Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Tuesday of the Seventh Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 136]. Brethren:

6 ²⁰Glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

7 ¹Now concerning what you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. ²But on account of the fornications, let each have his own wife, and let each have her own husband. ³Let the husband render to the wife the good will due, and likewise also the wife to the husband. ⁴The wife hath not authority over her own body, but the husband; and likewise also the husband hath not authority over his own body, but the wife. ⁵Cease defrauding one another, unless by agreement for a time, that ye may devote time for fasting and for prayer; and come together again for the same that Satan may not be tempting you through your incontinence. ⁶But I say this by way of concession and not by way of command. ⁷For I wish all men to be even as myself; but each one hath his own gift of grace from God, one in this manner and another in that.

⁸But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they should abide even as I. ⁹But if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry; it is better to marry than to burn. ¹⁰And to those who have married I order, yet not I but the Lord: a wife is not to be separated from her husband. ¹¹But even if she should be separated, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband; and a husband is not to leave his wife. ¹²But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother hath an unbelieving wife, and she consenteth to dwell with him, let him not leave her.

Gospel

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.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our venerable Fathers Symeon of Emesa, the fool for Christ's sake, and John, his fellow ascetic, and the holy Prophet Ezekiel (commemorated on some Gk. calendars on the 23^rd of July).

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 129]. Brethren:

3 ¹⁸Let no one be deceiving himself. If anyone among you think himself to be wise in this age, let him become foolish, in order that he might become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it hath been written: “He taketh the wise in their own craftiness [cf. Job 5:13]”; ²⁰and again, “The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain [cf. Ps. 93(94):11].” ²¹Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: ²²whether Paul, or Apollos, or Kephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things coming—all are yours. ²³And ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Gospel

No reading given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

August 3rd – Civil Calendar
July 21st – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Prophet Ezekiel.

The son of a priest from the city of Sarir, he was taken into captivity in Babylon with King Jehoiachin and many other Israelites. Living in captivity, Ezekiel prophesied for twenty-seven years. He was a contemporary of the Prophet Jeremias. As Jeremias taught and prophesied in Jerusalem, so Ezekiel taught and prophesied in Babylon. Jeremias’ prophecies were known in Babylon, as were Ezekiel’s in Jerusalem. Both these holy men were in agreement in their prophecy, and they were both ill-treated and tormented by the faithless Jewish people. Ezekiel had vivid and indescribable visions. By the River Chebar, he saw the heavens open, and a cloud like fire and lightning, and four living creatures like molten copper. One of the living creatures had the face of a man, the second that of a lion, the third that of a calf and the fourth that of an eagle. The human face signified God incarnate as man, the lion’s face His divinity, the calf’s His sacrifice and the eagle’s His Resurrection and Ascension. In another image, he was shown the resurrection of the dead. The prophet saw a valley filled with the dry bones of the dead, and when the Spirit of God came upon them, they came to life and stood on their feet. He also saw the terrible destruction of Jerusalem, when the wrath of God cut down all except those who had earlier been marked with the mark, that of the Greek tav, our letter ‘T,’ which is also the sign of the Cross. The malice of the Jews did not spare this holy man. Embittered against him for having denounced them, the Jews bound him to the tails of horses and he was torn asunder. He was buried in the self-same place in which Shem the son of Noah was buried.

2. Our Holy Fathers Simeon and John.

These two young men left their homes and kinsfolk in Syria: Simeon his old mother and John his wife, and were made monks in the community of St. Gerasimos, at the hands of Abbot Nikon. They went off into the desert, where they spent many years in the strictest asceticism. They mortified their bodies with this ascesis until they were like two pieces of dry wood. One day, Simeon said to John that, at God’s command, he must leave the desert and return to the company of men, there to serve God as a fool-for-Christ. John gave him this advice: ‘Keep your heart from all that you see in the world. Whatever there may be that touches your hand, let it not take hold of your heart. When food passes your lips, let not your heart be sweetened by it. If your feet have to move, let there be peace within you. Whatever you do outwardly, let your mind remain tranquil. Pray for me, that God may not part us from each other in the world to come.’ Holy Simeon accepted his friend’s advice, embraced him and then left the desert and went among men, to teach them through folly and turn them to the Christian Faith. He made himself appear mad to men, but his heart was a temple of the Holy Spirit, a temple of unceasing prayer. He had abundant gifts from God, having discernment into all men’s secrets, both close at hand and afar off, and healed men of evil spirits and other infirmities. Dancing through the streets like a madman, he drew near to people and whispered their sins in their ears, calling them to repentance. He appeared to sinners in dreams, reprimanding them for their sins and calling them also to repentance. Thus St. Simeon appeared in a dream to a pagan actor, Bali, who publicly mocked the holy things of the Christians. He rebuked him and threatened him, and Bali repented and became a good Christian. A dissolute youth went out of his mind with lust. Seeing him, St. Simeon, feigning madness, struck him a blow on the face, and said: ‘Do not commit adultery!’ At that moment, the unclean spirit left the young man and he was healed.

3. St. Victor.

He suffered in Marseilles in the third century. After harsh torture, he was thrown into prison, where he converted the guards to the Christian Faith. He died by crucifixion.

FOR CONSIDERATION, From “My Life in Christ”—St. John of Kronstadt.

When you are struck by other people’s suffering, and the contraction of their souls, so that you are induced to pray for them with a pitying and contrite heart, pray to God to have mercy upon them and to forgive them their sins, as you would pray for the forgiveness of your own sins—that is, implore God with tears to pardon them; likewise pray for the salvation of others as you would pray for your own salvation. If you attain to this and make it a habit, you will receive from God an abundance of spiritual gifts, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Who loves the soul that cares for the salvation of others, because He Himself, the most Holy Spirit, wishes to save us all in every possible way, if only we do not oppose Him, and do not harden our hearts. “The Spirit Himself intercedeth for us with unutterable groanings (Rom. 8:26).”

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.