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 holy Apostle Timothy of the Seventy, and the holy Martyr Anastasios the Persian.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to Saint Timothy [§ mid 290]. Child Timothy:

1 ³I have gratitude toward God, Whom I worship from my forefathers in a pure conscience, as without ceasing I have the remembrance of thee in mine entreaties night and day, ⁴longing to see thee, having been reminded of thy tears, in order that I might be filled full of joy, ⁵when I am put in remembrance of the unhypocritical faith in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and in thy mother Evnike, and I have been persuaded that it is in thee also. ⁶For which cause I remind thee to rekindle the gracious gift of God which is in thee by the laying on of my hands; ⁷for God gave us not a spirit of cowardice, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. ⁸Therefore do thou not become ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor me His prisoner, but suffer hardship with the Gospel, according to God’s power, ⁹Who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages of time.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§§ 38, mid 79]. The Lord said to his disciples:

10 ³²“Everyone who shall confess in Me before men, I also will confess in him before My Father Who is in the heavens. ³³“But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father Who is in the heavens.... ³⁷“The one who loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸“And whosoever taketh not his cross and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me.”...

19 ²⁷Peter answered and said to Him, “Behold, we left all things and followed Thee; what then shall be for us?” ²⁸And Jesus said to them, “Verily I say to you, that ye who followed Me, in the regeneration, whenever the Son of Man shall have taken His seat upon the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹“And everyone who leaveth houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, on account of My name, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit life everlasting. ³⁰“But many who are first shall be last, and the last first.”

for Sl. usage, see [Lk. 10:1-15].

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

February 4th – Civil Calendar
January 22nd – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Apostle Timothy.

One of the Seventy, he was born in Lystra of Lykaonia of a Greek father and a Jewish mother. His mother and grandmother were praised by the Apostle Paul for their sincere faith (2 Tim. 1:4-5). He met the great apostle for the first time in Lystra, and was the only witness of Paul’s healing of the man lame from birth. Later, Timothy was an almost constant travelling companion of Paul’s, visiting Achaia, Macedonia, Italy and Spain with him. A great zealot for the Faith, a superb preacher and of a gentle spirit, Timothy contributed greatly to the spreading and establishing of the Christian Faith. St. Paul called him his own son in the faith (I Tim. 1:2). After Paul’s martyrdom, Timothy had St. John the Evangelist as his teacher. But when the Emperor Domitian exiled John from Ephesus to the island of Patmos, Timothy remained in Ephesus as bishop. At the time of an idolatrous feast called Katagogium, pagans wearing masks, resentful of the Christians, made a merciless attack on St. Timothy and killed him, in about the year 93. His honored relics were later taken to Constantinople and buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles by the graves of St. Luke the Evangelist and St. Andrew the First-Called.

2. Our Holy Father, the Martyr Anastasius.

He was a Persian by birth, with the pagan name of Magundat. When the Emperor Herakleios waged war against the Persians, Magundat deserted to the Christians and went to Jerusalem. There he was baptized and given the name Anastasius. It was not enough for him to be baptized; he also became a monk in order to give himself entirely to the service of God. Among other ascetic practices, he very early read the lives of the holy martyrs, and reading this, wetted the book with his tears, greatly yearning for martyrdom himself. The Lord finally crowned him with the wreath of martyrdom. He lay long in prison and was horribly tortured until King Chozroes condemned him to death. After this condemnation, Anastasius was drowned, then taken out of the water and beheaded by the executioner, who sent his head to the king. Anastasius suffered on January 22nd, 628, in the town of Bethsaloe near Nineveh.

FOR CONSIDERATION

The Orthodox Church possesses an inexhaustible treasure in the evidence of life after death. To note one example among many, one which at the same time witnesses that the spirit of man lives after bodily death and that voluntary obedience brings blessed immortality: when St. Theodosios the Great had founded a monastery, he had at first only seven monks. To establish them well in remembrance of death, he ordered them to dig a grave. When the grave was ready, Theodosios stood over it, gathered the seven of them together and said: ‘Well, my children; the grave is now ready! Is there among you one who is ready for death, to be buried in this grave?’ One of them, a priest called Basil, fell to his knees and besought Theodosios’ blessing to die. Theodosios ordered that the memorial services be held for Basil on the third, ninth and fortieth day, as is the custom for the departed. When the fortieth memorial was finished, Basil, in full health, lay down and died. And he was buried in the new grave. On the fortieth day after his burial, Basil appeared in the morning among the brethren in church and sang with them. At first only Theodosios saw him, but he prayed to God that He would open the eyes of the others. Then all the brethren looked and saw Basil among them. One of the brethren, Letius, joyfully spread his arms wide, intending to embrace Basil, but the latter disappeared. Basil’s voice was heard: ‘Save yourselves, my fathers and brethren, save yourselves!’

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.