sad/sad but true—many Christian “stars” followed “in the footsteps of Balaam,” lusting for “the wages of unrighteousness.” “Spiritual” careerist narcissists shamelessly compete with each other for fame in their “ministries.” They fight for spheres of influence. Along with the ordained priests and missionaries who are worthy of respect, support and honor (1 Tim. 5:17), there is an “elite” caste of “workers” who open their own “ministries” that are more like show business. Modest and humble workers are in the shadows, unknown to the world, but they work in the name of the Lord, to the best of their ability and beyond their strength! All financial flows are “controlled” by pastors/“stars” promoted by the mass media. Pseudo-spiritual “artists” have learned to tell/show “spiritual”, heroic stories/legends about themselves and “their” ministries in the name of… “great” financial collections. These are people of “damaged minds”, “they seduce unsteady souls”, entice the naive and the simple-minded with eloquent/flattering words, stories, plots, testimonies, and even shows! And all under pious ideas, projects, “breakthroughs”, pretexts. And in the eyes there is silver and money. And also glory, the ambitions of the flesh. Money/fame for yourself. Orphan - interview. Piety is for gain. A bet on mercy? Playing on soft hearts and souls? Silver is in ruins! Through financial mania is the path of truth in shame, humiliation and reproach.
It has gotten to the point where they even speculate on sincerity, mercy, and compassion; on widows and orphans. And even on the idea of the “Holy Land”/pilgrimage/tours/ they make their own success and business. Thinking, thoughtful, sincere, selfless Christians feel financial falsehood and dishonesty in their spirit/heart. But they are a minority. Most are susceptible to suggestion, manipulation and other kinds of sentimental “washing” of consciousness. As a result, neglect of financial integrity/transparency and accountability has led to the fact that the movement of cash flows of some organizations/missions/individuals is a “closed secret”. The muddy foam of financial mud threatens to overwhelm and destroy all the sprouts of noble aspirations, even the most sincere. The ending of Judas is tragic. The spirit of Gehazi is a hereditary leprosy. Ashamed. It hurts,” the priest thought as he moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer’s life. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer.
“The most difficult problem arising in connection with the Christian mission is the fact that it outwardly appears in two forms: as a Catholic and a Protestant church. How much higher would everything that is done in the name of Christ be if this difference did not exist at all, and the two churches did not compete with each other!” (Albert Schweitzer).
Schweitzer touched on a sore point in Christianity. The spirit of superiority and competition. The modern church is divided. He quickly falls away from grace. He is deceived by “another spirit” and becomes infected. And he doesn’t know “what spirit.” Without Christ, what remains are politicized careerists, nationalized and almost “militarized” ecclesias. They cease to be light. They cease to be the salt and conscience of society. Not the Saints, they are led by their own spirit. They fight according to the flesh. And again, as before, Christ is crucified senselessly.
Church politics is flourishing. In all its “beauty”, in all its “brilliance”, as before, with crowded/massive gatherings of people, “at holidays”, this ancient leaven appears. And... as before, the Body of Christ rejects this leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herod. Although this unclean, pseudo-religious/hypocritical/political leaven is very skillfully veiled/disguised, although it appears to the world in a bright/“angelic” image. But the Church of Christ completely rejects her, and the brothers and sisters of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior do not accept her. Although this is an old leaven, it is still cunning/crafty/vicious like a snake. Although this vile leaven is terribly tenacious/infectious/active, the saints and elect defeat it, and drive it out of the Church of Christ the Savior. Humble/meek/close to God souls know that even though this little leaven, even though it is barely visible, is poisonous for the soul and spirit, and deadly for the mind and heart of the church. And therefore let this leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herod be anathema.
Church society is affected by politicosis, split from within by religious and political contradictions, heated and divided by ambitious/odious black-and-white and other worldviews and even theologian-prophets. Noisy political passions, soul-draining information wars, provocative belligerent statements/insults and even “spiritual” threats/curses are heating up the already explosive atmosphere of the Christian world to the utmost. Politicosis imperceptibly turns into polytomania, captivating souls with a gambling “political” spirit and the struggle against “blood and flesh.” The Church is deprived of the spirit of Christ, distracted from the Main Thing, from preaching the Gospel and from truly serving people.
