Sunday, March 13, 2005 Tone 8
The Sunday of Cheesefare and of Forgiveness
Kellia: 1 Kings 24:1-25:1 LXX (1 Samuel) Epistle: Romans 13:11-14:4 Gospel: St. Matthew 6:14-21
VII ~ Three Essentials: St. Matthew 6: 14-21, especially vss. 17, 18: "But you, when you fast, anoint your head
and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father Who is in the secret place...." This
passage from St. Matthew is the final Gospel before Great Lent. In it, the Lord establishes the three conditions for fasting:
forgiveness (vss. 14-15), accountability (vss. 16-18), and readiness for battle with the enemy (vss. 19-21).
On forgiveness: two matters concerning forgiveness must be settled prior to fasting - our need to be forgiven and our need
to forgive. The aim of the Lenten Fast is to prepare us for the mighty acts whereby our Savior has "taken away the sins of
the world" (1 Jn. 2:2) and has "cleansed us of all unrighteousness" (1 Jn. 1:9). God is calling us to repent and confess (Acts
3:19). However, God forgives only to the extent that we forgive, for "if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither
will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Mt. 6:15). Therefore, this very day, this very evening, let us begin the Fast with a
clean slate, seeking and giving forgiveness. Then may we profit from the days of the Fast by self-examination, repentance,
and confession.
On accountability: we are called to this Great Fast by our Master. He is the One Who defines what the Fast shall be and
the means for carrying it out. We are not to blur His goals nor His procedures. The Fast is a "secret" between us and God
our Father, therefore the Lord commands: "...anoint your head and wash your face, that you do not appear to men to be
fasting" (vs. 18). It is a temptation from Satan to exhibit penitence and contrition, "to appear to men to be fasting" (vs. 16).
Displaying our askesis shifts the motives toward seeking men's approval. Let us fast to purify ourselves and labor where
God alone sees, in the covert of the heart.
St. John of Kronstadt asks: "Do the Christian hypocrites...think that they...live hypocritically? They do not think so." He
writes about prayer, but it applies to fasting: "They pray [fast] daily, perhaps at length; but...out of habit...not with their
hearts, without heartfelt contrition, without a firm desire for amendment, and only in order to fulfil the established rule, and
[they] 'think' they 'do God service,' whilst in fact they only incur the wrath of God."
On readiness for battle with the enemy: in this world, the Lord warns us, "moth and rust destroy and ...thieves break in and
steal" (vs. 19). What are the moth and the rust, and who are the thieves? Moths lay their eggs in our woolen fabrics unless
we protect against them. As their larvae hatch, they eat away the cloth and destroy that which is meant to shield and protect
us against the elements. What in our lives does this to us spiritually? Is it not sin? We implant the larvae of sins in our
hearts and minds, and they, in turn, eat away the truth of God that shields and defends us against the blasts of lies and
illusions. Only by confession and contrition can we apply the grace of God to kill these deadly, voracious hatchlings of sin
within ourselves. Similarly, what is it that functions like rust? Is it not the corrosive, secular life with its fads and
promotions? The world curries the passions with its self-serving lies and distortions. Secularism, unless it is steadily
sealed out by the oil of the Holy Spirit, corrodes devotion and our best pledges to worship and serve God alone. Let us fast
that we may heed the Lord's gentle and sure voice, He Who alone has the power to assist us in countering the penetrating,
destructive, and corrosive rust of the world. Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me!
Satan and his legion of demons are the thieves who constantly seek every possible means to break in to our hearts and to
steal our souls for his kingdom. These enemies encourage us to "adjust" the Fast, to shrug at Christ's Mysteries, and to
serve ourselves and the devils instead. Come and dwell in us and cleanse us of every stain and save our souls, O Good
One.
