What is the Goal of Lent?
When we fast during Lent, the death we accepted in Christ through Baptism gets practiced and purified in the fire of hunger and need. The body learns what the spirit already confessed: that we have died with Christ, and our life is hidden with God in Him.
The Typology of Abraham and Isaac
Abraham killed his son in his conscience when he accepted God's commandment. Isaac also accepted death from his father's hand. God did not allow Isaac to die but provided an atonement. This is the shape of every Lent: when we fast, we accept death to our bodies and to our will from the hand of the Father. And the same thing happens - He provides our Lord Jesus Christ, our true sacrifice, for us to live in Him. This is why every Lent must end with a meal of communion.
How Long is the Lent?
Days - Preparation
A week to prepare the body, the mind, and put ourselves in the mood of the Lent. Like a soldier checking his armor before battle, or a traveler packing before a long journey, we use this week to calibrate our hearts. We begin adjusting our food, our sleep, our prayers - not as a sudden shock, but as a gentle turning of the ship toward the open sea.
Days - The Holy Forty
These forty days resemble the 40 years of the Israelites wandering in the desert. After crossing the Red Sea (Baptism), the trip should only have taken three weeks. However, they wandered for 40 years, going in circles, because they did not trust the Lord and worried much about earthly needs: food, water, enemies.
But trusting the Lord, we eat from the manna (the written Word and the eaten Word in the Eucharist), we are led by the pillar of fire (the Holy Spirit), and no enemy will ever defeat us (the cloud of protection). This trust makes our journey purposeful rather than circular.
Days - The Pascha Week
Starts the next day after the 40 days end, beginning with Palm Sunday. We commemorate the events of the last week of our Lord's life with us extensively - every hour of every day, walking with Him from the triumphal entry to the Cross and the empty tomb.
The Great Lent: The Journey in the Wilderness
The readings of the Church during the Great Lent are centered around our journey in life - starting from where our hearts are, until Christ the King claims our hearts to change them and make them according to His original design on Palm Sunday.
Christ Is Our Treasure
Key: Where is your heart - earthly or heavenly?
The Lesson
Before we enter the wilderness of Lent, we must pack light. This Gospel acts as the threshold of the entire fast. Christ draws a stark line: you cannot serve two masters. And then He asks the most searching question of the entire Lent: where is your treasure?
The word "worry" (merimnao) literally means to be divided, to be pulled in different directions. Worry is not just an emotion - it is a divided heart. Christ says: do not let your heart be divided between heaven and earth. The person who worries about what to eat and what to wear has placed their treasure in the perishable. The person who trusts the Father has placed their treasure in the eternal.
Abraham's Principle: "The Lord Will Provide"
When Abraham ascended Mount Moriah with Isaac, the boy asked: "Where is the lamb?" Abraham answered: "The Lord will provide" (Genesis 22:8). This is the posture of a heart whose treasure is in heaven. Abraham was not worried because he knew who held the future. The Matthewan Sunday invites us into this same trust: stop calculating, stop hoarding, stop worrying - and let the Father provide.
Practical Focus
- The heart audit: What am I most afraid of losing? That is where my treasure is.
- The worry fast: Every time worry rises this week, convert it into a short prayer: "Lord, You will provide."
- Secret giving: Christ says to give in secret (Matthew 6:3-4). Practice alms giving and be generos to detach the heart from earthly matters .
Patristic Witness
"Do you see that He has led them away from the earth, and from the things of the earth, and has shown them the heavens? For where your heart is, there is your treasure. Let us then make our heart to be in heaven."
The Temptation in the Wilderness
Key: It is written - using Scripture in our fight
The Lesson
Once a person gets baptized (the crossing of the Red Sea) and follows the Lord (the pillar of fire and the cloud), the temptation starts. This is not a coincidence - it is a pattern. The Spirit led Christ into the wilderness immediately after His baptism.
The enemy does not bother those who are already his; he targets those who have begun to walk with God.
Christ gave us the keys to achieve victory. Every temptation He faced in the desert summarizes every temptation we endure in our journey:
The Three Temptations
- Bread (Body - physical need): "Command these stones to become bread." This is the temptation that attacks us in our daily life , "if u don't achieve so and so , you would die" , "if u don't buy that house you will lose big", that attack is directed to shake our trust in god and make us direct our prayer from praising god and giving thanks to asking him to use his power to serve the flesh. It is the temptation of comfort, of making the body's demands the highest priority. Christ answers: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." The written and eaten word is our true food.
- The Temple Pinnacle (Soul - pride and testing God): after achieving victory in the first fight comes the second "Throw Yourself down." This is the temptation to manipulate us to show our people that we can fast, that we are now holy, to demand signs to prove to ourselves and to other people that we are his children and that we are worthy of their respect. It is the temptation of spiritual pride. And stealing Christ glory for ourselves, the answer is: "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."
- Faith does not need proof; the proof were on the right pass would be persecution , temptation.
- The Kingdoms (Spirit - the shortcut to glory): "All these things I will give You if You fall down and worship me." the devil after failing to change our mind in the first two fights, starts to offer peace treaty to avoid defeat
- This is the temptation of compromise - gaining the world by bowing to its ruler.
