Naked and Not Ashamed – Eve of Tuesday – Holy Pascha 2025

In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen. May the blessing of the Father who calls us and His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ who saves us, and the Holy Spirit who sanctifies and transforms us be with us all, that we may hear His word and bear fruit—thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. Amen.

“And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:25, NKJV)

✥ Introduction

On the morning of Monday of the final week in the life of our Lord Jesus on earth, He went out from Bethany heading to the Temple. On the way, He saw a fig tree by the road. He came seeking fruit on it but found it full of leaves and no fruit. It was therefore deserving of a curse; and when He cursed it, the fig tree withered immediately.

This fig tree that had nothing but leaves was a symbol of the Jewish nation, which deceived people with its false appearance. An onlooker might think it had much spiritual fruit due to its divine law, rituals, worship, and countless sacrifices. But it had no true fruit—no fruit of holiness, love, humility, and faith in the Messiah. That nation was like the fig tree: full of leaves, yet fruitless, and thus brought upon itself the curse.

This was a spiritual lesson and a practical illustration meant to warn every person who is full of leaves on the outside, yet empty inside of the spiritual fruit that glorifies God.

✥ Covered in Leaves but Empty of Fruit

After the Russian Revolution, a friend of the Orthodox philosopher Nicholas Berdyaev was hesitant about entering the Church. He said:

“My spiritual life is so poor. I feel like we must bring a dowry to the Church—something to offer.”

To which Berdyaev responded:

“No. You must come naked.”

This is precisely how we enter into baptism in the Orthodox Church—not with the robes of our own righteousness, but naked, asking to be clothed in the grace of God.

When Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit and disobeyed God, they lost their innocence. Before that, the Scripture tells us:

“And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:25)

This verse holds a sacred place. It marks the boundary between paradise and the fallen world. It is the last line before the fall of man.

✥ Naked and Unashamed

The word “naked” here must not be understood solely in its physical sense. It refers to a state of transparency—being totally revealed before the other, without pride or hiding. Seeing the other as they are, and allowing ourselves to be seen as we truly are—without shame.

This was the kind of communion Adam and Eve had with God and with each other. They were completely open and not ashamed.

St. Cyril of Alexandria beautifully wrote:

“Oh, the beauty of existence—when we are naked and unashamed—for we resemble Adam, the first man, who was naked in the garden and felt no shame.”

This is the kind of relationship we are invited to reclaim—through repentance and grace—through our Savior.

But this state changed after the fall. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were filled with shame and fear.

“They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings… And Adam said: ‘I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.’” (Genesis 3:7–10)

Their instinct was to cover themselves—to hide who they had become. It was an unspoken confession: Things are no longer right inside. They had become naked and very ashamed.

✥ Fig Leaves and Modern Disguises

Adam and Eve used fig leaves to hide their sin and shame. And don’t we still do the same?

Our modern fig leaves may be different—money, status, clothing, degrees, religious involvement—but they serve the same purpose: to hide the emptiness within.

We say:

“Look at this expensive garment. Look at this job title. Look at my piety.”

Yet deep down, we are spiritually barren.

St. John Chrysostom reminds us:

“The clothes we wear are like fig leaves, reminding us of our nakedness before God and our need for His grace.”

St. Gregory of Nyssa adds:

“If Adam still lives in us, we are dressed not in light, but in the falling leaves of pride and worldly glory. These are not garments of heaven but of decay.”

✥ Layers of Excuses

Every time we skip prayer, justify sinful habits, or avoid God’s Word—we stitch new fig leaves.

Every time we present ourselves before others as someone we’re not, we reinforce the illusion.

Every time we attend church with no repentance, we stand clothed in a costume but remain naked inside.

A therapist once said to a priest:

“Our job is to strip people until they see their true selves—but often, we find nothing but chaos inside. Then it’s your turn.”

The priest replied:

“Not mine—only the Lord’s. He alone can restore and clothe the broken soul.”

✥ The Comfort of Being Fully Seen

The Philokalia speaks of spiritual nakedness before God without shame, urging:

“Let us present our souls naked to God… abandoning self-justification, pride, and worldly logic.”

