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Tuesday of the Second Week
1. The commemoration of the holy Prophet Jeremias, and the venerable Monk- martyrs of Mt. Athos, Efthymios, Ignatios, and Akakios.
No Fasting.
The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 10]. In those days:
4 1As the apostles spoke to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple-guard and the Sadducees came upon them, 2being troubled because they taught the people and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3And they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the morrow, for it was evening already. 4But many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. 5And it came to pass on the morrow, that the rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem, 6and also Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and as many as were of high priestly kindred. 7And having stood them in their midst, they began to inquire, “In what manner of power or in what manner of name did ye do this?” 8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9“If today we are being examined on account of a good deed done to an infirm man, regarding in what manner this man hath been healed, 10“be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazaræan, Whom ye crucified, Whom God raised from the dead, in Him this one standeth before you healthy.”
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 10]. The Lord said to His disciples:
3 16“God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that everyone who believeth in Him should not perish, but may have everlasting life. 17“For God did not send forth His Son into the world in order that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18“The one who believeth in Him is not judged; but the one who believeth not hath already been judged, because he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. 19“And this is the judgment, that the light hath come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil. 20“For everyone who practiseth bad things hateth the light and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved; 21“but the one who doeth the truth cometh to the light, in order that his works might be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God.”
For the Prophet:
The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians [§ 266].
For Gk. usage, see 1 Thess. 2:14-20; for Sl. usage, see 1 Thess. 2:14-19.
2 14Brethren, ye became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judæa in Christ Jesus. For ye also suffered the same things by your own countrymen, even as they have by the Jews, 15who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men, 16forbidding us to speak to the nations that they might be saved, to the end that they fill up their sins always. But the wrath came upon them to the uttermost.
17But we, brethren, having been made orphans from you for an hour’s time—in person, not in heart—endeavored more abundantly to see your face with great desire. 18Wherefore we wished to come to you, indeed I Paul, both once and twice, and yet Satan hindered us. 19For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of boasting? Are not also ye before our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? 20For ye are our glory and joy.
for Sl. usage, see [1 Cor. 14:20-25].
For the venerable Martyrs:
The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ 99]. Brethren:
8 28We know that to those who love God all things work together for good, to those who are called according to purpose. 29For whom He foreknew, He also foreordained to be conformable to the image of His Son, in order for Him to be the firstborn among many brethren. 30But whom He foreordained, these also He called; and whom He called, these also He justified; and whom He justified, these also He glorified. 31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He Who indeed spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring an accusation against the elect of God? God is the One Who justifieth. 34Who is the one who condemneth? Christ is the One Who died, but much more is He the One also Who was raised, Who also is at the right of God, Who also intercedeth for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall affliction, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36Even as it hath been written: “For on account of Thee, we are being put to death the whole day; we were counted as sheep of slaughter [Ps. 43(44):23(22)].” 37But in all these things we more than conquer through the One Who loved us. 38For I have been persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things coming, 39nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 14]. At that time:
4 22 The crowds were wondering at the words of grace which were proceeding out of Jesus’ mouth, and were saying, “This is the Son of Joseph, is it not?” 23And He said to them, “No doubt, ye will say this parable to Me, ‘Physician, heal thyself; as much as we heard was done in Capernaum, do also here in Thy country.’” 24And He said, “Verily I say to you that not one prophet is accepted in his own country. 25“But in truth I say to you, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine arose over all the land; 26“and to not even one of them was Elias sent, except to Sarepta of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27“And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisaios the prophet, and not one of them was cleansed, except Neman the Syrian.” 28And all in the synagogue were filled with anger when they heard these things. 29And they rose up and cast Him outside of the city; and they led Him up to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down headlong. 30But He, having passed through the midst of them, kept going on His way.
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.”
