An Anthem
for Great Lent and all of Life
Isaiah 01:17-20
Wash yourselves, and ye shall
be clean; put away the wicked ways from your souls before mine eyes;
cease to do evil; 17. learn to do
well; diligently seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, consider the
fatherless, and plead for the widow. 18.
Come then, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: and though your
sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow; and though they red
like crimson, I will make them white as wool. 19.
If then ye be willing, and obedient unto Me, ye shall eat the good of
the land; 20. but if ye desire
not, nor will obey me, the sword shall devour you, for the mouth of the
Lord has spoken it.
What is
Clean Monday?
Clean Monday is the Monday that begins the season of Great Lent in
Eastern Orthodox Churches. This corresponds to the season of Lent found
in Western Christendom, but the periods of these two seasons are
calculated differently. Both have 40 days between the beginning and end
of Lent because of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting the desert. Western
Christendom doesn’t count Sundays because Jesus is recorded as having
resurrected on a Sunday while Eastern Orthodox churches do count
Sundays.
Why is
it Called Clean Monday?
This first day of Great Lent is called “Clean Monday” because Christians
are called upon to begin the holy season with “clean hearts and good
intentions.” It is also because the season of Lent is regarded as a time
for when Christians should clean up their spiritual house, coming to
terms with their lives and rededicating themselves to a more holy and
righteous way of living.
Everyone needs to frequently wash. The
accumulated grime of the day is unsightly and unpleasant and unhealthy.
If we wash carefully, and ignore no dirty place, then we will be
invigorated, and healthy, but if we ignore some place for a long time,
that place will fester and cause us to be ill.
Great Lent is especially a time for careful
washing. We must be careful to ignore no place in us that is dirty, so
we can be truly clean. In us there may be wicked ways: thoughts,
feelings, priorities and habits that are not immediately apparent, and
are all displeasing to God.
This time is a time to consciously attempt to
put away wicked ways from ourselves just as we put away from ourselves
certain foods. How to do this? By listening and seeking, and diligence
and proper priorities, and actions accomplished with a merciful heart,
that is, to "learn to do well; diligently seek judgment, relieve the
oppressed, consider the fatherless, and plead for the widow".
Why should we make all this effort? Because
some stains are so dark and embedded that we cannot of our own effort
wash them out, and their ugliness and stench will always be with us, but
if the Lord sees our resolve and or effort, He will wash us so that the
scarlet and crimson of our sins, and even of our sinful nature and
predilections will be annihilated and forgotten, and will not return to
infect us again.
And those who struggle, with an honest and good
heart, will inherit the good of the land, and know the Lord.
How Do
Orthodox Christians Celebrate Clean Monday?
Clean Monday is a day of strict fasting — Christians are permitted to
take no food from midnight to noon and no meat all day. Christians are
expected to spend extra time during the day in prayer and Bible reading,
just as they should throughout Lent.
Clean
Monday in Modern Greece
Because Clean Monday is considered the first day of spring, Greeks tend
to celebrate less by fasting and prayer and more by outdoor activities
and picnics. Traditional foods this day include octopus, olives, and
shrimp. In addition to picnics, traditional outdoor activities used to
celebrate the day include flying kites, dancing, music, and so forth.
