Tuesday, March 9, 2004
Lenten Fast
The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
6th Hour: Isaiah 9:9-10:4 1st Vespers: Genesis 7:1-5 2nd Vespers: Proverbs 8:32-9:11
Isaiah 9:9-10:4 RSV, especially vss. 12, 17, 21, and 4: "For all this His anger is not turned away and
His hand is stretched out still." A reality which we accept as Orthodox Christians is God's reign over life and death, a
truth that will be manifest to us unmistakably when we "stand before the dread Judgment Seat of Christ." A prophetic
reminder of this universal destiny is repeated four times in today's reading, each time concluding a description of sin
among the People of God: 1) arrogance of heart, 2) godless evil doing, 3) cruelty, and 4) exploitation. St. Nikolai of Zica
says bluntly, "If men, unto seventy times seven, refuse the salvation of God, then He will not save them." St. Nikolai's
point in this assertion is that God does not desire the death of sinners, but seeks our repentance that He may save us.
Recall the thrust of the Lord Jesus' teaching found in the Beatitudes: God shall bestow blessing upon those who forswear
their sins in favor of poverty of spirit, mourning for their sins, and seeking righteousness in all their living. "Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 5:3). Still, let us make no mistake: God will not turn His anger
away unless we follow the path of the Beatitudes: first, to plead for mercy from Him and then immediately to say,
"Remember us, O Lord, when Thou comest into Thy kingdom."
However, when any of the People of God "say in pride and arrogance of heart" (Is. 9:9) that they will overcome their
adversities rather than saying, "I know, O Lord, that I justly deserve any punishment Thou mayest inflict upon me for I have
so often offended Thee and sinned against Thee in thought, word, and deed," we may be certain that the Lord's hand "is
stretched out still" (vs.12) against such persons. A modest prayer, offered honestly, more nearly reflects poverty of spirit
and mourning for sin. Such, the Lord says, will lead to the Kingdom of Heaven and to comfort from God. All around us
we are encouraged in godless self-reliance rather than in meek dependence on God. How much better to say: "The bricks
have fallen" (vs. 10), and by the grace and forgiveness of God we shall endeavor to rebuild as the Lord directs us.
The spirit of contemporary culture, which too many Christians foolishly adopt, is "not to turn to Him Who smote them, not
to seek the Lord of hosts" (vs.13). What better definition will we find for "godlessness"? And the nicest people are guilty
of this, elders and honored men as well as those who teach lies (vs.15), but they "lead this people...astray" (vs.16), even
those whom the Lord normally defends, the "fatherless and the widows; for every one is godless and an evildoer" (vs.17).
This is why "The Lord of all taught us by a parable to run away from the haughtiness of the Pharisees," promising instead
that "the pure in heart...shall see God" (Mt. 5:8).
The godless failure to "seek the Lord of hosts" (vs.13) is bound to manifest itself in a wickedness which "kindles the
thickets of the forest....and the people are like fuel for the fire; no man spares his brother. They snatch on the right, but are
still hungry, and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied" (vss. 18,19,20). Such is not God's way. He offers us the
Beatitudes instead: "Blessed are the merciful" (Mt. 5:7) and "Blessed are the peace makers" (Mt. 5:9).
Those who suffer most when godless wickedness is the norm in society are the "needy," the "poor of My people," the
"widows" and the "fatherless" who are turned into the prey of the social predators. "For all this His anger is not turned
away" (Is. 10:4). Better, Beloved of the Lord, that we "hunger and thirst for righteousness sake" (Mt. 5:6) now in all our
ways than find the Lord's hand stretched out against us for eternity when we shall appear before Him.
O Christ our God, Who didst compassionately ordain for us forgiveness with kingly authority; forsake us not in our danger
of estrangement from Thee, but arise and save us!
