THE INNER UNITY OF THE TRIODION

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only Lord, God and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE INNER UNITY OF THE TRIODION

(1) THE PRE-LENTEN PERIOD. (a) The Sunday of Zacchaeus. One week before Triodion enters into use, there is a Sunday Gospel reading which looks forward directly to the coming fast — Luke 19:1-10), describing how Zacchaeus climbed a tree beside the road where Christ was to pass. In this reading we note Zacchaeus’ SENSE OF EAGER EXPECTATION, THE INTENSITY OF HIS DESIRE to see our Lord, and we apply this to ourselves. If, as we prepare for Lent, there is a real eagerness in our hearts, if we have an intense desire for a clearer vision of Christ, then our hopes will be fulfilled during the fast; indeed, we shall, like Zacchaeus, receive far more than we expect. But if there is within us no eager expectation and non sincere desire, we shall see and receive nothing. And so we ask ourselves: What is my state of mind and will as I prepare to embark on the LENTEN JOURNEY?

THE SUNDAY OF THE PUBLICAN AND THE PHARISEE (Gospel reading: Luke 18:10-14). On this and the following two Sundays, the theme is REPENTANCE. REPENTANCE IS THE DOOR THROUGH WHICH WE ENTER LENT, THE STARTING-POINT OF OUR JOURNEY TO PASCHA. And to repent signifies far more than self-pity or futile regret over things done in the past. The Greek term METANOIA means ‘change of mind’: TO REPENT IS TO BE RENEWED, TO BE TRANSFORMED IN OUR INWARD VIEWPOINT, TO ATTAIN A FRESH WAY OF LOOKING AT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND TO OTHERS. The fault of the Pharisee is that he has no desire to change his outlook; he is complacent, self-satisfied, and so he allows no place for God to act within him. The Publican, on the other hand, truly longs for a ‘change of mind’: he is self-disatisfied, ‘poor in spirit,’ and where there is this saving self-disatisfaction there is room for God to act. Unless we learn the secret of the Publican’s inward poverty, we shall not share in the Lenten springtime. The theme of the day can be summed up in a saying of the Desert Holy Fathers: ‘Better a man who has sinned, if he knows that he has sinned and repents, than a man who has not sinned and thinks of himself as righteous.’

THE SUNDAY OF THE PRODIGAL SON (Gospel reading: Luke 15:11-32). The Parable of the Prodigal forms a exact icon of repentance in its different stages. Sin IS EXILE, ENSLAVEMENT TO STRANGERS, HUNGER. REPENTANCE IS THE RETURN FROM EXILE TO OUR TRUE HOME; IT IS TO RECEIVE BACK OUR INHERITANCE AND FREEDOM IN THE FATHERS’S HOUSE. But repentance implies action: "I WILL RISE UP AND GO…(vs. 18). TO REPENT IS NOT JUST TO FEEL DISSATISFIED, BUT TO TAKE A DECISION AND TO ACT UPON IT.

THE SATURDAY OF THE DEAD. On the day before the Sunday of the Last Judgment, and in close connection with the theme of this Sunday, there is a universal commemoration of the dead ‘FROM ALL THE AGES.’ (There are further commemorations of the dead on the second, third and fourth Saturdays in Holy and Great Lent). Before we call in mind THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST in the service on Sunday, we commend to God ALL THOSE DEPARTED FROM BEFORE US, WHO ARE NOW AWAITING THE LAST JUDGMENT. In the texts for this Saturday there is a strong sense of the continuing bond of mutual love that links together ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH, WHETHER ALIVE OR DEAD. For those who believe in the Risen Christ, death does not constitute an impassable barrier, since all are alive in Him; the departed are still our brethren, MEMBERS OF THE SAME FAMILY WITH US, AND SO WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF THE NEED TO PRAY INSISTENTLY ON THEIR BEHALF.

THE SUNDAY OF THE LAST JUDGMENT (Gospel reading: Matthew 25:31-46). The two past Sundays spoke to us of God’s patience and LIMITLESS COMPASSION, OF HIS READINESS TO ACCEPT EVERY SINNER WHO RETURNS TO HIM. On this Third Sunday, we are powerfully reminded of a complementary truth: NO ONE IS SO PATIENT AND SO MERCIFUL AS GOD, BUT EVEN HE DOES NOT FORGIVE THOSE WHO DO NOT REPENT. The God of agape (love) is also A GOD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND WHEN CHRIST COMES AGAIN IN GLORY, HE WILL COME AS OUR JUDGE. "Behold the goodness and severity of God" (Romans 11:22). Such is the message of Holy and Great Lent to each of us; TURN BACK WHILE THERE IS STILL TIME, REPENT BEFORE THE END COMES.

