Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Friday of the Thirty-First Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the General Epistle of Saint Iakovos [§ 52]. Brethren:

2 ¹Cease having, with respect of persons, the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of the glory. ²For if a gold-ringed man in splendid apparel should enter into your congregation, and a poor man in dirty apparel should also enter, ³and ye have regard for him wearing the splendid apparel, and say to him, “Sit thou in this good place,” and say to the poor man, “Stand thou there,” or “Sit thou here down beside my footstool,” ⁴ye also made a distinction in yourselves, did ye not, and became judges with evil thoughts? ⁵Hearken, my beloved brethren: God chose for Himself, did He not, the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? ⁶But ye dishonored the poor man. The rich oppress you and drag you to courts of judgment, do they not? ⁷They blaspheme the good name, the one having been invoked upon you, do they not? ⁸If ye indeed fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself [Lev. 19:18],” ye do well; ⁹but if ye have respect of persons, ye work sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whosoever shall keep the whole law, but shall stumble in one point, he hath become guilty of all. ¹¹For the One Who said, “Do not commit adultery [cf. Ex. 20:13(14)],” also said, “Do not commit murder [cf. Ex. 20:15(13)].” Now if thou shalt not commit adultery, but shalt murder, thou hast become a transgressor of the law. ¹²In this manner be speaking and in this manner be doing, as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom. ¹³For the judgment shall be merciless to him who rendered no mercy. Mercy boasteth against judgment.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 46]. The Lord said to His disciples:

For Gk. usage, see Mk. 10:24-32; for Sl. usage, see Mk. 10:23-32.

Sl. usage begins, Mk. 10:23, as follows:

10 ²³“How with difficulty shall they who have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” ²⁴And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus, having answered again, saith to them, “Children, how difficult it is for those who have trusted in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! [Go to verse 25.]

Gk. usage begins, Mk. 10:24. as follows:

10 ²⁴“How difficult it is for those who have trusted in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

²⁵“It is easier for a camel to enter through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” ²⁶And they were exceedingly amazed, saying to themselves, “And who is able to be saved?” ²⁷And Jesus, looking at them, saith, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” ²⁸And Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we left all and followed Thee.” ²⁹And Jesus answered and said, “Verily I say to you, there is no one who left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields, on account of Me and on account of the Gospel, ³⁰“who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses, and brothers, and sisters, and father, and mother, and children, and lands, with persecutions—and in the age that is coming, life everlasting. ³¹“But many who are first shall be last, and the last first.”

³²And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was leading them forth, and they were astounded; and while they followed, they were afraid.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Afterfeast of Nativity, and the Synaxis of our most holy Lady the Theotokos, and Hieromartyr Efthymios, Bishop of Sardis.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 306]. Brethren:

2 ¹¹Both He Who sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one; for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, ¹²saying, “I will announce Thy name to My brethren, in the midst of the church will I hymn Thee [cf. Ps. 21(22):22]”; ¹³and again, “I will trust in Him [cf. Is. 8:17]”; and again, “Behold, I and the children whom God gave Me [Is. 8:18].” ¹⁴Since then the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He also Himself in like manner partook of the same, in order that through death He might bring to nought the one who hath the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and might set free those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. ¹⁶For surely He taketh not hold of the nature of the angels, but He taketh hold of the seed of Abraham. ¹⁷Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like His brethren, that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, in order to be made an expiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸For having Himself been tempted in that which He suffered, He is able to help those who are tempted.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 4].

2 ¹³After the Magi departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, and take the young Child and His Mother, and flee thou into Egypt, and be thou there until I should tell thee; for Herod is about to seek the young Child, to destroy Him.” ¹⁴And he arose and took the young Child and His Mother by night and departed into Egypt, ¹⁵and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled that which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son [cf. Hos. 11:1].” ¹⁶Then Herod, after he saw that he was mocked by the Magi, was angered exceedingly. And he sent forth and killed all the male children that were in Bethlehem and in all her borders, from two years old and under, according to the time which he inquired carefully from the Magi. ¹⁷Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet, saying, ¹⁸“A voice in Rama was heard, lamentation and weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not [cf. Jer. 38(31):15].” ¹⁹But after Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰saying, “Arise, and take the young Child and His Mother, and go into the land of Israel; for they who sought the soul of the young Child have died.” ²¹And he arose and took the young Child and His Mother, and came into the land of Israel. ²²But after he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judæa instead of Herod his father, he was afraid to go there. And having been divinely warned in a dream, he withdrew into the parts of Galilee. ²³And he came and dwelt in a city which is called Nazareth, in order that it might be fulfilled that which was spoken by the prophets, that He shall be called a Nazarene.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

January 8th – Civil Calendar
December 26th – Church Calendar

1. The Synaxis of the Most Holy Mother of God.

On the second day of Nativity, the Christian Church gives glory and praise to the most holy Mother of God, who bore our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. This feast is called a ‘general commemoration’ because, on this day, all the faithful come together to glorify her, the Mother of God, and to celebrate a triumphant, common feast in her honor. In Ochrid, it has been the custom from time immemorial that, on the eve of the second day of Nativity, Vespers has been celebrated only in the church of the Mother of God, the Chieftain. All the clergy and people there together glorify the most pure Mother of God.

2. Commemoration of the Flight into Egypt.

The Magi, astrologers from the East, having worshipped the Lord in Bethlehem, returned home, at the command of an angel, another way. Herod, that wicked king, planned to slaughter all the children in Bethlehem, but God saw Herod’s intention and sent His angel to Joseph. The angel of God spoke to Joseph in a dream and commanded him to take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Joseph did this. Taking the divine Child and His most pure Mother, he traveled first to Nazareth (Lk. 2:39), where he set his household affairs in order and then, taking his son Iakovos with them, went off to Egypt (Matt. 2:14). And so the words of the prophet: ‘The Lord, riding upon a swift cloud, shall come into Egypt’ (Is. 19:1), were fulfilled. In old Cairo today the cave where the holy travelers lived can be seen, and in the village of Matarea near Cairo, the tree remains under which the Mother of God rested with the Lord Jesus, where a miraculous spring of water sprang up under the tree. They lived in Egypt for several years, and then the travelers returned to Palestine in response to a command by an angel of God. And so a second prophecy was fulfilled: ‘Out of Egypt have I called My Son’ (Hosea 11:1). Herod was dead, and on his bloodstained throne sat a worthy successor in his wicked son Archelaus. Joseph, hearing that Archelaus was reigning in Jerusalem, returned to Galilee, to his town of Nazareth, where he settled in his own home. Galilee was at that time ruled by another of Herod’s sons, Herod the Younger, who was somewhat better than his wicked brother Archelaus.

3. Our Holy Father Evarestos.

Reading the works of St. Ephraim the Syrian, he abandoned the diplomatic service and became a monk. He was very strict with himself and wore chains on his body, eating dry bread only once a week. He lived for seventy-five years, and went to the Lord in about 825.

4. St. Efthymios the Confessor, Bishop of Sardis.

He took part in the Seventh Ecumenical Council, and spent about thirty years in exile for his veneration of icons. Under the Emperor Theophilus the Iconoclast, he was flogged with bull-whips, during which he died a martyr in 840 and received a wreath of glory in heaven.

5. Our Holy Father Constantine of Synnada.

He was a Jew who came to the Christian Faith. When the Cross was made on his head at his Baptism, it remained visible there till his death in Constantinople in the seventh century. He is famed for his fasting and for his many miracles. He foretold the day of his death seven years in advance.

FOR CONSIDERATION

A story of the divine Christ-Child: When Mary and Joseph were fleeing before Herod’s sword to Egypt, brigands leapt out into the road to steal what they could. Righteous Joseph was leading the donkey on which were some few possessions and on which the most holy Mother of God was riding with her Son at her breast. The robbers seized the donkey, meaning to lead it away. At that moment, one of the robbers went across to the Mother of God to see what she had at her breast. Seeing the Christ-Child, the robber marveled at His beauty and said in wonder: ‘If God were to take human flesh Himself, He would not be more beautiful than this child!’ and the robber told his fellows to take nothing from these travelers. Full of gratitude to this kindly robber, the Mother of God said to him: ‘This Child will reward you richly for having spared Him today’. Thirty-three years later, this same robber was crucified for his wrongdoing on the right of Christ’s cross. His name was Dismas, while the name of the robber on the left was Gestas. Looking at Christ the Lord, crucified in His innocence, Dismas repented of his whole life, and while Gestas reviled the Lord, Dismas rebuked his fellow-robber, saying: ‘He has done no evil’. Dismas is, then, that penitent thief to whom the Lord said: ‘Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise’ (Lk.23:41-43). Thus the Lord rewarded with Paradise him who had spared Him in childhood.

Daily Scripture Readings taken from The Orthodox New Testament, translated and published by Holy Apostles Convent, Buena Vista, Colorado, copyright © 2000, used with permission, all rights reserved.

Daily Prologue Readings taken from The Prologue of Ochrid, by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic, translated by Mother Maria, published by Lazarica Press, Birmingham, England, copyright © 1985, all rights reserved. Edited by Dormition Skete.