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Forgiveness Sunday (and the Expulsion of Humankind from Paradise)
Romans 13:11-14:4 (NKJV)
Theme: Put on Christ
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. 14 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
Matthew 6:14-21(NKJV)
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
More quotes on forgiveness:
“Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it’s personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,’ forgive him.” Jesus Christ (Luke 17:3-4, paraphrased in The Message translation)
We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. Martin Luther King, Jr.
It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody. Maya Angelou
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names. John F. Kennedy
It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend. William Blake
Hymns from Saturday Vespers
The Lord took a handful of dust from the earth. / He breathed into it, and created me, a living man!
He made me lord and master of all things on earth; / truly I enjoyed the life of the angels!
But Satan the deceiver, in the guise of a serpent, tempted me:
I ate the forbidden fruit, and forfeited the glory of God.
Now I have been delivered to the earth through death. //
My compassionate Lord, call me back to Eden!
When the enemy tempted me, / I disobeyed Your command, O Lord.
I exchanged the glory of my immortal body for shame and nakedness.
Now I must wear garments of skins and fig-leaves; I am condemned to eat the bread of bitter hardship by the sweat of my brow.
The earth is cursed, and brings forth thorns and husks for me.
Lord, you took flesh from the Virgin in the fullness of time://
call me back and restore me to Eden!
Paradise, garden of delight and beauty, / dwelling-place made perfect by God,
unending gladness and eternal joy, / the hope of the prophets and the home of the saints,
by the music of Your rustling leaves beseech the Creator of all
to open to me the gates which my sins have closed, / that I may partake of the tree of life and grace//
which was given to me in the beginning.
From Matins
Adam was driven out of paradise for eating food in disobedience
but Moses who cleansed the eyes of his soul by fasting was granted the vision of God.
If we then long to dwell in paradise, let us abstain from all unnecessary food;
if we desire to see God, let us, like Moses, fast for forty days.
Let us persevere with sincerity in prayer and intercession;
let us still the passions of the soul; let us still the rebellious instincts of the flesh.
Let us set out with a light step on the path to heaven,
where the choirs of angels with never silent voices
sing the praises of the undivided Trinity!
There we shall behold the great beauty of the Master!
Son of God, and Giver of life: We set our hope in You!
Count us worthy there of a place with the angelic hosts,
at the intercessions of the Mother who bore You, Christ,//
and of the apostles, martyrs and all the saints!
From the Vespers service that begins Great Lent
The time is now at hand! Let us begin the spiritual contest and triumph over the demonic powers!
Let us put on the armor of abstinence, clothing ourselves in the glory of the angels.
As Moses spoke with boldness to the Creator, and heard the voice of the invisible God,
so in your love for man, Lord, //
grant us also with boldness to venerate Your Passion and holy Resurrection!
