March 4, 2006
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For all those wondering about Lent and fasting and what is the point; you can listen to this weekend’s COME RECEIVE THE LIGHT PROGRAM Just Click here.
LET US DRAW NEAR!
All of creation has a rhythm. Because of our freedom, we humans have interpreted this rhythm of life in many ways. As Christians, we resonate in this created rhythm with the Resurrection life of Jesus Christ.
And that’s why this Sunday is “Forgiveness Sunday” for Orthodox Christians in their Churches all around the world.
It is also called “Cheesefare Sunday,” because on that day we say goodbye to dairy products, embracing the common discipline of our faith together. We thereby prepare our bodies and souls for the celebration of the Feast of feasts – Pascha. Our 40-day focus on a common diet, discipline and prayer is a vital bit of WISDOM (not rules) given us in the ancient faith of the Orthodox Church. Jesus meets us in our fasting to help us tame the passions of our lives that actually fight against our best interests. Our true interest is not to make ourselves hungry, but to know God and love Him above all else – our only hope of salvation.
We set aside some of the good things of life (meat, dairy, etc.) to help us focus on the state of our souls. The eternal stakes for our souls is so high. Each of us is inevitably rushing toward an eternal appointment – the awesome judgment seat of Christ. At that throne we will hear Him say “well done” – or “depart from Me!” The Church serves us by giving us the gift of the Fast so that we can know the state of our souls, and change the course of our self-centered lives.
We pray each week in the Divine Liturgy to have “the right answer before the awesome judgment seat of Christ.” We are each going to come into the presence of the uncreated God, and He will not diminish Himself in that eternity to accommodate our self-centeredness. Our destiny is to experience His presence for eternity. We will return to Him Who made us, and we will not escape Him – ever!
Some theologians have attempted to describe the torments of hell throughout history. Others have attempted to describe the blessings of heaven. They have all failed.
The truth is that hell is immeasurably more horrible than any can imagine and heaven is indescribably more wonderful than humans can express. And this is true because the horrors of hell and the blessings of heaven have the same source, in the inescapable intimate presence of the uncreated God Who is more awesome (a word entirely used too often in this culture) than we will even know. We WILL enter His presence. We WILL NEVER escape Him. Our true selves will be revealed to all. We will experience the blazing love of His presence as blessing or bane all based on the reality of our love for Him. If we yearn for Him, our hearts will find home. If we rebel against Him, our self-imposed agony will be absolute. Our hearts, our true nature will determine our eternity.
No wonder the Church has preserved the wisdom necessary to shape our souls here and now for that awesome event. No wonder, even in the midst of our best efforts, we are also taught to cry out, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner” and prostrate with the prayer of St. Ephraim. The Church preserves the dual truths of personal responsibility for the state of our souls and absolute dependence on the inexhaustible mercy and grace of God. Both of these realities are equally important.
So, how does the wisdom of Great Lent prepare us for this inevitable Divine appointment?
First, the wisdom of Great Lent teaches me Humility. In the light of God’s eternal Presence, His eternal Power, and His eternal Knowledge, we humans cannot ever enter a loving relationship with Him without acknowledging our own finiteness. We are not God, but we are invited by this loving and gracious God to become His companions and share all He is by grace. This glorious reality drives us to confess our own limits. The wisdom of Great Lent stirs in us this humble confession of both need and desire. During the Great Forty Days, we subjugate our temporary desires so we can learn and respond to our eternal needs.
Second, the wisdom of Great Lent teaches me Honesty. On the heels of humility, the wisdom of Great Lent calls me to honesty. This discipline of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving can reveal our true selves. The Lenten mirror can present an uncomfortable picture, and many times we go to great lengths to avoid seeing our true selves.
But the wisdom of Great Lent holds an accurate mirror up to our souls. If we are courageous and trusting in God’s goodness and mercy, we will learn from this experience and offer our weaknesses to God Who always receives our repentance and always forgives.
Finally, the wisdom of Great Lent teaches me Hope. The rhythm of creation has been baptized by the resurrection life of Jesus Christ. Jesus has come into His world to bring us safely back to the Father. His life of loving sacrifice and victorious power have forever made the way open for each of us to grow up spiritually so that we will have the “right answer” before His awesome judgment seat. The spiritual “tools” preserved in the wisdom of Great Lent offers each of us, once again this year, the path to not only enduring eternity but actually experiencing “joy unspeakable” in the awesome presence of a God Who loves us more than we, ourselves, know how to love.
Great Lent is here again. The eternal invitation to Divine joy and intimate love with God is extended to you once more. Wisdom is offered to you again. What will your answer be – this year?
This week Emmy and I visit with a dear friend. Frederica Matthewes-Green talks to us about her recent book “First Fruits: A Forty-Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew.” The canon of St. Andrew is a wonderful Lenten tool to help us actually do the hard work of repentance during this special time of the year.
Don’t let Pascha sneak up on you this year. Prepare for this celebration by entering into the spirit of Great Lent.
Until next week,
Yours for the spread of Orthodoxy,
Fr. Chris Metropulos
http://www.receive.org/index.php
