Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Sunday of the Meatfare or Sunday of the Last Judgment.

Mode Three — Third Eothinon

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 140]. Brethren:

8 ⁸Meat commendeth us not to God; for neither if we eat have we an advantage, nor if we eat not are we behind. ⁹But be taking heed, lest this license of yours should become a stumbling block to those who are weak. ¹⁰For if one should see thee who hast knowledge reclining at table in an idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him who is weak be built up so as to eat the things sacrificed to idols? ¹¹And on thy knowledge the brother who is weak shall destroy himself, for whom Christ died. ¹²But when ye sin thus against the brethren and wound their conscience which is weak, ye sin against Christ. ¹³On which very account, if meat causeth my brother to stumble, I will not at all eat flesh forever, lest I should cause my brother to stumble.

9 ¹I am an apostle, am I not? I am free, am I not? I have seen Jesus Christ our Lord, have I not? Ye are my work in the Lord, are ye not? ²If I am not an apostle to others, yet at least I am to you; for ye are the seal of mine apostleship in the Lord.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 106]. The Lord said:

25 ³¹“Whenever the Son of Man should come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory. ³²“And before Him shall be gathered all the nations; and He shall separate them from one another, even as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the young kids. ³³“And indeed He shall set the sheep on His right, but the young kids on the left. ³⁴“Then shall the King say to those on His right, ‘Come, ye who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom which hath been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵“‘For I hungered and ye gave Me to eat; I thirsted and ye gave Me to drink; I was a stranger and ye brought Me in; ³⁶“‘naked and ye clothed Me; I was sick and ye visited Me; I was in prison and ye came to Me.’ ³⁷“Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungering and fed Thee, or thirsting and gave Thee to drink? ³⁸“‘And when did we see Thee a stranger and brought Thee in? Or naked and we clothed Thee? ³⁹“‘And when did we see Thee sick, or in prison, and came to Thee?’ ⁴⁰“And the King shall answer and say to them, ‘Verily I say to you, insofar as ye did it to one of the least of these My brethren, ye did it to Me.’ ⁴¹“Then shall He say also to those on the left, ‘Go from Me, ye who have been cursed, into the fire, the everlasting one, which hath been prepared for the devil and his angels: ⁴²“‘For I hungered and ye did not give Me anything to eat; I thirsted and ye did not give Me anything to drink; ⁴³“‘I was a stranger and ye did not bring Me in, naked and ye did not clothe Me, sick, and in prison, and ye did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴“Then shall they also answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungering, or thirsting, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and we did not minister to Thee?’ ⁴⁵“Then shall He answer them, saying, ‘Verily I say to you, insofar as ye did it not to one of the least of these, neither did ye do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Meeting of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 316]. Brethren:

7 ⁷Apart from all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. ⁸And here on the one hand men that die receive tithes, but there on the other hand he receiveth tithes who is being witnessed to that he liveth. ⁹And so to speak, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, hath been tithed through Abraham, ¹⁰for he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchisedek met him. ¹¹If indeed then perfection were through the Levitical priesthood—for the people upon the basis of it had been furnished the law—what need still was there for a different kind of priest to arise according to the order of Melchisedek, and not to be called according to the order of Aaron? ¹²For the priesthood being transposed, of necessity a change of law also taketh place. ¹³For He of Whom these things are spoken hath belonged to a different tribe, of which no one hath given attendance at the altar. ¹⁴For it is clear that our Lord hath sprung out of Juda, as to which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. ¹⁵And it is yet more abundantly manifest since, according to the likeness of Melchisedek, there did arise a different priest, ¹⁶Who hath not become so according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an indissoluble life. ¹⁷For He testifieth, “Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek [Ps. 109(110):4].”

Gospel

In the Orthros

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 8]. At that time:

2 ²⁵There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Symeon, and this man was just and pious, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶And it had been divinely revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he should see the Christ of the Lord. ²⁷And he came in the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents were bringing in the little Child Jesus, in order to do for Him according to the custom of the law, ²⁸he also received Him into his arms and blessed God and said, ²⁹“Now lettest Thy slave depart in peace, O Master, according to Thy word; ³⁰“for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, ³¹“which Thou didst prepare before the face of all the peoples, ³²“a light for revelation to the nations and the glory of Thy people Israel.”

