This is why there’s conflict

Words of Life - 20 April 2018
 Saint Sophrony of Essex

When we speak of sin, this concept isn’t moral, but ontological and transcends the norms of social life. Not because it opposes these norms, but because it proceeds infinitely farther than them. Moral laws speak of punishment, but God says: ‘Love your enemies. Do not fear those who kill you’. But this is impossible to explain in words and to understand other than through the heart. Because it’s natural for everyone who has a sense of the presence of death to protect themselves from any creature that threatens their life or even their comforts. And, so far, this has been the cause of all the conflict in the world.