St. Theophan the Recluse reflects:

“True repentance is when we cast off all fig leaves and say:

‘Lord, I stand before You, naked—hiding nothing. Have mercy.’”

We cannot bring fake offerings before God. No title, no degree, no good work can cover us.

“When you have done all those things… say, ‘We are unprofitable servants.’” (Luke 17:10)

We entered this world naked, and so shall we return.

✥ Exposed Before the One Who Sees All

“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13)

There will come a moment—in a blink, in a place unknown—when our hearts will stop. And in that moment, we will be either:

Naked and unashamed, clothed in Christ’s righteousness,

or
Naked and ashamed, clinging to our own.

✥ A Relationship with No Masks

True intimacy with God looks like this:

As Marian Evans once wrote:

“Oh, the peace of being with someone and not needing to weigh every word, but to pour out grain and husk alike—trusting that a faithful hand will keep the good and gently blow away the rest.”

This is what it means to be:

“Naked and unashamed.”

No masks. No filters. Just a soul before its Creator.

✥ Even Suffering Cannot Hide Us

Life will strip us anyway.

Through illness, death, failure, or loss, the masks will fall.

Michael Bourdeaux noted how the Church in the Soviet Union, persecuted and stripped bare, lost millions to death camps—but survived.

They were naked, but not ashamed.

They rose again.

And so must we.

✥ Reflection

On this Eve of Tuesday of Holy Pascha, when we read about the withered fig tree, the Lord asks each of us:

Are you full of leaves and no fruit?

Are you clothed in religion, yet empty of repentance?

Are you hiding behind the appearance of faith?

Come before Him naked—without excuse, without pride, without fear—and let Him clothe you with His righteousness.

“For You desire truth in the inward parts.” (Psalm 51:6)

Let this be the night where you remove your fig leaves, and receive the garment of grace.

✥ The Worker of Wonders

In the morning Psalm, the prophecy speaks of “the One who alone works wonders”, and indeed, this wondrous sign which Jesus performed on the barren fig tree leads us to pause and reflect:

Jesus was hungry for fruit on the fig tree. He came to it seeking fruit.

Likewise, every morning He approaches every soul, hungry for the fruit of the Spirit.

“Bear fruits worthy of repentance.” (Luke 3:8)

He says:

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2)

On that morning, He drew near to those who were in the temple—but found no fruit—and so He cast them out.

This cursed fig tree had attracted many hungry souls, but it provided no nourishment. So the Lord revealed to His disciples its deception, saying:

“Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” (Mark 11:14)

This was not only judgment but mercy, that none of His children be deceived by it again.

✥ Blessed Be His Holy Name

Blessed is our God the One who alone works wonders

In this hour, we are faced with two fig trees—

One that grows from the earth,
and one that rises within the walls of the temple.
- Both had the appearance of life.
- Both had leaves.
- But both ended in a curse.

The natural fig tree, as God designed it, should have produced fruit before or at least alongside its leaves.

But this tree put on a show—full of leaves, but with no fruit.

And so the Lord came near, hungry—not just for figs, but for truth—and found it empty.

So too, the spiritual fig tree—His holy temple—was full of outward signs: adoption, glory, covenants, the Law, worship, promises… (Romans 9:4).

But it bore no fruit of reverence, no fear of God, no love for truth.

Instead, it became a place of trading, cheating, and spiritual showmanship.

A place that looked like a house of God from the outside, but inside, it had become something else.

It was no longer a sanctuary.

It was now, in His words, “a den of thieves.”

Let us not deceive ourselves. The Lord will always come near—seeking fruit. And He will never settle for leaves alone.

May He find in us what He sought in the fig tree. Not noise, not ritual, not pretense—but humble worship, true repentance, and living fruit.

✥ Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ,

who walked by the fig tree and sought fruit, have mercy on us.

Strip us of our disguises.

Tear off our fig leaves.

Expose the truth of who we are, and clothe us in the beauty of Your holiness.

Make us like Adam once more— naked and not ashamed.

May the Lord bless us, transform our hearts and minds, that our homes may stand on the Rock, our hands serve in the harvest, and our hearts long for Heaven. Amen.