The Great Lent is often called a “spiritual spring,” reflecting the changes that take place in nature during this period of time, and awakening our souls from a sinful sleep to revive and blossom under the shining rays of Christ’s glorious Resurrection. Since the Great Lent is the most important time of the entire church year, preparing the faithful for the joyous “feast of feasts and triumph of triumphs,” the Church prepares us for this lent gradually, and leads us through this lent gradually and purposefully, in order that we may gain maximum benefit from it for the salvation of our souls. Thus, having taught us, in the preceding two Sundays, the humility of the publican and the repentance of the prodigal son, on this Sunday the Church leads us to the third step of preparation for the Great Lent - and that is the fear of God

And so before us unfolds the awesome image of the Last Judgment. First of all, we are amazed by the boundless sea of people. And we must be keenly aware that we, too, are among them. We try to find ourselves there, we try to determine our own place in accordance with our spiritual condition. In our mind’s eye we see people whose faces express terrible sadness, despair over their lost lives. There are other faces, full of rage, hate, envy, insatiable desires. Life is over, but something gnaws at them and will continue gnawing for eternity…

But now we look higher up, nearer to the Righteous Judge, and here we see other faces: they are quiet, peaceful, joyous, happy… A huge cross shines over the Seat of Judgment, and on that Throne sits the Lord Jesus Christ Himself - the Saviour of the world, surrounded by St. John the Baptist, the Apostles, the saints. They are all praying and rejoicing. There is only joyous celebration here.

And yet, this exultation is disturbed by a single cry. On Christ’s shoulder weeps the Mother of God, as She continues to plead for the redemption of sinners, for the salvation of the hopeless. She alone has been granted the power to entreat God’s mercy until the very end.

Thus, dear brethren, wherever we may feel ourselves standing at the Last Judgment, let us not despair! We are not yet lost! We still have the Mother of God, the Mother of all mankind, She is praying for us, and even the Almighty God can scarcely refuse Her. We must only have firm faith, repentance and the fear of God.

Especially in our times, dear brethren, we must have this fear of God. For us the image of the Last Judgment is not some kind of allegory or something in the distant future. On the contrary! For us, the last Christians, the second coming of Christ and the Last Judgment are a quite possible reality.

In our times, the concept of “a world lying in iniquity” has become virtual reality. Evil has spread into all spheres of human life. On a par with the destruction of nature and the destruction of the God-created beauty and harmony of our physical world, we see the total destruction of moral values, destruction of all the manifestations of beauty produced by the human soul. In the arts, in music, in literature, in human philosophy, in man’s exterior appearance - everywhere we see ugliness and distortion.

Moreover, just as the physical world now harbors a multitude of microbes and viruses that are mercilessly destroying human health, so our spiritual world is filled with the terrible viruses of apostasy and the sins of sodomy, which are destroying the souls of men, especially our youth.

Humanity now finds itself in a state worse than Sodom and Gomorrah, worse than the pagan world of antiquity, perhaps even worse that the antediluvian world. And if the Lord is refraining yet from destroying our world, it is only because there are still those who can be saved, and the Lord wishes “all of us to be saved and enter into the wisdom of truth.”

But judgment is close at hand… And the image of the Last Judgment, though it stuns us, does not lead us into despair. We can still attain humility, we can still repent, we can still feel the fear of God. It is for this purpose that we are being given this precious time of the Great Lent. And we still have a last resort - the intercession of the Mother of God.

Let us hurry to make use of all these means, dear brethren, so that we, too, may be placed on the right side of the King and hear His words: “Come, the blessed ones of My Father, inherit the Kingdom…” Amen.

Adapted from the writings of Archbishop
Andrew of Novo-Diveevo

The church begins the preparatory period which constitutes the threshold of the Great Lent with the “Sunday of Zaccheus” - the Sunday on which we hear the Gospel reading about a publican named Zaccheus.

There is a certain characteristic which runs like a golden thread through the entire festive cycle from the Nativity to the Baptism of our Lord, and which connects it with the Gospel reading about Zaccheus and with the Great Lent. This characteristic is the virtue of humility.