- Christ answers: "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve." There are no peace with the devil , no shortcuts in the Kingdom of heaven , no compromise.
The Key: "It Is Written"
Notice that Christ defeated every temptation with the same weapon: Scripture. He did not argue, He did not reason, He did not negotiate. He simply said: "It is written." This is the armor we carry into the wilderness of Lent. Without the Word, we fight unarmed. This week, the fast should drive us deeper into Scripture, not just away from food.
Practical Focus
- Discernment: use the lent time to pray and study the scripture that the lord gives wisdom to understand the fight when it comes
- Memorize verses: keeping the bible verses in the mind acts as a treasure of weapons to fight back the enemy
Patristic Witness
"The devil is afraid of us when we fast, when we pray, when we are temperate and gentle. He is especially afraid when we love Christ. For the sign of the Cross and the grace of the Spirit put him to flight."
"No one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven without being tempted. Take away temptations and no one would be saved."
The Prodigal Son
Key: God's acceptance and Metanoia (Repentance)
The Lesson
This is the heart of the Lenten journey. Repentance is the "return to the father's house." The parable is not primarily about the son's sin - it is about the father's character. The son "comes to himself" (interior awareness) and then acts. Repentance ("metanoia") is not merely feeling sorry; it is a turning of the entire person back toward God.
The Son's Journey
The younger son asked for his inheritance - which in that culture was equivalent to saying "I wish you were dead." He took everything the Father had given him and wasted it in a far country. Notice the progression of the fall: he demanded independence from the Father, then he wasted what the father had given, then he found himself in the lowest place possible - feeding pigs, a Jew among pigs, starving for the food of animals.
But then the most important phrase in the parable: "He came to himself." This is metanoia - the moment when the soul wakes up and sees its own poverty. One of the monks once said: "Repentance is the soul's discovery of its own poverty in the face of the Father's riches."
The Father's Character
The Father is always ready to accept - no condition at all! The son had a speech prepared: "Make me like one of your hired servants." But the Father did not even let him finish. He ran to meet him, kissed him, gave him the robe (baptism), the ring (chrismation), the sandals (Commandment) and killed the fatted calf (Communion). The Father does not accept us back as servants - He accepts us in his only begotten son our lord jesus Christ as sons and daughters.
Practical Focus
- Focus on Christ : in our prayer the focus should be on the acceptance of the Father in His son , not on Humanity Mistakes and brokenness
- Examine My SELF: every day I should get back to myself and reconcile with the lord , make sure I am feeding from the the fathers banquet
Patristic Witness
"This life has been given to you for repentance; do not waste it in vain pursuits. For this is the gate of mercy, and the door to the Kingdom. He who does not enter through the door of repentance will never reach the Father's house."
The Samaritan Woman
Key: Thirst - the Lord thirsts, and the woman was thirsty too
The Lesson
The Lord is thirsty - but what is He thirsty for? He thirsts for the woman's faith. He asks for a drink to show He is a man; He promises a spring to show He is God.
Often, we try to satisfy our spiritual thirst with "broken cisterns" (Jeremiah 2:13) - relationships, success, habits, entertainment - anything that offers temporary relief. The Samaritan woman had sought fulfillment in five marriages, yet her thirst remained. These five husbands can also be read as the five senses or the 5 books of moses : she had tried to fill her soul through every physical avenue, but the soul's thirst can only be quenched by the Spirit.
The Living Water
Christ very gently revealed her thirst and then offered to fill it. "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14). The Lent is not only about emptying - it is about being filled.
The Well of Jacob vs. the Water of Christ
Jacob's well represents the best that human effort and tradition can offer. It is deep, it has water, it has served generations. But you have to keep coming back. Christ offers water that becomes a spring within you - not a well you visit, but a fountain that lives inside. Lent should move us from external religion (visiting the well) to interior life (the fountain within).
Practical Focus
- Name your broken cistern: What do you turn to for comfort that never truly satisfies? Social media , work , relations, use The Lent not only to empty -but to being filled with the spirit
- Worship in spirit and truth: true worship is not about a location or a setup of words I repeat , or a body position I make , but true worship is being led by the truth and glorifying god in the spirit , lets evaluate how we worship , superficial or we go deep
Patristic Witness
"Christ was thirsty, but He thirsted for the woman's faith. He asked for a drink to show He was a man; He promised a spring to show He was God. She came to the well to draw water, and she found the Fountain of Life."
The Paralyzed Man (Pool of Bethesda)
Key: Do you want to be healed? Rise!
The Lesson
At the Pool of Bethesda, the man had been paralyzed for 38 years. Christ asks a piercing question: "Do you want to be made well?" This seems obvious, but that question reveals a bigger problem that man had , he lost hope , he got comfortable with his disease
Do not be comfortable in any life lacking holiness.
Spiritual paralysis is often a result of losing hope or becoming comfortable in our brokenness. We make excuses: "I have no one to help me," "It's too late for me," "This is just who I am." The man at Bethesda had 38 years of excuses, 38 years of watching others get healed, 38 years of waiting for circumstances to change.
