All Souls Saturday; Our Venerable Father Mark, Bishop of Arethusa, the Deacon Cyril and others martyred during the reign of Julian the Apostate.
Day 27 of the Great Fast.
Hebrews 6:9-12; 1 Corinthians 15:47-57; Mark 7:31-37; John 5:24-30.
Read Hebrews 6:9-12
St Paul, in his letter to the Hebrews today, offers us some encouragement as we continue in the Fast. What pulls us through difficult times, where we do not see or experience God’s consolations, is hope. Before ascending in glory to the Father, Our Lord told His disciples that He would be with them “all days, even until the end of the age.” He is with us whether we experience His Presence or not, the same way that the sun is always shining, whether it is obscured by a cloud or not. The cloud will move on. What gets us through dark winter days is the knowledge that it has not always been like this and will not be like this forever.
St. Paul gives us an even deeper hope- the better things of salvation, and the assurance that God sees our good deeds and works of love. As we continue through these last weeks of the Great Fast, we are strengthened by the fact that if we are faithful the Lord, He will produce spiritual fruit from our efforts and that we will be met by Him on the other side of the tomb at Pascha!
St. John Chrysostom writes: “We desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end.” Hope, he means, carries us through. It recovers us again. So do not despair, lest your hope be in vain. For one that works for good hopes also for good and never despairs of himself. (On the Epistle to the Hebrews 10.5)