Tuesday, March 29, 2005 Lenten Fast
Mark, Bishop of Arethusa
6th Hour: Isaiah 9:9-10:4 1st Vespers: Genesis 7:1-5 2nd Vespers: Proverbs 8:12-9:11
Genesis 7:1-5, especially vs. 1 (LXX): "Enter thou and all thy family into
the ark for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation." Ever since the Apostle Peter associated the events of
the Flood with Holy Baptism (1 Pet. 3:18-22), the Church has celebrated Noah as a type of the Christian Mystery, seeing in
his deliverance a prophetic foreshadowing of the gifts of grace, mercy, submission, and salvation - the whole of the life in
Christ imparted through Baptism, Chrismation, and Communion. Yesterday, we considered the Baptismal Mystery as
God's lovingkindness and grace extended to each of us. Today's reading reveals why it is important to apply the
incalculable love of God in our life.
First of all, understand that God's gracious actions, whether directed to Noah or provided to us in the Holy Mysteries, are
loving, concerned invitations from the Lord. They are neither harsh commands nor empty rituals. Although the words,
"Enter thou and all thy family into the ark" have the "form" of a command, yet God fully reveals His purposes (Gen. 7:1,4),
prompting and inviting rather than bluntly ordering. In fact, all of God's commandments have this character, being given
out of love and compassion for mankind's highest good and welfare.
Compare the tone of God's directives in this passage with the prayers offered for catechumens: "I lay my hand upon Thy
servant, who hath been found worthy to flee unto Thy Holy Name, and to take refuge under the shelter of Thy wings.
Inscribe him in Thy Book of Life, and unite him to the flock of Thine inheritance. And may Thy Holy Name be glorified in
him." Let us embrace and apply God's mercy, because to do so is natural, healthy, and life-giving.
God prompted Noah to come into the ark with his family primarily for reasons of safety and survival, that they might have
life (vs. 4). Similarly, the invitation of Holy Baptism is a bidding to enter into the safety and life that God offers in the
Church. St. Nikolai of Zica has this very security in mind when he begs us to listen to the wise Chrysostom: "If you are
within, the wolf cannot enter, but if you stray outside, the wild beasts will get you...Do not wander from the Church; there
is nothing more impregnable than the Church. She is your hope and salvation." As we consider the entrance of Noah and
his family into the ark, let us recall our own entry into the Mystery of the Church. God's mercy received in Baptism brings
us into the Church, into the spaces where the Church gathers for Liturgy, its assembly halls which are called "nave,"
originally meaning "ship" - havens of salvation from the floods of evil all around us.
Notice, finally: the Lord gives very precise instructions regarding the animals to be brought on board the ark. He tells
Noah, "And of the clean cattle take in to thee sevens, male and female, and of the unclean cattle pairs, males and female"
And of the clean flying creatures of the sky, sevens (vss. 2,3). Thus, Noah and his family would have sufficient clean
animals and birds after the flood for burnt offerings in thanksgiving to God as well as for replenishing the earth.
Likewise, God in His grace prearranges resources for us, both for our physical and spiritual needs, setting us on a planet
rich in resources and abundant with life-giving goods. Especially notice that in the grace of the Baptismal Mystery, the
Lord provides the blessings of the new Life in the Spirit through the washing and the anointing. In addition, He arranges
for our on-going nurture for living in Christ on a day-to-day, year-in-and-year-out basis. He gives us the Holy Communion
of the Lord's most Blessed Body and Blood. As the Elder Joseph says, "Just know that everything - the beginning and the
end of every good thing - is Christ."
The Lord is my Light and my Savior: whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life; of whom then shall I be
afraid? (Ps. 26:1 LXX).
