Fast To Prepare

Passages: Is. 61:10-62:9; 2 Tim. 2:15-26; Jn. 6:15-21
Ընթերցուածքներ՝ Եսայ. ԿԱ 10- ԿԲ 9; Բ Տիմ. Բ 15-26; Յով. Զ 15-21

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

Before we run a marathon, we train around a track. Before we lift a heavy weight, we brace our core and use proper form. Before we take a test in school, or make a presentation in front of a group, go over our notes, and study. Before going into surgery, our doctor instructs us on how to get ready, by abstaining from certain foods and drinks while taking medication before arriving to the hospital. My dear brothers and sister, everything in life we do, for every challenge we face, for every obstacle we overcome, for every test we take or whatever it may be, we need to prepare. Preparation helps us be equipped for what is to come, but also for what we may not anticipate. Usain Bolt, the world-famous Jamaican Runner, who is an 8-time Olympic gold medalist once said that “I trained 4 years to run 9 seconds…” Imagine the preparation it took for Usain, or really any of those athletes.  Months or years of training their minds and bodies; dieting and sacrificing for what? A higher purpose, a goal, a desire.

My dear brothers and sisters, in a few short weeks, we will begin Great Lent. A period of preparation, a time of study, of sacrificing certain foods and drinks, “a way of emptying ourselves from the cares and concerns of this world” in preparation the glorious feasts of Palm Sunday and Easter, the Holy Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, every year I often hear 2 questions about Lent: 1) Do I have to give up meat and cheese for Lent? What about giving up chocolate, or Starbucks, or social media, etc.? 2) I can’t do 40 days, it’s too much, can I do the first and last weeks? My dears, Great Lent was established by our Church Father’s as a period before Palm Sunday for us to prepare. They deemed in their wisdom that what we would refer to as a “vegan diet” to be a sufficient way and a reminder of our time before sin, in the Garden of Eden, when we ate freely from the vegetation of the world, to be a proper way to prepare. However, they did not limit preparation to the food we consume. Great Lent is not merely about what we eat, drink or do with our free time on our cellphones. Great Lent is a time for us to reflect with all our heart, soul and mind, as Christ says, on our way of life, on our faith. And yes, for someone who has never observed Great Lent, or for many of us, the 40 days of Great Lent can be difficult. That is why today the Armenian Church begins “the Fast of Catechumens.”

The word catechumen is a Greek word, katēkhoumenos, meaning those ‘being instructed’. They are those who are not yet baptized. The Armenian word is “Yerakha,” meaning there same thing. In fact, we mention remember catechumens, or yerakhas every Badarak when the Deacon chants, “Mi vor yerakhayts, mi vor terahavadeets…” And though many of us, if not all of us are already baptized, the Fast of Catechumens, is an important and crucial time for all of us to prepare, and be instructed, not just for Great Lent, but for our Christian faith. After St. Gregory the Illuminator was brought out of Khor Virab, and cured King Dertad (King Tiridates III), for 65 days, St. Gregory preached to the King and all about our Lord Jesus Christ. But prior to them being baptized, St. Gregory establish this fast, by instructing everyone to fast for five days before dedicating their lives to Christianity and cleansing themselves from their pagan practices. Why? My dears, because to be a Christian, to follow Christ to the Cross, into the Tomb, not just on Easter but all our lives, takes preparation. If St. Gregory had scolded the King and the Armenian people into 40 days of fast without any preparation and held long winded Church services, regardless of how they looked like back in the 4^th century, what would have happened? They would have failed; they would have felt ashamed and possibly given up. That is why St. Gregory established this 5 days fast to protect us, to call each one of us to preparation.

St. Paul tells us today, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” Do your best – meaning give it your all. We need to work on ourselves, prepare, study, repent, grow, ask, fast, limit ourselves for a high purpose, a greater goal. And what greater goal or higher purpose is there in this life than to come into the wisdom, hope, love, and faith in our Lord. Yet, preparation in our faith takes a lifetime, not 5 days or 40 days. When we limit or think that 40 days is enough, we hinder our faith growth. Yes, majority of us are baptized yet, so many of us try to pray but find it difficult; so many of us see suffering and sickness, and begin to stray away from God; we see injustice and blame God and His Church; we see evil, and yell out why would God allow that? Earlier on I quoted, Usain Bolt, but I did not complete the full quote, because what Usain actually says is, “I trained 4 years to run 9 seconds… and people give up when they don’t see results in 2 months.” My dears, when we are ill prepared in any area of our life, when we rush, or try to find shortcuts, we eventually fail. We can hurt not just ourselves but others around us. If as a student I don’t study, I will fail my test; if as an athlete I don’t train, I can permanently injure myself; if I don’t follow the doctor’s instruction, complications may happen in my life. If this is true about our everyday life, how much more important is preparation necessary for our faith, our life and Communion in Christ Jesus my dears? Yet, how serious do we take our time of preparation my dears? vs. how often to do we search for an excuse, a reason or shortcut to justify our way of life?

Does this mean if we eat vegan, our faith will grow? Most likely not my dears.  It is called Fast of Catechumens – those being instructed. What instruction and who? Each and every one of us – priest, choir, altar server, elderly, youth, male or female. Regardless of how long we’ve come to Church – saint or sinner – Christ says, unless we all repent…unless we all prepare. What instruction? Everything we read in the Holy Scriptures, our life in the Church, the teachings of the Father’s, the sacrament of Confession and Holy Communion, etc. These are the tools by which we prepare. St. Paul takes it further in today’s teaching, “Avoid (such) godless chatter, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness…Have nothing to do with stupid, senseless controversies…” This is one example of a plethora we find in the Holy Scriptures. Because whether it is Great Lent, the Fast of the Catechumens, weekly fasts, or anything else we call time of preparation my dears – our entire lives we are called to prepare body, soul and mind.

Our preparation is not limited to our food or drink, it is not limited to our use of our phones, or to how much of the Bible we read. To fully prepare, we need to fully prepare. Abstain from food, but feed others; limit our phone use, but call and reach out to listen and hear those in need; read our Bible but live those words in how we treat one another. Only then will we begin to prepare; only then will we be able to see the challenges in our life and not turn away from God but find God’s presence through it all. To endure it all, all the tests, races, and storms of life. Such as, when we face sickness or loss of life. Yes, my dears, the reality is that sometimes, though we try to prepare, we fail, we struggle, and we feel unprepared. James in his letter (1:12) writes, “Blessed is anyone who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him.” Yes, it is in that storm that Christ calls out to us [His disciples], as we read in the Gospel today, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Yes, my dears, our victorious and resurrected Christ Jesus is here with us, and He will always be with us in the calm and in the storms of life. But unless we prepare, unless we love the Lord of our God, with all our heart, soul, and mind, unless we are ready body, soul and mind – when the storms come, when the race begins, when life happens, we may not recognize Him. Therefore, let us pray for one another, take this opportunity that our beloved St. Gregory the Illuminator and all our Church Fathers have placed before us to prepare and whether we are getting ready for Great Lent, for Palm Sunday, or Easter – every day we ultimately prepare to greet our Resurrected Lord Christ Jesus. Glory to God. Amen!