Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Thursday of the Second Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ 89]. Brethren:

5 ¹⁰If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. ¹¹And not only so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we now received the reconciliation.

¹²Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and thus death passed to all men, on account of which all have sinned— ¹³for until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not reckoned where there is no law. ¹⁴But death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression, who is a type of the coming One. ¹⁵But not as the offense, so much also is the free gift: For if through the offense of the one many died, much more the grace of God and the gift in grace which is of the one Man, Jesus Christ, did abound to the many. ¹⁶And not as through one who sinned is the gift: For on the one hand the judgment was out of one offense, but on the other hand the free gift was out of many offenses to justification.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 27]. At that time:

8 ²³After Jesus embarked into the ship, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, so that the ship was covered by the waves; but He was sleeping. ²⁵And His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us; we are perishing.” ²⁶And He saith to them, “Why are ye cowardly, O ye of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. ²⁷And the men wondered, saying, “What manner of man is this One, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the third finding of the precious head of the holy and glorious prophet, forerunner, and Baptist John.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§§ 176, 177]. Brethren:

4 ⁶It is God Who said, “Let there be light [cf. Gen. 1:3]” to shine out of darkness, Who shined in our hearts, for the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the preeminence of the power may be of God, and not from us. ⁸In every way we are afflicted, but not straitened; we are at a loss, but not utterly at a loss; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; cast down, but not destroyed— ¹⁰always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. ¹¹For we, the living, are always being delivered to death on account of Jesus, that also the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. ¹²So that indeed death energizeth itself in us, but life in you. ¹³But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which hath been written: “I believed, wherefore I spoke [Ps. 115(116):1(10)],” we also believe, and therefore speak, ¹⁴knowing that the One Who raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also through Jesus, and shall present us with you. ¹⁵For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, which abounded through the majority, might cause the giving of thanks to abound more to the glory of God.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 40]. At that time:

11 ²After John heard in the prison the works of the Christ, he sent two of his disciples, ³and said to Him, “Art Thou the coming One, or do we look for another?” ⁴And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what ye are hearing and seeing: ⁵“the blind are recovering their sight and the lame are walking; the lepers are being cleansed and the deaf are hearing; the dead are being raised and the poor are being preached the Gospel. ⁶“And happy is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me.” ⁷And as these went their way, Jesus began to say to the crowds concerning John, “What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? A reed being shaken by the wind? ⁸“But what went ye out to see? A man who hath been clothed in soft garments? Behold, those wearing soft garments are in the houses of kings. ⁹“But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say to you, and much more than a prophet. ¹⁰“For this is he about whom it hath been written: ‘Behold, I send forth My messenger before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee [cf. Mal. 3:1].’ ¹¹“Verily I say to you, there hath not arisen among those born of women a greater than John the Baptist; but the least in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. ¹²“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of the heavens is being taken by force, and the forceful seize it. ¹³“For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. ¹⁴“And if ye are willing to receive it, he is Elias, who is about to come. ¹⁵“The one who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

June 7th – Civil Calendar
May 25th – Church Calendar

1. The Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Baptist.

In the eighth century, during a period of fierce iconoclasm, the head of St. John the Baptist was taken to Comana, the place of St. John Chrysostom’s exile. When the iconoclast persecution ended in 850, in the time of the Emperor Michael and Patriarch Ignatius, the honored head of St. John was taken to Constantinople and placed in the church at the imperial court.

2. The Hieromartyr Therapon, Bishop of Cyprus.

A monk and ascetic on the island of Cyprus, he was worthy of episcopal rank, and during a persecution of Christians, was found worthy of a yet higher crown: that of martyrdom. His body at first rested in a church in Cyprus, but during the reign of the Emperor Nikephoros, in 806, the Hagarenes fell upon Cyprus. Therapon appeared to the verger, told him that the infidel was about to attack Cyprus and ordered him to have his relics transferred to Constantinople. The verger saw to this at once. When the ship with the casket put to sea, a great storm arose, but the sea around the ship remained calm and a sweet perfume spread from the casket around the whole ship and the surrounding area. Then the verger opened it, and they saw that it was full of myrrh, which flowed from the saint’s relics. Many of the sick anointed themselves with this myrrh and were restored to health. A church was built in Constantinople over the relics of the wonder-working saint, which continued to give healing to all who gathered round them with faith. The gravest diseases were healed by St. Therapon’s relics: paralysis, cancer, hemorrhage, insanity, blindness, tuberculosis and other maladies.

3. The Holy Martyrs Pasikratees, Valention, Julius and others.

They were Roman soldiers, and suffered for Christ in about 302 in Macedonian Dorostolon (Silistra). When Pasikratees’ brother, Papianos (who had apostatised from Christ through fear), came to his brother and tried to persuade him to renounce Christ and stay alive, St. Pasikratees replied: ‘Get away from me; you are no brother of mine!’ Pasikratees and Valention (Valentine) were beheaded together. At his trial, Julius said: ‘I am a war veteran, and have served the emperor faithfully for twenty-six years. And, having been faithful till now in lesser things, how can I not be faithful in the things that are greater, to the heavenly kingdom and its King?’ Then Nikanor was brought before the prefect, Maximus. Nikanor’s wife encouraged her husband to die for the sake of Christ. ‘You stupid old woman,’ Maximus hurled at her, ‘Are you after a better husband?’ She replied: ‘If you think that of me, give the order to have me killed now, before my husband!’ Marcian also perished with Nikanor. His wife came to the place of execution, carrying their son in her arms. Marcian kissed his son and prayed: ‘O almighty God, do Thou take care of him!’ And they were all then slain and entered into the kingdom of Christ.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Some ignorant people think more about the end of the world than that of their own lives, although it is evident that, when a man comes to the end of his life, he reaches the end of the world also. A certain brother standing in the presence of St. Seraphim of Sarov was turning over in his mind how he would ask the saint about the end of the world. St. Seraphim perceived his thoughts and said to him: ‘My joy, you rate poor Seraphim too highly; how could I know when the end of the world will be, and that great day when the Lord shall judge the living and the dead, giving to each according to his works? No, no; it is impossible for me to know about it.’ And if the saints could not know, how could we poor sinners find out? And to what purpose would we know that which the Savior Himself did not find it needful for us to know? It is far better to consider that our death will come before the end of the world than to contemplate the possibility of the world’s ending before we die.

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.