Just consider, dear brethren, how the momentous event of God’s coming down to earth and becoming incarnate - occurred with the greatest modesty. There were no pomp and circumstance, no fanfare, only the angels sang the glory and the majesty of the One Who was born in a humble cave, and this singing was heard only by humble shepherds.

Afterwards, the early years of our Saviour’s life also passed in anonymity. And then came the moment when He appeared publicly to begin His service to mankind. This momentous event, too, took place without pomp or circumstance, without fanfare: the Lord quietly came to the river Jordan, in order to be baptized by John just like all the other repentant sinners. And it was only John the Baptist, and the others who were there, - who had repented and were cleansed, - who saw the majesty of this moment in the first open appearance on earth of the Holy Trinity: God the Father speaking from heaven, God the Son being baptized in Jordan, and God the Holy Spirit descending as a dove and bearing witness to God’s imminent reconciliation with mankind.

It is this virtue of humility, which the Lord Jesus Christ Himself teaches us by the example of His entire life on earth, which the Church offers to us - in the Gospel reading about Zaccheus - as the beginning and the foundation of our purification, our spiritual regeneration, our unification with Christ.

In terms of human judgment, Zaccheus was a great sinner. First of all, in his capacity as head of the publicans, i.e. tax collectors, he was a thief and extortionist. By keeping back part of the money which he collected, he robbed both the people and the government, became rich at the expense of his neighbors, and cast widows and orphans into poverty. Moreover, by working for the occupying Roman forces, he was a traitor to his own people and showed himself as being unscrupulous. However, from the description of his meeting with the Saviour we see that Zaccheus was not a hopeless sinner, because he was not filled with that certain pride which would have forever barred him from salvation.

The Gospel tells us of how the Lord passed through Jericho, where this Zaccheus lived. Zaccheus, who had obviously heard of this new and extraordinary Teacher, showed a lively interest in Him. Zaccheus did not haughtily remain at home, disdaining to run after the crowd, nor did he try to push his way forward or demand to be let through before everyone else. He humbly waited to see Christ along the way, and he showed his ardent desire to see the Lord by climbing up into a sycamore tree, because he was short in stature.

Consider this moment, dear brethren: Zaccheus ardently desires to see the Lord, humbly waits to see Him and then overcomes all barriers to his desire: by climbing up into a tree he overcomes the physical impediment of his stature, and also overcomes the psychological impediment of his important position, the possibility of being mocked and ridiculed by others, etc.

And what do we see? What does humility lead to, even of such a great sinner as Zaccheus? “Zaccheus!” - the Lord says to him, - “make haste and come down, for today I must abide at thy house.” With these words the Lord says to Zaccheus: I must abide with you, because you have opened up your heart to Me, you have come to meet Me; I must abide at your house, that is, in your heart, because your humility has merited My grace; I must abide with you, because you have now become totally transformed spiritually, and I must strengthen this within you; I must abide within your heart, because it is now ready to accept Me.

Thus we see how humility brought Zaccheus to his meeting with the Saviour; how humility attracted God’s grace to him; how humility transformed his entire being, made him cry out: “Lord! half of my goods I will give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man falsely, I will restore it fourfold.”

Such is the effect of humility, dear brethren! Let us follow the example of Zaccheus’ humility, let us burn with his ardor to see Christ, let us overcome all impediments to meeting with Christ, in order for the Lord to say to us: today I must abide at thy house, the house of thy heart. Amen.

Father Rostislav Sheniloff

***

A very moving story is presented to us in today’s Gospel reading. In His last travel from Galilee (i.e. northern Palestine) to Jerusalem, the Lord approaches the city of Jericho, at the entrance to which He healed a blind beggar. The Jewish people, hearing that the Great Miracle-worker was coming in their direction, thronged towards Him. Together with this crowd came, or rather ran forward, a man by the name of Zaccheus, whom we are now commemorating.

