Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Special Commemorations

The Sunday Before the Nativity of Christ: The Commemoration of the Holy Fathers.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 328]. Brethren:

For Gk. usage, read Heb. 11:9, 10, 32-40; for Sl. usage, read Heb. 11:9, 10, 17-23, 32-40.

11 ⁹By faith Abraham sojourned in the land of the promise, as in a foreign land, having dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the joint-heirs of the same promise; ¹⁰for he was waiting for the city which hath the foundations of which the artificer and maker is God....

Sl. usage adds Heb. 11:17-23, and then verses 32-40, but Gk. usage skips to Heb. 11:32-40.

¹⁷By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who received the promises offered up his only-begotten son, ¹⁸as to whom it was said “for in Isaac thy seed shall be called [Gen. 21:12],” ¹⁹reckoning that God was able to raise even from the dead; from which also he received him for himself in a type. ²⁰By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning coming things. ²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and “did reverence upon the top of his staff [Gen. 47:31].” ²²By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention concerning the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave command concerning his bones. ²³By faith Moses, after he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because “they saw the little child was fair [cf. Ex. 2:2],” and they were not afraid of the edict of the king....

Both Gk. and Sl. usages conclude with Heb. 11:32-40.

³²And what more shall I say? For the time will fail me narrating about Gideon and Barak and also Samson and Jephthae, and about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³who through faith struggled against kingdoms, wrought righteousness, attained to promises, stopped mouths of lions, ³⁴quenched the power of fire, escaped the edges of the sword, were empowered out of weakness, became strong in battle, turned back encampments of aliens. ³⁵Women received their dead by resurrection. And others were tortured, not accepting release, that they might attain a better resurrection. ³⁶And others received trial of mockings and of scourgings, and, moreover, of bonds and of imprisonment. ³⁷They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted; they died, murdered by the sword. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in need, afflicted, ill-treated— ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy. They were made to wander in deserts, and in mountains, and in caves, and in the holes of the earth. ³⁹And these all, having been approved by testimony through faith, received not for themselves the promise, ⁴⁰God having foreseen some better thing concerning us, that they should not be made perfect without us.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 1].

1 ¹The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.

²Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren, ³and Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar, and Phares begat Esrom, and Esrom begat Aram, ⁴and Aram begat Aminadab, and Aminadab begat Naasson, and Naasson begat Salmon, ⁵and Salmon begat Booz of Rachab, and Booz begat Obed of Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse, ⁶and Jesse begat David the king. And David the king begat Solomon of her who had been the wife of Urias, ⁷and Solomon begat Roboam, and Roboam begat Abia, and Abia begat Asa, ⁸and Asa begat Josaphat, and Josaphat begat Joram, and Joram begat Ozias, ⁹and Ozias begat Joatham, and Joatham begat Achaz, and Achaz begat Ezekias, ¹⁰and Ezekias begat Manasses, and Manasses begat Amon, and Amon begat Josias, ¹¹and Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, in the time of the deportation to Babylon. ¹²And after the deportation to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel, and Salathiel begat Zorobabel, ¹³and Zorobabel begat Abiud, and Abiud begat Eliakeim, and Eliakeim begat Azor, ¹⁴and Azor begat Sadok, and Sadok begat Acheim, and Acheim begat Eliud, ¹⁵and Eliud begat Eleazar, and Eleazar begat Matthan, and Matthan begat Jacob, ¹⁶and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus Who is called Christ.

¹⁷Then all the generations from Abraham until David are fourteen generations, and from David until the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus Christ was thus: For His Mother, Mary, having been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹But Joseph her husband, being just, and yet not willing to make her an example, wished to divorce her secretly. ²⁰And after he pondered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not become afraid to take to thee Mariam thy wife; for that which is in her was begotten of the Holy Spirit. ²¹“And she shall bring forth a Son and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. ²²“Now all this came to pass, in order that it might be fulfilled that which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ²³“‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel [cf. Is. 7:14],’” which is, being interpreted, “God with us.” ²⁴And Joseph, having been awakened from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took to him his wife, ²⁵and was not knowing her until she brought forth her Son, the firstborn; and he called His name Jesus.