“What does the inhabitant of the virgin forest perceive in Christianity and how does he understand it? …For him, Christianity is a light that illuminates his fearful darkness. It convinces him that the spirits of nature, the spirits of ancestors and fetishes have no power over him, that no one person has an ominous power that can subjugate another, and that everything that happens in the world is controlled by God's will... Thus, through the teachings of Christ, the native gains a kind of double liberation: his worldview from filled with fears turns into one free from fear and from immoral becomes moral. Never have I felt so much the life-giving power of the influence of the thought of Jesus as in the large school hall in Lambarenne, a building that also serves as a church... One must live among the natives to understand how much it means when one of them, having become a Christian, renounces the revenge that he must inflict, or even the blood feud to which the customs of the country force him! (Albert Schweitzer).
“Now the natives had to experience for themselves what war is. The women's groans filled the air. The steamer's smoke disappeared into the distance. The crowd dispersed. Near the embankment, an old woman, whose son had been taken away, sat on a stone and silently cried. I took her hand: I wanted to tell her some words of comfort. She continued to cry and did not seem to hear what I was saying. And suddenly I felt that in these sunset rays I was crying myself, silently, just like her” (Albert Schweitzer).
He wept with those who wept and rejoiced with those who rejoiced. He became like Christ. Modern man is entangled in the chaos of carnal life. “Spiritual Babylon” intoxicated him and made him drunk. Many souls wander in darkness, in the labyrinths of life, without seeing a way out, without seeing a clearing. Many are carried away by the “charms” of a sinful, corrupt world. Many have long overloaded their lives into the virtual worlds of the Internet. They just think that this is their space. In fact, the “black holes” of the World Wide Web have long since swallowed up and programmed part of modern society for their lifestyle, their “orientation,” damaging the mind, emptying the soul, infecting them with information that irreversibly changes a person’s personality, especially children.
Spirits of deception try to lead even Christians “according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8), to spiritually intoxicate and bind the human soul, to make them dependent on a bright image, sound and touch, to turn care for the flesh into lust and vicious passion. We are purposefully distracted from the main thing and from real life. We are so busy that we don’t even have time to breathe! There is no time to think about eternity, no time to raise your head to the heavens, enjoying the harmony of the Universe, no time to look into the eyes of your children, loved ones... To rejoice or cry with them. There is no time to visit the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the naked... Eternal haste and vanity... Often even in churches there is so much noise and “programs” that we cannot catch the main thing - “what the spirit is saying to the churches” (Rev. 2:7). Don't leave us, Lord! This is what the priest thought as he moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer’s life. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer. The rain of awakening watered his parched soul. Heavy heavenly rain!
“The torment that people have to endure here is truly incredible. Do we have the right to turn a blind eye to this and pass them by... Day by day, thousands of thousands of people have to endure terrible pain, from which the art of medicine could save them. Day after day, within the walls of many distant huts, despair reigns, which we could drive out of there. Let each of us imagine what the life of his family would have become, at least over the past ten years, if she had to do without the help of doctors all this time! It is time for us to awaken from our sleep and see how great our responsibility is. When I look at the deliverance from the suffering of the sick in this distant land as the task of my whole life, I proceed from the feeling of mercy to which Jesus Christ calls...” (Albert Schweitzer).
Schweitzer is so right! It's time for us to wake up from sleep and see how great our responsibility is before the Lord! Christian service/pilgrimage on earth is difficult and unpredictable. No one guarantees us comfort and safety, no one saves us from the reality of this world - illness, suffering and death, injustice and hunger. But we are consoled by the knowledge that we are not alone on this path. Not orphans. The thought of a “cloud of witnesses” who were faithful to the end, even to death, encourages us. They are in eternity, with Christ. We - on earth - are also with Christ! For He said: “I will not leave you orphans” (John 14:18); “…I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). We are following in the footsteps of Christ! And we serve like Him until death and the death of the cross!
