Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Wednesday of the Twenty-Third Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians [§ 264].

2 ¹Brethren, ye yourselves know our entrance which we had with you, that it hath not become empty, ²but even after we suffered before and were insulted, as ye know, in Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak to you the Gospel of God in much struggle. ³For our exhortation was not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile. ⁴But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God Who proveth our hearts. ⁵For neither at any time were we found with speech of flattery, even as ye know, nor with a pretext of covetousness, God is witness, ⁶nor seeking glory from men, neither from you, nor from others, though we were able to be burdensome as apostles of Christ. ⁷But we were gentle in your midst, as a nurse would cherish her own children. ⁸Thus being desirous of you, we were well pleased to have imparted to you not only the Gospel of God, but also our own souls, because ye have become beloved to us.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 47]. The Lord said to His disciples:

9 ⁴⁴“Do ye yourselves put these words into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men.” ⁴⁵But they were not understanding this saying, and it was veiled from them, that they should not perceive it; and they were fearing to question Him about this saying. ⁴⁶But a discussion entered in among them—the matter of which of them should be greater. ⁴⁷And Jesus, having perceived the reasoning of their heart, took hold of a little child and set him beside Himself, ⁴⁸and said to them, “Whosoever shall receive this little child in My name receiveth Me; and whosoever shall receive Me receiveth the One Who sent Me forth. For the one who is least among you all, this same one shall be great.”

⁴⁹And John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out the demons in Thy name, and we tried to hinder him, because he followeth not with us.” ⁵⁰And Jesus said to them, “Cease hindering him; for whosoever is not against us is for us.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Colossians [§ mid 260]. Brethren:

For Gk. usage, see Col. 4:5-11, 14-18; for Sl. usage, see Col. 4:5-11, 14, 18.

4 ⁵Be walking in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. ⁶Let your speech always be with grace, which hath been seasoned with salt, to know how ye ought to answer each one.

⁷Tychikos, the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow slave in the Lord, shall make known to you all the things concerning me, ⁸whom I am sending to you for this very thing, in order that he might know the things concerning you and comfort your hearts, ⁹with Onesimos, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known to you all the things here.

¹⁰Aristarchos, my fellow prisoner, greeteth you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas—concerning whom ye received orders; if he should come to you, receive him— ¹¹and Jesus, the one who is called Justos, who are of the circumcision. These are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who became a consolation to me.... ¹⁴Luke the physician, the beloved one, greeteth you, and Demas. ¹⁵Greet the brethren in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church in his house. ¹⁶And whenever the epistle should be read before you, cause that it also be read in the Laodicean Church, and that the epistle from Laodicea should also be read. ¹⁷And say to Archippos, “Be taking heed to the ministry which thou didst receive in the Lord, that thou be fulfilling it.” ¹⁸The greeting of Paul by mine own hand. Be remembering my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 51]. The Lord said to His disciples:

10 ¹⁶“The one who heareth you heareth Me, and the one who rejecteth you rejecteth Me, and the one who rejecteth Me rejecteth the One Who sent Me forth.”

¹⁷And the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are being made subject to us in Thy name.” ¹⁸And He said to them, “I was beholding Satan as lightning having fallen out of the heaven. ¹⁹“Behold, I give you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy; and nothing in anywise shall injure you. ²⁰“However cease rejoicing in this, that the spirits are being made subject to you; but be rejoicing that your names were written in the heavens.” ²¹In the same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit, and said, “I give thanks to Thee, O Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent, and didst reveal them to babes. Yea, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing before Thee.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

