Sunday Reflection with Fr Robin Gibbons - 14th February 2016

First Sunday in Lent 2016

There is no doubt that our Eastern Christians take the Great Lent fast far more seriously than many of those in western Christian traditions. Many Catholics and other Christians still retain the tradition of eating fish on Friday and instinctively recognise that there are days of fasting and abstinence as well as the Eucharistic fast, but I wonder how many realise the significance of fasting as a positive experience rather than an avoidance of certain foodstuffs?

Since I have served as one of the pastors in our Greek Catholic community, this stress on the fast as a spiritual discipline in Lent and other seasons has become part of my life. There is a value in abstaining from things, but only if it is understood as something deeply connected to the way of the Gospel. Traditionally we not only fast with our bodies but also with our minds and hearts and soul, for we try to 'fast' from temptations, those inner and outer desires that seem to be part and parcel of our whole life.

The Gospel stories about Jesus in the wilderness remind me at least of the fact that temptations are part and parcel of everyday living, some are harmless, such as when we 'give in' to something such as a bit more food or spend a little more time with friends, but there are others that take us off the road of Christian life and can lead us very badly astray. I see the three temptations of Jesus as a symbol of the struggle of trust we have with God.

These three temptations come not from outside of ourselves but from within when over time we have let ourselves subtly replace God with other things. The first is self-gratification, putting myself before all else, the second is manipulation and control of people and situations to get my way, and the third is the tendency to make others or myself into a false image of God, which becomes the centre of my life.

The antidote is following and travelling with Jesus on his royal road of salvation, he defeats the devil and his temptations by trusting in God, by a deep self knowledge of who he is and of what sin means, but above all knowing that God is always with us. Jesus' fast gives us one of the great spiritual tools of life, when done sensibly and with care.

Let us make St Isaac the Syrians prayer our own this week, especially when we are faced with our own temptations: I beg and beseech you, Lord: grant to all who have gone astray a true knowledge of you, so that each and every one may come to know your glory.

Fr Robin is an Eastern Rite Chaplain for the Melkite Greek Catholics in Britain. He is also an Honorary Canon of Christchurch Cathedral Oxford.