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Sunday of the Twenty-Eighth Week

Mode Three — Sixth Eothinon

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Colossians [§ 250]. Brethren:

1 ¹²Give thanks to the God and Father Who rendereth us sufficient for the portion of the lot of the saints in the light, ¹³Who delivered us from the power of the darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴in Whom we have the redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, ¹⁵Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶For in Him were all things created, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or authorities. All things through Him and to Him have been created. ¹⁷And He is before all things, and in Him all things have come into existence. ¹⁸And He is the head of the body, the Church, Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might come to hold first place.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 93]. At that time:

18 ³⁵It came to pass, as Jesus was drawing near to Jericho, a certain blind man was sitting by the wayside begging. ³⁶And having heard a crowd passing by, he kept on inquiring what this may be. ³⁷And they related to him, “Jesus the Nazaræan is passing by.” ³⁸And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” ³⁹And they who went before were rebuking him, in order that he should keep silent; but he kept on crying out much more, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” ⁴⁰And Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And after he drew near, He asked him, ⁴¹saying, “What dost thou wish that I should do to thee?” And he said, “Lord, that I might recover my sight.” ⁴²And Jesus said to him, “Recover thy sight; thy faith hath made thee well.” ⁴³And immediately he recovered his sight, and began following Him, glorifying God. And all the people, having seen it, gave praise to God.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Ten Martyrs of Crete, and the holy Nahum, Equal-to-the-apostles and Wonder-worker of Okhrid.

Epistle

For the Martyrs:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians [§ 233].

6 ¹⁰Brethren, keep on being empowered in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God, for you to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; ¹²because for us the wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the cosmic rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of evil on account of the heavenly things. ¹³For this cause take up the full armor of God, in order that ye might be able to withstand in the evil day, and having counteracted all things, to stand. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having girt your loins with truth, and having put on for yourselves the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and having shod your feet in readiness of the Gospel of peace; ¹⁶on the whole, take up the shield of faith, with which ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

For the Wonder-worker:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 335]. Brethren:

13 ¹⁷Be obedient to those who lead you, and keep on submitting, for they are watchful for your souls, as those about to render an account, that they may do this with joy, and not groaning; for this would be unprofitable for you. ¹⁸Keep on praying for us; for we trust that we have a good conscience, in all things wishing to conduct ourselves well. ¹⁹But I beseech you more abundantly to do this, that I might be restored more quickly to you.

²⁰Now the God of peace Who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Shepherd of the sheep, the great One, in the blood of an everlasting covenant, ²¹may He render you perfect in every good work, in order to do His will, doing in you that which is well-pleasing before His face, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory to the ages of the ages. Amen.

Gospel

For the Martyrs:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 106]. The Lord said to His disciples, “Be taking heed of men:

21 ¹²“For they shall lay their hands upon you and persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors on account of My name; ¹³“but it shall prove to be a testimony for you. ¹⁴“Therefore settle it for yourselves in your hearts not to premeditate to make a defense; ¹⁵“for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all those who oppose you shall not be able to contradict nor withstand. ¹⁶“And ye shall be delivered up also by parents, and kinfolk, and friends, and brethren; and they shall put some of you to death. ¹⁷“And ye shall be hated by all for My name’s sake. ¹⁸“But a hair of your head in no wise shall perish. ¹⁹“In your patience win your souls.”

For the Wonder-worker:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 24]. At that time:

6 ¹⁷Jesus stood upon a level place. And there was a crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all of Judæa and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases— ¹⁸even those who were troubled by unclean spirits; and they were cured. ¹⁹And all the crowd was seeking to touch Him, for power was coming forth from Him and healing all. ²⁰And He lifted up His eyes to His disciples, and began to say:
   “Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
   ²¹“Blessed are ye who hunger now, for ye shall be filled.
Blessed are ye who weep now, for ye shall laugh.
   ²²“Blessed are ye whenever men hate you, and whenever they separate you, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.
   ²³“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in the heavens.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

January 5th – Civil Calendar
December 23rd – Church Calendar

1. The Ten Holy Martyrs of Crete.

They suffered for Christ the Lord during Decius’ persecution, in the year 250. Their names were: Theodulus, Saturninus, Evporus, Gelasius, Evnikian, Zoticus, Pompey, Agathopous, Basilides and Evaristus. They were all honored and eminent citizens, the cream of the cream. When they were taken to the scaffold, they were filled with joy and discussed among themselves who would be the first to be beheaded, because each wanted to be the first to go to his beloved Christ. Then they prayed: ‘O Lord, forgive Thy servants and accept our outpoured blood on our own behalf and that of our kinsfolk and friends and all our fatherland, that all may be released from the darkness of ignorance and come to know Thee, the true light, O eternal King!’ They were beheaded and entered into the kingdom of glory, to eternal rejoicing.

