"But you, when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you do not appear to men to be fasting."
Matthew 6:17
Dearly Beloved in the Lord,
These words of our Lord, as written in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, are
addressed to each one of us personally. They underscore the centrality of
fasting in the process of our salvation, as well as the vital need for fasting.
Fasting is understood to be an expression of our own personal decision to
reexamine our lives. It is also a spiritual exercise that is beneficial to
our soul. As we begin this holy season of the Great Fast, I would like to draw
your attention to the subject of fasting and address the very same words that
are recorded by Saint Matthew to each and everyone personally.
Many things have been written about fasting. It is a topic that takes center
stage throughout our ecclesial life and on various levels. Many of us identify
fasting simply as abstinence from certain foods. Our reasoning is often based
on such expressions like: "This is how we've always fasted." It is
easy to rationalize the issue with such misconceptions.
The Great Fast provides us with an opportunity to rediscover the true spiritual
and moral dimensions of fasting. This is what our Lord had in mind when He
spoke to the father of the boy possessed by a dumb spirit: "This
kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting" (Mark 9:29). This would indicate that fasting is not simply the
abstinence from certain foods that tend to stir our passions, but it is also a
conscious effort to control the body through the spirit. Christ said: "It
is the Spirit Who gives life; the flesh profits nothing" (John 6:23). Fasting, properly conducted as a spiritual exercise, can
be of tremendous assistance in controlling evil thoughts and deeds, thus
enabling a person to move forward and grow in the life of Christ.
The moral understanding, temperance, control of passions and desires of the
flesh is well expressed in a hymn of the Vespers Service on the Sunday of
Orthodoxy: "In the time of abstinence Moses received the Law and led
his people out of bondage; Elijah, when he fasted, closed the heavens; and the
three youths of Abraham emerged victorious over a lawless tyrant by
fasting." With determination to spend this holy season of the
Great Fast in a Christian Orthodox manner, let us seek strength from God and
let us renew with increased rigor a life of prayer, spiritual exercise and
almsgiving. Let us be in communion with God, not only in various formal
liturgical prayers and services, but also with a "contrite heart and
humbled spirit." Let us seek the real purpose of fasting, which is
to help us to loosen our tight grip on the cares of this world, and strengthen
the voice of our conscience which tells us that the focus of our attention - in
times of joy or sorrow - should always be our God and Heavenly Father.
Only by restoring our spiritual bond with God and purifying our conscience can
we travel the road of fasting in Great Lent as true Orthodox Christians. Let us
set our eyes upon the crucifixion of our passions and the resurrection of our
faith which today may be lying dormant, so that it might serve as a living
power and provide direction, dignity and beauty in our life.
May the Grace and Mercy of God be with you in all the days of the Great Lent.
With Love in Christ,
+ G E R A S I M O S
Metropolitan of San Francisco
4th Thursday after Pascha