His situation was highly ambiguous. On the one hand, he was an important personage in the city: he was the chief publican, or, in modern terms, the head of the internal revenue service, whom very many people outwardly admired, to whom the city administration pandered, and who was supported by the primary masters of the region – the powerful and proud Romans.

On the other hand, these same fellow-citizens hated Zaccheus with a burning hatred, regarding him as a renegade and betrayer of his people, and also a sinful man guilty of personal avarice and illegal gain at the expense of his compatriots.

But Zaccheus, taking advantage of the circumstances, wanted to see Christ, only to see Him.

It may be assumed that he was not propelled solely by curiosity, that he wanted to see Christ not only with his eyes, but also with his heart. However, his avid desire seemed unfulfillable, because he was short of stature and could not see through the crowd.

Without stopping to think, he forgets his age and his social standing, runs ahead along the route being followed by the Lord Christ and, like a street urchin, climbs up a tree. As he looks down, there before his eyes, against the vivid Mideastern panorama, appears the modest but majestic figure of Christ. Zaccheus froze, immersed in contemplating the God-man Christ. Thoughts chased each other like bees in his head. And then Christ came nearer and, passing over all the other people around Him, suddenly raised His head and said to Zaccheus: “Zaccheus, come down quickly, for today I must be at your house!”

Who and what words can describe the joy of Zaccheus! Even more so, the total upheaval within his soul.

But people are always people: they were not afraid to criticize even the Lord Christ when He acted contrary to their wishes and views. No one knew of the complete transformation of the soul. And thus the same crowd that had admired the Miracle-worker now grumbled: why was Christ planning to visit such an obvious sinner?

As though in response to this Zaccheus said: “Lord, I will give half of my estate to the poor, and whomever I have offended, I will recompense fourfold!”

Zaccheus was not thinking of offering a sumptuous feast for Christ, for he knew what had value in God’s eyes. Here it was: a purest diamond, which now glittered with all the colors of the rainbow. Here it was: that most precious pearl – a human soul.

However, the crowd of people, who were spiritually blind from ancient times, regarded the matter quite differently: they started grumbling over why Christ would go and see such an obvious sinner. As though in response Christ said: “Now salvation has come to this house, for the Son of man has come to seek and save the lost ones.”

According to tradition Zaccheus later converted to Christianity and became the first bishop of the church in Palestinian Caesaria.

Such, dear brethren, are the salvific lessons that we draw from today’s Gospel reading. Such is the sacrifice of the heart that has come to believe. Such is genuine and saving repentance. A human soul has become totally transformed.

Zaccheus changed his sinful habits for the sake of Christ. And if each one of us is in some measure like Zaccheus, are we applying even the least effort to change our petrified habits for the sake of Christ?

“Faith is dead without works,” says Apostle James. In a similar manner our faith will be dead, too, if we do not make any effort. Living faith requires life, and life requires change. We change physically; we must also change spiritually.

Thus let each one of us take to heart today’s Gospel reading on Zaccheus, let each one of us carefully ponder his or her life and try to cleanse ourselves spiritually, and, seeing our sincerity, the Lord will let us feel that “salvation has come” to our house, too, and that we will be rewarded according to our faith and sincerity. Amen.

Protopriest Igor Hrebinka

When the church bell begins ringing slowly and sadly, when the services become filled with the sound of mournful chants, when the church and the priest are dressed in black vestments, – then the church resounds with the wondrous and deeply-moving words of the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian:

“O Lord and Master of my life! A spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition and idle talk give me not. But rather a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience and love bestow upon me, Thy servant. Yea, O Lord King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother; for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.”

After each part of the prayer a prostration is made. At the end of the entire prayer it is customary to bow from the waist twelve times, saying to oneself at each bow: “God, purify me, a sinner,” – after which the entire prayer is read once more, and at the end a single prostration is made. Such a number of prostrations testifies to the importance which our Orthodox Church imparts to this prayer.

The prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is read only during the Great Lent, at the end of each service, except for Saturdays and Sundays. The priest comes out of the altar wearing only a black epitrahelion, stands before the closed royal doors and begins reading this prayer. The altar always signifies the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is closed to us because of our sins. But out of it came the Son of God – our Lord Jesus Christ, Who put off His divine glory, in order to take upon Himself our human essence together with all its weaknesses, except for sin. “Let this mind be in you, – writes Apostle Paul to the Philippians, – which was also in Christ Jesus: He made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, becoming like unto men, and becoming in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself, being obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (2:5-8). It is of this that we are reminded when the priest comes out of the altar without wearing his shining outer vestments. And just as Christ through His earthly life stood in front of the gates of paradise, praying for the salvation of mankind from the power of the devil and sin, so the priest, standing before the closed royal doors, prays for our salvation. And we, meanwhile, lamenting our sins, but with firm faith and hope in salvation, should in our mind and heart repeat after the priest the words of the prayer: “O Lord and Master of my life!”

In our modern times, when human pride towers as high as the Tower of Babel, for contemporary mankind these words appear totally unacceptable. What Lord? What Master? Man is the master of his own life! For this reason even the word “God” is often written with a small letter. Most kings have been overthrown, since no one must rule over us! We will build our own life! And mankind does not want to understand that if God is not the Master of our life, then no matter whom or what it worships – these will only be false idols no matter what their name – be it “Apollo,” “Humanity,” “Progress,” “Environment,” “New Age,” etc. Only through absolute faith in the absolute power of God over the universe will we be able to approach Him. Thus we stand in awe before the name of God as the name of Him Whom we acknowledge to be the Lord and Master of our entire life.

But let us not stand before God with our heads held high in pride, but let us rather bow humbly before Him, our soul uttering the following words of the prayer: “The spirit of idleness give not to me, Thy servant!”

The ideal of modern mankind is to work as little as possible and to enjoy life as much as possible. Modern civilization has invented a multitude of amusements and pleasures which gratify our senses. And those people who are free from work often spend their life in idleness.

But work is a need of the human spirit which has been instilled into it by God. The Bible tells us that God placed our ancestors in Eden for them to cultivate it. Love of idleness is an illness of the spirit. But idleness is especially dangerous in the field of spiritual endeavor. The battle with our human frailties and passions requires an even greater effort than our earthly struggle for existence. In the latter there are intermissions: when a person reaches a desired goal he can rest for a while. But there can be no rest in the spiritual struggle. Our enemy the devil never stops fighting against us. As Apostle Peter says: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; resist him with steadfast faith” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

When we go to bed at night without prayer, all the sins which we have committed during the day remain uncleansed. When we get up in the morning – we never have time to pray, since we must hurry off to work. And so the layer of sin covering our soul becomes thicker and thicker. The mind immerses itself in worldly vanity and ceases to think of what is most important – the salvation of the soul. We are too lazy to work for the salvation of our soul. But in the secular world we are prepared to work overtime if it brings us material gain. In such a case we do not even think of being tired! But to work on saving our soul, which, if it does not attain the Kingdom of God, will end up in the kingdom of Satan, – for this we are too tired, too lazy. And yet let us think a little bit about eternity. Time does not exist there, eternity stretches endlessly without change. Today, tomorrow, a hundred years, a thousand years hence, everything will remain the same. For the one who will blissfully dwell with God, this knowledge will bring comfort and joy. But what will be the feelings of those who will be with the devil?

Let us reject the spirit of idleness and let us earnestly embark upon the labor of spiritually cultivating our souls! An idle man, having nothing to do, becomes bored. Boredom leads to a feeling of dissatisfaction with life, at which point even amusements cease to help. This is because physical pleasures gratify only the sensual aspect of our being, but totally disregard the soul which has been created in the image of God. And it is through this soul that boredom begins to take hold of a person, often leading to despair, to hopelessness and despondency…

At the first sign of despondency one must arm oneself against it by means of hard work, one must fight it off, asking God for help: “The spirit of despondency give not to me, Thy servant.”

