Knowing the commandments of the Lord, let this be our way of life: let us feed the hungry, let us give the thirsty drink, let us clothe the naked, let us welcome strangers, let us visit those in prison and the sick. Then the Judge of all the earth will say even to us, “Come, O blessed of My Father; inherit the Kingdom prepared for you.” (Doxastikon of the Lity, Vespers of Meatfare Sunday)
ANOTHER THEME OF THE TRIODION, which naturally follows the theme of repentance, is the Last Judgment. This is the theme of the third Sunday of the Triodion, just a week before Lent begins on Clean Monday.
The Sunday of the Last Judgment is known also as Meatfare Sunday. This is because it is the last day on which we eat meat before Lent begins. The following week is known as Cheesefare week because during this week we eat dairy even on Wednesday and Friday (when we normally abstain from it) as we ease ourselves into the austerity of the Lenten fast.
But many become so obsessed with food as Lent approaches that they tend to ignore the connection between the Gospel lesson for the Sunday of the Last Judgment and fasting. On Meatfare Sunday, we hear this Gospel lesson:
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me: And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt. 25:31-46)
What is the connection between this reading and fasting? The above passage tells us plainly that God will judge us by love, by whether we have, amongst other things, given food to the hungry. And here we can pinpoint one of the key purposes of fasting.
We abstain from food not simply as an exercise in ascesis, sobriety, and self-control, but out of love for others. Let us suppose that I normally spend x amount of money a week on meat. That amount I have not spent during the weeks of Lent I spend not on substitutes—not on gorging myself on delicacies which, while they may fall within the prescribed rules of fasting, betray its spirit and purpose. Nor do I spend it on other pointless luxuries I could easily do without—be it a film I want to see or a pair of fancy shoes to add to my already vast collection. Rather, I give the money to those who do not have food or drink or clothing or shelter. I give it to those who are in need.
Thus we see that our ascesis, if it is to be any kind of defense on the day of judgment, must be an ascesis of love. We deprive ourselves in order to have more to give to others. And if I as an individual am able through my own self-deprivation to help the life of another human being, imagine what a whole community, a whole nation, even the whole world could do if it observed such a fast!
Thus it is not a coincidence that Meatfare Sunday is the Sunday of the Last Judgment. We will be judged above all by our love—real, practical love—a love that is manifest in deeds and in sacrifice, not a timid, cowardly love that never dares to take a step beyond feelings and sentimentality.
Thus the Church again reminds us, in words and in actions, that Lent calls us to become better Christians:
Let us hurry to be cleansed through fasting from the stain of our faults and through mercy and compassion for the poor to enter the bridal chamber of Christ the Bridegroom, who grants us His great mercy. (First hymn of the aposticha, Vespers of Cheesefare Monday)
Lent calls us to learn to love our neighbor as ourselves, and it does so not just in theory, but in practice. For through Lent the Church gives us a means of carrying out the commandment of love: by fasting.
~Vassilios Papavassiliou, Meditations for Great Lent: Reflections on the Triodion
