Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today, on this Sunday of the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, we stand on the very threshold of the Great and Holy Fast of Lent. Unlike the Fast of Nativity or the other fasts, the Church calls this a great fast and a holy fast. It’s not that the other fasts are not holy – they are – but this fast is of different quality and character preceding the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha – the Queen of all feasts! We fast, mind you, in order to feast, not to indulge ourselves in gluttony – one of the many vices or passions we are to contend against and make no provision for, according to St. Paul in today’s Epistle (Rm. 13:11-14:4). Fasting prepares us for joy, to celebrate with great mirth that which is the very sign or icon – parable – of the Kingdom of God – the Wedding Banquet of the Lamb. We cannot relish the feast without first knowing the fast. We cannot know joy without first knowing sorrow. Indeed, “’Blessed are those who are called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!,’” the Theologian and Evangelist tells us in the Book of Revelation. “’These are the true sayings of God,’” we are assured (Rv. 19:7-9). “Fasting possesses great power and it works glorious things. To fast,” says St. Athanasius the Great, “is to banquet with angels” (Wisdom of the Divine Philosophers IV, 42).
However, for us to experience this inexpressible joy of intimate communion with God, we must first be united with our Lord in His Great and Holy Passion (Pp. 3:8-11). We must go with Him in His way and walk according to His way which are His teachings and commandments (Mt. 28:18-20). For in His words and way we find the Truth and the Life for which we have been created from the very beginning (Jn. 6:63, 68; 14:6, 21, 23-24; The Apostolic Teachings [Didaskalia]). Speaking to the Church, St. Leo, Pope of Rome, says this:
With the return of that [Lenten] season marked out in a special way by the Mystery of Redemption, and of the days that lead up to the Paschal Feast, we are summoned more urgently to prepare ourselves by a purification of spirit. . . . Initially, all men are made new by the rebirth of Baptism. Yet, there is still required a daily renewal to repair the shortcomings of our mortal nature. . . . All must therefore strive to ensure that on the day of redemption no one may be found in the sins of his former life. Dear friends, what the Christian should be doing at all times, should be done now with greater care and devotion, so that the Lenten Fast enjoined by the Apostles may be fulfilled, not simply by abstinence from food, but, above all, by the renunciation of sin (What the Church Fathers Say About . . . ., I/II, 36).
Inasmuch as the Fast of Great and Holy Lent is about the putting away of all sin from us, of purging and cleaning ourselves spiritually, even as Sacred Scripture enjoins us, this very spiritual thing is expressed in and achieved through very physical venues, which should not surprise us. For we have been created as a unified whole, that is, to say, we are not simply soul nor are we merely body. But rather we are body and soul creatures, as God intended. Our bodies were to serve our souls in Paradise, but in the Fall that relationship got reversed so that our bodies came to dominate our souls, becoming Egyptian taskmasters, if you will, over the enslaved soul. The chief image utilized by Scripture and the Fathers to express this reversed relationship is that of the belly or stomach making its insatiable demands, “Feed me or else!” Fasting trains the body and conditions the soul. The design of Great and Holy Lent, then, is to return us to the proper God-ordained order: the body serves the soul in this God-blessed union. If you wish to employ the image of the marital union to capture this: the soul is the bridegroom who is the head of the bride which is the body. The soul gives life to the body and is to love the body while the body is to do honor to the soul, rendering it due deference, just as the wife her husband who is the spiritual head. And both, in this holy union, are to submit to each other “in the fear of God.” As the blessed Apostle says, “This is a great Mystery” (Ep. 5:21-33).
So, we achieve spiritual perfection through physical application and participation. This is what the Great Fast does for us in a very focused and concentrated way. It is an intensive deep dive, if you will, challenging the waste and abuse and fraud we have come to live with in our lives and to accept as “that’s just the way I am.” It is little wonder, then, that when we come to this particular Fast there rises up a great spiritual turmoil in us that protests vehemently. The Fast threatens us and the bloat we have come to accept as “normal,” as part of who we are. The Fast, however, calls us to a different way of life which we all know would be beneficial, if not redemptive and sanctifying, but it necessitates – no, it demands – our conversion, our repentance, and the amendment of our lives. And that’s the hard part. Admittedly, fasting does violence to our nature, if you will. It does away with whatever pleases the palate. It ends lusts, roots out bad thoughts, and frees us from evil dreams. “Fasting makes for purity of prayer, an enlightened soul, a watchful mind, [and] a deliverance from blindness” (St. John Climacus, Wisdom of the Divine Philosophers IV, 42). In short, fasting calls us to become like Jesus Christ Who emptied Himself “for us men and for our salvation” (Pp. 2:5-11; Nicene Creed) – to become empty so that we might be filled with Him and His Holy Spirit, so that being humbled with Him He might lift us up, just as He says (Mt. 23:12; Lk. 14:11; 18:14; Rm. 8:29; Ga. 4:19; Ep. 5:18; Jm. 4:10; 1 Pe. 5:5-6).
With all the emphasis seemingly on fasting in this holy season, let us not forget nor neglect prayer and almsgiving that the Church has come to treasure equally because our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ bequeathed these to us in His Sermon on the Mount. These are not optional nor are they divine suggestions, if we feel like doing them or find them helpful. He says very clearly in each instance, “’When you fast, when you pray, when you give alms . . . .’” (Mt. 6:1-18). Fasting, however, became the catchall for these ascetic spiritual disciplines in our lives. St. Jerome reminds us – in concert with nearly all the Fathers – that “Fasting is not an absolute virtue, but the foundation of other virtues” (The Way of the Fathers #336). Fasting undergirds, supports, and enhances all the virtues we should be pursuing and adding to our faith, especially in these days of Great and Holy Lent, along with the concomitant spiritual practices and disciplines (2 Pe. 1:5-8). Fasting without prayer is demonic, the Fathers say, and fasting without almsgiving is useless. St. John Cassian tells us that, “The duty of fasting is rendered acceptable to God when it is made perfect by the fruits of charity” (The Way of the Fathers #331).
St. Isaac the Syrian urges us to keep the Fast because it’s the work of our Lord and it parallels His Great and Holy Passion. “The Saviour began the work of our salvation with fasting,” he says. “In the same way, all those who follow in the footsteps of the Saviour build on this foundation the beginning of their endeavor, since fasting is a weapon established by God. Who will escape blame if he neglects this?,” he asks.
If the Lawgiver Himself fasts, how can any of those who have to obey the Law be exempt from fasting? This is why the human race knew no victory before fasting, and the devil was never defeated by our nature as it is: but this weapon has indeed deprived the devil of strength from the outset. Our Lord was the Leader and the first example of this victory, in order to place the first crown of victory on the head of our nature. As soon as the devil sees someone possessed of this weapon, fear straightaway falls on this adversary and tormentor of ours, who remembers and thinks of his defeat by the Saviour in the wilderness; [the devil’s] strength is at once destroyed and the sight of the weapon given us by our Supreme Leader burns him up. A man armed with the weapon of fasting is always afire with zeal (Wisdom of the Divine Philosophers II, 90).
Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
PROPERS:
Rm. 13:11-14:4
Mt. 6:14-21