On 13 March 2016, the Orthodox Church is on the Sunday of the Expulsion of Adam from Paradise or Cheese-fare. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Patriarchal Cathedral of Bucharest by His Grace Mihail, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Australia and New Zealand, assisted by a group of priests and deacons.
The same day, the Gospel text from Matthew 6:14-21 (see below) was read in all the places of worship of the Romanian Patriarchate. The theme of the day underlines the importance of forgiving the fellow human beings as preparation for Lent, as well as the importance of obeying the teachings that lead on the path to the Kingdom of Heaven, especially the necessity of fasting for the Orthodox Christians.
The speeches of the New Testament make the basis of the Christian teaching
His Grace showed in the sermon delivered that “the theme of the Sermon on the Mountain is the new justice brought to the world by the Son of God, our Saviour”.
“Saint Matthew the Apostle wanted in this text to show Jesus Christ, our Saviour, bringing the teaching taught with authority. The Sermon on the Mount that Jesus delivers in front of the Jews is transmitted with much force and power during the first year of his Messianic preaching”, the Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Australia and New Zealand said. His Grace added that “Saint Matthew the Apostle underlines in the mentioned Gospel text the relationship between the Old and the New Testaments”. “The theme of the Sermon on the Mount is the new justice brought to the world by the Son of God, our Saviour”, His Grace Mihail has also said.
Justice is spiritual growth
“Saint Matthew the Apostle writes the Gospel in order to urge the Christians to live a pure, perfect life, showing them what the Saviour wants from those who follow Him. He insists on the teachings that lead on the Path towards the Kingdom of God: forgiveness, harmony, love, kindness. Practically, the earthly man endeavours to understand the Teaching of the Saviour detaching from the earthly things and trying to do good deeds”, His Grace Mihail showed.
This Sunday precedes the beginning of Lent.
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“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. When you fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:14-21)
