Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Tuesday of the Tenth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 161]. Brethren:

15 ²⁹What shall they do who are being baptized for the dead, if the dead are not raised at all? Why indeed are they baptized for the dead? ³⁰And why are we in danger every hour? ³¹I affirm, by that boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. ³²If, after the manner of man, I fought with beasts in Ephesus, what advantage is it to me, if the dead are not raised?—“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die [cf. Is. 22:13].” ³³Cease being led astray; bad companionships corrupt good manners. ³⁴Awake to soberness righteously, and cease sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

³⁵But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what body do they come?” ³⁶Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not made alive, unless it should die. ³⁷And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body which shall come into being, but a bare grain—it may be of wheat or some of the rest; ³⁸but God giveth to it a body even as He willed, and to each of the seeds its own body.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 85]. At that time:

21 ²³After Jesus came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him as He taught, saying, “By what authority doest Thou these things? And who gave Thee this authority?” ²⁴And Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will question you for one word, which if ye tell Me, I also will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵“The baptism of John—from what place was it? From heaven or from men?” And they were reasoning with themselves, saying, “If we should say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did ye not believe him?’ ²⁶“But if we should say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude; for all hold John as a prophet.” ²⁷And they answered and said to Jesus, “We know not.” And He said to them, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Myrrh-bearer and Equal-to-the-apostles Mary Magdalene, and Hieromartyr Phokas of Sinope (commemorated on some Gk. calendars on either the 21^st or 23^rd of July), and the Virgin-martyr Markella of Chios.

Epistle

For the Equal-to-the-apostles:

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 141]. Brethren:

9 ²Ye are the seal of mine apostleship in the Lord. ³My defense to those who examine me is this: ⁴We do not have authority to eat and to drink, do we? ⁵We do not have authority to lead about a wife who is a sister in the Lord, as also the rest of the apostles, and the brethren of the Lord, and Kephas, do we? ⁶Or do only I and Barnabas have no authority not to be working? ⁷Who at any time serveth as a soldier at his own pay? Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of its fruit? Or who shepherdeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? ⁸I am not saying these things after the manner of man, am I? Or saith not the law these things also? ⁹For in the law of Moses it hath been written: “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth the corn [Deut. 25:4].” It is not the care of the oxen that matters with God, is it? ¹⁰Or saith He it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes it was written, that the one who ploweth ought to plow in hope, and the one who thresheth in hope ought to partake of his hope. ¹¹If we did sow to you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap of your carnal things? ¹²If others partake of this authority over you, should not rather we? Nevertheless we did not use this authority; but we bear up against all things, lest we should give any hindrance to the Gospel of Christ.

Gospel

For the Equal-to-the-apostles:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 34]. At that time:

8 ¹Jesus was traveling through, city by city and village by village, preaching and proclaiming the good tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, ²and certain women who had been cured of diseases and scourges and evil spirits and infirmities—Mary who is called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³and Joanna the wife of Chuza, a steward of Herod, and Susanna, and many other women who were ministering to Him from their possessions.

for Sl. usage, see [Jn. 20:11-18].

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

August 4th – Civil Calendar
July 22nd – Church Calendar

1. St. Mary Magdalene.

One of the myrrh-bearing women, and equal to the apostles, she was born in Magdala by the Lake of Gennesaret, of the tribe of Issachar. She was tormented by seven evil spirits, of which she was freed and healed by the Lord Jesus. Now she was tormented by these spirits not because she was a sinful woman, but rather, because she was a very virtuous woman, and the devil thought that she was going to be the one to bear our Savior. Isn’t it ironic that she came to be close to our Virgin Mary, the Theotokos? She was a faithful follower and servant of the Lord during His earthly life, and also stood beneath the Cross on Golgotha and lamented bitterly with the most holy Mother of God. After the Lord’s death, she visited His tomb three times; and when He rose again, she saw Him twice, once alone and the other time with the other myrrh-bearing women. She travelled to Rome, went before Tiberias Caesar and presented him with a red egg, greeting him with the words: ‘Christ is risen!’ At the same time, she denounced Pilate to Caesar for his unjust condemnation of the Lord Jesus. Caesar listened to her, and moved Pilate from Jerusalem to Gaul, where this unjust judge died under imperial displeasure after a terrible illness. After that, she returned from Rome to Ephesus, to St. John the Theologian, whom she helped in his task of preaching the Gospel. With great love for the risen Lord and with great zeal, she proclaimed the holy Gospel as a true apostle of Christ. She died peacefully in Ephesus and was buried, according to tradition, in the same cave in which the seven young men (see August 4th) had been in a charmed sleep for a hundred years. They came to life, and then died. St. Magdalene’s relics were then taken to Constantinople. Near the Garden of Gethsemane, there is a beautiful Russian church dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene.

2. The Hieromartyr Phokas.

Today we commemorate the translation of his relics from Pontus to Constantinople in about 404. The chief commemoration of this saint is on September 22nd, where an account of his life and sufferings is set down. Today, a particular miracle by this saint is also commemorated. A man, Pontinus, was taken by Arabs, who fettered him, tied his hands behind his back and left him to die. Lying on his face on the ground and being incapable of movement, Pontinus cried out: ‘Holy Martyr Phokas, have mercy on me and save me!’ Thus saying, he fell asleep, and saw Phokas in a dream, coming to him, taking him by the hand and saying: ‘The Lord Jesus Christ forgives thee!’ When the man awoke, he found himself free from all his bonds. He got up and went home, and took St. Phokas as his family patron.

3. Our Holy Father Cornelius of Pereyaslavl.

Made a monk at the age of fifteen by an elder called Paul, he later withdrew to the desert in quest of silence. He spent thirty years in silence, never speaking a word to anyone, so that many thought that he was dumb. He was so emaciated from fasting that he looked like a skeleton. He received the Great Habit just before his death, and entered into rest on July 22nd, 1693.

4. The Holy Martyr Markella.

This saint is greatly venerated on the island of Chios. In her church, miracles are performed throughout the years. Markella was a young girl who was left motherless very young. Her pagan and bestial father desired to live with his daughter as though she were his wife. Markella fled from her father, but he, infuriated like a wild beast, found her and cut her to pieces. Near her church there are several rocks which on her feast day become saturated with blood. The people take these rocks to the church, pray to St. Markella and then touch the sick with them, and they are healed.

FOR CONSIDERATION

‘Blessed are they that weep,’ said the Lord. Blessed are they who weep, seeking the kingdom of God. Blessed are they who weep, suffering for the Christian Faith. Blessed are they who weep, repenting of their sins. There is no true repentance without tears. With what shall we be able to wash away our sin, save by tears or by blood (the blood of martyrdom)? The monks of Nitria begged great Makarios to come to them, so that they would not all have to go to him. Makarios went in obedience. The monks sat round him and asked him for a word of instruction. Makarios burst into tears, and through his tears, said: ‘My brethren, may your eyes flow with tears before you go to that place where our tears would scald our bodies.’ Then all the brethren began to weep.

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.