On SATURDAY IN THE WEEK BEFORE LENT (‘Cheese Week’). There is a GENERAL COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE ASCETIC SAINTS OF THE CHURCH, both men and women. As we set out on the journey of the Lenten Fast, we are reminded THAT WE DO NOT TRAVEL ALONE BUT AS MEMBERS OF A FAMILY, SUPPORTED BY THE INTERCESSIONS OF MAN INVISIBLE HELPERS.

THE SUNDAY BEFORE LENT. The last of the preparatory Sundays has two themes: IT COMMEMORATES ADAM’S EXPULSION FROM PARADISE, AND IS ALSO THE SUNDAY OF FORGIVENESS. There are obvious reasons why these two things should be brought to our attention as we stand on the threshold of the Holy and Great Fast. One of the primary images in the Triodion is that of THE RETURN TO PARADISE. Lent is a time when we weep with Adam and Eve before the closed gate of Eden, repenting with them for the sins that have deprived us of our free communion with God. But lent is also A TIME WHEN WE ARE PREPARING TO CELEBRATE THE SAVING EVENT OF CHRIST’S DEATH AND RISING, WHICH HAS REOPENED PARADISE TO US ONCE MORE (Luke 23:43). So sorrow for our exile in sin is tempered BY HOPE OF OUR RE-ENTRY INTO PARADISE.

The second theme, that OF FORGIVENESS, is emphasized in the Gospel reading for this Sunday (Matthew 6:14-21) and in the special ceremony OF MUTUAL FORGIVENESS AT THE END OF VESPERS ON SUNDAY EVENING. Before we enter the Lenten fast, we are reminded that THERE CAN BE NO TRUE FAST, NO GENUINE REPENTANCE, NO RECONCILIATION WITH GOD, UNLESS WE ARE AT THE SAME TIME RECONCILED WITH ONE ANOTHER. A fast without mutual love IS THE FAST OF DEMONS. As the commemoration of the ascetic Saints on the previous Saturday has just made clear to us, we do not travel teh road of Lent as isolated individuals BUT AS MEMBER OF A FAMILY. Our asceticism and fasting should not separate us from our fellow men but LINK US TO THEM WITH EVER STRONGER BONDS. THE LENTEN ASCETIC IS CALLED TO BE A MAN FOR OTHERS.

THE SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY. The sense of joy and thanksgiving, already evident on the Saturday of Saint Theodore, is still more apparent on the First Sunday in Lent, when we celebrate the TRIUMPH OF ORTHODOXY. On this day the Church commemorates the final ending of the Iconoclast controversy and the definitive restoration of the holy icons to the churches by the Empress Theodora, acting as regent for her young son Michael III. This took place on the first Sunday of Lent, 11th March A.D. 843. There is, however, not only a historical link between the First Sunday and the RESTORATION OF THE HOLY ICONS but also, as in the case of Saint Theodore, a spiritual affinity. If Orthodoxy triumphed in the epoch of the Iconoclast controversy, this was because so many of the faithful were prepared to undergo exile, torture, and even death, for the sake of the truth. The Feast of Orthodoxy IS ABOVE ALL A CELEBRATION IN HONOR OF THE MARTYRS AND CONFESSORS WHO STRUGGLED AND SUFFERED FOR THE FAITH: HENCE ITS APPROPRIATENESS FOR THE REASON OF LENT, WHEN WE ARE STRIVING TO IMITATE THE MARTYRS BY MEANS OF OUR ASCETIC SELF-DENIAL. The fixing of the Triumph of Orthodoxy on the First Sunday is therefore much more than the result of some chance historical conjunction.
The Office celebrates not only the restoration of the holy icons but, more generally, THE VICTORY OF THE TRUE FAITH OVER ALL HERESIES AND ERRORS. A procession is made with the holy icons, and after this extracts are read from the Synodical Decree of the 7th Ecumenical Council (A.D. 787). (Resources: The Lenten Triodion)

(To be continued)

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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George