Sermon for the First Week of Lent

Jesus Tempted by Satan in the Desert, Illustration from a Medieval Latin Manuscript 

FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS 

Forty days and forty nights 

Thou wast fasting in the wild; 

Forty days and forty nights 

Tempted, and yet undefiled. 

Sunbeams scorching all the day; 

Chilly dew-drops nightly shed; 

Prowling beasts about Thy way; 

Stones Thy pillow; earth Thy bed. 

Should not we Thy sorrow share 

And from worldly joys abstain, 

Fasting with unceasing prayer, 

Strong with Thee to suffer pain? 

Then if Satan on us press, 

Jesus, Savior, hear our call! 

Victor in the wilderness, 

Grant we may not faint nor fall! 

So shall we have peace divine: 

Holier gladness ours shall be; 

Round us, too, shall angels shine, 

Such as ministered to Thee. 

Keep, O keep us, Savior dear, 

Ever constant by Thy side; 

That with Thee we may appear 

At the eternal Eastertide. 

(By George H Smyttan, 1822 - 1870) 

By Bp. Joseph William Boyd (Ancient Church of the West) 

Introduction

Since Wednesday’s Liturgy of Ash, we have been commemorating a new season in the Church, the season of cold, dark, repentance and introspection known as Lent. Since early days Christians have observed with great devotion the time of our Lord's passion and resurrection. It became the custom of the Church to prepare for those days by a season of penitence and fasting. 

Our Archbishop wrote for us in Wednesday’s liturgy: Lent is the time to prepare for Pascha, now known as Easter. The season grew in stages. By the end of the fourth century there were already three weeks of this preparation. Afterwards a fourth week was added. Lent was originally the period when catechumens were readied for Baptism. The faithful shared in this preparation because all Christians, due to their human weakness, need to be recalled to conversion. By the end of the 5th century Lent lasted 40 days, as it does today. The oldest and most important days in Lent are the Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. If we want to understand the theme of any Lenten week, we must turn to the Liturgy of these three days. Between the 6th and 8th centuries the Liturgy of the other days developed. About the same time the selections for the first lessons on Sundays changed, and the prayers and chants, which we have now, were added. Sometimes these newer elements were chosen to fit into the "station" of the day. From the 7th century a different Roman church was chosen by the Roman Patriarch for the celebration of the Liturgy for each day of Lent. The procession, which went to this church, was called a "statio". How are we going to look at Lent today? If we confine ourselves to the earliest liturgical texts, there can be no doubt as to what should be our approach. Since Pascha/Easter marks Christ's death and resurrection (we must not miss the death-to-life relationship), this preparation for Pascha is a time of mortification (literally "deadening"), a time of dying to our old selves, in order to enter more deeply into the spirit of Christ. Such an approach leads us to adopt a series of attitudes which will make of us men of deep faith, practicing self-denial, and conscious of the true meaning of our Orthodox Faith living in the Passion, Death and Resurrection. 

The Readings Appointed for Today 

The Epistle - 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 

“WE then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain; (for he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation;) giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” 

During our time of fasting and repentance, we learn that God’s abundance is always available to us and that we can rely on Him for strength, wisdom, truth and beauty in times of need and deprivation. We intentionally turn down pleasurable foods, deprive ourselves, make ourselves experience voluntarily pain, all so that we can perceive God’s unchanging abundance, which we often take for granted. If we can realize and rely upon this great wellspring of inexhaustible grace and mercy, we can truly minister without fear or exhaustion, because the love that we dispense to everyone is not our own, but the uncreated and unending grace of God! 

The Gospel - St. Matthew 4: 1-11 

"THEN was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” 

Christ, by His Divine example, showed us how fasting is a pathway to spiritual victory and submission to the Will of God. Christ put down His human nature through fasting 40 days and nights, like Moses did when he went up into God’s presence on Mount Sinai. Christ went out into the desert, met and defeated Satan, and received the “Law”, which was the calling of God for His earthly ministry, fully realized and bookended by the Night in Gethsemane where Christ reiterated - “Not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42) This is the message of fasting! 

Where Does Fasting Come From in the Old Testament?

Fasting was used in the prophetic tradition of First Temple Judaism, in times of specific repentance over sin and asking God for mercy. Fasting was declared in the Old Testament Law for the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, in Leviticus 16:29 and 23:27, and was called “The Sabbath of Sabbaths.” After the Fall of Jerusalem, the Day of Atonement became a commemoration of Temple worship in the Synagogue, including baptism in the Jewish pool of purification, the Mikveh. Another fast was incorporated on a day of remembrance for the loss of the First and Second Temples to the Assyrians and the Romans, called "Tisha B’Av”, and lamentations are sung for all the great Jewish martyrs throughout history. (2 Kings 25:25; Jeremiah 41:1,2; Zechariah 7:5) The Jewish custom of fasting in the Old Testament was called “calling the fasting day” or “fasting the fast.” They were all commemorated with liturgy, ritual ashes, sackcloth, ceremonial washings, the reading of Scripture, ritual wailing and litanies, and singing of songs of mourning or repentance. Fasting was also called for times of corporate grief, military loss, or repentance over the sins of the nation. 

