Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Special Commemorations

The Saturday Before the Nativity of Christ

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 205]. Brethren:

3 ⁸The Scripture, having foreseen that God justifieth the nations by faith, proclaimed the good tidings beforehand to Abraham that “in thee all the nations shall be blessed [cf. Gen. 12:3].” ⁹Therefore those who are of faith are being blessed with the faithful Abraham. ¹⁰For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse; for it hath been written: “Cursed is everyone who continueth not in all the things which have been written in the book of the law to do them [cf. Deut. 27:26].” ¹¹Now that no one is being justified by the law before God is manifest, for “the just shall live by faith [cf. Hab. 2:4].” ¹²And the law is not of faith, but “the man who doeth these things shall live in them [cf. Lev. 18:5].”

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 72]. The Lord said this parable:

13 ¹⁸“To what is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I liken it? ¹⁹“It is like a grain of mustard, which a man took and cast into his own garden; and it grew and became a great tree, and the birds of the heaven settled in its branches.” ²⁰And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? ²¹“It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of wheat meal until the whole was leavened.”

²²And He was going through, by cities and villages, teaching, and making His way toward Jerusalem. ²³And one said to Him, “Lord, are they few who are being saved?” And He said to them, ²⁴“Be striving to enter in through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in and shall not be able. ²⁵“From the time when the Master of the house riseth and shutteth the door, and ye begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us,’ and He shall answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where ye are from,’ ²⁶“then ye shall begin to say, ‘We ate before Thy face and drank, and Thou didst teach in our streets.’ ²⁷“But He shall say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where ye are from; stand off from Me, all ye workers of unrighteousness.’ ²⁸“There shall be there the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth, whenever ye see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and ye yourselves being cast out. ²⁹“And they shall come from the east and west, and from the north and south, and shall be made to recline in the kingdom of God.”

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Saturday of the Twenty-Ninth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians [§ mid 220]. Brethren:

2 ¹¹Be remembering that once ye, the Gentiles in the flesh—the ones who are called uncircumcision by what is called circumcision in the flesh made by hand— ¹²that at that time ye were without Christ, having been alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus ye who once were afar off came to be near by the blood of the Christ.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 74]. At that time:

14 ¹Jesus entered into a house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a sabbath to eat bread; and they themselves were watching Him closely. ²And behold, there was a certain man before Him suffering from dropsy. ³And Jesus, answering, spoke to the doctors of the law and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?” ⁴But they became silent. And He took hold of him, and healed him, and let him go. ⁵And He answered and said to them, “Who is there among you, whose son or ox shall fall into a well, and he will not straightway draw him up on the sabbath day?” ⁶And they were not able to answer Him again to these things. ⁷And He was speaking a parable to those who were invited, aiming at how they kept on choosing for themselves the chief places, saying to them, ⁸“Whenever thou art invited by anyone to wedding festivities, do not begin to recline at table in the chief place, lest perchance one more honorable than thou may have been invited by him; ⁹“and the one who invited thee and him, having come, shall say to thee, ‘Give this one place’; and then thou begin with shame to occupy the lowest place. ¹⁰“But whenever thou art invited, go and recline at table in the lowest place, that whenever the one who hath invited thee should come, he might say to thee, ‘Friend, go up higher’; then there shall be honor to thee before those who recline at table with thee. ¹¹“For everyone who exalteth himself shall be humbled, and the one who humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Martyr Sebastian at Rome and his companions. The commemoration of our holy father among the saints, Modestos, Archbishop of Jerusalem (commemorated on Gk. calendar on the 16^th of December).

Epistle

No reading given.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 11]. The Lord said to His disciples:

5 ¹⁴“Ye are the light of the world. A city situated on the top of a mountain cannot be hid. ¹⁵“Nor do they light a lamp and put it under the bushel, but upon the lampstand, and it giveth light to all those in the house. ¹⁶“Thus, let your light shine before men, that they might see your good works, and might glorify your Father Who is in the heavens.

¹⁷“Do not begin to think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets; I came not to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸“For verily I say to you, until the heaven and the earth shall have passed away, one iota or one tittle in no wise shall pass away from the law, until all shall have taken place. ¹⁹“Whosoever then shall break one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whosoever shall do and teach them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

December 31st – Civil Calendar
December 18th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Sebastian and those with him.