Often this spirit of despondency takes hold of a person because of hidden pride, hidden envy: why are other people in a better situation than I? Why do others dominate while I have to obey? But such a person forgets that not everyone is called upon to rule, not everyone is called upon to teach, while those who are – have more responsibilities than privileges. From those who are given more – more will be asked. Let us deprive the devil of the possibility of leading us into despondency. Let us cut off our pride and have faith in that the Lord Himself will lead us along the path on which we will most easily be able to reach the Heavenly Kingdom. Let us pray to the Lord: “The spirit of ambition give not to me, Thy servant,” and then we will find peace in our hearts.

We criticize everything, we pass judgment on everything, we are discontent with everything. From morning to evening our tongues work ceaselessly, babbling all manner of vanity. Even in church we say the words of prayers only with our tongue, without grasping their meaning with our mind, without feeling them with our heart. And so it comes about that we are constantly talking idly. But all that we say will not vanish into eternity without a trace. If we speak of love, but in life seek revenge upon those who have offended us; if we speak of morality, but in life do not follow the commandments of the Gospel; if we speak of charity, but in life we humiliate others, – then at the Last Judgment we will be judged with our own words. If we speak of good, then we know about it; and if we know about it and do not do it, then we engage in idle talk. However, we will be called to account for each idle word. Idle talk is not only aimless chitchat, but it is also every word that has not been justified by life’s deeds. Therefore, even our prayers, uttered only with our tongue but not felt with the heart and not consciously grasped with the mind, – constitute idle talk.

Let us be attentive to our words, let us avoid saying things which can incite in us and in others evil or sinful thoughts and feelings. As St. John of the Ladder says: “Silence is always useful”; so let us humbly entreat the Lord: “The spirit of idle talk give not to me, Thy servant.” And let us seal our entreaty with a prostration, to show that we are aware of being guilty of all these sins, that we sincerely repent of them, and that we promise the Lord to make all possible effort to reform our lives.

But just as nature abhors a vacuum, so in spiritual life one must not leave an empty space in one’s soul. Thus, if we cleanse our soul of passions, then we must fill it with virtues instead. Guided by the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, let us ask of the Lord: “The spirit of chastity bestow upon me, Thy servant!”

What is chastity? In secular life this word is usually used in terms of carnal restraint. But the holy Church Fathers give it a much larger meaning, and that is: a general spiritual/moral discipline of a person. It is in this sense that the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian should be understood. In order to rid oneself of idleness, despondency, ambition and idle talk, – bodily purity is not enough. But if a person is able to restrain not only his carnal instincts but also desires of the heart; if he is able to direct his thoughts only toward good; if he curbs his tongue, does not speak malice of others, does not offend them, – such a person will truly be chaste.

And without chastity it is impossible to achieve the next virtue for which we ask in the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian: humble-mindedness.

Humble-mindedness is an absolute prerequisite for man to be able to commune with God. Christ Himself has said to us: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” The “poor in spirit” are those who do not see their own worth, but consider themselves to be lower than everyone else. And the parable of the publican and the Pharisee ends with the following words of Christ: “For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:14).

For us, proud sons of the twentieth century, all of this seems totally unacceptable. How?! We, who are armed with scientific knowledge, who have reached the level of molecular fission, who have broken the sound barrier in flight, – we must look upon ourselves as insignificant beings? Yes, if we want to enter the Kingdom of God. For one does not enter this Kingdom on the strength of scientific knowledge or inventions, but through the knowledge of virtues. Man may acquire knowledge of all the mysteries of nature and the entire universe, yet this will not lead him to salvation unless he kneels down and bows his head before the Lord, entreating Him from the bottom of his heart: “The spirit of humble-mindedness bestow upon me, Thy servant!” For all knowledge and all natural gifts come from God and are granted to people to be used in serving God and His Church.