Notable mentions of the practice of fasting in the Old Testament Scripture are almost too numerous to count! Moses did not eat or drink during the 40 days and 40 nights he went into God’s glory on Mount Sinai, while he received the Law of the Lord in Exodus 34:28 and Deuteronomy 9:9. Elijah fasted 40 days in 1 Kings 19:8. King Jehoshaphat called for a fast in all Israel when opposed by their enemies in 2 Chronicles 20:3. Reacting to Jonah’s preaching, the men of Nineveh fasted and put on sackcloth in Jonah 3:5, asking God to spare them. Those about to return with Ezra from the captivity fasted on the Ahava River in the face of dangers on the journey in Ezra 8:21-23. Esther and the Jews in Persia fasted when they were faced with certain destruction planned by Haman in Esther 4:3,16; 9:31. The Jews fasted in times of grief. A seven-day fast was held when desiccated bodies of Saul and his sons were buried in 1 Samuel 31:13 and 1 Chronicles 10:12. Fasting was often done by individuals in times of mourning. Jonathan fasted when “he was grieved for David, because his father had shamed him” in 1 Samuel 20:34. David fasted after hearing that Saul and Jonathan were dead in 2 Samuel 1:12. In Nehemiah 1:4, Nehemiah fasted and prayed when he heard that Jerusalem had remained in ruins since its destruction. Darius, the king of Persia and Babylon, fasted after Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den in Daniel 6:18. 

Two Forms of Old Testament Fasting 

1) Complete Fast — Abstinence from food and water. Moses and Elijah are examples. Complete fasts lasted three days, right to the brink of what is medically known to be dangerous. We see this in Ezra 10:6-9 and Esther 4:16. The Church universally replaced this practice with water fasts, which are not dangerous or harmful to the body under normal circumstances. 

Ezra 10:6 “Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.” 

Esther 4:16 “Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.”

2) Partial Fast (from pleasant foods) —  This is the normal kind of fast declared by the Church today, which avoids physical danger, but still allows the hardening of our wills against discomfort and pain. 

Daniel 10:3 “I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.”

Fasting in the New Testament 

In addition to Christ’s 40 days in the wilderness that we read about in the Gospel reading, fasting also occurs throughout the New Testament. In Luke 2:37, Anna in the Temple “served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” John the Baptist led his disciples to fast and pray in Mark 2:18. St. Paul fasted after his encounter with the Risen Lord in Acts 9:9, after he was struck with blindness. Governor Cornelius fasted at the time of his vision in Acts 10:3 and 30. The Church in Antioch fasted in Acts 13:2, and sent Sts. Paul and Barnabas off on the first missionary journey with fasting and prayer in Acts 13:3. The Apostles Paul and Barnabas prayed with fasting at the appointment of Presbyters in the churches in Acts 14:23. 

What are the Goals of Fasting?

Jesus gives us a list of the goals of fasting in the Sermon on the Mount, God seeing in secret and blessing openly, which seem to be defeated by the current practice of seasons of fasting. How do we balance Christ’s admonition in Matthew 6:16-18, “But when you fast, do not disfigure your faces” with practices like Ash Wednesday’s imposition of ashes, or the constant talk about fasting that we get from bishops and priests during this season? Doesn’t it become a practice in communal conformity and obedience to clerical authorities, rather than about “fasting in secret”? How do we balance these different foundations of fasting? 

The answer is that fasting was a communal activity in the Scriptures, as we have seen in our study of the Old Testament, and it was also a personal activity of serious prayer. Both are correct and allowed. We must balance both of these tendencies with wisdom and discernment. When we are fasting in the Church, during times of corporate repentance, everyone knows that we are fasting. In times when we are searching for God’s will and trying to seek after His will, we should anoint our heads and wash our faces, and not let anyone to know what we are doing. The social virtue of communal fasting is repaid with a greater sense of communion and ecclesial purpose, and it also helps us to repent as a group, which is often overlooked by “infallible” Churches. Secret virtue is rewarded with true spiritual fruit of mighty prayer and abounding grace, and this is the kind of fasting that Christ is recommending to us in his exhortation against showy fasting. 

