Today the Church remembers the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. The Church also calls us to seek forgiveness as we enter the time of the Bright Sadness, the Great Fast, tomorrow.
God created Adam and Eve to live in communion with Him forever. They were given two commandments in the Garden, one positive and one negative. The first was to be fruitful and multiple (see Genesis 1:28) and the second was to fast from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. (see Genesis 2:16-17)
Sadly, they did not obey and because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden and lost the life of blessedness, knowledge of God, and communion with Him, for which they were created. Both they and their descendants became heirs of death and corruption.
Let us consider the benefits of fasting, the consequences of disobedience, and recall our fallen state. Today we are invited to cleanse ourselves of evil through fasting and obedience to God. Our fasting should not be a negative thing, a mere abstention from certain foods. It is an opportunity to free ourselves from the sinful desires and urges of our fallen nature, and to nourish our souls with prayer, repentance, to participate in church services, and partake of the life-giving Mysteries of Christ. (taken from Byzantium on Brew)
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