The Labor of Repentance
When Thou comest, O God, to earth with glory, and all the creatures tremble before Thee, and the river of fire floweth before the Altar of Judgment, and the books are opened and sins revealed, deliver me from that unquenchable fire, and make me worthy to stand at Thy right hand, O Righteous Judge!
- Kontakion for the Sunday of the Dread Judgment (Meatfare)
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
As this bulletin “goes to press,” we are in the midst of the pre-Lenten period, in which the Church presents several Gospel readings to inspire us to the labor of repentance that we will take upon ourselves in Great Lent. The first two readings - concerning the Publican and Pharisee, and then the Prodigal Son - are consoling: They teach us the truth that if only we will show humility and true repentance, the Lord will forgive our many sins. The third, however, for the Sunday of the Dread Judgment (also called “Meatfare”, because it is the last day on which we eat meat until Pascha), is a warning, so that those who were consoled by the Parable of the Prodigal Son will not become complacent: “ Oh, well, God will forgive whatever I do; so why worry about whether I am sinning or not?” The dangers in this attitude are several, and very serious:
1. Such an attitude is inherently flippant and insulting to God. It shows no fear of God, and where there is no fear of God, there is no love for Him, either, and no salvation.
2. If we persist in our sins, we will become hardened in them, and finally the voice of conscience is stilled. When we can no longer hear the voice of conscience, we cannot repent, and therefore the promise of forgiveness preached in the parable of the Prodigal Son will not apply to us!
3. We do not know the hour of our death, or of Christ’s Second Coming to earth. Are we so sure that we will have time to repent before our end?
We should constantly remind ourselves that after death, we cannot help our own souls: in the time between death and the Dread Judgment, the souls in hades can only be helped by the Divine Liturgy and other prayers of the Church, and by alms on behalf of the soul. This should inspire two realizations: 1. That it is extremely important to offer the Divine Liturgy and to give alms on behalf of those who have reposed, and 2. Though we trust that the Church will pray for us after our death, we certainly do not want to rely on this for our salvation: we have to work for our salvation NOW, in this life, while we can help ourselves!
When Our Savior returns to earth, He will not come again as the humble and suffering Servant, but as the Almighty Lord of heaven and earth, and the Just Judge of the living and the dead. At that time, His Judgment will be final: Each one of us will receive His judgment; each one of us will receive either eternal life of ineffable joy in the presence of the Lord or eternal suffering in unspeakable darkness, absolute loneliness, gnawing remorse that will never have relief, and utter alienation from God and man forever. The thought of our own death and particular judgment after death, and of the Lord’s Second Coming and the Dread Judgment, should be our daily meditation. Sometimes people say that they do not want to think about these things, that this is morbid and gloomy. This, however, is true only for those who do not cherish the hope of eternal life and live only for this life which is passing away. They will do everything possible to avoid thinking of death and God’s judgment, even to the point of denying that judgment and hell exist. No amount of denial, however, can change the truth.
If we pondered daily on death and God’s judgment, we would lead sober and prayerful lives, avoid sin, constantly do good works, and gradually acquire a realistic moral confidence in our salvation. We would be grateful for the smallest blessings in this life and never be angry at our sorrows and misfortunes, which we would count as blessings, for they help us to avoid the only real misfortune- eternal separation from the All Desirable and All Good Lord - and attain the only true good - to be saints.
May this Great Lent of 2005 bring us closer to this one true good.
The Synaxarion of Meatfare Sunday
The commemoration [of the Dread Judgment] is appointed for this day of Meatfare, that in awe of this event, we should limit our intake of earthly food, not giving ourselves over to gluttony, and be encouraged to love our neighbor. In other words, since we were banished from Eden, cursed and condemned through eating of the fruit, so the present event has been ordained at this time, as next Sunday we will be banished with Adam, until Christ comes again to raise us up to Paradise. It is called the Second Coming, since Christ appeared to us at His first coming in the flesh and delivered the human race, and He will come again to judge whether that which He commanded us has been observed.
And when will this Second Coming occur? No one knows; for although He mentioned several preceding signs, the Lord concealed it from His Apostles. Before His coming, the antichrist will appear. He will live his life after the manner of Christ, performing miracles like those Christ performed and raising the dead. Yet all that he does will be an illusion. After this suddenly like lightning from heaven the Lord will come, preceded by His Holy Cross, and a river of boiling fire will go before Him, cleansing the earth of its defilement. The antichrist will be seized immediately along with his servants, and will be committed to eternal fire. And when the angels sound the trumpets, all the nations of mankind will gather from all places and from all the ends of the earth in Jerusalem, for it is the center of the earth. And there the thrones will be set for judgment. Then all souls will be reunited with their bodies and clothed in incorruptible b eauty, transformed into one likeness. And with one word the Lord will separate the righteous from the sinners: Those who have done good will receive eternal life, and the sinners will be once more sent to eternal torment. For all the Church of God will joyfully delight in attaining the Kingdom of Heaven, being close to God in His holy place, and receiving everlasting glory and exaltation.