By reading the Gospel, we learn what real Life is. We will learn where to find the real Path, the Truth and how not to lose the meaning of life in the perspective of eternity! Contemplation of the perspective of eternity prevents you from drowning in the trifles of everyday life, the whirlpool of entertainment, especially in sinful trifles. The fear of God helps to avoid sin, refusing, abstaining from many things for the sake of eternity. God calls His elect to leave the world's style and way of life; leave the corrupt society, for it will be destroyed. “And I heard another voice from heaven saying: Come away from her, my people, lest you share in her sins and receive her plagues; for her sins have reached heaven…” (Rev. 18:4). My social circle... What do I talk about the most? What do I think about most, what am I concerned about? What attracts me and where does it attract me? Who am I attracted to? God calls His people to strive for things above and not to cling to sin.
“The fraternal union of those who are themselves marked by suffering. Who are these brothers? Those who have experienced what fear and physical suffering are are united throughout the world. There is some kind of invisible connection between them... Let them not say: “If the brotherhood of people who have experienced pain sends here one doctor, there another, then what does this mean in comparison with the disasters that the whole world is suffering?” Isn’t this some kind of call addressed to us... I don’t lose heart. The suffering of others that I have seen gives me strength, and faith in a person fills me with courage. I would like to believe that there are enough people who, having gotten rid of physical suffering, out of sheer feelings of gratitude, will respond to the call to help those who are still suffering now... I would like to hope that soon there will be more of us doctors in the world who, out of brotherly feelings for the unfortunate sufferers, will rush to their aid in all corners of the world...” (Albert Schweitzer).
The priest moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer's life. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer. The rain of awakening watered his parched soul. Heavy heavenly rain!
“Three of these unfortunates thrown to us die one after another. There is a murmur in the hospital about this. One man with long-lasting ulcers, on whose treatment I spent a lot of time and labor, is being taken home by his relatives. The other two follow suit. This is not the first time I have had to experience this; but I stand firm. My hospital exists for those who suffer. If I am not able to save the patient from death, then I can warm him with love and thereby, perhaps, make it easier for him to approach the hour of death. So may these unfortunates continue to be given to me at night... How happy I am that I can buy enough rice for my sick... We have hard work ahead of us. If only our European friends could know that we are fulfilling it with joy, as it should be, as the cause requires! If only they could also know how deeply grateful we are to them for being so understanding of our needs, and for all the help they so touchingly gave us! Filled with confidence in them, we now gather courage and decide to do everything necessary to truly conquer suffering and grief in this unfortunate country” (Albert Schweitzer).
The priest moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer's life. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer. The rain of awakening watered his parched soul. Heavy heavenly rain!
“There are still motherless babies living in the hospital for a long time, and we feed them with Swiss Alpine milk. One of these unfortunate creatures was delivered to us two weeks ago - a tiny skeleton covered in skin. For a whole week the child did not receive a drop of food. We carefully proceeded to feed him tiny amounts of highly diluted milk. Now our Lazarus—we gave this name to the tiny creature, one might say, risen from the grave—seems to be slowly recovering” (Albert Schweitzer).
The priest moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer's life. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer. The rain of awakening watered his parched soul. Heavy heavenly rain!
Night jungle... He gets tired like crazy... But he plays, plays Bach! And he hears hidden Meanings. He sees the radiance of Eternity. Bach's polyphony is immortal. Spiritual, Christ, God! This is the secret of Schweitzer's ministry. “As I passed by Dr. Schweitzer’s hut, I heard the sounds of Bach’s toccata. I came closer and stood for several minutes in front of the barred window, against which in the dim light of the lamp I could see the silhouette of a doctor sitting at the piano... His hands, with huge sensitive fingers, which equally deftly sewed up a wound, repaired the roof, played Bach on the organ... Even if I had been in the largest cathedral in the world, I would not have received such great consolation as here, in the depths of Africa, listening to Schweitzer play,” history has left us strong testimonies of pilgrims to the wilderness of Equatorial Africa. History has preserved for us the chronicles of the Great Doctor, Albert Schweitzer. The priest moved through the pages of Albert Schweitzer's life. Man is not from our vanity, not from our self. From the “brotherhood marked by pain.” Great pain for all those who suffer. "Why are you crying?" – his wife noticed tears in his eyes... unusually light tears... The rain of awakening watered his callous soul. Heavy heavenly rain!
