About Chrismas Fast

In these days of fasting, which will lead us to the triumph of the Incarnation of the Lord, the Church, in the words of Christ Himself, sternly and clearly warns us. In today's parable of the insane rich man, Christ speaks of the overflowing barns of material goods; but we are all rich in very different ways, and not necessarily primarily materially. How firmly we rely on our relationship with God, what reliable support we find in the words of the Gospel, the words of Christ Himself, the teaching of the apostles, our Orthodox faith! And the longer we live, the more we accumulate thoughts, knowledge, and our hearts themselves become richer and richer in feelings in response to the beauty of God's word. But that is not what saves us; we are saved by the power of God, the grace of God, which gradually teaches us and can cleanse and transform us. But although God gives us His grace unlimitedly, we find ourselves able to receive the gifts of God only to a very small extent. We are almost unable to open our hearts to her; determination betrays us; we do not have the courage to follow the path that we ourselves have chosen, because it is so beautiful and life-giving.

Now comes the time of fasting and self-discipline, which will lead us and put us face to face before God, who came and the flesh to save us. But His coming is also a judgment, because you cannot meet God and not face judgment. And now, is there anything in us in common that makes us akin to the Son of God, Who, by sacrificial, crucified love, gives Himself into our hands? Or will we have to stand before Him and say: I received all Your gifts, but did not bear fruit - like the man from the parable who received the talent and buried it by burying it in the ground? Will we be like those invited to the wedding feast of the king's son, who refused to come: one - because he bought a field; he wanted to become a landowner, but the land enslaved him; or another, who had a business on earth, and he had no time to be distracted from his studies for the sake of God, in order to be with Him. Or like one who has found a wife to his heart, and there is no room left in his heart to share the joy of a royal bridegroom?

This parable will be read at the end of the Christmas fast, just before the coming of the Savior, and how do we prepare for it? Shall we save further and further without bearing fruit?

Therefore, let us now enter the Nativity Fast and prepare ourselves with strict discipline of the mind, carefully testing the movements of the heart: how do we relate to others, to ourselves and to God, how do we learn from the Church to pray, worship and obey God's commandments?

And we will also pay more attention than we usually do to the observance of the physical rules of fasting. They are designed to help us shake off the relaxation and indulgence of our weaknesses, to awaken in us sensitivity and vigor, to prevent us from becoming stagnant in our down-to-earthness, which prevents us from soaring towards God.

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh