This year on February 14, we celebrate what has come to be known as “Zacchaeus Sunday” in the Orthodox Church. This day is a liturgical signifier that Lent is on the way!
The paschal season of the Church is preceded by the season of Great Lent, which is also preceded by its own liturgical preparation. The first sign of the approach of Great Lent comes five Sundays before its beginning. On this Sunday the Gospel reading is about Zacchaeus the tax-collector. It tells how Christ brought salvation to the sinful man, and how his life was changed simply because he “sought to see who Jesus was” (Luke 19:3). The desire and effort to see Jesus begins the entire movement through Lent towards Pascha. It is the first movement of salvation.
Sunday of Zacchaeus | https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2021/02/14/1-sunday-of-zacchaeus
The readings for this Sunday are:
- Mark 16:9-20 (3rd Matins Gospel)
- 1 Timothy 4:9-15 (Epistle)
- Luke 19:1-10 (Gospel)
