Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Wednesday of the Eighth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 145]. Brethren:

10 ¹²The one who thinketh he standeth, let him take heed lest he should fall. ¹³No temptation hath taken you except what belongeth to man; but faithful is God, Who will not let you be tempted above what ye are able, but with the temptation will also make the way out, in order that ye may be able to bear up under it.

¹⁴On which very account, my beloved, be fleeing from idolatry. ¹⁵I speak as to prudent ones; judge ye what I say. ¹⁶The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not communion of the blood of the Christ? The bread which we break, is it not communion of the body of the Christ? ¹⁷For we, who are many, are one bread, one body; for we all partake of the one bread. ¹⁸See Israel according to the flesh: They who eat the sacrifices of the altar are communicants, are they not? ¹⁹What say I then? That an idol is anything, or that a sacrifice to idols is anything? ²⁰But I say that what the nations sacrifice they sacrifice to demons, and not to God; and I do not wish you to become communicants of the demons. ²¹Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; ye cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. ²²Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 68]. At that time:

16 ²⁰Jesus gave express orders to His disciples that they should say to no one that He is Jesus the Christ.

²¹From that time, Jesus began to show to His disciples that it is necessary for Him to go away to Jerusalem, and to suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised the third day. ²²And Peter took Him to himself and began to rebuke Him, saying, “May God be gracious to Thee, Lord; this in no wise shall be to Thee.” ²³But He turned and said to Peter, “Get thee behind Me, Satan; thou art an offense to Me, for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men.” ²⁴Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone is willing to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and keep on following Me.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our venerable Fathers Symeon of Emesa, the fool for Christ's sake, and John, his fellow ascetic, and the holy Prophet Ezekiel (commemorated on some Gk. calendars on the 23^rd of July).

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 129]. Brethren:

3 ¹⁸Let no one be deceiving himself. If anyone among you think himself to be wise in this age, let him become foolish, in order that he might become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it hath been written: “He taketh the wise in their own craftiness [cf. Job 5:13]”; ²⁰and again, “The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain [cf. Ps. 93(94):11].” ²¹Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: ²²whether Paul, or Apollos, or Kephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things coming—all are yours. ²³And ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Gospel

No reading given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

August 3rd – Civil Calendar
July 21st – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Prophet Ezekiel.

The son of a priest from the city of Sarir, he was taken into captivity in Babylon with King Jehoiachin and many other Israelites. Living in captivity, Ezekiel prophesied for twenty-seven years. He was a contemporary of the Prophet Jeremias. As Jeremias taught and prophesied in Jerusalem, so Ezekiel taught and prophesied in Babylon. Jeremias’ prophecies were known in Babylon, as were Ezekiel’s in Jerusalem. Both these holy men were in agreement in their prophecy, and they were both ill-treated and tormented by the faithless Jewish people. Ezekiel had vivid and indescribable visions. By the River Chebar, he saw the heavens open, and a cloud like fire and lightning, and four living creatures like molten copper. One of the living creatures had the face of a man, the second that of a lion, the third that of a calf and the fourth that of an eagle. The human face signified God incarnate as man, the lion’s face His divinity, the calf’s His sacrifice and the eagle’s His Resurrection and Ascension. In another image, he was shown the resurrection of the dead. The prophet saw a valley filled with the dry bones of the dead, and when the Spirit of God came upon them, they came to life and stood on their feet. He also saw the terrible destruction of Jerusalem, when the wrath of God cut down all except those who had earlier been marked with the mark, that of the Greek tav, our letter ‘T,’ which is also the sign of the Cross. The malice of the Jews did not spare this holy man. Embittered against him for having denounced them, the Jews bound him to the tails of horses and he was torn asunder. He was buried in the self-same place in which Shem the son of Noah was buried.

2. Our Holy Fathers Simeon and John.

These two young men left their homes and kinsfolk in Syria: Simeon his old mother and John his wife, and were made monks in the community of St. Gerasimos, at the hands of Abbot Nikon. They went off into the desert, where they spent many years in the strictest asceticism. They mortified their bodies with this ascesis until they were like two pieces of dry wood. One day, Simeon said to John that, at God’s command, he must leave the desert and return to the company of men, there to serve God as a fool-for-Christ. John gave him this advice: ‘Keep your heart from all that you see in the world. Whatever there may be that touches your hand, let it not take hold of your heart. When food passes your lips, let not your heart be sweetened by it. If your feet have to move, let there be peace within you. Whatever you do outwardly, let your mind remain tranquil. Pray for me, that God may not part us from each other in the world to come.’ Holy Simeon accepted his friend’s advice, embraced him and then left the desert and went among men, to teach them through folly and turn them to the Christian Faith. He made himself appear mad to men, but his heart was a temple of the Holy Spirit, a temple of unceasing prayer. He had abundant gifts from God, having discernment into all men’s secrets, both close at hand and afar off, and healed men of evil spirits and other infirmities. Dancing through the streets like a madman, he drew near to people and whispered their sins in their ears, calling them to repentance. He appeared to sinners in dreams, reprimanding them for their sins and calling them also to repentance. Thus St. Simeon appeared in a dream to a pagan actor, Bali, who publicly mocked the holy things of the Christians. He rebuked him and threatened him, and Bali repented and became a good Christian. A dissolute youth went out of his mind with lust. Seeing him, St. Simeon, feigning madness, struck him a blow on the face, and said: ‘Do not commit adultery!’ At that moment, the unclean spirit left the young man and he was healed.

3. St. Victor.

He suffered in Marseilles in the third century. After harsh torture, he was thrown into prison, where he converted the guards to the Christian Faith. He died by crucifixion.

FOR CONSIDERATION, From “My Life in Christ”—St. John of Kronstadt.

When you are struck by other people’s suffering, and the contraction of their souls, so that you are induced to pray for them with a pitying and contrite heart, pray to God to have mercy upon them and to forgive them their sins, as you would pray for the forgiveness of your own sins—that is, implore God with tears to pardon them; likewise pray for the salvation of others as you would pray for your own salvation. If you attain to this and make it a habit, you will receive from God an abundance of spiritual gifts, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Who loves the soul that cares for the salvation of others, because He Himself, the most Holy Spirit, wishes to save us all in every possible way, if only we do not oppose Him, and do not harden our hearts. “The Spirit Himself intercedeth for us with unutterable groanings (Rom. 8:26).”

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.