A CALL TO FORGIVE

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

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

A CALL TO FORGIVE

JESUS SAID TO THEM:

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything
against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven
may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not
forgive, NEITHER WILL YOU FATHER IN HEAVEN
FORGIVE YOUR TRESPASSES" (Mark 11:25-26).

"Then Jesus said, ‘Father FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY
KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO" (Luke 23:34).

"Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often
shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?
Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say
to you, up to seven times, but UP TO SEVENTY
TIMES SEVEN" (Matthew 18:21-22).

THE LORD JESUS SAID:

"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men
their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-21).

God the Son teaches His Disciples and us the great significance of forgiving others. Our Lord and Savior insists on mutual forgiveness between people as a precondition of God’s forgiveness. Those who do not forgive ARE NOT FORGIVEN. This is repeated by Christ in the Parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:23-35), which concludes with virtually the same words. The opinion that even unforgiving Christians are forgiven by God is contradicted by Christ Himself. The moral action of the faithful, when they forgive others "their trespasses," is bound with the love of God: not to forgive others is willfully to alienate ourselves from the forgiveness of God.

A call to forgive follows the promise of nearly unlimited possibilities of faith in prayer. What can deter faith that is able to move mountains? Failure to forgive–the greatest hindrance to knowing God. Not only does unforgiveness cripple our prayers, but even the "Father in heaven" does not "forgive" the unforgiving. As the fig tree is rejected for bearing no fruit, so are unforgiving people rejected (John 15:1-6).

Orthodox Christians throughout the world begin today 23rd of February the spiritually intense season of Holy and Great Lent. In Orthodox Christian spirituality, PRAYER, FASTING, REPENTANCE, AND FORGIVENESS ACT AS AN INTEGRATED, HOLISTIC SYSTEM FOR SPIRITUAL HEALING,, PURIFICATION, AND UNION WITH GOD. Fasting (voluntary abstinence) and prayer (connection with God) work together to humble the soul, enabling deep repentance (metanoia-a change of mind/heart) and receiving God’s mercy. These disciplines prepare the heart to truly forgive others, which is essential to receive God’s forgiveness.

REPENTANCE (The Core) s not a one time event but a continuous, active process of turning away from sin and toward God, facilitated by self-examination.
FASTING (The Tool) is not merely dietary, but a spiritual, physical discipline that breaks addiction to passions and gluttony, making repentance acceptable to God. It is "training" or "ascesis" for spiritual life.
PRAYER (The Connection) is the fuel for this transformation, strengthening the will through grace to align with God’s will.
FORGIVENESS (The Requirement) is both seeking it and granting it–it is the ultimate test of repentance and a requirement for accessing Divine grace.

According to Saint Kosmas Aitolos, curing the soul requires a combined approach: (1) forgiving enemies (2)thorough confession, (3) self-blame(not accusing others), and (4) resolving to sin no more. Our Church year, particularly, Holy and Great Lent, demonstrates this unity: parishioners engage in fasting and intensified prayer, accompanied by sincere confession to cultivate a "contrite heart" and mutual forgiveness especially on Forgiveness Sunday (Cheeze-Fare Sunday). The ultimate purpose, of course, of this combined effort is to cleanse the heart of sinful, "vengeful thoughts" and to fill it with Divine Light and Agape, rather than just merely following rules.

Holy and Great Lent is a time of renewal and a time of healing. When we sin by disobeying the commandments of God, we injure our soul just as if we committed a crime. As a matter of fact sin is referred to as Egglema (Gr. εγκλημα) or a self-inflicted injury. Just like any injury, the person needs to see a physician, medicine and time to heal the wound. To neglect this opportunity would be detrimental to one’s life and salvation. This most significant spiritual period must be used wisely and with a clear purpose and objective. Couple with self-reflection and prayer, fasting can prove a powerful ally to a believer in his/her struggle to raise himself/herself above gluttony, vanity, anger, and other carnal and material urges and passions. However, fasting is not of the nature of banking credits in heaven, as some seem to believe. There are some that pay more attention to material fasting instead of abstinence from loose living. Saint John Chrysostomos, in an eruption against fasting taken by some to be the embodiment of Christian living, said the famous, "more attention should be paid to things that come out of one’s mouth rather than the things that go in it." Still, fasting may prove invaluable to those who take it seriously and not merely as an expression of outer piety which they feel they should observe.

Let us not surrender to mankind’s adversary, the devil. The vigilant Christian understands that we are constantly engaged in spiritual warfare. Our enemy, the evil one, is much more cunning and deceiving then we are led to believe. Just as he seduced Eve, he can tempt and seduce anyone of us. In the New Testament, the devil is allowed to tempt the Lord, presenting himself as the master of the world (Matthew 4:8-9). He was after the Disciples, especially Saint Peter, but Christ prayed for them, for their faith to remain steadfast. He was considered to be "the prince of the world," but has no power over Christ (John 14:30). Saint Paul and the other Apostles follow this teaching about the devil. Saint Peter recommends sobriety and vigilance as the chief means of resisting him ( I Peter 5:8-9). It is up to the believer to remain steadfast in faith, live according to the sacred commandments of our Lord Christ, and use all the spiritual tools given to us by our Church to fight and by the grace of God to triumph over him.

Kali Sarakosti! A blessed forty-day Holy Lent to All!

_______
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
+Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George