HOLY GREAT LENT - ORTHODOX VIEW. THE FOUR PREPARATORY WEEKS OF GREAT LENT TIME. SUNDAY OF THE TAX COLLECTOR AND PHARISEE (the fist preparatory week) Arrogance is the perversion of the soul and spirit of man; it is the greatest weapon of the evil one; it is the mother of hypocrisy; it is the obstacle of spiritual progress: it is the degradation of civilization; it is the greatest enemy of man; it is the opposite of repentance; it is the corruption of the conscience of man. This is why the Church designated the first Sunday of preparation for acceptance of the Message of the Resurrection of Christ, with the Parable of the Tax Collector and Pharisee being read. The root of evil, arrogance, should be uprooted and replaced with the virtue of humbleness, which is the teaching of this Parable. The highest degree of mans arrogance is when a person speaks to God in prayers as did the Pharisee, who said, God I thank thee, only for the opportunity to enumerate his achievements publicly, comparing himself to others who, according to him, were sinners, saying I am not like other men, sinners, or even like this tax collector. He extolled himself saying, I fast, I give tithe, which he did. But the more he boasted, the more he condemned himself through arrogance. On the other hand, the tax collector confessed: God be merciful to me a sinner. The repentance of the tax collector is the basis of Christian life; it is the passage into the Kingdom; it is the reestablishment of the image of God in the soul of His creature. Humbleness is the queen of all virtues. Thus, the first phrase of the hymnology of the day is: Let us not pray pharisee-like. . . . Open to me the doors of repentance. The combination of almsgiving, prayer and piety, along with the intention of repentance like that of the tax collector, is imperative in the life of a Christian. The attitude of the tax collector made him a steward of divine gifts. Repentance and confession of faith is the same two-sided coin. (will be continued...)
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 23:05:24 +0000
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