(Part 1) by Fr. Theodore E. Ziton
Word Magazine, March 1959
Lent works up a crow of images in our imaginations. For some it evokes a time of sadness, a gloomy countenance. For others, a time of continual remorse for the penance they do not do. But Lent need not be gloomy: it is not something negative and outmoded. It is something gloriously, adventurously positive. It is a time of spiritual growth and though all growth is painful— "Nothing grows but something dies" (Khalil Gibran) yet it is joyous because it is a sign of life, and life is divinely joyful. Lent is a joyous and virile battle waged after the example of Christ and in union with Him against the enemy of life.
Forty days is long. To understand the duration of Lent we must refer to the Bible whence it takes its source. The number forty commemorates the forty years the Jews spent in the desert, the forty days that Moses and Elias spent on the Mountain of God before concluding the Alliance with God, the forty days that Christ spent in the desert in prayer and fasting before beginning His public life. And more specifically in the Greek Orthodox Church the Great Fast which the Church observes for forty days begins on the Monday after Cheese Fare Sunday, […], and ends on the evening of the Friday before Palm Sunday, […]. The Saturday preceding Palm Sunday is called Lazarus Saturday, and is dedicated to the remembrance of Christ's raising of Lazarus from the dead. Holy Week, which is also called Great Week or Passion Week, […], is a special Fast in honor of our Lord's own Passion.
Before beginning His mission that was to lead Him to Calvary, Christ wished to reflect, to meditate, to pray in the solitude of the desert. Sent here below to conquer the Prince of this world, He accepted to be tempted by him and to cross swords with him. This first meeting was not to be the definitive battle of Calvary but a preliminary encounter to test the strength of His adversary. St. Luke describes the outcome of their first meeting: "And all the temptation being ended, the devil departed from Him for a time" (LUKE 4:13). Christ tested His arms — prayer, fasting and humility — and found them effective. Later on in His public life His Disciples were to ask Him why they had not been able to expel the demon from the body of a young boy. "And He said to them: 'This kind can be cast out only by prayer and fasting'." (MARK 9:29).
By crossing the Red Sea, the chosen people of old escaped the slavery of Egypt. Never-the-less they spent forty years in the desert before entering the Promised Land. We are God's chosen people. We have escaped the slavery of Satan by the waters of Baptism; however we have not vet entered the Promised Land: we are still enroute.
Our lives as Orthodox Christians must be seen as a march in the desert of this world. Like the Hebrews of old, we run the risk of losing sight of the purpose of this journey and of forgetting our destination. Each year Lent serves to reanimate our hope, nourish our faith, awaken our charity, it puts before our eyes the meaning of our life, puts us again on the right road and helps us to advance joyfully on our way to the Promised Land—Heaven.
Lent, in the life of an Orthodox Christian, like the desert in the life of the Chosen People, is a time of decision. Once purified from their sin, the chosen people entered into the Promised Land; after his sojourn on the Mountain of God, Moses descended to be the Leader of his people and Elias regained his courage to undertake the difficult mission of Prophet to the Jewish people. Christ came out of the desert ready to begin His mission of salvation. Lent is the time for Orthodox Christians to choose for or against God. (to be continued next week)
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Synaxis of Archangel Gabriel March 26
Troparion of the Archangel Gabriel Tone 4
Supreme Leader of the heavenly Hosts, we implore thee that by thy prayers thou wilt encircle us unworthy as we are, with the protection of the wings of thine immaterial glory, and guard us who fall down before thee and fervently cry: Deliver us from dangers, for thou art the commander of the Powers above.
Kontakion of the Archangel Gabriel Tone 2
Supreme Leader of God's armies and minister of the divine glory, prince of the Bodiless Angels and guide of men, ask what is good for us and great mercy, as Supreme Leader of the Bodiless Hosts.
