The Fourth Sunday of Great Lent

The readings of this Sunday declare the revelation of the Son, the Incarnate Logos, to mankind who, in the Old Testament only knew God the Father. However in the fullness of the time the Son of God revealed Himself to mankind; as a Savior, a shepherd, a creator and a fountain of love.

Psalms

If we examine the psalms, we observe the gradation of speech: from waiting for Him, towards depending on Him, towards seeking His presence, which is the gate to His revelation in our life. We also find gradation in His revelation to us; first His goodness, then His divine truth, then His person and His face. As such, the Vespers Psalm starts with the encouragement of every soul that awaits Him, and the revelation of His divine goodness in our lives. Those who wait for Him are not ashamed (i.e. will not be abandoned): “Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord. I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.” (Ps. 27: 14, 13) The Matins Psalm demonstrates what God wants to reveal in our lives, in our behaviour and our conduct, namely the divine truth: “And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord. Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful.” (Ps. 31: 24, 23) The Liturgy Psalm crowns the soul with joy, gladness and glory due to the revelation of His face: “Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!” (Ps 105: 3, 4). The soul, that waits faithfully on the Lord and declares His divine truth, is crowned with joy and with seeing His face.

Vespers & Matins Gospels

The Vespers Gospel declares the revelation of God’s glory in the creation, and the invitation for everyone to seek His kingdom and not to be preoccupied with (daily or earthly) needs. If God clothes the creation with such beauty and reveals His glory in it, how much more will He do to His children? “‘Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. … Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? … But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Lk. 12: 22, 27–28, 31)

The Matins Gospel shows three aspects. The first being the ‘wedding’ of the New Testament, the second being the revelation of the kingdom of the Son of God and the third being the variety of guests from all streets, places and nations of the world, after the Jews were negligent towards His invitation and rejected Him: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. … Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.” (Matt. 22: 2, 8–10) At the same time, the reading warns against those who do not reflect the light of Christ – to whom be all glory – in their lives. Consequently, His glory is not seen in them and they remain naked because of God’s absence in their lives: “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.” (Matt. 22: 11–12)

Pauline Epistle

While the Gospel of Matins ends with the one that does not wear the proper wedding garment, the Pauline Epistle starts with the calling to ‘wear’ i.e. to put on the whole armor of God. The warfare is spiritual and the enemies are invisible, however God’s power is divine and His grace is rich and present. “All spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12) cannot overcome the revelation of God’s power and grace, that is (with)in the children of God: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. … having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” (Eph. 6: 10–11, 14–16)

Catholic Epistle

The Catholic Epistle confirms the power of repentance and the presence of God in the lives of those who repent. As such, the devil flees from His divine presence as well as from encountering His children: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4: 7–8, 9) The reading also warns of the impediments of His revelation, which are the judgement of brethren and loving the world. “He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. … Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.” (James 4: 11, 13, 14)

Praxis

As for the Praxis reading, it declares the captivation of Christ’s death and resurrection – to whom be all glory – by the souls of the unbelievers, even kings and great men. Everyone is searching for the knowledge of who He is. The reading also shows the purity of the preachers and the testimony of their lives which all adversaries cannot resist. It also displays the spiritual ‘veil’ of the Jews who rejected the light of the Son, the Logos: “When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed, but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. … Then Agrippa said to Festus, ‘I also would like to hear the man myself.’ ‘Tomorrow,’ he said, ‘you shall hear him.’” (Acts 25:18–19, 22)

Liturgy Gospel

The Liturgy Gospel concludes with the adulterous mankind that is standing on the road, crying out of thirst for salvation, and her encounter with the Incarnate Word who spoke to her as a human in need of water. Thus, she (mankind) discovered that He was a prophet, who examines and reveals her past and present, so that He may reveal Himself to her that He is the Messiah, which the prophecies foretold. Subsequently, all of Samaria proclaim their belief in Him and proclaim His revelation to them as the Savior of the world: “A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink.’ … Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.’ … The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’ … The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, ‘Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?’ … And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.’” (John 4: 7, 17, 19, 25–26, 28–29, 39–42)