As we approach
Great Lent, the time given to us specifically for repentance, the Church gives
us a whole host of images to help us. St. John of Kronstadt teaches that:
“Imagery or symbols are a necessity of human nature in our presently
spiritually sensual condition; they explain [by the vision] many things
belonging to the spiritual world which we could not know without images and
symbols.”
We need pictures to
help us think, to help us digest and understand the truths given to us. What
St. Andrew of Crete does in the Great Canon written by him, is to being to
remembrance many characters of the Old Testament and a few from the New
Testament. In earlier times, people knew the scriptures much more than we do.
Mention a name like Korah, Datham, Hophni or Phinehas and many people would be
able to tell you all about them. When they heard these names in St. Andrew’s
canon, they had the opportunity to be struck in the heart and brought to
repentance. Unfortunately we are not that scripturally literate so the names
can just fly by and not mean anything to us. We could be virtually untouched by
the canon. The reason for this talk is to at least start us on the way to
knowing to whom St. Andrew is referring.
However, we need to
do more than simply know who all those people are. We need to take the canon
personally. Their sins and failings are our sins and failings. That St. Andrew
expects us to approach the canon personally is clear from the way he writes it.
Adam and Eve
The first people
mentioned are, understandably, Adam and Eve. In Canticle One we read: “I have
rivaled in transgression Adam the first-formed man, and I have found myself
stripped naked of God, of the eternal kingdom and its joy, because of my sins. And:
“Instead of the visible Eve, I have the Eve of the mind: the passionate thought
in my flesh, showing me what seems sweet; yet whenever I taste from it, I find
it bitter.”
It is interesting
that St. Andrew refers to Eve as the mind. Last week, on March 16/29, in the
For Consideration section of the Prologue, there is a quote from St. Hesychius
which reads: “If you make yourself fulfill [God’s commandments] in thought, you
will rarely find it necessary to toil over the fulfilling of them in action.”
So in the beginning
of the canon, St. Andrew, through mentioning Adam and Eve tells us of the
results of sin (separation from eternal life) and the cause of sin (turning
from God in our thinking). St. John of Kronstadt teaches that we do not
actually think with our mind. The thoughts we have are generated in our hearts,
or are the result of suggestions by the devil. One of the things which the
elder Simeon told the Mother of God was that her child “shall be spoken
against, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
In the prayer read
at Midnight office on Sunday morning, there is a phrase which reads something
like “I have become a slave to pleasure through slothfulness of mind”. I have
even seen a warning on a bumper sticker which read, “Don’t believe everything
you think”. If we believe everything we think, and, in our laziness, do not
weigh our thoughts against the commandments of Christ, we become enslaved. By
being aware of our thoughts, we can come to know what lies in our heart. We may
not like what we come to know, but such is the spiritual life.
Perhaps the rest of
the Old Testament figures mentioned in the canon could be seen as symbolizing
the various ways in which we sin against God, in thought word, and deed.
Cain
Cain was
half-hearted in his devotions and sacrifice toward God. He didn’t give his
best. He gave lip service, empty words, to God; he did not give his heart. He
knew that the sacrifice he was making was only an outward show, but “killed”
his conscience by not listening to it.
Next mentioned is
Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve. “By my own free choice I have incurred the
guilt of Cain’s murder. I have killed my conscience, bringing the flesh to life
and making war upon the soul by my wicked actions.”
However, God was
not mocked; He saw the shallowness of Cain’s efforts and therefore did not
accept the sacrifice and reward Cain.
Abel
Of course, Cain is
mentioned in contrast to his brother Abel, who offered to God an unblemished
lamb. St. Andrew writes: “O Jesus, I have not been like Abel in his
righteousness. Never have I offered Thee acceptable gifts or godly actions, a
pure sacrifice or a life unblemished.”
Some interpreters
of the story of Cain and Abel see Cain’s sin as not offering the correct kind
of sacrifice; he offered the fruits of his garden, not a lamb as did Abel. This
is missing the point. God, of course wants our hearts. Our responsibility is to
give our best in all we do.
Cain’s sin could
more correctly be seen as jealously which led to murder. Jealousy comes when we
are ungrateful and have not given with a sincere and humble heart. When we feel
jealous, it is a sign that we got caught in our ingratitude and we don’t like
it. We got caught trying to give our second best but still expecting to receive
the best reward. We kill our conscience which tries to tell us that our
disappointment is our own fault. Of course, our disappointment, our
dissatisfaction, must be someone’s fault so we turn on our brother.
We probably do not
murder outwardly as did Cain, but we all know the judgments and anger that
accompany jealousy. Our Lord tells us in the sermon on the mount that, “Ye have
heard that it was said of them of old time ‘Thou shalt not kill’… But I say
unto you “Whosoever shall be angry with his brother shall be in danger of the
judgment.”
Mention the school
children. Cain and Abel mean “I can’t” and “I am able”. When one of them is not
putting their heart in their works, we simply need to ask Cain? or Abel?
Lamech (descendent of Cain)
In Canticle two, we
hear of Lamech. There are a few Lamechs in the Old Testament. This one was a
descendant of Cain. Cain had a son named Enoch, and, according to Genesis 4:17,
built a city and named it after his son. Enoch had a son named Irad, Irad had a
son named Mehujael. Mehujael had a son named Methusael (not to be confused with
Methuselah). Finally Methusael had a son named Lamech.
Lamech’s sin was,
like Cain, murder. Whereas Cain killed one person, Lamech kills two people – an
older man and a young man. The canon reads: “To whom shall I liken thee, O soul
of many sins? Alas! to Cain and to Lamech. For thou hast stoned thy body to
death with thine evil deeds, and killed thy mind with thy disordered longings.
“Through sin, a man
ends up destroying his own soul, (the man) and his mind (the young man).”
St. Andrew then
mentions four righteous men. “Call to mind, my soul, all who lived before the
Law. Thou hast not been like Seth, or followed Enos or Enoch, who was
translated to heaven, or Noah; but thou art found destitute, without a share in
the life of the righteous.”
Enos had a son
named Cainan. Cainan had a son named Mahalaleel. Mahalaleel had a son named
Jared, in turn had a son named Enoch. This second Enoch did not die as men
normally do. When he was three hundred five years old, he was “translated.”
I cannot tell you
exactly what “translated” means, but Enoch was true to the meaning of his name
“dedicated”. The scriptures say: “Enoch walked with God: and he was not, for
God took him” (Genesis 5:24). Enoch had a very famous son, the oldest recorded
person in history -Methuselah.
We have now been
introduced to two people named Enoch. The first Enoch was Cain’s son. He was
dedicated to this world, symbolized by his connection to a worldly city. The
second Enoch was the one mentioned by St. Andrew, who was dedicated to God and
was found worthy to enter the heavenly city.
Noah
The fourth
righteous man mentioned in canticle two is Noah. We all know Noah. He was a
righteous man in the midst of a very unrighteous society. Only Noah and his
wife, his three sons and their wives survived the Great Flood.
Lot
Canticle three
begins with a reference to Lot, Abraham’s nephew and the son of Abraham’s
brother, Haran. Apparently Haran had died and Abraham was looking after Lot in
Haran’s place.
The reference to
Lot in the canon is: “O my soul, flee like Lot to the mountains, and take
refuge in Zoar before it is too late. Flee from the flames, my soul, flee from
the burning heat of Sodom, flee from the destruction by the fire of God.”
This verse of the
canon is in reference to the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Three angels were sent by God to destroy these cities for their extreme
wickedness. However before destroying the cities, angels first went to visit
Abraham who was living on the Plain of Mamre, not too far from Sodom and
Gomorrah. Abraham offered them wonderful hospitality. It was during this visit
that the angels told Abraham and Sarah (99 and 89 years old at the time) that
Sarah would bear a son who would be called Isaac. This incident is the
inspiration behind the icon we know of as “The Hospitality of Abraham.”
When the angels
told Abraham that they were on their way to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham
realized that his nephew lived there and asked the angels if they would destroy
the cities if they found fifty good people there. They said, “No.” Abraham kept
questioning the angels, lowering the number of righteous people required to
warrant a reprieve. The angels finally agreed that if ten righteous people were
in the cities they would not destroy them.
As it turned out,
only four good people were found – Lot and his wife and two daughters. The
angels told them to flee to the mountains and not turn back. This is when Lot’s
wife disobeyed and turned back. She turned into a pillar of salt. It is very
possible that the site of Sodom and Gomorrah is now covered by the Dead Sea.
Toward the end of
Canticle three there are more references to Lot. We are urged: “Do not look
back, my soul, and so be turned into a pillar of salt. Fear the example of the
people of Sodom, and take refuge in Zoar. Flee, my soul, like, Lot, from the
burning of sin; flee from Sodom and Gomorrah; flee from the flame of every
brutish desire.”
Lot escaped
destruction because he fled from temptation and did not look back. So often we
entertain sinful thoughts, thinking we can then discard them at will. The
Fathers of the Church urge us not to attempt to fight temptation by our own
strength but to immediately flee to Christ.
The wickedness of
Sodom and Gomorrah is generally considered to center around unrestrained sexual
desire which leads to depravity. This is clear from the narrative as given in
Genesis 19 and also from the reference made in the epistle of St. Jude.
Canticle three also
refers to the three sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
These verses refer
to an incident that happened some time after the ark had landed and Noah had
planted a vineyard. He was affected by the fermented grape juice and was found
in an embarrassing position. His son, Ham, saw him and made fun of his father
in front of Shem and Japheth. Unlike Ham, Shem and Japheth did their best to
shield their father and “cover his sin”. Ham’s sin was mocking the faults and
weakness of others. In the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, which we say many
times during Lent, we beg God to prevent us from committing this serious sin.
“Yea, O Lord, King,
grant me to see my failing and not condemn my brother, for blessed art Thou
unto the ages of ages.”
When Noah realized
what had happened, he cursed the descendants of Ham and blessed the descendants
of Shem and Japheth.
Abraham
Abraham probably
does not need too much of an introduction. Abraham was apparently born in Ur, a
city in Mesopotamia. After the death of Haran, Abraham’s brother, his father
Terah moved his family north to a city known as Haran (perhaps named after
Terah’s son). This became their new home. When Abraham was seventy-five, God
told him to, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy
father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee.”
So far we have been
presented with two righteous men who were told to leave the place they were
living. This, of course, symbolizes the fact that we have ingrained ways of
thinking and perceiving that need to be left behind. Prayer and the examination
of our own thoughts and perceptions are required of us in the spiritual life.
This is part of leaving the old man and allowing Christ to make us new. We
venture beyond our own “self-image” into the spiritual unknown, relying on God.
Ishmael
Abraham was married
to Sarah who was barren. At Sarah’s suggestion, Abraham had a son by Sarah’s
maid, Hagar, and this son is Ishmael. Egypt is usually a symbol of evil, or of
the passionate, unregenerate life. Thoughts and actions which arise from the
passionate in us enslave us. This is a reoccurring theme in the canon.
Jacob
“Thou knowest, my
soul, the ladder that was shown to Jacob, reaching up from earth to heaven. Why
hast thou not provided a firm foundation for it through thy godly actions.”
Leah and Rachel
Once again, we are
enjoined to be watchful rather than slothful with our thoughts. If you
remember, Jacob had to work for his uncle, Laban, for seven years in order to
marry Rachel. He was given Leah instead, so he worked another seven years for
Rachel.
Esau
“Thou hast rivaled
Esau the hated, 0 my soul, and given the birthright of thy first beauty to the
supplanter; thou hast lost thy father’s blessing and in thy wretchedness been
twice supplanted, in action and in knowledge. Therefore now repent.”
Reuben
“In my misery I
have followed Reuben’s example, and have devised a wicked and unlawful plan
against the most high God, defiling my bed as he defiled his father’s.”
Joseph
“I confess to Thee,
0 Christ my King: I have sinned, I have sinned like the brethren of Joseph, who
once sold the fruit of purity and chastity. As a figure of the Lord, 0 my soul,
the righteous and gentle Joseph was sold into bondage by his brethren; but thou
hast sold thyself entirely to sin.”
Moses
These passages, of
course, refer to the time when while still a prominent man in Egypt, saw an
Egyptian guard beating an Israelite. Moses killed the guard, thinking no one
had seen him…. In this passage we see an example of Egypt, and Egyptians, as
symbols of the old, unregenerated man.
