Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Monday of the Fourth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ 102]. Brethren:

9 ¹⁸God, to whom He will, hath mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth. ¹⁹Thou wilt say then to me, “Why doth He yet find fault? For who hath withstood His express will?” ²⁰Yea rather, O man, who art thou that answerest against God? The thing formed shall not say, shall it, to the one who formed it, “Why didst thou make me thus?” ²¹Or hath not the potter authority over the clay, out of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? ²²God, although willing to show wrath and to make His power known, bore in much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, ²³in order that He also might make known the wealth of His glory on the vessels of mercy—which He had afore prepared unto glory, ²⁴even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. ²⁵As He saith also in Osee, “I will call that which is not My people, My people; and that which is not beloved, beloved [cf. Hos. 2:23]. ²⁶“And it shall be in the place where it was said to them, ‘Ye are not My people,’ there shall they be called sons of the living God [cf. Hos. 1:10].” ²⁷And Esaias also crieth out concerning Israel, “And if the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved [cf. Is. 10:22]; ²⁸“for He is consummating the word, and cutting it short in righteousness, because the Lord shall make a word which hath been shortened upon the earth [cf. Is. 10:23].” ²⁹And according as Esaias foretold, “Except the Lord of Sabaoth left us a seed, we should have become as Sodom, and we should have been made like unto Gomorrah [Is. 1:9].” ³⁰What then shall we say? That the nations which pursued not righteousness came upon righteousness, but a righteousness which is of faith; ³¹but Israel which pursued a law of righteousness, arrived not unto a law of righteousness. ³²Why? Because it was not by faith, but as by the works of the law. For they stumbled at the stone of stumbling. ³³Even as it hath been written: “Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of offense; and everyone who believeth on Him shall not be ashamed [cf. Is. 28:16].”

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.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Martyrs Isavros, Basil, Innocent, Hermeas, Phylikos, and Peregrinos, and the holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ismael of Persia.

Epistle

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.

Gospel

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.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

June 30th – Civil Calendar
June 17th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel and Ishmael.

These three brothers were Persians, of a pagan father and a Christian mother. Brought up in a Christian spirit and baptized, they were high officials at the court of King Balanos, and were sent to the Emperor Julian the Apostate to conduct negotiations and confirm the peace between the Persian and Graeco-Roman Empires. The apostate emperor had arranged some sort of vile celebration in honor of the idols at Chalcedon, and he went there with his nobles bearing sacrifices for the idols. The Persian delegates absented themselves from the celebration. The emperor summoned them and ordered them to take part in the festivities and offer sacrifice to the gods. They then declared that they were foreign envoys who had come from the King of Persia to establish peace between the two empires, and not for any other reason. They said that they were Christians and considered it unworthy to bow down before lifeless idols and offer them sacrifice. The emperor, in fury, had them thrown into prison. They were brought out the next day, and he began to dispute with them about the Faith, but the holy brothers were irrefutable and unwavering. They were then bound naked to trees and struck and flayed with iron flails. During their torture, they prayed to God, thanking Him for it: ‘O sweet Jesus, these pains are sent to us for love of Thee.’ An angel of God appeared to them, comforted them and took away all their pain. Contrary to all understanding of the rights of foreign envoys, the wicked Emperor Julian finally issued the order that the three brothers were to be slain with the sword. There was a great earthquake at their execution, thus making it impossible for the pagans to burn them as the emperor had commanded. The earth later gave up the martyrs’ bodies for Christians to find and bury. Many miracles were worked over their relics, bringing many pagan witnesses to the Christian Faith. When the Persian king heard of the inhuman death that Julian had provided for the envoys, he prepared for war against him. Julian set out for Persia convinced of victory, but he was beaten to his knees and perished miserably.

2. Our Holy Father Pior.

A Nitrian solitary, he was inflamed with love for God. Pior renounced the world early and went off into the Egyptian desert, where he gave himself to a life of heroic asceticism. It is said that he never sat at table to eat, but always ate standing up and working. When he was asked why he did this, St. Pior replied: ‘I do not wish to be concerned with eating as though it were an occupation. It is merely coincidental.’ When he was called to sit in judgement on a brother who had done something wrong, he arrived carrying a bag of sand on his back and a small pouch in his hand. Questioned as to their significance, the holy man answered: ‘The bag of sand on my back is my sins, which I do not see; the pouch of sand is the sin of my brother whom I have to judge.’ Then all the brethren were confounded and exclaimed: ‘This is the way of salvation!’ He lived for a hundred years and went to his rest in the Lord in the 4th century.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Christ’s opponents always achieve results opposite to those that their actions against Christ would expect. Instead of blocking the river of Christianity, they widen it and deepen it, and make the roar of its flow heard the more clearly. Instead of drying it up, they produce a veritable flood of Christianity across the whole world. Where one martyr fell, a crowd of Christians was created; wherever there was a foul deed, glory sprang from it; wherever it was said that Christianity was finished, there would be an ever-thicker sowing of the Faith. In the face of all considerations and international regulations, Julian the Apostate slew the Persian peace envoys, Manuel, Sabel and Ishmael, because of his insane idolatrous fanaticism. What did Julian achieve by this? He increased the number of Christians, he enlarged the company of the holy martyrs, and he brought closer his own end and that of paganism. Indirectly and unwillingly, the Apostate aided the dissemination and strengthening of Christianity, not merely by his malicious persecution but also by his involuntary statements. For example, in a debate with some Christians he stated: ‘Christ did nothing in His lifetime to merit any glory if we ignore His healing of the lame and the sightless, and His power to drive out demons.’ Oh, wretched fellow! As if the opening of the eyes of only one blind man by words alone was not a greater thing than the subjugation of ten kingdoms! How valuable it is that the greatest betrayer of Christ since Judas had to acknowledge Christ’s miracles!

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.