Fasting Make the Body “Spiritually Attuned”

Jesus pointed out that fasting and prayer were necessary for certain kinds of exorcism, because spirits could only be commanded by those who had centered themselves in God, were constant in prayer, and had fasted to put their own lusts and desires down. In Mark 9:29 - “And he said unto them, 'This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.'” St. Augustine said in his sermon, “On Prayer and Fasting” - “Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust, and kindles the true light of chastity. Enter again into yourself.” We can see from this testimony that fasting is a powerful spiritual weapon, which helps us to submit to God’s will and do what He desires through our lives. 

Fasting Allows Us to Overcome Lust

In St. Leo the Great’s "Lenten Homily on Fasting", he says, “For by prayer we seek to propitiate God, by fasting we extinguish the lusts of the flesh, by alms we redeem our sins: and at the same time God’s image is throughout renewed in us, if we are always ready to praise Him, unfailingly intent on our purification and unceasingly active in cherishing our neighbour. This threefold round of duty, dearly beloved, brings all other virtues into action: it attains to God’s image and likeness and unites us inseparably with the Holy Spirit. Because in prayer faith remains steadfast, in fastings life remains innocent, in almsgiving the mind remains kind.” And again, “The right practice of abstinence is needful not only to the mortification of the flesh but also to the purification of the mind. For the mind then only keeps holy and spiritual fast when it rejects the food of error and the poison of falsehood.” 

Fasting Makes the Body Healthy

Daniel 1:8-16 shows how God made the Hebrew children healthier and wiser through a vegetarian diet - “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.” 

Fasting Gives Us Time for Prayer

Hesychios the Priest, one of the Hesychast Fathers, said, “Humility, fasting, prayer, watchfulness. These are the tools which advance men and women toward holiness, and they are the fruits, too, of that advancement. Humility brings us to a more realistic and understanding view of ourselves, and thus of the grace of God. Fasting trains the body, so long left to unrestrained gluttony, and through its training brings clarity to the mind and soul. Prayer lifts our whole being into the embrace of God and propels us to divine union. Finally, watchfulness brings our whole mind and soul to rest in the heart, there to know the love and grace of God. It is the tool by which we are guided by Christ to know good from evil, to maintain the former in our person and repel the latter before it has the opportunity to work harm in our lives. The combined use of these tools brings us closer to Christ, who has promised that whoever knocks, to him the door shall be opened.” 

Fasting Gives Us Extra Resources to Give to the Poor 

The Early Church gave to the poor when they entered times of fasting. The common practice was to give away one’s own food to the people begging on the streets. St. John Chrysostom reported to say, “If you cannot find Christ in the face of a beggar, to which you give alms, you cannot find Christ in the chalice of Communion.” By giving away food, and feeding the needy, the Christian believer entered into their suffering, and voluntarily laid down their lives for others as Christ had laid down His life for them. This helped people enter into the full reality of Christ’s self-emptying work of Kenosis. 

St. John Chrysostom says again in his work, “On the Priesthood” - “You fast? Prove it by doing good works. If you see someone in need, take pity on them. If you see a friend being honored, don’t get jealous of him. For a true fast, you cannot fast only with your mouth. You must fast with your eye, your ear, your feet, your hands, and all parts of your body. Let the hands fast, by being pure from rapine and avarice. Let the feet fast, but ceasing from running to the unlawful spectacles. Let the eyes fast, being taught never to fix themselves rudely upon handsome countenances, or to busy themselves with strange beauties. For looking is the food of the eyes, but if this be such as is unlawful or forbidden, it mars the fast; and upsets the whole safety of the soul; but if it be lawful and safe, it adorns fasting. For it would be among things the most absurd to abstain from lawful food because of the fast, but with the eyes to touch even what is forbidden. Dost thou not eat flesh? Feed not upon lasciviousness by means of the eyes. Let the ear fast also. The fasting of the ear consists in refusing to receive evil speakings and calumnies. 'Thou shalt not receive a false report,' it says.” 

Invitation to Fully Enter the Spirit of Lent 

As our Archbishop reminded us on Wednesday, at first this season of Lent was observed by those who were preparing for baptism and chrismation at Pascha and by those who were to be restored to the Church's fellowship from which they had been separated through sin. In the course of time the Church came to recognize that, by a careful keeping of these days, all Christians might take to heart the constant call to repentance and the assurance of forgiveness proclaimed in the Gospel, and practiced in the Church and so grow in faith and in devotion to our Lord. The Church invites you, therefore, in the name of Our Lord, to observe a holy and faithful Lent, by self-examination, confession, and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word and the writings of the Fathers. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us kneel upon the earth from which we came and to which we shall return and say the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian - 

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despondency, lust for power and idle talk. 

But grant unto me, Thy servant, a spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love. 

Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see mine own faults and not to judge my brothers and sisters. 

For blessed art Thou unto the ages. 

Amen 

The Collect 

O LORD, who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights; 

Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory, 

Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. 

Amen