Korah, Datham, Abiram, Aaron, Hophni and Phinehas
“Aaron offered to
God fire that was blameless and undefiled, but Hophni and Phinehas brought to
Him, as thou hast done, my soul, strange fire and a polluted life.” “Like Datham and Abiram, O my soul, thou hast become a stranger
to Thy Lord; but with all thy heart cry out ‘spare me,’ that the earth may not
open and swallow thee up.”
Korah, Datham and
Abiram were the leaders of a revolt against Moses. When the Israelites were but
a short distance from the Promised Land, Moses sent six pair of men, one man
from each tribe, as “spies” into the Promised Land. They were to get a sense of
the people who inhabited the land and of the land itself. Five pair, (ten men)
returned with glowing reports of the land, but told Moses that the people were
strong and fierce, with many chariots. It would be impossible to defeat them.
Only one pair, Joshua and Caleb, said that although it was true that the people
were great, the Israelites could conquer them with God’s help. When the
Israelites shouted down Joshua and Caleb and despaired of entering into the new
land, God told them that they would wander in the desert for 40 years, until
they were all dead. Of the 600,000 people who initially left Egypt, only Joshua
and Caleb actually entered the Promised Land.
The reference to
Hophni and Phinehas concerns the two sons of the priest, Eli. As sons of the
priest, they had privileges and responsibilities in the temple. The sons
greatly misused their position to steal from the people and do all kinds of
immoral things. Eli knew what was happening but did nothing but verbally scold
his sons. A prophet told Eli that his sons would be killed for their evil. When
Eli was told his sons had been killed by the Philistines, he fell backwards and
died also. Although the reference to Eli is in the next canticle we will quote
it here.
Eli, the Priest
“Thou hast drawn
upon thyself, 0 my soul, the condemnation of Eli, the priest: thoughtlessly
thou hast allowed the passions to work evil within thee, just as he permitted
his children to commit transgressions.”
Joshua, the son of Nun
“Like Joshua, the
son of Nun, search and spy out, my soul, the land of thine inheritance and take
up thy dwelling within it, through obedience to the law. Rise up and make war
against the passions of the flesh, as Joshua against Amalek, ever gaining the
victory over the Gibeonites, thy deceitful thoughts.”
This is a reference
to Joshua’s work as one of the twelve spies sent into the Promised Land. We are
given a foretaste of heaven when we are faithful to God.
Joshua against the
Amalekites (descendants of Esau) was the battle shortly before the Israelites
reached Mount Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments.
The reference to
the Gibeonites concerns something that happened after the Israelites had
entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. The Israelites had
conquered Jericho and the city of Ai and as a result, the surrounding peoples
were very afraid of them. The people of Gibeon devised a plan to join forces
with several other kingdoms in order to defeat the Israelites. Some of the men
of Gibeon dressed themselves in rags, gathered some old dry bread and dried out
wineskins and pretended to be emissaries from a distant country. The told a
story about how they had heard of the wonders of the Israelites and were
seeking to be their servants. The leaders of Israel, including Joshua, were
deceived. The scriptures say that, “And the men took of their victuals
(believed in the outer appearance), and asked not counsel at the mouth of the
Lord.”
Joshua finally
realized the plot, gathered his armies together and did battle with the
opposing kingdoms. It was a very long and difficult battle, so long in fact
that Joshua had to pray that the sun stop in the sky so he would have enough
time to win.
Manoah
“O my soul, thou
hast heard how Manoah of old beheld the Lord in a vision, and then received
from his barren wife the fruit of God’s promise. Let us imitate him in his
devotion.”
Samson
“Emulating Samson’s
slothfulness, O my soul, thou hast been shorn of the glory of thy works, and
through love of pleasure thou hast betrayed thy life to the alien Philistines,
surrendering thy chastity and blessedness.”
Once again we are
given an example of the enslavement which follows slothfulness.
Barak and Jepthah with Deborah
“Barak and Jepthah
the captains, with Deborah who had a man’s courage, were chosen as judges of
Israel. Learn bravery from their mighty acts, O my soul, and be strong.”
