Orthodox Health The Sin of Being “Right”: Humility as Medicine w/ Fr. Zechariah Lynch (Inkless Pen Blog)
We’re kicking off our 4-week Triodion mini-arc leading into Great Lent with a return guest, Fr. Zechariah Lynch, for the Sunday of the Publican & the Pharisee (Luke 18:9–14).
The Church begins here for a reason: you can do “Orthodox things” with the wrong spirit. This parable is the first warning before the fast... don’t turn prayer, discipline, or fasting into a spiritual performance.
The Publican’s whole prayer is one sentence, but it dismantles the ego: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
We also bring an Orthodox Health physiology lens into the conversation:
Takeaways:
- Pride = threat posture (defensiveness, vigilance, comparison) → stress reactivity, shallow breathing, worse sleep, irritability.
- Humility = truth + safety → lowers reactivity, restores attention, repentance becomes possible.
- The Pharisee’s problem isn’t effort... it’s posture. “Doing the right things” can still become self-justification.
- Comparison corrupts prayer. It turns communion with God into a scoreboard.
- The fast is a tool, not a trophy. If it makes you harsher, something’s off.
- Humility isn’t self-hatred. It’s truth without theatrics... & it actually makes repentance doable.
- A sober Lent beats a heroic Lent. Sustainable obedience > “drill sergeant” intensity.
Sound Bytes:
- “You can do the fast & still be worshipping yourself.”
- “The Church doesn’t start with the menu... she starts with the heart.”
- “If your fasting makes you harsher, it’s not cleansing you.”
- “Humility is truth without theatrics.”
- “Repentance isn’t a mood. It’s a direction.”
Next week: Prodigal Son with Fr. Michael Butler.
Chapters
00:00 Opener
01:29 Introduction to the Triodion & the Publican & The Pharisee
04:15 Welcoming Back Fr. Zechariah Lynch
05:35 Why Does the Church Open the Triodion with This Parable?
09:23 When You Become the Pharisee in Your Own Life
13:00 What is the Proper Orientation of Humility?
15:58 Humility Vs. Niceness
20:45 Martyrdom & Performative Sacrifice in Modern Ideologies
24:39 How Pride Hides in Tradition
29:50 Finding the Royal Path Between the Publican & the Pharisee
32:12 Liturgy Reveals the Heavenly
35:06 How the Fast-Free Week Teaches Us Humilty
39:11 Remembering the Essence of Fasting & Spiritual Growth
42:45 Balancing the Spiritual & Physical Aspects of the Fast
47:55 Orthodox Fasting & Hypothyroidism
49:56 Teaching Humility to Children
54:44 The Health Benefits of Forgiveness
56:08 How to Avoid Becoming the Pharisee
01:03:14 Addressing Pride Masquerading as Virtue
The Life of St. Brigid: Abbess of Kildare - Jane Meyer & Fr. Zechariah Lynch
Fr.'s Writings - InklessPen.Blog & Substack
Buck Johnson - When Martydom Becomes a Costume
Work with Dr. Mike: OrthodoxHealth.com
Signed Copies of Orthodoxy & The Medicine of the Future, with digital bonuses: OrthodoxHealth.com/book
Order Orthodoxy & the Medicine of the Future on Amazon
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Intro & Outro Music: St. John of Chicago Orthodox Church Choir (Arkansas) - Please support their building fund by buying the whole album here
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