The Sundays of Great Lent

The great lent for us is a great time, and the most important fast in our Coptic year. However, not all of us know the details of the Great Lent. Some of us just fast and pray, without knowing why. The great lent is the six week duration before Palm Sunday. Every Sunday, we discuss an important point and lesson that we can try to apply to our lives. Most of the messages are found in the gospels of Matthew and John.

Pre-lent Sunday

On Pre lent Sunday, we start to prepare ourselves for fasting and glorifying God. We need to show God that we are fasting for him, and not anybody else, as is said in Matthew 6:1-4. We are not trying to show off to the whole world that we are fasting and praying, but only to God, as this fast should be a relationship between him and us only.

First Sunday of Lent – Treasures Sunday - Preparation

On the first Sunday of the great lent, we discuss to focus on our heavenly belongings and not on what we have. In the gospel of Matthew 6:19-21, it teaches us to let go on our earthly possessions, and to keep a simple eye. What will we do with all our possessions when we go to heaven? We will not have any use of it however much money we have. God teaches us however to focus on what we have on Earth. He has promised us a place in heaven, which is greater than anything we could ever want on earth. On this Sunday, we also are taught not to care about what comes tomorrow, as God will guide us there, as is mentioned in Matthew 6:26. We need to have faith in the Lord that he will protect us, and as long as we go in his name, no trouble will occur to us.

Second Sunday of Lent – Temptation Sunday

On the second Sunday of lent, we talk about temptation, and how Jesus God tempted by the devil three times when he was in the wilderness. We can find this story in the gospel of Matthew 4:1-11. Jesus was tempted by the devil three times, where the devil was attacking both his soul and body. We are taught to always remember how devious and cunning the devil can be, and also that he is the father of lies. Many things that the devil promises are lies, mainly the fact that he has no authority, and is our Lord who has all power. We must always remember that the devil attacks us on both our body and soul, as he did with Jesus. We are taught to ignore the devil, for he is always trying to lead us from God.

Third Sunday of Lent – The Prodigal Sun

On the third Sunday of Lent, we hear the parable about the prodigal son. We can find this parable in Luke 15:11-32. This story is about a son who left his father to see the world. When he was treated badly and ran out of money, he went to his father, who took him into his arms. This story symbolises our lives and how we have left our Lord, the one where we had lived in contempt with, for sin. We have suffered a lot and been tricked a lot, but God still wants us back and takes us in his arms the second we seem to be coming back. This story teaches us how God forgives us and always wants us back, although we have sinned a lot. This story also teaches us to come back to God when everything goes wrong, for he is our true Father.