Part of “see-saw
days” after the death of Joshua. The Israelites did evil in the sight of the
Lord and as a result they were conquered by another nation, this time by Jabin,
King of the Canaanites. Deborah, a prophetess was the judge of Israel. She
called together two good men Barak and Jepthat and they inspired the people to
repent and regain their freedom.
Jael, who pierced Sisera
“O my soul, thou
knowest the manly courage of Jael, who of old pierced Sisera through his temple
and brought salvation to Israel with the nail of her tent. In this thou mayest
see a prefiguring of the Cross.”
Sisera was the
captain of the armies of Canaan. When the Israelites routed the armies of
Canaan, this Sisera fled on foot. He went to the Kenites with whom the
Canaanites were at peace and was invited into the house of a man named Heber.
Heber’s wife, Jael, knew the whole situation and as Sisera was resting, she
took a nail and hammered it into his head. This made the defeat of the
Canaanites complete.
Gideon
“O my soul,
consider the fleece of Gideon, and receive the dew from heaven; bend down like
a hart and drink the water that flows from the Law, when its letter is wrung
out for thee through study.”
Hannah and her son Samuel
“Hannah, who lovest
self-restraint and chastity, when speaking to God moved her lips in praise, but
her voice was not heard; and he who was barren bore a son worthy of her
prayer.”
“Great Samuel, son
of Hannah, was born at Ramah and brought up in the house of the Lord; and he
was numbered among the judges of Israel. Eagerly follow his example, O my soul,
and before thou judgest others, judge thine own works.”
Saul
“When Saul once
lost his father’s asses, in searching for them he found himself proclaimed as
king. But watch, my soul, lest unknown to thyself thou prefer thine animal
appetites to the Kingdom of Christ.”
David
Uzzah
“When the ark was
being carried in a cart and the ox stumbled, Uzzah did no more than touch it,
but the wrath of God smote him. O my soul, flee from his presumption and
respect with reverence the things of God.”
While Saul was king
and Eli was high priest, the Ark of the Covenant was stolen by the Philistines,
the archenemy of the Israelites. When the Ark was brought into the Philistine’s
temple where their idol was kept, the idol fell and was smashed. The Ark caused
the Philistines all kinds of difficulties so they put it on a cart drawn by two
oxen, and pointed the oxen toward Jerusalem. The oxen did not make it all the
way to Jerusalem, but stopped about 7 miles short, at the house of a man named,
Abinadab. There it stayed there until David was crowned king.
Shortly after being
crowned king, David started making plans to return the Ark of the Covenant to
Jerusalem. It was put in a cart drawn by two oxen. At one point the cart seemed
to be tipping so Uzzah, one of the sons of Abinadab, stretched out his hand to
steady the Ark. He was immediately killed.
Absalom and Ahitophel
“Thou hast heard of
Absalom, and how he rebelled against nature; thou knowest of the unholy deeds
by which he defiled his father David’s bed. Yet thou hast followed him in his
passionate and sensual desires.
“Thy free dignity,
O my soul, thou hast subjected to thy body; for thou hast found in the enemy
another Ahitophel, and hast agreed to all his counsels. But Christ Himself has
brought them to nothing and saved thee from them all.”
Absalom was one of
the sons of David and was well respected. The Scriptures say of him: in all
Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the
sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.”
However, Absalom’s goodness and beauty were all on the outside. Inside he was
full of pride, ambition and deceit. He rebelled and fought against his father.
We see here a
foreshadowing of events which were to take place in the life of Christ almost a
thousand years later. Judas betrayed Christ, just as Ahitophel betrayed David,
the king. Both Judas and Ahitophel hung themselves. Psalm 54, which is read at
Sixth Hour refers to these events:
“For if mine enemy
had reviled me, I might have endured it. And if he that hateth me had spoken
boastful words against me I might have hid myself from him. But thou it was, O
man of like soul with me, me guide and my familiar friend, thou who together
with me didst sweeten my repasts; in the house of God I walked with thee in
oneness of mind.”
Solomon
Rehoboam
“O my soul, thou
hast rivaled Rehoboam, who paid no attention to his father’s counselors, and
Jeroboam, that evil servant and renegade of old. But flee from their example
and cry to God: I have sinned, take pity on me.”
