We sing these words at Sunday Penitential Vespers throughout the Great Fast each year, the words of the Prokeimenon.
Like Adam, we are afflicted by virtue of the sins we have committed. It is our sins which alienate us from our homeland—heaven, the place within which we are called to live, within which the Saints have indeed lived, even while traversing this, God’s earth.
This Lenten season is not even referred to by us in that manner—’lent’ - for the word is too insignificant to describe the meaning of this season to us. The word "lent" comes from the Olde English “lencten,” which literally meant the ‘lengthening’ of the daylight hours, the coming of spring.
For us, we speak of “the Great Fast.” It is “great” in terms of its length, because the “forty days” often referred to by other Christians is typically seen as the forty days between “Ash Wednesday” and Palm Sunday. For us, the “forty days” begin on Monday, tomorrow, and extend through the Friday which precedes Lazarus Saturday. But for the Orthodox, we do not speak of “Palm Sunday.” Rather, we speak of the Triumphal Entry of our Lord into Jerusalem. There is a wonderful difference in the connotation of the two expressions!
But the “fast” began last week, with Meatfare Sunday. So we can add seven more days. And the “fasting” continues through Holy Week, so we can add eight more days.
Thus, the “Great Fast” is great, indeed, in terms of its breadth. But it is greater in terms of its engagement of the faithful. In any given week during the “normal” parts of the year, we have Divine Services about three times each week (Sunday Liturgy, Saturday Vespers, Monday Akathist). During the Great Fast, this increases to seven times each week—more than double (adding Sunday evening Vespers, Wednesday and Friday Presanctified Liturgies, and typically Saturday morning Soul Liturgies).
The Lord has not turned His face from us. But now, it is a time for the afflicted child, for you and me, to turn our face back toward Him, to return to Him as the Prodigal, to search out that which has removed us from His presence, from living “in the Kingdom of Heaven” even while we remain here in the world, and to carefully prepare our prayers and words to offer as a spiritual sacrifice to Him in repentance for where we have gone astray.
We begin today. There are nine services in the coming seven days. They will set the tone for our entry into this season. They will prepare our hearts to come to this turning toward our Lord. Let me urge all to avail yourselves of as many of these opportunities as possible!!
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