Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Tuesday of the Thirty-Fourth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second General Epistle of Saint Peter [§ 67]. Beloved:

2 ⁹The Lord knoweth how to deliver the pious out of temptation, and to keep the unjust who are under punishment until a day of judgment, ¹⁰and, most of all, those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement and despise dominion. They are daring, self-willed! They tremble not at blaspheming dignities; ¹¹whereas angels, who are greater in strength and power, do not bring a reviling condemnation against them before the Lord. ¹²But these—as irrational animals, in accordance with nature, having been born for capture and corruption, blaspheming in which things they are ignorant—shall be destroyed in their corruption, ¹³and are about to receive the wages of unrighteousness, since they deem it pleasure living softly in the day. Spots they are and blemishes, revelling in their deceits, feasting with you, ¹⁴having eyes full of an adulteress and of incessant sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart which hath been exercised with greedy desires, children of a curse! ¹⁵Forsaking the straight way, they were led astray, following the way of Balaam, son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. ¹⁶But he had reproof of his own transgression of the law: the dumb beast of burden which spoke in a man’s voice hindered the madness of the prophet. ¹⁷These are waterless fountains, clouds being driven by a storm, for whom the gloom of darkness hath been kept forever. ¹⁸For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they entice with the desires of the flesh, by licentious acts, the ones who verily escape from those who conduct themselves in error, ¹⁹promising them freedom who are themselves slaves of corruption; for by whom anyone hath been defeated, by the same hath he been enslaved. ²⁰For if, after they escaped the pollutions of the world by a full knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they then are again entangled in these and defeated, the last state hath become worse to them than the first. ²¹For it would have been better for them not to have acknowledged the way of righteousness, than, having acknowledged it, to have turned from the holy commandment which was delivered to them. ²²But the word of the proverb hath happened to them: “The dog returned to its own vomit [cf. Prov. 26:11]”; and, “The sow, having washed herself, to her wallowing in the mire.”

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 60]. The Lord said to His disciples:

13 ¹⁴“Whenever ye see ‘the abomination of the desolation [cf. Dan. 9:27, 12:11],’ which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not—the one who readeth, let him understand—then let those in Judæa flee to the mountains. ¹⁵“And the one who is on the housetop, let him not come down into the house, nor go in to take away anything out of his house. ¹⁶“And the one who is in the field, let him not return to the things behind, to take up his outer garment. ¹⁷“And woe to those who are with child, and to those who give suck in those days! ¹⁸“But be praying that your flight might not take place in winter. ¹⁹“For there shall be affliction in those days, such as hath not been the like from the beginning of creation which God created until the present, and never shall be. ²⁰“And if the Lord did not shorten those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose for Himself, He shortened the days. ²¹“And then if anyone should say to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ; behold, there,’ do not begin to believe it. ²²“For false christs and false prophets shall be raised up, and shall produce signs and wonders, with a view to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²³“Be taking heed; behold, I have told you all things beforehand.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Meeting of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 316]. Brethren:

7 ⁷Apart from all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. ⁸And here on the one hand men that die receive tithes, but there on the other hand he receiveth tithes who is being witnessed to that he liveth. ⁹And so to speak, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, hath been tithed through Abraham, ¹⁰for he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchisedek met him. ¹¹If indeed then perfection were through the Levitical priesthood—for the people upon the basis of it had been furnished the law—what need still was there for a different kind of priest to arise according to the order of Melchisedek, and not to be called according to the order of Aaron? ¹²For the priesthood being transposed, of necessity a change of law also taketh place. ¹³For He of Whom these things are spoken hath belonged to a different tribe, of which no one hath given attendance at the altar. ¹⁴For it is clear that our Lord hath sprung out of Juda, as to which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. ¹⁵And it is yet more abundantly manifest since, according to the likeness of Melchisedek, there did arise a different priest, ¹⁶Who hath not become so according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an indissoluble life. ¹⁷For He testifieth, “Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek [Ps. 109(110):4].”

Gospel

In the Orthros

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 8]. At that time:

2 ²⁵There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Symeon, and this man was just and pious, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶And it had been divinely revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he should see the Christ of the Lord. ²⁷And he came in the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents were bringing in the little Child Jesus, in order to do for Him according to the custom of the law, ²⁸he also received Him into his arms and blessed God and said, ²⁹“Now lettest Thy slave depart in peace, O Master, according to Thy word; ³⁰“for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, ³¹“which Thou didst prepare before the face of all the peoples, ³²“a light for revelation to the nations and the glory of Thy people Israel.”

