Prepared to Make the Most of Our Time

Passages: Is. 58:1-14; Rom. 13:11-14:26; Matt. 6:1-21
Ընթերցուածքներ՝ Եսայ. ԾԹ 1-14; Հռոմ. ԺԳ 11- ԺԴ 26; Մատթ. Զ 1-21

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Whenever I travel, I make sure to make a list of all my belongings. Making sure I’ve packed everything that I need for my trip. Additionally, I also like to create an itinerary, especially when I travel to a place that’s new to me. This is because I want to make sure, I’m prepared and I can make the most of my time. I want to use the opportunity of my travel to grow, to learn, and to come out better. But this journey of traveling and the preparation required to make the most of our time is not just limited to physical travel and vacations. All of us in our daily lives are traveling, are going through a period of time where we work, where we go to school, where we try to make the most of the opportunity we’ve been given. This is also true in our faith.

Within the Church, we have been given certain of the year that focus our mind on the journey ahead. These periods are often supplemented with fasting. While fasting for many of us is understood as abstaining from certain foods and practices, for the Holy Orthodox Church, the period of fasting is ultimately a moment of preparation for what is to come, for what we are going to experience. Yet the truth is, many of us do not take advantage, do not prepare, and in fact, look at such practices as something perhaps optional or even unnecessary. Many people will say that the periods of fasting whether they are the Wednesday or Friday fasts throughout the year, or even the Great Lenten fast are made up practices by the Church. The truth is yes, they are created in the life of the Church, but they are also necessary for our faith. In the same way, being prepared in our daily tasks, and travels is necessary, likewise, faith is a journey, and fasting, along with prayer, meditation, attending Church, is all necessary to help us prepare. To prepare when we struggle with faith, when we come face to face with temptation and sin, with hopelessness and despair.

No, God does not care if we ate a cheeseburger vs. a salad yet, God does invite us to walk with Him, in the same way Adam and Eve walked with Him in Paradise. And the Church Fathers in their wisdom have given us these periods for that reason, so that we can make the most of the time we have in this life, in our daily travels, being prepared for that walk we call faith. Prepared not just in the period of fasting, but in the time that we have on this earth and in this life to live by faith and in Communion with God. The church yes has given us fasting, because fasting as a practice teaches us that by controlling what we eat, we can also begin to learn how to control other aspects of our life. I enjoy working out in the gym. Yes, I am building my physical body yet, the act of physical discipline, we read from many of the Fathers (and even some psychologists suggest) can translate into learning to discipline my mind, as well as to control other things such as my speech; of not lashing out in anger, of not acting of aggressively or of not losing hope. If I can control what I put into my mouth perhaps I can also learn to control what I comes out of my mouth, I can control what I do with my hands, where my feet walk, how I look at others, etc.

My dear brothers and sisters, this time period which we begin tomorrow as Armenian Orthodox Christians is not about the food but about making room, recognizing we need to prepare, we need to set an itinerary of prayer, and meditation and other such practices to grow and learn our faith. They’re there to help us learn what it means to be a Christian, learn the will of God, to learn how to be self-controlling. That is why we read that St. Paul identifies self-control (or self-discipline) as a critical “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23) St. John Chrysostom describes fasting as a way to purify the mind, calm the senses, and subdue the flesh to the spirit. Ultimately, the Fathers view fasting as a way to “scorn things sensible” meaning to limit the things that hinder faith, in order to “enjoy a spiritual and intellectual feast” how we grow in faith. Which reveals something also another layer to Great Lent my dears.

It isn’t about what others around me are doing, it is about me and my faith. In today’s scripture, reading Christ warns us by giving us the tools and reminding us how to prepare. Do not be like those who do long-winded prayers, who act hypocritically, who do everything to show off. In other words, fasting, and this time of preparation is not about worrying what others see us do. Yes, the Church has taught to us to pray more, to learn to fast from certain foods and practices, to act charitably and so forth but what the Church does not teach us to do is look down on others who do not. To think that just because we are in the period of preparation and others are not that we are some how better. My dear brothers and sisters, if I go to the gym and watch only what others do or do not, I will not benefit. If I go on vacation and only stay in my room, I will not benefit. If I come to Church, fast, and say I am a Christian, but look and judge how others live, how others act or dress or eat or choose to deny God, then this period given to me to prepare will have been wasted.

Make the most of the time we have been given. Learn how to fast, learn how to pray, learn what it means to walk with God. And we with our life will not only learn self-control but perhaps God will use us to be a cause for others to see and desire. Yes, we may be a bit hungrier over the next 40 days but we must hunger for Christ. Yes, we may not be celebrating or going to parties but we will celebrate the eternal life given to us by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Take this time and begin to prepare for what is to come. And the our Lord will always walk with us in the journey of life, in our daily highs and lows we will not be forsaken or abandoned. We will be prepared for what is to come, making the most of this time, having grown in faith in Holy Communion with God, Amen!