Facebook Instagram

The Third Sunday of Great Lent

Table of Contents

Readings

  • Vespers:  Psalms 88:1 – 2 & Matthew 15:1 – 20
  • Matins: Psalms 55:1 – 2, 16 & Matthew 20:1 – 16

Liturgy

  • Pauline epistle: 2 Corinthians 6:2 – 13
  • Catholic epistle: James 3:1 – 12
  • Praxis: Acts 24:1 – 23
  • Psalm & Gospel: Psalms 78:8 – 9 & Luke 15:11 – 32

Introduction

“’Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.’” (Isaiah 1: 18)

“God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5: 19–20)

What blessing, what praise, what thanksgiving, can we give You in return, O Lover of Mankind? For, while we were fallen into the sentence of death and overwhelmed in the depth of our sins, You have granted us freedom.
– Prayer of thanksgiving addressed to the Father during/after Communion, Liturgy of Saint Cyril.

Oh, what an exceeding benevolence! What incomparable kindness is due to Him alone. He bestows on us His own glory. He raises slaves to the dignity of free people. He allows us to call God, our Father, as we have been raised to the title of children. 
– Saint John of Dalyatha, commonly know as Saint John Saba “the Elder”. From the book of ‘He took what is ours, and gave us what is His’ by H.G. Bishop Benjamin, bishop of Monofia

Explanation of the Readings

The readings of this Sunday talk about the righteousness of the Father, His acceptance of us that is gratuitous, His everlasting open arms that receive us, His permanent gentleness towards the weakness of our nature and His rich mercies for our needy souls. Hence, this is the Sunday of admission from the Father, in which He accepts us each day whether we come from afar or from the surroundings of the swine (i.e. from the state of sin). 

The Psalms

 

The readings start with the invitation of the soul to the Father, as He is God of her salvation. He is not the God of her punishment, nor her condemnation nor judgement. However, during the journey of our life, He is the God of our salvation and our rescue as the soul cries out, expressing her deep and strong need for God’s salvation and His rich mercies: “O Lord, God of my salvation I have cried out day and night before You.” (Ps. 88:1) The soul rejoices in the Father’s mercies in the Matins Psalm because He has responded to her cry: “Give ear to my prayer, O God … As for me, I will call upon God, And the Lord shall save me.” (Ps. 55: 1, 16) The Liturgy Psalm declares the Father’s righteousness through His response to our prayers and His divine compassion, that recognizes our weaknesses. He responds only for the sake of His glory in us and for us, and not because we are worthy or entitled to it: “Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us … Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name” (Ps. 79: 8, 9)

 

Vespers & Matins

 

The Gospel of Vespers makes the difference clear between the righteousness of the Father, and that of the people. While man lives in self-righteousness, outer appearance and false worship, God declares His divine righteousness by inner change and the renewal of the heart, which is the source of everything. The reading also warns against the obstacles of the Father’s righteousness: the laws of the false teachers which contradict God’s laws, and false worship: “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? … ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.’” (Matt. 15: 3, 8) The gospel reading further points out that the Father’s righteousness is like a vine that the heavenly Father plants in the heart of the man, who experiences a continuous need for Him. As such, He sanctifies man’s whole being and as a result of the heart being filled with the divine righteousness, He bears fruit in his life. Additionally it is precarious when His righteousness is absent from our lives: “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.” (Matt. 15: 13) The Lord also explains the concept of defilement (i.e. impurity). It is not related to eating or forbidden foods but it is related to what comes out of the heart and the mouth through behaviour, deeds and speech: “‘Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.’ … For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man.” (Matt. 15: 11, 19, 20)

In the Matins Gospel, the Lord provides the parable of the workers to reveal the Father’s righteousness in accepting the sinners, the weak and everyone according to His divine goodness, by giving the reward to all. Just as He warns those who believe that they are the first and are content with their self-righteousness, He also gives hope through the gratuitous acceptance of the Father to all those that are afar and through His abundant love towards them: “So the last will be first, and the first last.” (Matt. 20: 16) 

 

Pauline Epistle

 

St. Paul confirms this hope and the Father’s call for everyone to repent: “For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6: 2) St. Paul introduces himself as a servant and a visible icon of the Father’s righteousness through his openness and care for all people despite every contrary thing. He also reveals how the church bears witness to the Father’s righteousness in many different ways:

  • By her continuous preaching of repentance: “For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6: 2)
  • By bearing the pains of ministry: “But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses” (2 Cor. 6: 4)
  • By (practicing) holiness in life: “by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love” (2 Cor. 6: 6)
  • By bearing witness to the truth: “by the word of truth, by the power of God” (2 Cor. 6: 7)
  • by her inner richness in Christ – to whom be glory be to Him: “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.” (2 Cor. 6: 10–13)

 

Catholic Epistle

 

The Catholic Epistle gives us a practical example of what defiles man’s whole being and makes him lose the divine righteousness and turns his sweetness into bitterness: “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body … With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3: 6, 9–10) The reading also warns against the danger of the multitude of words and the desire of teaching without practicing holiness in life, being the most dangerous thing that impedes the Father’s righteousness in the church: “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.” (James 3: 11–12)

 

Praxis

 

The Praxis declares St. Paul’s testimony for the divine righteousness in his worship and the purity of his faith: “I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.” (Acts 24:14) The reading also shows his living hope in God, who rewards the just and condemns the unjust: “I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.” (Acts 24:15) Therefore, he does become lethargic when practicing self-reflection (examining himself) daily, so that he may have a conscience without offense towards God in his daily repentance, and towards men through the purity of his life and his ministry: “This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.” (Acts 24:16)

 

Liturgy Gospel

 

The gospel of the liturgy concludes with the parable of the prodigal son and the elder son, so that Christ – to whom be all glory – reveals how the Father’s righteousness is for all of mankind. Be it that mankind goes far away and astray from the shelter into the bewilderments of the world and to far countries, or whether mankind is inside the shelter being satisfied with their own self-righteousness and being deprived of the righteousness of God the Father. The reading also demonstrates the Father’s overwhelming and strong love for sinners and the richness of His gifts to everyone who returns to Him: “But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.” (Luke 15: 20–23)

Summary of the readings

The readings can be summarized as follows:

  • Vespers Psalm: The soul’s strong need for God’s salvation and His divine mercies.
  • Vespers Gospel and Catholic Epistle: The obstacles to the Father’s righteousness are, false worship, commandments of false teachers and the defilement of speech and the tongue.
  • Matins and Liturgy Psalm: The Father’s righteousness is revealed in His response to cry of His children, and is also revealed in His forgiveness of their sins for the sake of His name.
  • Matins Gospel: The Father’s call for all of mankind since Adam’s creation and unto the end of the world, and His reward to them according to His divine goodness.
  • Pauline Epistle: The church reveals the Father’s righteousness in her pastoral mission, in her continuous preaching of repentance, in the holiness of her life, in her testimony of the Truth, in bearing the pains of ministry and in her inner richness.
  • Catholic Epistle: The desire for teaching without the practicing holiness in life negates the Father’s righteousness in the church.
  • Praxis: The preacher, the shepherd and the servant bear witness to the Father’s righteousness through their pure worship, straight conscience and hope in God.
  • Liturgy Gospel: All of mankind needs the Father’s righteousness, at all times, and His supreme love for all his children and the richness of His gifts to them.