In the Liturgy

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 7]. At that time:

2 ²²The parents of the Child Jesus brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord ²³(even as it hath been written in the law of the Lord: “Every male that openeth a womb shall be called holy to the Lord [cf. Ex. 13:2, 12]”), ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to that which hath been said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons [cf. Lev. 5:11; 12:8].” ²⁵And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Symeon, and this man was just and pious, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶And it had been divinely revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he should see the Christ of the Lord. ²⁷And he came in the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents were bringing in the little Child Jesus, in order to do for Him according to the custom of the law, ²⁸he also received Him into his arms and blessed God and said, ²⁹“Now lettest Thy slave depart in peace, O Master, according to Thy word; ³⁰“for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, ³¹“which Thou didst prepare before the face of all the peoples, ³²“a light for revelation to the nations and the glory of Thy people Israel.” ³³And Joseph and His Mother were marvelling at the things which were spoken concerning Him. ³⁴And Symeon blessed them, and said to Mariam His Mother, “Behold, this One is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel, and for a sign which is contradicted— ³⁵“and as to thee a sword shall go through thine own soul also—in order that the reckonings of many hearts might be revealed.” ³⁶And there was Anna, a prophetess, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser. She was advanced in many days, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. ³⁷And she was a widow about eighty-four years, who departed not from the temple, and worshipped God with fastings and entreaties night and day. ³⁸And she, having stood by, at the same hour, was giving thanks to the Lord and kept on speaking about Him to all those waiting for redemption in Jerusalem.

³⁹And when they performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their city Nazareth.

⁴⁰And the little Child was growing and showing Himself strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

February 15th – Civil Calendar
February 2nd – Church Calendar

1. The Meeting of the Lord.

On the fortieth day after His birth, the most holy Virgin brought her divine Son to the temple in Jerusalem, to consecrate Him to the Lord and to purify herself according to the law (Lev. 12:2-7, Exod. 12:2). And though neither the one nor the other was necessary, nevertheless the Lawgiver would not in any way transgress the law which He had given through His servant and prophet Moses. At that time Zacharias, the father of St. John the Baptist, was serving his turn as high priest in the temple. He stood the Virgin Mary in the place for maidens, not that for married women. On this occasion, there were two very special people present: the elder Simeon, and Anna the daughter of Phanuel. Simeon took his Messiah up in his arms and said: ‘Now lettest Thy slave depart in peace, O Master, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.’ Simeon also spoke the following words of the Christ Child: ‘Behold, this One is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel.’ Then Anna, who had from her youth served God in the temple in fasting and prayer, and who herself recognized the Messiah, praised the Lord and made known to the inhabitants of Jerusalem the coming of the awaited One. But the Pharisees, present in the temple and seeing and hearing all that passed, and being vexed with Zacharias for having stood the Virgin Mary in the place for virgins, made this known to King Herod. Believing this to be the new King of Whom the star-followers from the East had spoken, Herod quickly sent to have Jesus killed. But in the meantime, the holy travelers had already escaped from the city and set out for Egypt under the direction of an angel of God. This day has been celebrated from the very earliest times, but its solemn celebration dates from 544, in the time of Emperor Justinian.

2. The Holy New-Martyr Jordan.

Born in Trebizond, he was a coppersmith by profession. For his open defense of the Christian Faith and his denunciation of the falsehood of Islam, he suffered at the hands of the Turks at Galata in Constantinople in 1650. A monk, Gabriel, a reader in the great church in Constantinople, suffered in the same way in 1676.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Speaking of the spread of the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, St. John Chrysostom says: ‘As beautiful and prolific fruit-trees, when planted in the earth, quickly attain a great height and ripen and bear fruit; so with this day.’ So also with the day of the Meeting of the Lord. This day was commemorated among Christians from the beginning, but its solemn celebration began in the time of the great Emperor Justinian. At that time, Constantinople and its surroundings were struck by an epidemic, with five thousand or more people dying every day. At the same time there was a terrible earthquake in Antioch. Seeing the powerlessness of men to avert these catastrophes, the emperor and the patriarch together decided to call for fasting and prayer throughout the whole empire. On the day of the Meeting itself, they arranged processions through the towns and villages to implore the Lord to have mercy on His people. And the Lord did have mercy, the epidemic and the earthquake ceasing instantly. This happened in the year 544. As a result, the Meeting came to be celebrated as a great feast of the Lord. Trees sprout at this time and begin the process of bringing forth their abundant fruit.

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.