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Heb. 6:13-20rethren, when God made a promise to Abraham, because he had no one greater bywhom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, I will surely bless you and multiplyyou. And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. Human beings,of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmationputs an end to all dispute. In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearlyto the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed itby an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that Godwould prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize thehope set before us. We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope thatenters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, hasentered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

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ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATEARCHDIOCESE OFTHYATEIRA & GREAT BRITAIN

BBUULLLLEETTIINN OOFF SSPPIIRRIITTUUAALL EEDDIIFFIICCAATTIIOONN4th SUNDAY OF LENT (St John Climacus)

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GGOOSSPPEELL RREEAADDIINNGGMark 9:17-31t that time, a man approached Jesus and said, Teacher, I have brought you myson, who has a spirit that cannot speak. And whenever it seizes him, it dashes him

down; and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and goes rigid; and I asked yourdisciples to cast it out, but they could not. He answered him, You faithless generation,how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you?Bring him to me. And they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw Jesus,immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foamingat the mouth. Jesus asked the father, How long has this been happening to him? Andhe said, From childhood. It has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him;but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us. Jesus said to him, If youare able to believe, all things can be done for the person who believes. Immediately thefather of the child cried out with tears, I believe, Lord; help my unbelief! When Jesussaw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it,You spirit that cannot speak or hear, I command you, come out of him, and never enterhim again! After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy waslike a corpse, so that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and raisedhim up, and he stood up. When he had entered the house, his disciples asked himprivately, Why could we not cast it out? He said to them, This kind cannot come outexcept through prayer and fasting. They wenton from there and passed through Galilee. Hedid not want anyone to know it; for he wasteaching his disciples, saying to them, The Sonof Man is to be betrayed into human hands, andthey will kill him, and after being killed, he willrise again on the third day.AAPPOOLLYYTTIIKKIIOONNOOFFSSTTJJOOHHNNCCLLIIMMAACCUUSS

ith the streams of your tears youcultivated the barren desert, and withdeep sighings from the heart you made your toilsbring forth fruit a hundredfold, and you became abeacon, shining in all the world by your wonders,our venerable Father John; intercede with ChristGod that our souls may be saved.

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SSEERRMMOONN OONN TTHHEE GGOOSSPPEELL RREEAADDIINNGGne way of approaching the Gospel is to see it as our Lords victoriousconfrontation with the ruler of this world, and todays reading describes one ofthe miracles in which He overthrows the power of demons. Let us think how we canapply this story to ourselves, as we enter the fifth week of the Fast. The demon in thisstory has a dramatic impact on the life of the boy, which is apparent to everyone. TheDevil seems to set about his work among most of us in a less obvious and more subtleway. But work he does: every day. We realise this once we examine our own thoughtsand actions. How do we overcome these things? Our Lord gives us a clear answer: suchcan be cast out only by prayer and fasting.Lets think first about fasting. This is one of the great joys of the Church. If wekeep the fasts, then we are helped to live our whole life in a different way: each week ofthe year reflects the Life of Christ; the year as a whole is imbued with life in theKingdom of God, as we prepare for and celebrate the great feasts of the Lord and theTheotokos; above all in this Great Fast we make our annual journey to Golgotha and thetomb filled not with the dead, but with life and light. So the planning and preparationof our lenten meals serve to remind us of this great journey in which we all take part.Fasting, then, helps us to reflect on the eternal truths of the Gospel. But theres a moredown-to-earth character to fasting, which is often pointed out by the Church Fathers. Ifthe body is constantly sated, the person becomes more prone to carnal thoughts: abody tempered by the fasts is more readily attuned to the demands of love.In the case of fasting the rules are clear and the practice not too exacting. Whatabout prayer? Many of us find it really hard. In these final weeks of the Fast we havethe gift of many beautiful services; these can help us break through our doubts anduncertainties. One of the prayers said by the priest during the reading of the Six Psalmsin Matins has the words: Grant us grace in the opening of our lips, and accept ourthanksgivings as we have power to make them. For we know not how to pray as we ought unlessyou, O Lord, by your Holy Spirit guide us. Perhaps we strain too hard to do things byourselves instead of depending on the Holy Spirit. Our prayers always start with theinvocation to the Holy Spirit, our Heavenly King, to come and take up his abode withinus. Do we allow ourselves to trust him, to have faith?This leads to the theme that underlies the whole of todays periscope: faith. Thefather of the boy possessed by demons asks our Lord to help us if you are able, towhich our Lord replies all things are possible for him who believes. This elicits theresponse: Lord I believe, help Thou my unbelief. This prayer of the desperate father isone we too can use at moments of listlessness, coldness or half-heartedness. Let us sayit today as we hear the great prophecy of our Lord about the suffering, death and thirdday resurrection of the Son of Man. May God grant us wholehearted love of Christ as weaccompany Him during the last days before His Arrest, Trial and Condemnation.If a man commits a sin before you at the hour of his death, pass no judgement, because the

judgement of God is hidden from men. It has happened that men have sinned greatly in the open buthave done greater good deeds in secret, so that those who would disparage them have been fooled... Solisten to me, all you accountants of other people's faults, listen well; for if, as is certain, it is true that"you shall be judged with the judgement you have used yourselves" (Matt.7:2), then whatever sin of

body or spirit that we ascribe to our neighbour we will surely fall into ourselves. (St John Climacus)ArchdioceseofThyateira&GreatBritain,5CravenHill,LondonW23EN

Tel.:02077234787.Fax:02072249301.Email:mail@thyateira.org.uk.Website:www.thyateira.org.ukP r i n t e d b y S t P a u l s P r e s s

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