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“And on the sixth day and hour on the cross nailed the daring sin of Adam into paradise, and tear up the handwriting of our sins, O Christ God, and save us!” Was it not therefore on the sixth day, after the creation of man, and was it not at the sixth hour of the day that the fall of our first parents followed? – We cannot confirm this as authentic; but we cannot help but recognize this as probable. We do not claim it to be authentic: for the day and hour of the Lord’s death, although not completely, is determined by the Evangelists; and nothing is said about the day and hour of Adam’s fall in the history of Moses, as if so that this dark event, together with sin, would be forever erased from the scroll of times. Meanwhile, it is very likely, as we noted, that the day and hour of Adam’s fall are the same ones on which the crucifixion on the Cross of our Lord followed, that is, the sixth day and hour. And firstly, as for the hour, the legend of Moses itself leads us to this last thought, although not directly: for it, by the way, says that to convict our ancestors of sin, the Lord appeared in the afternoon; consequently, the fall itself followed before noon. What time? Obviously, not in the early morning, for in that case the tree would not seem so good for food; this happens at a time when, according to the law of nature, the need for food is felt, that is, around noon, and therefore at the very time when the crucifixion of the Lord followed: for the sixth hour, at which it followed, according to our calculation of hours, is equal to noon. One can be convinced in the same way in another way by someone who is able to look at the suffering of the Lord with the exalted eye of faith, namely, from the Gospels it is clear that the day and hour of the Lord’s death were not left to chance, but were predetermined and chosen: therefore it is said, for example, “His hour had not come” (John 7:30). If this day and this hour were chosen, then there is no doubt that they were chosen, among other things, in accordance with the day and hour of Adam’s fall. For the Lord, as the second Adam, who came to atone for the sin of the first Adam, therefore acted where possible in relation to the deeds of Adam. Thus, He passed victoriously through temptation from the devil in the same types of deception that Adam was caught in. The very type of death was chosen in accordance with the Fall of Eden: from the tree we suffered and lost paradise; on the tree, and not otherwise, the Lord suffered and returned paradise to us. Should we not expect after this that the Redeemer of the world, having thus arranged the circumstances of God’s Providence, will stretch out His hands on the Cross at that very moment when our unfortunate foremother stretched out her hand to the forbidden fruit? If we cannot say that such a correspondence, in time, was necessary in the matter of our salvation; then, on the other hand, one cannot help but admit that in this case it is so decent, so touching and so instructive that you involuntarily believe it, without looking for other evidence. You see, however, with what rare caution the Holy Church acts! In the prayer we are considering, it suggests this thought, but does not affirm it. Why doesn't he approve? Because, as we have noticed, there is no clear indication of this in the word of God. This is what the Holy Church does in all other cases: it never presents anything as truth except what is contained in the word of God. Therefore, we can be completely at peace, following the teachings of the Church, for we follow not human opinion, which, no matter how examined, can always be subject to error, but the voice of God Himself, Who is faithful and not false in all His words. But what about prayer? What does it contain and what is asked for? The greatest mercy is asked, namely, that the handwriting of our sins be torn and destroyed by the Lord crucified on the Cross, just as the crime of our ancestor was nailed to the cross and destroyed in paradise. “And on the sixth day and hour on the cross nailed the daring sin of Adam into paradise, and tear up the handwriting of our sins, O Christ God, and save us!” Tear up the handwriting of our sins - this expression is taken from the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians; where he, speaking about the benefit brought to the human race by the suffering of the Lord, says that He “blotted out the handwriting against us... taken out of the way and nailed it to the cross” (Col. 2:14). The Apostle uses this expression comparatively, that is, in the sense that each of our sins before God is like a debt, for which there is a debt handwritten record of the debtor. As long as such a record exists, as long as the debtor, as is known, is irresponsible under the law, and the debt is subject to mandatory collection: and when the record is destroyed, then liability ceases. And so, it is this destruction that we ask for in the prayer we are considering! “Tear up the handwriting of our sins, O Christ God, and save us!” That is, speaking without comparison, forgive and forgive us our sins, so that we may be free from any answer to them before the judgment of Thy righteousness! You see now how great our request is! For if it is important for us when someone forgives us a debt and a monetary one, especially when we cannot pay for it; then how much more important is it that all our sins be forgiven us, none of which we are able to pay to the truth of God for anything. And the most merciful Lord is always ready to show us this greatest mercy. For this very reason, He ascended to the cross and suffered death for us, in order to blot out all our sins and deliver us from any answer for them. Why did He, even in the Old Testament, through the mouth of the prophet, not only allow Him to be addressed with a request for this; but, one might say, he called on everyone to do this, even demanded it urgently. “Come,” He said, “and we will be exhausted, that is, we