Our Holy Father Tarasius, Archbishop of Constantinople.
Day 10 of the Great Fast. Abstention from meat and foods that contain these ingredients.
Sixth Hour – Isaiah 5:16-26; Presanctified – Genesis 4:16-26; Proverbs 5:15-6:3.
Read Genesis 4:16-26
When we sin, we distance ourselves from the Lord. This much is clearly apparent in the first verse of today’s reading from Genesis, as Cain, having committed the sin of murder, goes out from the presence of the Lord. But what happens to us when we depart from the presence of the Lord?
We read how Cain goes and dwells in the land of Nod opposite Eden. There is a significance to Cain going to the land of Nod, as Nod is the Hebrew root of the word “to wander.” Cain’s sin causes him not only to depart from God but to live a life that lacks an aim or purpose connected to God.
We, too, when we sin, depart from the presence of the Lord. However, when we repent and confess our sins, we avoid the land of wandering aimlessly and away from the love and mercy of God. This Lent, may we immediately look up, running back to the Lord in repentance when we fall, rather than wandering aimlessly, because we know we will be met by a loving Father with open arms.