The Holy Apostle Archippus
Great Fast Day 5
Sixth Hour – Isaiah 3:1-14; Presanctified – Genesis 2:20-3:20; Proverbs 3:19-34.
Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
Read Isaiah 3:1-14
Isaiah speaks of the deep consequences of sin. Literally in the Septuagint we are told that the offense of Israel against God, “humbles his glory.” Our sin frustrates the overflow of divine glory here on earth. We were made in God’s image and likeness, which takes its cue from Christ, who, in the first place is “the reflection of your glory and the express image of God the Father.” (Cf. Hebrews 1:3; Liturgy of St. Basil the Great) Our sin not only offends God, but short circuits his glory here on Earth. Isaiah’s idea of humbling the glory of the Lord comes clearer in the next line. This offence is manifest on the face of Israel: “the shame of their face opposes them.” Our face, once made to reflect the glory of the Lord, is turned in on itself. What happens when we sin is that we distort divine glory by falsifying it, making it a projection of ourselves and our own selfish desires. The trouble is, the Lord’s glory is the only sustaining energy that exists; it is the only renewable energy source. If we feed off our own glory, we can only end in self-destruction. To reflect the glory of the Lord, as in a mirror, to behold God face to face, can bring us life. The entire goal of Pascha is to be granted a vision of God, given to those with a pure heart. Isaiah’s admonition reminds us that our sins frustrate reflection and in so doing, it frustrates another opportunity to see God in this world, reflected upon our very faces.