Thursday, April 14, 2005 Lenten Fast
The Martyr Thomais of Alexandria
6th Hour: Isaiah 42:5-16 1st Vespers: Genesis 18:20-33 2nd Vespers: Proverbs 16:17-17:17
Genesis 18:20-33, especially vs. 21: "I will therefore go down and see, if they completely correspond
with the cry which comes to Me, and if not, that I may know." The Rabbis puzzled over the question: "Did God not know
whether Sodom was wicked?" Of course He did, but, let us consider this Divine "going down"to Abraham and to Sodom.
It is a type of the Incarnation of God the Son, and let us never lose sight of the truth that "Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15), to save those who will from Sodom's destiny. For if any - fifty, forty-five, forty, thirty, even
ten would have turned and received the great mercy - then Sodom would have been spared.
Above all, behold the great mercy of God leaping like fire amidst the dry and sinful tinder of mankind in order to inflame
true love in our hearts. May the Fire Divine unite us to Him, He Who came as a man. He lived with us but not as a
theophany of three Angels. He came as Jesus, a walking mercy and a divine gift to be received. He was one of us, but in
true love, mercy, and humility - gleaming and shining brightly upon our hearts to disclose His love - not for the self-righteous, or stubborn sinners, but for the repentant. How God's love ignites love in sinners and arouses us to repent and
even plead for other sinners.
In the heart of God there burns an eternal determination to "go down and see" if the cry which is coming up to Him utterly
corresponds with the wickedness He knows is present in men. Doubtless, the specific sin of sodomy transgresses the holy
Law of God, and so do many other sexual sins (Lev. 18). Still, God's Prophets teach that the city of Sodom perished
primarily not for sodomy but because of "pride, surfeit of food, and prosperous ease," failure to aid the poor and needy, and
for haughtiness (Ezek. 16:49,50). Such sins as these reveal the Divine descent as a great mercy that enables those who will,
to cry, "I am wounded with love" (SOS 2:5 LXX).
The great mercy of God that "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4), aims to
awaken love "as He pleases" (SOS 2:7), especially in those like Abraham who welcome Him, offering Him hospitality
when He visits (Gen. 18:1-8). God in mercy shares His plans with such persons: "Shall I hide from Abraham what I Am
about to do, seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless
themselves by him? No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household...to keep the way of the
Lord by doing righteousness and justice" (Gen 18:17-19). In this manner, from among the ranks of fallen men, God enlists
those who will join Him in extending great mercy and salvation to others, so that they may not be overtaken by judgment.
Let God reveal to us through this passage how His great mercy can and will ignite that same love even in our fallen human
hearts and enable us to plead with and for other fallen sinners. Note: Abraham did not single out his nephew, Lot, as he
insistently prayed to the Lord (Gen. 18:23-32). Doubtless, he included Lot in his prayers, but, if he had Lot in mind
especially, He would have been much more specific in seeking that young man's deliverance from the coming judgment of
Sodom now revealed to him (Gen. 18:20). No, awakened mercy in sinners leads them simply to pray for other sinners,
even to importune for them, for such a one knows, from the grace he has received for his sins that these too "are worthy of
tears for the punishment and condemnation to which they make themselves liable," as St. John Chrysostom states it. "Let
us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy...." (Heb. 4:16).
O Compassionate Savior, remove all delusion far from those ensnared in godless doubt and immorality, and fill them with
repentance that they may fulfill Thy will and find life therein.