Today’s first reading is from Genesis 3:21 through Genesis 4:7:

Also for Adam and his wife, the Lord God made garments of skin and clothed them. Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of us, to know good and evil.’ Now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the Tree of Life and live forever, therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of pleasure to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He cast out Adam, and made him dwell opposite the garden of pleasure. He then stationed the Cherubim and the fiery sword, which turns every way, to guard the way to the Tree of Life. Now Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, ‘I have acquired a man through God.’ Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a shepherd of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Now in the process of time, Cain brought a sacrifice to the Lord from the fruits of the ground. Abel also brought a sacrifice from the first born of his flock and of their fat. The Lord respected Abel and his offering, but he did not respect Cain and his sacrifices. So Cain was extremely sorrowful and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you extremely sorrowful, and why has your countenance fallen? Did you not sin, even though you brought it rightly and did not divide it rightly? Be still. His recourse shall be to you. And you shall rule over him.

At the end of Genesis, Chapter 3, where we read about the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise, we find that God placed the Cherubim at the gate of paradise to guard the way to the Tree of Life. The writer Pseudo Dionysius, who wrote famously about the angels, writes this about Cherubim:

The name Cherubim means ‘fullness of knowledge,’ or ‘outpouring of wisdom.’ This first of the hierarchies, including Seraphim and Cherubim, is hierarchically ordered by truly superior beings. For this hierarchy possesses the highest order as God’s immediate neighbor, being grounded directly around God and receiving the primal theophanies and perfections. Hence, the description is ‘carrier of warmth’ for the Seraphim, and the title is ‘outpouring of wisdom’ for the Cherubim. These names indicate their similarity to what God is. The name Cherubim signifies the power to know and to see God, to receive the greatest gifts of His light, to contemplate the divine splendor in primordial power, to be filled with the gifts that bring wisdom, and to share these generously with subordinates as a part of the beneficent outpouring of wisdom.

Today’s second reading is from Proverbs 3:38 through Proverbs 4:21:

The wise shall inherit glory, but the ungodly exalt dishonor. Hear, my children, the instruction of your father. Pay attention that you might know his thinking. For I offer a good gift to you. Do not forsake my law. For I was a son and I was obedient to my father, and beloved in the presence of my mother, who taught me, saying, ‘Let our word become firmly planted in your heart. Guard our commandments. Do not forget them. Neither disregard the word of my mouth, nor forsake it, and it shall cleave to you. Love it, and it will keep you. Secure it, and it shall exalt you. Honor it, that it may embrace you, and give your head a crown of graces and cover you with a crown of delight. Hear me, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life shall be increased, that many ways of life may be yours. For I teach you the ways of wisdom and set you on upright paths. For if you walk, your steps shall not be confined. And if you run, you will not grow weary. Lay hold of my instruction. Do not let go, but guard it for yourself as your life. Do not go in the ways of the ungodly. Neither be zealous for the ways of the lawless. In whatever place they encamp, do not go there, but turn aside from them and pass by. For they cannot sleep unless they do evil. Their sleep is taken away and they do not rest. For they feed on the bread of ungodliness.  They are drunk with the wine of lawlessness. But the ways of the righteous shine like a light. They go before and give light until full daylight. But the ways of the ungodly are dark. They do not know how they stumble. My son, give heed to my word and incline your ear to my words, that your fountains may not fail you. Guard them in your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing for all their flesh.

In order to learn wisdom from the Book of Proverbs, Solomon wisely encourages, first, the desire for wisdom. Saint Gregory of Nyssa writes:

If anyone is going to obey Solomon, take true wisdom as the companion and sharer of his life, concerning which he says, ‘Love her and she will safeguard you, and honor her in order that she may embrace you,’ he will worthily prepare himself for this longing, keeping festival in a pure garment, rejoicing with those in this marriage in order not to be rejected because of being clothed as a married person. It is clear that the eagerness for this kind of marriage is common to men and women alike. For since, as the apostle says, there is neither male nor female, and Christ is all things for all human beings. The true lover of wisdom has as his goal the Divine One, who is true wisdom. And the soul, clinging to its incorruptible bridegroom, has a love of true wisdom, which is God.

As we enter upon the second week of the fast, let us recognize that although God banished Adam and Eve from paradise, from access to the Tree of Life, Christ has opened the gates of paradise for us through His death and resurrection. Let us always desire good, guard ourselves against evil. Let us always desire wisdom, guard ourselves against ignorance. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory, in the church, by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.