Rehoboam was a son
of Solomon who became the King of Judah. Some representatives of the northern
tribes came to him asking for lower taxes. Rehoboam told them that he would
give his answer in three days. He spoke with his father’s counselor’s who
advised him to be merciful. He then spoke with some men his own age who advised
him to make the taxes even greater. He listened to the younger men, who
suggested that he tell the people. “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will
add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you
with scorpions”
Jeroboam was the
first king of the northern kingdom, of the Kingdom of Israel. He gained his
position through treason and encouraged the worship of idols.
Ahab, Jezebel and Eliiah and Zarephath
Ahab was one of the
kings of Israel. If you remember, after Solomon’s rule the kingdom was divided
into the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south.
Ahab and his wife, Jezebel encouraged the worship of many different idols. The
prophet Elijah, who is also mentioned in the canon, was constantly in
opposition to them. Elijah was so enraged by the blasphemers of Ahab that he
prayer to God that it would not rain for three and a half years.
At one point Elijah
fled because Ahab was going to kill him. God told Elijah to go to a certain
widow, Zarephath. He met the widow gathering sticks in preparation for a last
meal for her son and herself.
Hezekiah and Manasseh (mentioned in other services)
“My days have
vanished as the dream of one awaking; and so, like Hezekiah, I weep upon my
bed, that years may be added to my life. But what Isaiah will come to thee, my
soul, except the God of all?
“By deliberate
choice, my soul, thou hast incurred the guilt of Manasseh, setting up the
passions as idols and multiplying abominations. But with fervent heart emulate
his repentance and acquire compunction.”
Hezekiah was one of
the kings of Judah, whose capital was Jerusalem. Hezekiah was one of the good
kings. He destroyed the idols that had been erected. However, at one point
Jerusalem was being besieged by the Assyrians who were conquering all the
surrounding area and Hezekiah was despairing. The servants of Hezekiah sought
help from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah prophesied that Jerusalem would be spared;
that God would disburse the Assyrians. Hezekiah begged God for mercy and in the
morning the citizens of Jerusalem looked over the city walls and saw 185,000
dead Assyrians.
Later when Hezekiah
was very sick, Isaiah came to him and told him that he should set his house in
order for he was indeed going to die. Hezekiah wept upon his bed and begged
again God for mercy. The Lord heard him and granted him fifteen more years of
life.
Manasseh was a son
of Hezekiah, and therefore the next king of Judah. However, he restored the
idols and was very wicked, building altars for idols in the temple itself. Once
again God had to send punishment upon the people; the Assyrians captured
Manasseh and took him to Babylon. There Manesseh humbled himself before God and
repented. When Manasseh was released from Babylon, he tore down the idols he
had previously erected and restored the temple to its proper use.
Gehazi
“O wretched soul,
always thou hast imitated the polluted thoughts of Gehazi. Cast from thee, at
least in thine old age, his love for money. Flee from the fire of hell, turn
away from thy wickedness.”
Gehazi was the
servant of the prophet Elisha. Elisha had healed a man named Naaman of leprosy.
When Naaman wanted to give Elisha some money, the prophet refused. After Naaman
left, Gehazi thought of a way to get some money for himself. He ran after
Naaman and made up a story about Elisha having a few visitors and needing some
money. Naaman gave two talents to Gehazi. Gehazi thought he had made some easy
money, but when he returned to Elisha, the prophet knew what he had done and
prophesied that the leprosy of Naaman would now come upon Gehazi.
Uzziah
Uzziah was one of
the kings of Judah and reigned very well, conquering the pagan nations as God
had directed and making many improvements in the kingdom. “But when he was
strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction” He decided one day that he
could act as one of the priests and burn incense upon the altar of incense. The
priests and several rulers confronted Uzziah but he rebuked them. As Uzziah
continued to swing the censer in violation of the Law, his face was covered
with leprosy. He died a leper.
Also mentioned are
Jonah and the men of Nineveh who repented; Jeremiah, in the muddy pit; and
Daniel with the three holy children in the furnace.
Source:
http://www.stmaryofegypt.com/node/76
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