In the Liturgy

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 7]. At that time:

2 ²²The parents of the Child Jesus brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord ²³(even as it hath been written in the law of the Lord: “Every male that openeth a womb shall be called holy to the Lord [cf. Ex. 13:2, 12]”), ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to that which hath been said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons [cf. Lev. 5:11; 12:8].” ²⁵And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Symeon, and this man was just and pious, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶And it had been divinely revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he should see the Christ of the Lord. ²⁷And he came in the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents were bringing in the little Child Jesus, in order to do for Him according to the custom of the law, ²⁸he also received Him into his arms and blessed God and said, ²⁹“Now lettest Thy slave depart in peace, O Master, according to Thy word; ³⁰“for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, ³¹“which Thou didst prepare before the face of all the peoples, ³²“a light for revelation to the nations and the glory of Thy people Israel.” ³³And Joseph and His Mother were marvelling at the things which were spoken concerning Him. ³⁴And Symeon blessed them, and said to Mariam His Mother, “Behold, this One is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel, and for a sign which is contradicted— ³⁵“and as to thee a sword shall go through thine own soul also—in order that the reckonings of many hearts might be revealed.” ³⁶And there was Anna, a prophetess, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser. She was advanced in many days, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. ³⁷And she was a widow about eighty-four years, who departed not from the temple, and worshipped God with fastings and entreaties night and day. ³⁸And she, having stood by, at the same hour, was giving thanks to the Lord and kept on speaking about Him to all those waiting for redemption in Jerusalem.

³⁹And when they performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their city Nazareth.

⁴⁰And the little Child was growing and showing Himself strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Synaxarion Readings

Meatfare Sunday

When Thou shalt sit to judge the world, O Judge of all, count me worthy of Thy summons to Thy right hand.

On this day we commemorate the inescapable second coming of Christ, ordained by the most divine fathers to be observed after the second parable of the prodigal, so that no one who has learned of the love of God for mankind from it will live in laziness, saying, “God loves mankind, and when I am separated from Him by sin, all is prepared for my restoration.” This fearsome day of judgment has been designated for commemoration at this point in time, that through fear of death and the expectation of future torment, those who live in laziness may be encouraged to the virtues, not trusting only in the love of God, but also realizing that He is the righteous Judge who will judge all men according to their deeds. In other words those souls who have passed over are obliged to undergo judgment. And this present feast is a type of symbol of this in that it is presented now as a final celebration just as it will be the last event after our death. For it behooves us to contemplate that as the beginning of the world and Adam’s fall from Paradise are commemorated on the following Sunday, so this day is the end of all days and of the world itself.

The commemoration is appointed for this day of Meatfare, that in awe of this event we should limit our intake of earthly food, not giving ourselves over to gluttony, and be encouraged to love our neighbor. In other words, since we were banished from Eden, cursed and condemned through eating of the fruit, so the present event has been ordained at this time, as next Sunday we will be banished through Adam, until Christ comes again to raise us up to Paradise. It is called the Second Coming, since Christ appeared to us at His first coming in the flesh and delivered the human race, and He will come again to judge whether that which He commanded us has been observed. And when will this Second Coming occur? No one knows; for although He mentioned several preceding signs, the Lord concealed it from His apostles. Before His coming the Antichrist will appear. He will live his life after the manner of Christ, performing miracles like those which Christ performed, and raising the dead. Yet all that he does will be an illusion. After this, suddenly like lightning from heaven the Lord will come, going before His holy Cross, and a river of boiling fire will go before Him, cleansing the earth of its defilement. The Antichrist will be seized immediately along with his servants and will be committed to eternal fire. And when the angels sound the trumpets, all the nations of mankind will gather from all places and from all the ends of the earth in Jerusalem, for it is the center of the earth. And there the thrones will be set for judgment. Then all souls will be reunited with their bodies and clothed in incorruptible beauty, transformed into one likeness. And with one word the Lord will separate the righteous from the sinners. Those who have done good will receive eternal life, and the sinners will be once more sent to eternal and everlasting torment. Let it be noted that Christ will not ask who fasted, or who was naked, or who performed miracles, for although these things are good, mercy and compassion are far better. He will question both the righteous and the sinners on six commandment-like virtues, of which everyone is capable: “For I was hungry, and ye gave Me to eat. I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink. I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; naked, and ye clothed Me. I was sick, and ye visited Me. I was in prison, and ye came to Me. Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it to Me.” Then all will confess the Lord Jesus Christ in the glory of God the Father.