This glorious martyr of Christ was born in Italy and brought up in the city of Milan. He was destined in his youth to be a soldier, and as an educated, handsome and courageous man, commended himself to the Emperor Diocletian, who made him captain of the imperial guard. He secretly confessed the Christian Faith, and prayed to the living God. An honorable, upright and merciful man, Sebastian was greatly loved by his soldiers. Whenever possible, he saved Christians from torture and death, and when this was not possible, gave them courage to die for Christ the living God without turning back. Two brothers, Marcus and Marcellinus, who were in prison for Christ and already on the verge of denying Him and worshipping idols, were confirmed in their faith and strengthened in their martyrdom by Sebastian. As he spoke with them, exhorting them not to fear death for Christ, his face was illumined like that of an angel of God. Sebastian supported his words by marvels: he healed Zoë the wife of Nicostratus the jailer, who had been dumb for six years, and brought Nicostratus and his whole household to Baptism; he healed the two sick sons of Claudius the commander, and brought him and his whole household also to Baptism; he healed Tranquillianus, the father of Marcus and Marcellinus, of gout and pains in his legs which had troubled him for eleven years, and brought him to Baptism together with his whole household; he healed the Roman Eparch, Chromatius, of the same infirmity and brought him and his son Tiburtius to Baptism. Of these, Zoë was the first to suffer, being seized while at prayer beside the tomb of the Apostle Peter. After torture, she was thrown into the Tiber River. Then Tiburtius was seized, and the judge placed live coals before him, challenging him to choose life or death: to cast incense on the coals and cense the idols, or to stand himself barefoot on the coals. St. Tibertius made the sign of the Cross and stood barefoot on the coals, and remained unharmed. He was then beheaded with the sword. Nicostratus was killed with a stake, Tranquillianus was drowned and Marcus and Marcellinus were run through by spears. Then Sebastian was taken before the Emperor Diocletian. The emperor rebuked him for his betrayal, but he said: ‘I always pray to my Christ for your health, and for the peace of the Roman Empire.’ The emperor ordered that he be stripped and shot at with arrows. The soldiers then shot at him, until the martyr’s whole body was so covered with arrows that it was invisible beneath them. When they thought that he was dead, he showed himself alive and healed of all his wounds. Then the pagans beat him to death with staves. He suffered gloriously for Christ his Lord and entered into the heavenly kingdom in 287, when Gaius was Bishop of Rome.

2. St. Florus, Bishop of Amisos.

He lived in the time of the Emperors Justin II (565-574) and Maurice (582-602), being the son of a nobleman. He forsook the bustle and vanity of the world and withdrew to a monastery, to live in asceticism for the salvation of his soul. He was then chosen as bishop of the town of Amisos in Cappadocia. As an ascetic and a hierarch, he was pleasing to God and entered peacefully into His kingdom.

3. St. Modestos, Patriarch of Jerusalem.

He was only five months old when his parents died, but by God’s providence, he was brought up in a Christian spirit. When he was grown up, he was sold as a slave to a pagan in Egypt, but he succeeded in bringing his owner to the Christian Faith, and he freed him. He withdrew to Mount Sinai, where he lived in asceticism. He was then chosen as Patriarch of Jerusalem, and governed Christ’s flock like a true shepherd, entering peacefully into rest in 634.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Man is presented with a choice in this life: the kingdom of this world or the kingdom of heaven. God puts no pressure on this choice, but each man chooses freely. When the brothers Marcus and Marcellinus were condemned to death, the pagan judge left them for a month to ponder on whether they would deny Christ and His kingdom, or be put to death. Their kinsmen came to the prison with one sort of advice, and Sebastian with another. Their kinsmen wept and implored them to do what the judge wanted and spare their youth. Their tearful father showed them his grey hairs and his infirmity; their mother besought them by the milk of the breasts by which she nourished them; their children wept around them. They all in concert urged them to reject the heavenly kingdom for the sake of the earthly, but holy Sebastian counseled the opposite, saying: ‘O courageous soldiers of Christ, do you mean to lose the eternal wreath for the sake of the flattery of your kinsmen? Do you mean to lower the banner of victory for the sake of women’s tears? This life is transient, and so unworthy and faithless that it cannot save even those who love it. What is this life worth, even if we live a hundred years? When the last day dawns, will not all our past years and all earthly delights seem as though they had never been? It is indeed folly to fear the loss of this fleeting life, when one will receive that eternal life in which delight, riches and rejoicing begin, the life that has no end. Remember the Lord’s words: “A man’s foes shall be they of his own household’’ (Matt. 10:36). They are no friends of yours, who are trying to turn you from God.’ With these and many other words, Sebastian prevailed, and the holy martyrs sought the kingdom of heaven rather than the earthly, and joyfully went to their death for Christ.

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.