10 March OS 2016 – Second Wednesday of Great Lent, Holy Martyr Quadratus and Companions
Today’s first reading at Vespers is Genesis 4:16-26.
And Cain went out from the presence of God, and dwelt in the land of Nod, over against Eden. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bare Enoch. And he builded a city, and he called the city after the name of his son, Enoch. And unto Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begat Mehujael, and Mehujael begat Methusael, and Methusael begat Lamech. And Lamech took unto him two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the second Zillah. And Adah bare Jabal; he was the father of such as dwell in tents, feeding cattle. And the name of his brother was Jubal; he it was that made known the psaltery and harp. And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain; he was a smith, a forger of brass and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, ‘Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my words, for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. For vengeance sevenfold is taken for Cain, but for Lamech seventy and sevenfold.’ Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare a son, and called his name Seth, saying, ‘For God hath raised up to me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew’. And to Seth there was born a son, and he called his name Enos; he hoped to call upon the name of the LORD God.
The unrepentant Cain, after he had murdered his brother, refused to repent and ask God’s forgiveness. Yesterday at Vespers we read his chilling words: “And Cain said to the Lord God, My crime is too great for me to be forgiven (Gen. 4:13).” His pride was so deep that he preferred to cling to his sin rather than to admit that God was God and could do all things, including forgiving fratricide. Perhaps he did not know it, but he was living in despair. Yet he did not commit suicide like Judas but just went his way, had a family, and, as they say, “had a life.” His descendants were obviously very gifted people, for it was they, and not the children of the blessed Seth, who laid the material foundation of the antediluvian (Pre-Flood) civilization. But they were not God’s people; they were of the world. Lamech’s promise of dreadful revenge reveals their mindset. And they ended up in the way such people eventually do: their entire race was to perish in the great Deluge.
What did the children of Seth have to set against the great achievements of the Cainites? There is no mention of their creating the arts of civilization, unlike the high-achieving descendants of Cain. They had one thing going for them. It says that Enos, the son of Seth, “…hoped to call upon the name of the LORD God.” Their hope was in prayer, the all-powerful prayer in the name of the Lord. And the method worked: One of their number, Noe (Noah), became the second father of the human race. They planted the seed, and it bore fruit.
We, God’s chosen remnant of the latter days, have not the worldly power to overcome all the forces arrayed against us. The Bad People currently have control of finance, industry, government, the media, medicine, education…you name it. We are living on the fringes, in the “dens and caves of the earth.” But, unlike the powerful of the earth and their slaves, we are not living in despair, but in hope, for our hope is to call upon the Name of the Lord.
The Cainite technological/money Matrix of our time has made people crazy, trapping them in constant stress, unending distraction, and perpetually tantalizing, unfulfilled, desperate desire for Something Good that never happens. They keep hearing that they live in a beautiful utopia, but they know that their lives are in ruins. Here is an article from a secular source that suggests the obvious – we have to sacrifice our demand for unreal worldly happiness if we want to find peace:
http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/psychologist-modern-life-not-good-mental-health
We cannot completely check out of the Matrix, of course (or at least most of us cannot). But we can make our churches, our homes, and our hearts a refuge from the Luciferian insanity of the whole thing. We still have much more power over various areas of our life than we are led to (or want to!) believe. Let us create quiet and stillness in the home, the right old order in Church, and peace in our hearts through prayer.
Let us call upon the name of the Lord as did Enos. That is, let us say the Jesus Prayer as much and as fervently as we can. The great and only Good that man needs will be always ours, constantly springing up in great abundance in the heart and overflowing to others.
“[Jesus said:]If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:37-38).”
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13).”