May 14th — Civil Calendar May 1st — Church Calendar
1. The Holy Prophet Jeremiah.
Born 650 years before Christ in the village of Anathoth, not far from Jerusalem, he began to prophesy at an early age, during the reign of King Josiah (Jer. 1:1-19). He preached repentance to the King and nobles and the false prophets and priests, and in the time of that King Josiah, barely escaped death at the hands of the enraged nobles. He prophesied to King Jehoiakim that his burial would be like that of an ass; that is, he would be cast dead out of Jerusalem and his body would be for a long time dragged around the ground without burial (22:18). For this, Jeremiah was thrown into prison. Being unable to write there, he sent for Baruch, who stood outside the window of the prison while Jeremiah dictated to him. When the King read this prophecy, he took the paper in fury and threw it into the fire. By God’s providence, Jeremiah was saved from prison, and the words of the prophecy were fulfilled upon Jehoiakim. He prophesied to King Jeconiah that he would be carried off to Babylon with his whole family and that he would die there, all of which quickly came to pass (24:1; 27:20). Under King Zedekiah, he put a yoke on his neck and walked through Jerusalem prophesying the fall of the city and slavery under the yoke of Babylon (27:2). He wrote to the slaves in Babylon, telling them that they would not return to Jerusalem but would remain for seventy years in Babylon, which came to pass (25:11). In the valley of Topnet, near Jerusalem, where the Jews had brought children to the idols for sacrifice, Jeremiah took a whole pot in his hands and smashed it in front of the people, prophesying the imminent crushing of the Jewish Kingdom (19:10-11). The Babylonians soon over-ran Jerusalem, killed King Zedekiah, burned the city down and utterly destroyed it. They slaughtered an enormous number of Jews in the valley of Topnet, in the place where children had died as sacrifices to idols and where the prophet had broken the pot. Jeremiah, with the Levites, took the Ark out of the Temple and bore it off to the mountain of Nebo, where Moses had died, and hid it in a cave. He hid the fire from the altar in a deep well. He was forced by some Jews to go with them to Egypt, where he lived for four years and was then stoned to death by his countrymen. He prophesied to the Egyptians the destruction of their idols and the coming there of a Virgin with a Child. There is a tradition that Alexander the Great himself visited the grave of the Prophet Jeremiah,* and ordered that his body be moved and buried in Alexandria.
*Author’s note: The Egyptians almost deified St Jeremiah, and they therefore buried him as a king. He was regarded as a wonderworker after his death. The dust from his tomb was taken as a medicine against snake-bite, and today many Christians invoke his help against it.
2. Our Holy Father, the Martyr Acacius the Slipper-Maker.
He was from the village of Neochorion, near Salonica. Being much ill-treated by his master in Serres, he became a Turk. After that, as a penitent and a monk, he lived at Hilandar. His poor and devout mother counselled him: ‘As you voluntarily denied the Lord, so you must now voluntarily and courageously receive martyrdom for our sweet Jesus’. The son obeyed his mother, and with the blessing of the fathers of the Holy Mountain, went off to Constantinople, where he was beheaded by the Turks on May 1st, 1815. His head is preserved in the monastery of St Panteleimon.
3. Our Holy Father Paphnutius of Borovsk.
The son of a Tartar noble who had earlier accepted the Christian faith, he became a monk at the age of twenty and remained in his monastery to the age of ninety-four, when he entered into rest in the Lord. He was a virgin and an ascetic, and because of this, a great wonderworker and clairvoyant. He died in 1478.
FOR CONSIDERATION
Our holy father Paphnutius of Borovsk spoke to his disciples of how a man’s soul and hidden works can be known by external sight. This seemed improbable to his disciples, until this man of God demonstrated it in practice on several occasions. Looking with insight into the destiny of others, he also saw his own. For a week, while still in good health, he prophesied that, on the next Thursday, he would be parted from this world. And when that Thursday dawned, he cried out with joy: ‘This is the Day of the Lord! Rejoice, O ye people! Lo, the expected day has dawned!’ And thus the man waited for death who, through his whole life, had thought on the parting from this world and the meeting with God.
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.