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

1. The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke.

Born in Antioch, he applied himself in his youth to the study of Greek philosophy, medicine and art. At the time that the Lord Jesus was at work upon earth, Luke came to Jerusalem, where he saw the Savior face to face, heard His saving teaching and was a witness of His wonderful works. Coming to belief in the Lord, St. Luke was included among the Seventy and sent forth to preach the Gospel. Together with Cleopas, he saw the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24). After the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, Luke returned to Antioch and there became a fellow-worker with the Apostle Paul, with whom he traveled to Rome, bringing Jews and pagans to the Christian Faith. ‘Luke the beloved physician salutes you,’ writes the Apostle Paul to the Colossians (4:14). At the request of the Christians, he wrote his Gospel in about the year 60. After the death by martyrdom of the great apostle, Luke preached the Gospel all over Italy, Dalmatia, Macedonia and elsewhere. He painted forty icons of the most holy Mother of God and also icons of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and is regarded as the founder of Christian iconography. In old age, he visited Libya and Upper Egypt, and thence returned to Greece, where he set himself with great zeal to preach the Gospel and bring men to Christ, disregarding his great age. St. Luke wrote both his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, and dedicated them both to Theophilus, governor of Achaia. He was eighty-four years old when wicked idol-worshippers put him to torture for the sake of Christ and hanged him from an olive tree in the town of Thebes in Greece. The wonder-working relics of this wonderful saint were taken to Constantinople in the time of the Emperor Constantius, son of St. Constantine.

2. St. Peter of Cetinje, Metropolitan of Montenegro.

Born on April 1st, 1749, in the village of Njegusi, he became a monk at the age of twelve. After the death of Metropolitan Sava in 1782, Peter became Metropolitan and Governor of Montenegro. This holy man devoted his whole life to his people. Within Montenegro, he worked with his whole strength to pacify the warring tribes, and externally he defended the land and the people against plundering onslaughts, succeeding in both the one and the other. He is especially famed for his victory over Napoleon’s army in Dalmatia. He was strict with himself, and just and humble towards others. He lived in one tiny cell as a simple monk, although he was governor of a people. He entered into rest on October 18th, 1830, and his wonder-working relics are preserved incorrupt in the monastery of Cetinje. The Lord glorified him in heaven and on earth as His true and patient servant.

3. St. Julian Savvas of Mesopotamia.

St. Julian, called ‘the Hermit,’ was a Persian, an unlettered peasant, and was in the purity of his heart a vessel of the Holy Spirit. He lived in asceticism near the Euphrates in Mesopotamia, and had the gift of insight. At the moment at which Julian the Apostate perished, St. Julian saw him in spirit and told his disciples. St. Julian, the wonderful servant of God, entered into rest in the year 367.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Can a sinner, in the space of ten days, make full repentance of his sin? By the immeasurable grace of God, he can. In the time of the Emperor Maurice, there was a well-known bandit in the region around Constantinople. Both in the countryside and in the capital itself, he inspired fear and trembling. Then the emperor himself sent him a Cross, as a pledge that he would not punish him if he gave himself up. The bandit took the Cross, and did indeed give himself up. Arriving in Constantinople, he fell at the emperor’s feet and begged his forgiveness. The emperor kept his word, had mercy on him and let him go free. Immediately after that, the bandit fell gravely ill and sensed that death was near. He began to repent bitterly of all his sins, and implored God with tears to forgive him as the emperor had. He shed many tears in his prayer, so that the handkerchief with which he wiped them became soaked, and he died after ten days of prayerful weeping. The night of his death, the doctor who had been attending him had a strange vision in a dream: when the bandit on the bed breathed his last, a number of little black men gathered round him, flourishing bits of paper on which his sins were written, and two glorious angels also appeared. A pair of scales was placed in the middle, and the little black men gleefully put all the bits of paper on it, and their side of the scales was loaded while the other was empty. ‘What can we put in?’ the angels asked each other. ‘Let’s look for something good in his life.’ Then there appeared in the hand of one of the angels the handkerchief soaked with tears of repentance. The angels quickly placed it on their side of the scales, and it at once outweighed the other with all its papers. Then the little black men fled, howling in anguish, but the angels took the man’s soul and carried it to Paradise, glorifying God’s love for mankind.

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.