Second Saturday of the Great Fast: All Souls Saturday; Our Venerable Father Gerasimus of the Jordan (475)
Great Fast Day 13.
Hebrews 3:12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Mark 1:35-44; John 5:24-30.
Read Hebrews 3:12-16
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
we hear an impassioned plea from St. Paul for his Hebrew Christian audience not to harden their hearts to the Lord. We recall the famous phrase used in the book of Exodus to describe Pharaoh and his refusal to heed Moses’ warnings from the Lord and the devastation that followed through the plagues. Lies can cause us to mistrust and harden our hearts. St. Paul relates sin to deceitfulness, and, if we are honest, we will notice that at the root of every sin is a lie. We see this from the very beginning in the half-truths given by the evil one to Adam and Eve which undermine the trust of God as their loving Father.
I encourage you this Lenten journey to frame these days before Pascha as a gradual deepening of your appreciation of truth over lies. Recognize that as you come closer to the Lord you come closer in relationship to Truth Himself and abandon the lies which continue to keep you in chains. Although living in the truth takes courage and can be painful, it is well worth the fight if it means coming closer to the God who loves you!