Now the torments, according to the Holy Gospel are weeping and the gnashing of teeth, where their worm dies not and the fire is not quenched, and he shall be cast into outer darkness. For all the Church of God will joyfully delight in attaining the kingdom of the heavens, being close to God in His holy place, and receiving everlasting glory and exaltation. But those who are separated from God through wasting the life of their souls in laziness and temporal nourishment will receive torment and darkness, and be eternally deprived of the divine radiance.

In Thine ineffable love for mankind, O Christ our God, make us worthy of Thy voice, which we long to hear, number us among those at Thy right hand, and have mercy on us. Amen.

Translated from Triodion, siest ‘Tripesnets: Triod’ Postnaya, Moscow, 1904, by Robert Parent.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

February 15th – Civil Calendar
February 2nd – Church Calendar

1. The Meeting of the Lord.

On the fortieth day after His birth, the most holy Virgin brought her divine Son to the temple in Jerusalem, to consecrate Him to the Lord and to purify herself according to the law (Lev. 12:2-7, Exod. 12:2). And though neither the one nor the other was necessary, nevertheless the Lawgiver would not in any way transgress the law which He had given through His servant and prophet Moses. At that time Zacharias, the father of St. John the Baptist, was serving his turn as high priest in the temple. He stood the Virgin Mary in the place for maidens, not that for married women. On this occasion, there were two very special people present: the elder Simeon, and Anna the daughter of Phanuel. Simeon took his Messiah up in his arms and said: ‘Now lettest Thy slave depart in peace, O Master, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.’ Simeon also spoke the following words of the Christ Child: ‘Behold, this One is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel.’ Then Anna, who had from her youth served God in the temple in fasting and prayer, and who herself recognized the Messiah, praised the Lord and made known to the inhabitants of Jerusalem the coming of the awaited One. But the Pharisees, present in the temple and seeing and hearing all that passed, and being vexed with Zacharias for having stood the Virgin Mary in the place for virgins, made this known to King Herod. Believing this to be the new King of Whom the star-followers from the East had spoken, Herod quickly sent to have Jesus killed. But in the meantime, the holy travelers had already escaped from the city and set out for Egypt under the direction of an angel of God. This day has been celebrated from the very earliest times, but its solemn celebration dates from 544, in the time of Emperor Justinian.

2. The Holy New-Martyr Jordan.

Born in Trebizond, he was a coppersmith by profession. For his open defense of the Christian Faith and his denunciation of the falsehood of Islam, he suffered at the hands of the Turks at Galata in Constantinople in 1650. A monk, Gabriel, a reader in the great church in Constantinople, suffered in the same way in 1676.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Speaking of the spread of the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, St. John Chrysostom says: ‘As beautiful and prolific fruit-trees, when planted in the earth, quickly attain a great height and ripen and bear fruit; so with this day.’ So also with the day of the Meeting of the Lord. This day was commemorated among Christians from the beginning, but its solemn celebration began in the time of the great Emperor Justinian. At that time, Constantinople and its surroundings were struck by an epidemic, with five thousand or more people dying every day. At the same time there was a terrible earthquake in Antioch. Seeing the powerlessness of men to avert these catastrophes, the emperor and the patriarch together decided to call for fasting and prayer throughout the whole empire. On the day of the Meeting itself, they arranged processions through the towns and villages to implore the Lord to have mercy on His people. And the Lord did have mercy, the epidemic and the earthquake ceasing instantly. This happened in the year 544. As a result, the Meeting came to be celebrated as a great feast of the Lord. Trees sprout at this time and begin the process of bringing forth their abundant fruit.

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.