The 38 Years
Why does the Gospel mention 38 years specifically? The Israelites also wandered in the wilderness for 38 years after the initial two years at Kadesh Barnea (Deuteronomy 2:14). That entire generation had to die in the desert because they didn't trust god can give thme the land , they became unworthy , The paralyzed man at Bethesda mirrors this: a whole lifetime spent at the edge of healing, but never entering in. How many of us live at the edge of transformation, always almost ready, but never stepping in?
Christ's Invitation
Christ does not say "try" - He says "rise." The power to obey is in the command itself. When Christ tells you to stand, He is simultaneously giving you the strength to do so.
Just accept Christ's invitation to heal your soul, mind, make you able to walk in the commandment jumping over mountains .
Take Up Your Bed
"Take up your bed" is a remarkable detail. Christ did not just heal the man - He told him to carry the very thing that had carried him. The bed that was his prison becomes his testimony. Whatever has held you down, Christ wants you to pick it up and carry it as evidence of what He has done.
Practical Focus
- Answer to the question: in your meditation ask yourself: "Do I truly want to be healed?", do I really want to Be with the Lord then Obedience to the commandment will heal
Patristic Witness
"The disease of the soul is more bitter than any physical ailment. Christ does not merely pity the man; He gives him the power to stand. Do not say, 'I have no man to help me,' for the God-man is standing before you."
The Man Born Blind
Key: For the glory of God - Illumination
The Lesson
The Gospel of the man born blind is traditionally linked to Baptism - the man is washed in the Pool of Siloam and receives sight. In Baptism, the Great Opening of the Eyes happens. This is the re-creation of the human person.
"For the Glory of God"
The disciples asked: "Who sinned, this man or his parents?" They wanted a reason. Christ rejected the entire framework: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." Sometimes our brokenness is not a punishment - it is a canvas for God's glory.
Note that the eyes Christ gave him (baptism) was able to see the son of god , not only material stuff (regular eyes) , maybe if that person was born with eyes he wouldn't have believed and worshipped the son of God
Christ uses our weakness, our blindness, our need (when we surrender it to him) that God's work can be displayed for the glory of his name.
Christ Met Him Outside
After the man received his sight, the Pharisees kicked him out of the synagogue. He was excommunicated for telling the truth about Christ. And what happened? Christ met him outside the temple and revealed Himself to him.
When we receive the eyes to see God, we often become strangers to our own communities. The world's systems - even religious ones - may reject us. But Christ (as one Rejected by his own) meets us in the place of rejection.
The man lost the synagogue but gained the Son of God face to face. This is the cost and the glory of illumination: you may lose the familiar, but you gain Christ Himself.
The Progression of Faith
Notice the man's confession grows throughout the chapter: first he calls Jesus "a man" (v. 11), then "a prophet" (v. 17), then "from God" (v. 33), and finally he worships Him as "Lord" (v. 38). This is the journey of Lent in miniature: each week, our vision of who Christ is should be getting clearer and deeper.
Practical Focus
- My look on christ : do I follow Christ the prophet , the man , the king , or I see him a personal god and savior that I carry his shame as a crown on my head
- The cost of sight: are u a stranger yet? if yes, Thank God- it means you are seeing clearly.
Patristic Witness
"The Word of God, who in the beginning fashioned man, also healed the man born blind. He gave him sight not by a word alone, but by clay and spittle, reminding us that He who created our flesh is the same One who restores our vision."
Palm Sunday
Key: Hosanna! - The King of David, House of Prayer
The Lesson
Humanity has realized its state and cries out for salvation: "Hosanna!" ("Save us now!"). This is the cry that has been building all through Lent. After six weeks of examining our hearts, battling temptation, repenting, thirsting, being healed, and receiving sight - we finally cry out with the crowds: Lord, save us!
Christ Kicks out the Dirt
Christ the King begins His work by going inside the person's life (Jerusalem) and directly to the heart (the Temple). What does He find there? Merchants, money-changers, commerce - the things of the world occupying the house of God. Christ does not negotiate with them. He overturns the tables. His first act is purification. He kicks out everything earthly He drives them out. He declares: "My house shall be called a house of prayer" (Matthew 21:13).
The lord establishes his throne
The Temple is the heart. Christ makes the heart a house of prayer - that is, a place of communication with God. He becomes the leader of our choir , our intercessor.
The Donkey and the Colt
Christ entered on a donkey - the animal of service, not of war. He is a King, but not of this world's kind. The donkey had never been ridden before (Mark 11:2): Christ does not use what the world has already used. He makes all things new. He rides on humility into a city that expects a conqueror. This is the paradox of the Kingdom: the King who comes to die is the King who comes to save.
Practical Focus
- Open the gates: consciously invite Christ into every area of your life say hosana with the children and avoid judging him (like the Pharisees did)
- when the lord starts cleaning and turning the tables of lust and money in your life, allow him to finish his work and praise him for his great salvation
Patristic Witness
"When the mind is cleared of the merchants of worldly care, it becomes a pure sanctuary where the Spirit speaks to the soul."