Hunger

We become disoriented when there is no reference point. With no reference point to fix our eyes on, we become dizzy and maybe even sick. With no reference point for our soul to fix on, we become thankless and suffer various mental illnesses. The Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church is a ritualistic way of expressing thankfulness to God par excellence - but it is far from being the only way. In fact, if it is the only way we are eucharistic (thankful), then we are most likely converting the Divine Liturgy into an elaborate dance of death. I believe Jesus was disgusted with the Pharisees for just such a reason.

As usual, I am talking only to myself. But I know I'm not unique. I suspect most converts to Orthodoxy can relate to what I'm talking about. Having discovered Orthodoxy late in life, I was hungry for all it has to offer in terms of its rich ritual of worship. Countless times, I have been overwhelmed with emotion and peace of soul as the ritual provided by the Church perfectly and ineffably grants an expression of gratitude and love to God like nothing else on the planet. Truly, it has the ability to transport the worshipper to heaven. But our enemy, the devil, never sleeps and little by little he whispers in our ears that, "Everything is in the ritual itself." Well, that's a lie. Everything is not in the ritual. Everything is in the thankful heart. The grateful human heart, offering his or her life to God in adoration and love, is the central act. Fr. Alexander puts it beautifully:

...the "original" sin is not primarily that man has "disobeyed" God; the sin is that he ceased to be hungry for Him and for Him alone, ceased to see his whole life depending on the whole world as a sacrament of communion with God.

For the Life of the World - Fr. Alexander Schmemann (pg. 18)

God has given us everything in this life as a way of encountering Him. As our hunger is transformed into gratitude, we commune with God. But to satisfy our hunger without gratitude - that is, to only "consume" the world as an end in itself - is tantamount to rejecting God.