Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry
Let us recognize the vibrant Orthodox Church in the portrait that Zephaniah gave us 600 years before Jesus’ birth! “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Cry aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem” (vs. 14) at the coming of the King of Israel. Fear evil no longer (vs. 15)!
This particular prophecy from Isaiah describes the unmerited inheritance that God has prepared for those of the New Covenant – “My people who sought Me” (vs. 10). At the same time it explores the bittersweet but missed opportunities of the ancient people of God – and reminds Christians of the legacy we have received from them. We are blessed to “rejoice exceedingly in gladness” as the Lord’s servants and His “elect” (vss. 14,15).
Let us consider the gift that we ourselves have received in Christ our God. We know the One whom Isaiah foresaw, the true Light of the world. Like Simeon, “we have seen that true light . . . we have found the true faith . . . for He hath saved us!”
Why does the Church give us this passage to read at the threshold of Great Lent? Though its message was delivered long ago (520-480 BC), its word applies to our own experience of Lent. The prophet of the Lord calls us to the work of the fast. We are to review how we live our life in Christ. What were our former conditions? And more importantly, what is the new circumstance now in place as a result of God’s intervention?
Рейтинг: 7.8|Голосов: 4
During the Lenten season we implore God to help us stop rationalizing and gilding our sins, claiming we do God’s will when we do not. In God’s eyes, disobedience equals occult divination. Let us never believe that we may disobey God and escape all consequences!
The prayers and hymns of the liturgy speak of that which “the Lord swore to our fathers to give us” (vs. 3). His promises include salvation and a kingdom that exceeds any expanse of land on earth. God the Father gives His Only-begotten Son to all nations, “that whoever believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:16). Through the Cross, the Resurrection, the ascension into heaven, and second and glorious advent of Christ, the Life-giving Trinity raises us up again, brings us back to heaven, “endowed ... with [His] Kingdom which is to come.”
