[Arabic Version]
Refreshed and reassured, the faithful enter into the second part of Lent. In the beginning of this week we will hear the announcement:” The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill Him, and when He is killed, after three days He will rise again “(Mark 9:31). We see shifts of emphasis here from us, from our repentance and effort, to the events which took place,” for our sake and for our salvation”.
“Having reached the second half of fasting, let us make manifest the beginning of life divine; and when we reach the end of our effort; May we receive the never-fading bliss”.
Some questions we will ask ourselves:
How much effort we have made so far?
How far have we come along the path of this repentance?
In all that which concern us is coming to its end. From now on we are following the disciples “as they were on road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them”. Jesus said to them: “ Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be delivered to the Chief Priests and the Scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles, and they will mock Him and scourge Him and kill Him, and after three days He will rise” (Mark 10:32-33)
The tone of the Lenten Services is changing. In the first part of Lent our effort was aimed at our own purification, now we are made to realize that this purification was not an end in itself but
Lead us to the contemplation and comprehension and appropriation of the majesty of the Cross and Resurrection. The meaning of our effort is now being revealed to us as participation in that mystery to which we simply forgot: and as we follow Him going up to Jerusalem together with the disciples, we are “amazed and afraid”.
The Gospel of Mark 9:16-30 describes the healing of the boy with the dump spirit, whose father brings him to Jesus. The Lord says to the father:” If you can believe all things are possible to him that believe”. The father cries out with tears:” Lord, I believe, help, please my unbelief”. We will find no better way to express our both faith’s existence, and of it is weakness.
But do the same burning tears fall from our eyes when we say to our Lord:” I believe, help my unbelief?
Jesus takes pity on the father, He accepts such a faith, and heals the son. Later speaking to their Lord, the disciples asked Him:” why they could not heal the Boy?” Jesus answers: “this kind cannot be healed but by prayers and fasting”. He does not mean that repetitive prayers from the mouth and abstention from some foods and social activities are all what we need to receive the power which the disciples did not yet possesses. Prayers and fasting, in the deepest sense, mean a radical renunciation of self, a concentration of one’s soul in an attitude of trust and humility which leaves ALL to the mercy of God, the admission of our will to the will of the saviour, placing our all being in the hand of the Father. Then, and only then, we will receive his healing power. And could we not take at least the first steps along this path? If we try, we would be very astonished by the successes that follow.
Amen