Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Friday of the Fifteenth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 210]. Brethren:

4 ⁸When ye knew not God, ye slaved for those which are not gods by nature; ⁹but now, having come to know God—indeed rather having been known by God—how do ye turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, which ye wish again to slave for anew? ¹⁰Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years! ¹¹I am afraid for you, lest perchance in vain I have labored in regard to you.

¹²Brethren, I entreat you, keep on becoming as I am, for I was also as you. Ye wronged me in nothing. ¹³But ye know that through weakness of the flesh I preached the Gospel to you for the first time. ¹⁴And my temptation which was in my flesh ye neither despised, nor spat at; but as an angel of God ye received me, as Christ Jesus. ¹⁵What then was your happiness? For I bear witness to you that, if possible, ye would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶Have I therefore become your enemy, because I spoke the truth to you? ¹⁷They zealously court you, but not rightly; and they desire to shut you out, that ye may be zealous toward them. ¹⁸But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you. ¹⁹My little children, for whom I again travail until Christ should be formed in you! ²⁰And I was wishing to be present with you just now, and to change my voice, for I am at a loss concerning you.

²¹Tell me, ye who wish to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 26]. At that time:

6 ⁴⁵Jesus constrained His disciples to embark into the ship, and to go before to the other side toward Bethsaida, until He should dismiss the crowd. ⁴⁶And after He bid farewell to them, He departed into the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷And evening having come to pass, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and He alone on the land. ⁴⁸And He saw them being put to the test in the rowing; for the wind was contrary to them. And about the fourth watch of the night He cometh to them, walking upon the sea, and was intending to pass by them. ⁴⁹But after they saw Him walking upon the sea, they thought it to be a phantom, and cried out; ⁵⁰for all saw Him and were troubled. And straightway He talked with them and saith to them, “Be of good courage! I am; cease being afraid.” ⁵¹And He went up to them into the ship, and the wind abated. And they were amazed in themselves exceedingly beyond measure, and kept on wondering. ⁵²For not only did they not understand, so far as regards the loaves, but their heart was hardened.

⁵³And having passed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret, and were brought to anchor at the shore.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the beheading of the glorious prophet, forerunner, and Baptist John.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 33]. In those days:

13 ²⁵“As John was fulfilling his course, he kept on saying, ‘Whom do ye suppose me to be? I am not He. But behold, He cometh after me, of Whom I am not worthy to loose the sandal of His feet.’ ²⁶“Men, brethren, sons of the race of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation was sent forth. ²⁷“For they who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew not this One and the voices of the prophets who are read on every sabbath, they fulfilled them, having condemned Him. ²⁸“And though they did not find even one charge of death in Him, they themselves demanded that Pilate put Him to death. ²⁹“And when they fulfilled all the things that were written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a sepulcher. ³⁰“But God raised Him from the dead; ³¹“and He appeared for many days to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. ³²“And we announce to you the good tidings—the promise which was made to the fathers. ³³“For God hath fulfilled this for us their children, having raised up Jesus.”

Gospel

In the Orthros

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 57].

14 ¹At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, ²and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he was raised from the dead, and on account of this the works of power energize in him.” ³For Herod laid hold of John, and bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. ⁴For John kept on saying to him, “It is not lawful for thee to have her.” ⁵And though he wished to put him to death, he was afraid of the crowd, because they were holding him as a prophet. ⁶But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased Herod. ⁷Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask for herself. ⁸And she, having been urged on by her mother, said, “Give me here the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ⁹And the king was grieved; but on account of the oaths, and those who reclined with him at table, he commanded it to be given to her. ¹⁰And he sent and beheaded John in the prison. ¹¹And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl; and she brought it to her mother. ¹²And his disciples came forward and took up the body and buried it; and they went and brought tidings to Jesus.

¹³And after Jesus heard it, He withdrew from that place by ship privately to a desolate place. And when the crowds heard of it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.

