The end is at hand, my soul, is at hand! But you neither care nor prepare. The time is growing short. Arise! The Judge is at the door! Like a dream, like a flower, the time of this life passes. Why do we bustle about in vain? (Fourth ode of the Canon of St. Andrew)
AS WE SAW IN CHAPTER TWO, the central theme of Lent is repentance. This theme is at the heart of one of the best-loved texts of Great Lent, the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. This text is heard during the first week of Lent as part of Great Compline, in which an extract of the Canon is chanted each day. In the middle of the fifth week of Lent, the Canon is chanted in its entirety.
The Canon is a dialogue between the Christian and his soul. The central theme is the urgent exhortation to change one’s life. Thus the Canon is repeated in its entirety toward the end of Lent. If by now we have not begun to repent, then now is the time.
The Church knows that repentance is not easy. Even the holy author of the Canon is persistently reminding himself of his lack of repentance, striving to persuade himself to change his ways. The Church invites us to make his words our own. It is never too late to repent, as we are reminded in the Paschal Sermon of St. John Chrysostom:
Have any wearied themselves with fasting? Let them now enjoy their payment. Has anyone labored since the first hour? Let him today receive his due. Did any come after-the third hour? Let them feast with gratitude. Did any arrive after the sixth hour? Let them not hesitate: for there is no penalty. Did any delay until after the ninth hour? Let them approach without hesitating. Did any arrive only for the eleventh hour? Let them not fear because of their lateness: for the Lord is generous and receives the last as the first: He gives rest to the worker of the eleventh hour as to those of the first. He has pity on the latter, He cares for the former. He gives to the one, He is generous to the other. He accepts the work done, He welcomes the intention. He honors the achievement, He praises the purpose. (The Paschal Vigil Service)
Yet the time for repentance is ever at hand. We are urged not to put it off any longer. At the beginning of Holy Week we hear the hymn:
Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching. And again, unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, lest you be given up to death, and lest you be shut out of the kingdom. But rouse yourself crying, “Holy, holy, holy are You, our God.” (First troparion of Matins, Great and Holy Monday)
This hymn is based on the parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13), which is a parable about the readiness of the soul to meet its Maker: “Behold, the bridegroom, is coming, go out to meet him!” (Matt. 25:6).
In the Canon of St. Andrew, we are reminded that death is always at the door, and Christ, the Bridegroom of the Church, is near. Are you ready to meet Him? “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2).
~Vassilios Papavassiliou, Meditations for Great Lent: Reflections on the Triodion