The spirit of humble-mindedness is also extremely important to us in waging spiritual warfare against the devil for the salvation of our souls. But aside from humble-mindedness we must also arm ourselves with patience. Should you fall – do not despair, arise, arm yourself and patiently continue your struggle. A monk once came to one of the elders and said: “Father, what should I do? – I have fallen.” “Arise!” – replied the elder. Some time later the same monk came and said: “Father, I have fallen again.” “Arise again,” – briefly replied the elder. The same monk came to him yet a third time with the same confession and received the same answer. “But, father, how long should I continue to arise?” – asked the monk. “As long as you keep falling,” – replied the elder. So lived the holy men. Let us follow their example, praying to God: “The spirit of patience bestow upon me, Thy servant!”

Chastity, humble-mindedness, patience and all other virtues form a wondrous bouquet in the human soul whose name is – love. God dwells in a soul that is filled with love, for “God is Love” (1 John 4:16). No matter how successful we are in our spiritual endeavors, no matter how many gifts we possess, if there is no love in our soul for those around us, then our endeavors are deficient. Apostle Paul writes in his epistle to the Corinthians: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, – I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal” (13:1-3). Of the three main virtues – faith, hope and love, – love is the greatest. According to Abba Dorotheus, love is the roof of the house of virtues, which crowns the entire building and encompasses everything. Without a roof a house is incomplete and cannot be lived in. Without love all other virtues are imperfect, and God does not dwell in such a house. Thus, let us earnestly entreat God: “The spirit of love bestow upon me, Thy servant!” And let us again prostrate ourselves, in order to fortify our prayer to the Lord.

But our prayer is not yet finished, and we continue with the following words: “Yea, o Lord King!” “Yea” is a sort of incantation, an attempt to beseech the Lord to grant us that without which our penitence will be fruitless, our prayer – invalid. What do we ask so forcefully of the Lord?

“Grant me to see my failings!” Of what shall we repent if we do not see our sins? However, to be able to see them we must possess spiritual intelligence, spiritual discernment, in order to search within all the corners of our soul and renew our coarsened conscience. And if, by the grace of God, we are able to see our sins, to recognize them, then we will understand how much worse and heavier they are than the sins of those around us. And instead of passing judgment on our sinning neighbor, we will be able to look upon him with love and to pray for him. It is for this that we ask of the Lord: “Grant me not to condemn my brother!” And finally, with firm faith that we will receive all that we have asked, we bless the Lord: “For blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen!” Be it so, O Lord and Master! May our prayers and our faith be answered!

With God’s help we have now reached the beginning of Great Lent, dear brethren. Whenever we embark upon something in our lives, we first prepare a plan of action, a program of what we must do and in what order. But in this case we do not need to do anything. Today’s Gospel presents us with such a program. The preceding three Sundays the Church simply instructed us, but now it requires us to take action. If we listen attentively to today’s Gospel reading, we will see how simple and easily accessible are the guidelines which the Church presents to us.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Thus, what is the purpose of the Great Lent? The purpose is to gain our Heavenly Father’s forgiveness of our trespasses. And how do we attain such a goal? By forgiving others their trespasses. Let us begin with that, for that is the first step.

Secondly: “Moreover, when you fast, be not like the hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces, so that they may appear fasting before people. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, in order to appear fasting not before men, but before your Father…” And so, dear brethren, let us not be hypocritical. Let us fast not for the sake of showing off before other people, but for the sake of pleasing God. Let us fast not sadly, but with spiritual joy.

And thirdly: “Do not amass treasures upon earth… but amass treasures in heaven…” This point of our Lenten program defines our entire course of action, guides our entire life. Let us make use of the time of the Great Lent, in order to distract ourselves not only from earthly concerns, but primarily from earthly desires, from the desire for and the acquisition of earthly material goods. Let us rather concern ourselves with the spiritual, with the acquisition of spiritual treasures: love, charity, repentance, cleansing of the soul, communion with God.

And lastly: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Such is the aim of our life: for our heart to be in God, to be filled with God, for God to be our treasure! And this last is so important, that it is an incentive for us to work harder, to keep stricter fast, to stay in church longer, to pray more at home. For only then, having God in our purified and enlightened hearts, will we be able to cry out joyously:

“Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!”

Father Rostislav Sheniloff