will be counted in debt, and even if your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow; and if ... they are like scarlet, I will make them white” (Is. 1:18). After this there is no reason to doubt: boldly approach the Cross of Christ; Boldly bring all the manuscripts of your sins. No matter how great and varied they may be, everything will be paid, forgiven, everything will be atoned for and destroyed, for the blood of the Son of God, who died for us, has an infinite price in the eyes of God. It has such power that it can cleanse from all sin. Therefore, away from despondency and despair! At least you surpassed all sinners in your sins; at least compared with uncleanness and lawlessness and with the rejected spirit itself: as soon as you stand under the Cross of Christ, you will be watered in the spirit of faith with the blood of the Savior; then you are safe and have mercy, and not only will you have mercy, but you will also be rewarded, as if you were innocent and wronged. But, my brothers, such mercy is not given unconditionally from the Cross of Christ; otherwise there would be no end to its abuse; otherwise the sinner could do just that: sin daily and be forgiven daily. Thus, the very mercy of the Savior would serve not to save him, but to his destruction, disposing him to insensibility in sins and to continue his lawless life. Therefore, our Savior is ready to accept sinners, ready to grant everyone not only peace and forgiveness, but also new life and sanctification by the grace of the Holy Spirit: only from each and every one of those forgiven does He demand the fulfillment of certain conditions. What are these conditions? The most necessary and necessary not so much for Him, but for ourselves; because without fulfilling them, the very forgiveness given to us will not help. Namely, He demands that, having laid down the burden of our sins at His Cross, we should not return for them again, not fall into the same or new sins, but try to live our lives in purity and truth. Without this there is no forgiveness or pardon. For what would be the use of both, if those who had been forgiven intended to indulge in sin again? Why treat a wound that you madly inflicted on yourself, if the next day after healing, you intend to inflict the same wound on yourself? Now it is clear who, together with the Church, can worthily pronounce the prayer we are considering. Every sinner can pronounce it, for it is composed, obviously, not for the righteous, but for sinners; but what kind of sinner? He who truly believes in the Lord Jesus and in the power of His Cross; truly repentant of his sins; - having the firm intention, having received forgiveness, to continue to behave not as he lived before, in sins and impurity, but in the fear of God, in obedience to his conscience and the law of the Lord, trying not only not to repeat previous iniquities and untruths, but also to atone for them, as much as possible, by deeds of faith and Christian love. Such a petitioner will not be refused: the Lord Himself extends His hand to such a person from the Cross; for He ascended there not for the righteous, but for sinners. And whoever prays and asks without thinking well about what he is praying and asking for, who does not have the disposition to leave behind sin and his self-harming habits, is not so much praying as insulting his Savior and is like those who, when He suffered on the Cross, said: “Save yourself and yours” (Luke 23:39)! And these people, apparently, were praying, for they said: “save Naya”! But what did these words mean? One evil mockery. - In your prayer, unrepentant sinner, there is, let’s say, no such malice, but there is the same madness. For tell me yourself, how to save you until you give up sin? This would mean saving you with sin, saving not only you, but also your sin, that is, recognizing your very lawlessness as virtue. Is this possible? There is one more particular condition, without the fulfillment of which it is also impossible to ask the Lord to destroy the handwriting of our sins. This is forgiveness on our part of our neighbors. For it is not in vain that it is said: “If... you bring your gift to the altar, you will also remember her, because your brother has something for you: leave your gift to her... and go first and reconcile yourself with your brother” (Matthew 5:23–24). If at the altar and with a gift the Lord does not accept those who wage strife and unrighteous litigation with their neighbors, then much less will He accept us when we appear in the form of sinners - not with gifts, but with a prayer for the forgiveness of our debts! What should I do? - you will say: if I forgive all my debtors, then I myself will be left with nothing and become a beggar. This is not required of you (although this can be demanded: and it is better for a beggar to enter heaven than, while remaining rich, to later end up in the same place with the rich man of the Gospel): at least, do not be cruel and oppressive; don't demand too much; release as much as you can from the following; give time to cope with circumstances, help get out of difficulties; In general, have pity on the debtor as a brother, and together look at your debt as a means to your own salvation, so that you too can receive mercy from the Lord. When you look like this, that is, imagine that you yourself are the greatest debtor before God, then you will not do anything to burden the fate of your neighbor, but rather show him every condescension in order to earn mercy yourself. And this is precisely the purpose of the condition and commandment. After this, we especially need to turn to you, rich people of this age! It is true that you have more than one handwriting written on your neighbors; and, truly, there are among your debtors who have nothing to repay you with. See, do not miss the precious opportunity to blot out your sins. Take and cast these manuscripts at the foot of the Cross of Christ: the Lord will reward you a hundredfold! Amen. You might be interested in: