Fr. Chris Metropulos
St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church – Kendall, Florida
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, it is a blessing and a joy to be with you today here at St. Andrew in Kendall during this sacred season. It is a spiritual journey a journey from confusion to clarity, from fragmentation to wholeness, from chaos to Christ.
That phrase may sound familiar to some of you because it is also the theme of my book, From Chaos to Christ. The central idea of that book is simple but profound: the human person often lives in a state of inner chaos distracted, fragmented, pulled in a thousand directions but Christ invites us into a life of order, meaning, and transformation.
And today the Church places before us one of the greatest teachers of that transformation: St. John Climacus, the author of The Ladder of Divine Ascent. The image he gives us is powerful: the spiritual life is like a ladder reaching toward heaven. Each step represents growth, struggle, repentance, and ultimately union with God. But notice something important. You climb a ladder one step at a time. Not in leaps. Not instantly. Not all at once. One step.
Today I would like to offer three reflections from this Sunday that can help us continue our Lenten climb from chaos to Christ.
1. The First Step: Recognizing Our Inner Chaos
One of the great illusions of modern life is that everything is fine. We are busy. We are productive. We are entertained. But inside many people feel scattered. The world tells us to run faster, achieve more, accumulate more, post more, react more. The result? Noise.
In From Chaos to Christ, I describe chaos not as simply disorder around us, but disorder within us when our desires, thoughts, fears, ambitions, and anxieties pull us in different directions. St. John Climacus understood this centuries ago. He wrote that the beginning of the spiritual life is self-awareness seeing clearly the state of our soul. That is why Great Lent is so important. Lent slows us down. It quiets the noise. It removes distractions. Fasting disciplines the body. Prayer focuses the mind. Repentance heals the heart. And suddenly we begin to see ourselves more clearly.
Sometimes that can be uncomfortable. We realize we are more impatient than we thought. More judgmental than we imagined. More anxious than we want to admit. But here is the good news: Recognizing chaos is the beginning of healing. Christ cannot heal what we refuse to acknowledge. The first step of the ladder is humility the courage to say: “Lord, I need You.”
2. The Second Step: Climbing Toward Christ
St. John Climacus did not write about the ladder as a theory. He wrote about it as a journey of transformation. Every step of the ladder moves us closer to Christ. But climbing requires effort. No one accidentally becomes holy. Just as no one accidentally climbs a mountain. It takes intention. It takes discipline. It takes perseverance.
In my book I describe this movement as the transition from disorientation to orientation when our lives begin to center around Christ instead of ourselves. Before Christ enters the center of our lives, everything feels scattered. But once Christ becomes the center, something beautiful happens. Our lives begin to align. Our priorities change. Our relationships deepen. Our fears begin to lose their power.
The ladder that St. John describes includes steps like repentance, obedience, humility, prayer, and love. Notice something about these virtues. They are not spectacular. They are quiet. Daily. Hidden. Climbing the ladder is not about dramatic moments. It is about small acts of faithfulness. Choosing patience instead of anger. Choosing forgiveness instead of resentment. Choosing prayer instead of distraction. One step. Then another. Then another. And slowly, quietly, the soul begins to change.
3. The Third Step: Discovering That Christ Climbs Toward Us
Now here is the most beautiful part of the Christian life. We climb toward Christ. But Christ also descends toward us. This is the great mystery of the Gospel. The ladder is not only about human effort. It is about divine grace. St. John Climacus knew this well. Every step we take upward is made possible because Christ first descended to us. He entered our broken world. He entered our suffering. He entered our chaos. And ultimately, He entered death itself.
In just a few weeks we will stand before the Cross on Holy Friday. There we will see the greatest paradox of Christianity: The One who is the Ladder to Heaven is also the One who stretches His arms on the Cross to lift the world. This is why our efforts during Lent are never about perfection. They are about relationship. God is not asking you to become perfect overnight. He is inviting you to walk with Him. One step. One prayer. One act of love. And when we fall and we all fall Christ lifts us again. The ladder is not climbed by the strong. It is climbed by the faithful.
As I stand here visiting your beautiful parish of St. Andrew, I am reminded that every parish is like a ladder. We climb together. We encourage each other. We support each other. No one climbs alone. The Church is not a museum of perfect people. It is a community of climbers. Some are on the first step. Some are halfway. Some have been climbing for decades. But we are all moving toward the same destination. Christ.
So today, on this Fourth Sunday of Great Lent, as we remember St. John Climacus, let us ask ourselves three simple questions:
Where is the chaos in my life that Christ wants to heal? What is the next step on my spiritual ladder? And how can I trust more deeply that Christ is already reaching down to lift me?
Because the truth is this: The journey of Lent is not about becoming someone else. It is about becoming who God created you to be. The ladder is already before us. Christ is already calling us upward. And step by step, prayer by prayer, grace by grace He leads us from chaos to Christ.
