Preparation for Great Lent

For Orthodox Catholic Christians of the Byzantine Rite, Lent (The Great Fast) begins differently than it does for Protestants and Catholics. The observance of Ash Wednesday is dramatic and beautiful, but is not in the Eastern tradition. For us, Lent comes in gradually over a period of weeks, like a cello line subtly weaving itself into our lives.

Ten Sundays before Easter (or, as we call it, Pascha), we hear the Gospel lesson of the Publican and the Pharisee; before we begin the season of self-denial, we recall that it is futile to boast of self-denial. The Publican’s model of repentance is our aim.

Last Sunday we heard the story of the Prodigal Son, perhaps the most beloved of Jesus’ parables. The icon of this scene shows the son in worn clothing, with his feet in rags; he cradles his sorry head in one hand, while stretching the other tentatively toward Jesus. There is nothing tentative about Jesus’ response–he is running toward the son, his arms open to embrace, and a scroll tumbles from his hand: “For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

On this upcoming Sunday we hear the gospel passage concerning the Last Judgment. Here is the choice: humility or the cataclysmic rewards of stubborn pride. With the following Sunday, seven weeks before Pascha, Lent begins in earnest. At evening Vespers we trade the bright chant melodies for more sober ones, and say the prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian, a fourth century hermit: “O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.”

During all of Lent, Orthodox Christians strive to abstain from eating certain foods. Our abstention from these foods does not somehow benefit God or make God like us more. Fasting is a form of self-discipline, like lifting weights or jogging. It builds the muscle of self-control. If we can master the temptation to reach for a cheeseburger, we can resist other daily temptations as they come along. Some people find this fast so taxing it would sour them spiritually, and they must do less. Others find it not stringent enough. No one is to judge anyone else’s fast, or even notice it. But it helps that we all look to a common standard.

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