Monday, March 29, 2004
Lenten Fast
Mark, Bishop of Arethusa
6th Hour: Isaiah 48:17-49:5 1st Vespers: Genesis 27:1-41 2nd Vespers: Proverbs 19:16-25
Isaiah 48:17-49:4 LXX, especially vs. 21: "And if they shall thirst, He shall lead them through the
desert; He shall bring forth water to them out of the rock...." We are entering the last days of Lent. The Fast has been
long. The Faithful who have labored diligently can measure the demands of the struggle against their physical and spiritual
gains and give thanks to God. If we have not kept the Fast perfectly, if we have flagged at some point, or if we have not
attained the heights to which He called us in the beginning, never mind now. Let us press on. The end is near. We can
choose to finish the struggle well in the time that remains. To this end, the Lord gives us today's reading as food to
strengthen our zeal and to renew our determination.
The same God Who led the Fathers of the Old Covenant, now shows us how to profit, and He sets the course for us. If
earlier in the Fast we missed the peace, the righteousness, and the fruitful benefits of the struggle, even so, the gracious
Lord reminds us there are wondrous blessings in hearkening to His commandments now (vss. 48:17-19). Employing
images from the great desert pilgrimage of the ancient People of God, from the days when they came out of bondage in
Egypt, God assures us that He will not leave us in slavery to our sins. Rather, He exhorts us to flee from the Babylon of our
passions, to hasten away from our self-indulgence and to embrace our redemption and live according to its precepts (vss.
48:20-22).
Finally, God Almighty exhorts us who are His People of the New Covenant, to heed Christ our Redeemer. The chosen
Servant of God, the One Who came forth from the Virgin's womb and embodies in Himself all of Israel, reminds us that,
though His Passion seemed to be a labor in vain, nonetheless the recompense of God is with Him, the Risen One (vss. 49:1-4).
First, God prompts us to recall that our labors, as His pilgrim People, are a planned course: "I Am the Lord your God, Who
teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go" (vs. 17). As we sustain the Fast and struggle for
repentance, and as we enter God's holy house "in faith, reverence and in fear" of God alone, the more shall our "peace [be]
like a river, and [our] righteousness like the waves of the sea" (vs.18). God desires that the Fast make us fruitful in
righteous thoughts and deeds: "your offspring would have been like the sand" (vs. 19). These are fruits which God
promises to those who enter the fray and labor to be faithful.
Think of the peace that flows from the heart when we observe the opportunities of the additional services and the mid-week
Communion with the Lord Himself in the Pre-sanctified gifts. Think of the cleansing which fasting and prayer bring to the
heart. Think of the tiny bits of progress captured in moments of grace during this season. Take heart in the words of St.
John Chrysostom which we shall hear finally at Pascha, but are foreshadowed in these verses: "Let no one mourn that he
hath fallen again and again; for forgiveness hath risen from the grave."
God directs us: "Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea" (vs. 20). Beloved, we labor knowing that Christ is risen. "The
Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!" He is present with us, leading us through the desert (vss. 20-21). Let us put off the
old man and put on the New Man. Only the ungodly who turn away will experience no joy (vs. 22).
Christ our God, Himself, speaks to us in the verses of chapter 49: "Listen to Me," says He Whom the "Lord called...from
the [virginal] womb, from the body of My mother" (vs. 1). God made His "mouth like a sharp sword... a polished arrow, in
His quiver" (vs. 2). As suffering man, the Lord Jesus, the faithful Servant of the Lord, fulfilled Israel's task. Christ is risen!
O Life-giver, my soul goeth early to the temple of Thy Holiness, because Thou art compassionate. Purify me by the
compassion of Thy mercies.
