Our Venerable Father and Confessor Theophanes of Sigriana (817); Our Holy Father Gregory the Dialogist, Pope of Rome (604)
Great Fast Day 29. Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
Read
Sixth Hour – Isaiah 37:33-38:6
Vespers – Genesis 13:12-18; Proverbs 14:27-15:4
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
This week, we read FOUR passages about God’s covenant with Abraham. Perhaps this theme is repeated so much because it is so hard to believe – how will God make two foreigners, elderly and barren, into the ancestors of a great nation, and on land occupied by other peoples?
Today’s reading hints at the answer. Obedient to God’s command, Abraham came to Canaan. We don’t know whether Lot followed his uncle Abraham out of confidence in God’s promise, or in search of adventure, but whatever the reason, he makes a mistake when he separates from Abraham and settles in an “exceedingly wicked” place. Abraham, unperturbed, continues on his journey; he is confirmed in his covenant with God, and ends by building an altar to the Lord to offer worship.
Abraham is a reminder of our own need to stay faithful to God. As Lent drags on, we might want to forget the things that orient us away from sin and back to our relationship with Jesus (fasting, prayer, and almsgiving) and go in search of relief in the things of this world- like Lot, who was beguiled by the Plain of the Jordan. But when we separate ourselves from God’s promises, we can’t hope for any lasting joy; so, like Abraham, let’s remain on the road, faithful to God’s call. After all, Abraham also points to Christ, THE example of faithfulness to God, whose obedience will fulfill God’s promises to Abraham, and to all of humanity, once-and-for-all.