Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Thursday of the Thirty-Second Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the General Epistle of Saint Iakovos [§ 56]. Brethren:

4 ⁷Be subject to God. Stand against the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, O sinners! And purify your hearts, O double-minded ones! ⁹Endure hardship, and mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to a downcast look expressive of sorrow. ¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He shall exalt you. ¹¹Cease speaking against one another, brethren. He who speaketh against a brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law. But if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. ¹²One is the Lawgiver and Judge, Who is able to save and to destroy. But who art thou who judgest another?

¹³Come now ye that say, “Today and tomorrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade and gain”; ¹⁴whereas ye know not the matter of tomorrow. For what is your life? For it is a vapor which for a little time appeareth, but then is made to disappear. ¹⁵Instead ye ought to say, “If the Lord will, we shall both live and do this or that.” ¹⁶But now ye boast in your false pretensions; all such boasting is evil. ¹⁷Therefore, to him who knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

5 ¹Come now ye rich, weep, cry aloud over your hardships that are coming upon you! ²Your wealth hath rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten. ³Your gold and silver have become rusty, and their rust shall be for a testimony against you and shall eat your fleshy parts. As fire ye laid up treasure in the last days. ⁴Behold, the hire of the workers who reaped your fields, which hath been kept back by you, crieth out; and the shouts of those who harvested have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. ⁵Ye lived luxuriously on the earth, and indulgently; ye nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. ⁶Ye condemned, ye murdered the just One; He doth not resist you.

⁷Be long-suffering therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer awaiteth the precious fruit of the earth, being long-suffering over it until it should receive the early and latter rain. ⁸Be ye also long-suffering. Make steadfast your hearts; for the coming of the Lord hath drawn near. ⁹Cease groaning against one another, brethren, in order that ye be not condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing before the door.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 45]. At that time:

10 ¹⁷When Jesus went forth into the way, one ran up and knelt down to Him, and was questioning Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I might inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸And Jesus said to him, “Why callest thou Me good? No one is good except One: God. ¹⁹“Thou knowest the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, be honoring thy father and thy mother [cf. Ex. 20:13, 15, 14, 16, 12].’” ²⁰And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these I kept for myself from my youth.” ²¹And Jesus looked at him, and loved him, and said to him, “One thing thou lackest: if thou art willing to be perfect, go thy way and sell as much as thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and keep on following Me.” ²²But he, having a gloomy, lowering look at that saying, went away being grieved; for he had many possessions. ²³And Jesus looked round about, and saith to His disciples, “How with difficulty shall they who have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” ²⁴And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus, having answered again, saith to them, “Children, how difficult it is for those who have trusted in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! ²⁵“It is easier for a camel to enter through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” ²⁶And they were exceedingly amazed, saying to themselves, “And who is able to be saved?” ²⁷And Jesus, looking at them, saith, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Nativity according to the flesh of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 209]. Brethren:

4 ⁴When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵in order that He might redeem those under the law, that we might receive what is our due, the adoption as sons. ⁶But because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father.” ⁷So that no longer art thou a slave, but a son; and if a son, also an heir of God through Christ.

Gospel

In the Orthros

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 2].

1 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.

In the Liturgy

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 3].

2 ¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem, ²saying, “Where is He Who was born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and came to do homage to Him.” ³But after Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴And after he gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he kept on inquiring of them where the Christ is born. ⁵And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judæa, for thus it hath been written by the prophet: ⁶“‘And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art in no wise the least among the governors of Juda; for out of thee shall come forth a Governor Who shall shepherd My people Israel [cf. Mic. 5:2].’” ⁷Then Herod, after he secretly called the Magi, inquired carefully of them the time of the appearing star. ⁸And having sent them to Bethlehem, he said, “Go and search out carefully for the young Child; and when ye find Him, bring tidings to me, in order that I also might go and do homage to Him.” ⁹And after they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they saw in the east was going before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. ¹⁰And having seen the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹And after they came into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His Mother, and fell down and did homage to Him. And after they opened their treasures, they offered gifts to Him: gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹²And having been divinely warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed into their own country by another way.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

January 7th – Civil Calendar
December 25th – Church Calendar

1. The Nativity of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.

‘And when the fullness of time was come, God sent His only-begotten Son’ (Gal. 4:4), to save the human race. And when the ninth month had come after the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the most holy Virgin in Nazareth, saying: ‘Rejoice, thou who art highly favored;...thou shalt conceive and bear a Son’—at that time a decree went forth from Caesar Augustus that all the inhabitants of the Roman Empire be taxed. In accordance with this decree, everyone had to go to his own town and there be inscribed. Therefore righteous Joseph came with the most holy Virgin to Bethlehem, the city of David, for they were both of the royal House of David. But, there being a great many people in that small city for the census, Joseph and Mary could not find lodging in any house, and found shelter in a cave which the shepherds used as a sheepfold. In this cave the most holy Virgin gave birth to the Savior of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. Bearing Him without pain, as He was conceived without sin of the Holy Spirit and not of man, she herself wrapped Him in swaddling bands, worshipped Him as God and laid Him in a manger. Then righteous Joseph drew near and worshipped Him as the divine Fruit of a virgin womb. Then the shepherds came in from the fields, directed by an angel of God, and worshipped Him as Messiah and Savior. The shepherds had heard a multitude of angels singing: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill among men’ (Luke 2:14). At that time there also came Magi from the East, led by a wonderful star, bearing their gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh, and worshipped Him as King of kings, offering Him their gifts (Matt. 2:11). Thus He came into the world Whose coming had been foretold by the prophets and Who was born in the way that they had prophesied: of the most holy Virgin, in the city of Bethlehem, of the lineage of David according to the flesh, at the time when there was no longer in Jerusalem a king of the tribe of Judah, but Herod the stranger was on the throne. After many types and prefigurings, messengers and heralds, prophets and righteous men, wise men and kings, finally He appeared, the Lord of the world and King of kings, to perform the work of the salvation of mankind that could not be performed by His servants. May His be eternal glory and praise! Amen.

FOR CONSIDERATION

The Lord Jesus, born in Bethlehem, was first worshipped by shepherds and wise men from the East—the simplest and the wisest of this world. In our day also, those who most sincerely worship the Lord Jesus as God and Savior are the simplest and the wisest of this world. Twisted simplicity and crazed wisdom have always been enemies of Christ’s divinity and of His Gospel. But who were these Magi from the East? This question was closely investigated by St. Dimitri of Rostov. He asserts that they were kings of small regions or groups of towns in Persia, Arabia and Egypt. At the same time, they were greatly learned in astrology. The wonderful star that heralded the birth of the new King appeared to them. According to St. Dimitri, this star appeared nine months before the birth of the Lord Jesus; that is, at the time when the most holy Mother of God conceived Him. They spent these nine months in studying this star, in preparing for the journey and in travelling. They arrived in Bethlehem very shortly after the birth of the Savior of the world. One of them was called Melchior. He was old, withered, with long white hair and beard. He brought the Lord the gift of gold. The second man was called Gaspar; ruddy of face, young and beardless. He brought the Lord the gift of frankincense. The third was called Balthazar, black-skinned and heavily bearded. He brought the Lord the gift of myrrh. After their deaths, their bodies were taken to Constantinople, from Constantinople to Milan and from Milan to Cologne. It can be added that these three wise men represented the three chief races of men that descended from Noah’s three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. The Persian represented Japheth, the Arabian Shem and the Egyptian Ham. Thus it can be said that, through these three, the whole human race worshipped our incarnate Lord and God.

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.