2. St. Niphon the Wonder-worker.

Born in Paphlagonia, he was brought up in Constantinople at the court of a great commander. Falling into low company, the young Niphon became dissolute and gave himself to great sin and vice. Because of his sin, he could not even pray to God. By the mercy of the most holy Mother of God, he was brought back to the way of righteousness and became a monk. He had innumerable visions of the heavenly world and waged a four-year war with the demons, who whispered to him incessantly: ‘There is no God! There is no God!’ but when the Lord Jesus Himself appeared to him alive on an icon, Niphon received great power over the evil spirits and was freed from these heavy temptations. He had such insight that he saw angels and demons around men as clearly as he saw the people themselves, and he could discern men’s thoughts. He often spoke with angels and disputed with demons. He built a church to the most holy Mother of God in Constantinople, gathered many monks together and saved many souls. Alexander, the Archbishop of Alexandria, through a heavenly revelation, consecrated him bishop of the town of Constantia on Cyprus. Niphon was already old by that time, and governing the Church of God well for a short period, entered into Christ’s eternal kingdom. St. Athanasius the Great visited him at the time of his death, being then archdeacon of the church in Alexandria, and he saw Niphon’s face shine like the sun.

3. Our Holy Father Naum, the Wonder-worker of Ochrid.

He was a disciple of Ss. Kyril and Methodius, and one of the Five Followers—those zealous fellow-workers with these apostles of the Slavs. St. Naum traveled to Rome, where he was renowned both for his wonder-working power and his great learning. He knew many languages. At the time of his return from Rome, he settled, with the help of the Emperor Boris-Michael of Bulgaria, on the shores of Lake Ochrid. While St. Clement was working in Ochrid as bishop, St. Naum built a monastery on the southern shore of the lake. This monastery adorns that shore till this day, as the name of St. Naum adorns the history of Slav Christianity, and has been through the ages a fount of strength and recourse for the sick and the wretched. Many monks from all over the Balkans gathered around St. Naum, who was a wise teacher, a strict ascetic, a wonder-worker and a man of prayer. A tireless worker, St. Naum labored especially to translate the holy Scriptures from Greek into Slavonic. He worked wonders both during his lifetime and after his death, and his wonder-working relics to this day perform many miracles, particularly healing from grave illness and from madness. He entered into rest in the first half of the tenth century, and went to the joy of his beloved Christ.

In the Greek Synaxarion, Ss. Clement and Naum are called the new Moses and Aaron, and this marvel is recorded of them: heretics in Germany bound them and threw them into prison, but by God’s power, the prison shook, the chains fell off them, the doors of the prison opened and they went out freely.

FOR CONSIDERATION

While still in the flesh, the saints had great revelations from God and visions both from heaven and of the infernal powers. All the visions and revelations they had confirmed the Orthodox Faith in all its tenets. The saints are thus a very great joy to the faithful. St. Niphon saw the Mother of God and the Lord Christ alive in glory; he saw men’s souls leaving their bodies and their guardian angels meeting them. He spoke with angels in visions and disputed with demons. The Church teaches that sincere repentance on the part of a sinner, even at the eleventh hour, saves the soul of the penitent. St. Niphon saw the soul of one such sinner repenting at the last moment; he saw how an angel defended it from the bullying demons and carried it to Paradise. The Church teaches that suicide is a mortal sin; St. Niphon saw the soul of a suicide being dragged down to Hades by the devil, while the guardian angel of this soul went off, weeping bitterly. That was the soul of a servant who had committed suicide because his master was merciless and he was not willing to endure to the end and be saved.

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.