In the Liturgy

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

6 ¹⁴Herod the king heard of Jesus, for His name became publicly known. And he was saying, “John, the one who baptizeth, was raised from the dead, and on this account works of power energize in him.” ¹⁵Others were saying, “It is Elias”; but others were saying, “It is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.” ¹⁶But after Herod heard thereof, he said, “It is John, whom I beheaded; he was raised from the dead.” ¹⁷For Herod himself sent forth and laid hold of John, and bound him in the prison for Herodias’ sake, the wife of Philip his brother; for he married her. ¹⁸For John kept on saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for thee to have the wife of thy brother.” ¹⁹But Herodias was holding it against him and kept on wishing to kill him, but had not been able; ²⁰for Herod was fearing John, knowing him to be a just and holy man, and he kept on preserving him. And after he heard him, he was doing many things, and was hearing him gladly. ²¹And it having become an opportune day when Herod was making a supper on his birthday for his grandees and the tribunes and the first ones of Galilee, ²²there also came in the daughter of Herodias herself. And she danced, and pleased Herod and those reclining at table with him. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it to thee.” ²³And he swore to her, “Whatsoever thou shalt ask me, I will give it to thee, up to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for myself?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵And she came in straightway with haste to the king, and she asked for herself, saying, “I wish that thou give me at once upon a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ²⁶And though the king became very sad, yet on account of the oaths and those reclining at table with him, he did not wish to reject her. ²⁷And straightway the king sent off a guardsman, and commanded his head to be brought. And he went forth and beheaded him in the prison, ²⁸and brought his head upon a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹And after his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a sepulcher.

³⁰And the apostles were gathered together to Jesus, and related to Him all things, both as much as they did and as much as they taught.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

September 11th – Civil Calendar
August 29th – Church Calendar

1. The Beheading of St. John the Baptist.

Herod Antipas, son of the Herod who slew the young children in Bethlehem at the time of the birth of the Lord Jesus, was ruler of Galilee when John the Baptist was preaching. This Herod was married to the daughter of Aretas, an Arabian prince. But Herod, an evil branch of evil stock, put away his lawful wife and took Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, to live with him. John the Baptist stood up against this lawlessness and strongly denounced Herod, at which Herod threw him into prison. At the time of a birthday feast at his court in Sebastia in Galilee, Salome, the daughter of Herodias and Philip, danced for the guests. Herod, in his cups and carried away by her dancing, promised her whatever she asked, even to the half of his kingdom. Instructed by her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist. Herod commanded that John be beheaded in the prison and his head brought on a platter. John’s disciples took the body of their teacher by night and buried it, but Herodias tore out John’s tongue with a needle and then buried his head in an unclean place. What later happened to John’s head is recorded and can be read under February 24th.

God’s punishment was quickly visited upon this group of evildoers. Prince Aretas, to avenge his daughter’s honor, attacked Herod with his army and brought him to his knees. The defeated Herod was condemned by the Roman Caesar, Caligula, to exile first in Gaul and then in Spain. As exiles, Herod and Herodias lived in need and debasement until the earth opened and swallowed them up. Salome, Herodias’ daughter, came to a bad end in the River Sikaris (Sula).

The death of John took place before the Passover, but its commemoration on August 29th was instituted because it was on this day that a church, that had been built over his grave in Sebastia by the Emperor Constantine and the Empress Helena, was consecrated. In this church were also placed the relics of John’s disciples, Eliseus and Audius.

2. Our Holy Mother Theodora of Thessalonica.

A wealthy and devout woman, she lived on the island of Aegina, but when the Arabs over-ran the island, she moved to Thessalonica. There she gave her only daughter to a monastery, where she received the monastic name Theopista. Her husband Theodorinos died very soon, and then Theodora became a nun. She was a great ascetic. She often heard angelic singing, and would say to her sisters: ‘Don’t you hear how wonderfully the angels are singing in heavenly light?’ She entered into rest in 879, and a healing myrrh flowed from her body, which gave healing to many.

3. The Holy Martyr Vasilissa.

She suffered for Christ in Srem.

4. The Holy Martyr Anastasios.

A young man from Radoviste in the diocese of Strumica, he learned a trade in Thessalonica. The Turks tried to force him to become one of them, but he refused firmly. For this he was tortured and finally hanged, on August 29th, 1794.

FOR CONSIDERATION

If you notice how men die, you will see that a man’s death usually reflects his sin. As it is written: ‘He who takes the sword shall perish by the sword’ (Matt. 26:52). Every sin is a sword, and men are usually run through by the sin that they first committed. Salome, the foul daughter of Herodias, who asked for and received the head of St. John the Baptist on a platter from Herod, offers us an example of this. Living in Spain, in the town of Lerida, with the exiled Herod and Herodias, she began one day to cross the frozen Sikaris River. The ice broke and she fell into the water up to her throat. Pieces of the ice held her by the throat, and she struggled, dancing with her legs in the water as she once danced in Herod’s court. She could neither raise herself nor sink, and in the end a fragment of ice decapitated her. The water carried her body away, but her head was taken on a platter to Herodias, as had earlier been the head of John the Baptist. See how a terrible death reflects the sin committed!

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.