Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Monday of the Thirty-First Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 329]. Brethren:

For Gk. usage, see Heb. 11:17-31; for Sl. usage, see Heb. 11:17-23, 27-31.

11 ¹⁷By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who received the promises offered up his only-begotten son, ¹⁸as to whom it was said “for in Isaac thy seed shall be called [Gen. 21:12],” ¹⁹reckoning that God was able to raise even from the dead; from which also he received him for himself in a type. ²⁰By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning coming things. ²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and “did reverence upon the top of his staff [Gen. 47:31].” ²²By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention concerning the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave command concerning his bones. ²³By faith Moses, after he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because “they saw the little child was fair [cf. Ex. 2:2],” and they were not afraid of the edict of the king. ²⁴By faith Moses, “having become full-grown [Ex. 2:11],” refused to be called the son of pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵having chosen rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin, ²⁶since he deemed the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures in Egypt; for he kept on looking away from the treasures to the recompense. ²⁷By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the anger of the king; for he persevered, as seeing the invisible One. ²⁸By faith he hath celebrated the passover and the pouring upon of the blood, lest the one who destroyeth the firstborn should touch them. ²⁹By faith they passed through the Red Sea as through dry land, where the Egyptians, having made an attempt, were swallowed up. ³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after they were encircled for seven days. ³¹By faith Rahab the harlot, having received the spies with peace, did not perish with those who disobeyed.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 54]. At that time:

12 ¹³ The chief priests and the scribes sent out to Jesus certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, in order that they might catch Him in a word. ¹⁴And having come, they say to Him, “Teacher, we know that Thou art true, and there is a care to Thee for no one; for Thou lookest not on the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth. Tell us then, is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Cæsar, or not? ¹⁵“Shall we give, or shall we not give?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are ye trying to put Me to the test? Bring Me a denarius that I might see it.” ¹⁶And they brought it. And He saith to them, “Whose is this image and the inscription?” And they said to Him, “Cæsar’s.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render the things of Cæsar to Cæsar, and the things of God to God.” And they marvelled at Him.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Forefeast of Theophany, and the Synaxis of the holy Seventy Apostles.

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 131]. Brethren:

4 ⁹I think that God showed forth us the apostles last, as condemned to death; for we became a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. ¹⁰We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ. We are weak, but ye are strong. Ye are held in honor, but we are dishonored. ¹¹Until the present hour, we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are being buffeted, and never at rest. ¹²And we toil working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we bear up; ¹³being evilly spoken of, we beseech. We became as the filth of the world, the off-scouring of all until now. ¹⁴I do not write these things shaming you, but admonishing you as my beloved children. ¹⁵For if ye have myriads of tutors in Christ, yet ye have not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I begot you through the Gospel. ¹⁶Therefore, I beseech you, keep on becoming imitators of me.

For Sl. usage, see [Rom. 8:8-14].

Gospel

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

1 ¹⁸No one hath seen God at any time. The only-begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, that One declareth Him.

¹⁹And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent forth priests and Levites from Jerusalem that they should ask him, “Who art thou?” ²⁰He not only confessed and denied not, but also confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹And they questioned him, “What then? Art thou Elias?” And he saith, “I am not.” “Art thou the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²²Then they said to him, “Who art thou, that we might give an answer to those who sent us? What sayest thou about thyself?” ²³He said, “I am a voice crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord [Is. 40:3],’ even as the Prophet Esaias said.” ²⁴And they who had been sent forth were from the Pharisees. ²⁵And they asked him, and said to him, “Why baptizest thou then, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶John answered them, saying, “I baptize in water, but there standeth One in your midst Whom ye know not. ²⁷“He it is, the One Who cometh after me, Who hath come to be before me, of Whom I am not worthy that I should loose the thong of His sandal.” ²⁸These things took place in Bethabara across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

For Sl. usage, see [Lk. 10:1-21]

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

January 17th – Civil Calendar
January 4th – Church Calendar

1. The Assembly of the Seventy Apostles.

In addition to the twelve great apostles, the Lord chose besides seventy other, lesser apostles, and sent them to preach to the Jews. He sent them out two by two before His face, to each town and place, saying: “Behold, I send you as sheep among wolves” (Lk. 10:1-5). But as Judas, one of the Twelve, fell away from the Lord, so some among these Seventy withdrew from Him, not with the intention of betraying Him but from human weakness and lack of faith (Jn. 6:66). And as Judas’ place was filled from among the other apostles, so the places of these were filled with others chosen. These apostles labored in the same way as the twelve great apostles; they were the assistants of the Twelve in the spreading and strengthening of the Church of God in the world. They suffered much torture and malice, from men and from demons, but their firm faith and burning love for the risen Lord made them conquerors of the world and heirs of the kingdom of heaven.

2. St. Evstathius (Jevstatije), Archbishop of Serbia.

Born in the diocese of Budim (Budimlje), of God-fearing parents, he became a monk as a young man in Zeta, then moved on to greater asceticism at Hilandar. In time he became abbot of Hilandar, was then chosen to be Bishop of Zeta, and after some time had elapsed, to be Archbishop of Serbia. He was a man of great virtue and led Christ’s flock with zeal and love. He entered peacefully into rest at a great age in 1279, exclaiming as death drew near: “Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.” His relics are preserved in the crypt of the church at Peć.

3. The Eunuch of Queen Candace.

The Apostle Philip baptized this negro eunuch (Acts 8:26-40). After his Baptism, the eunuch returned home and began to teach about Christ. He was the first apostle of the Faith among the negroes of Ethiopia. He died a martyr and was counted worthy of the kingdom of God.

4. Our Holy Father, the Martyr Onuphrius of Hilandar.

He was possessed of great anger towards his parents in his youth, and declared to the Turks that he wished to become one of them. He immediately repented of these words, went to Hilandar and there became a monk. Tormented by his conscience, he determined on martyrdom. So, with the blessing of his spiritual father, he went to Trnovo and presented himself to the Turkish authorities, stating that he was a Christian and mocking Mohammed, as a result of which he was slain on January 4th, 1818, at the age of 32. The body of this spiritual hero was lost, as the Turks threw it into the sea.

FOR CONSIDERATION

How do we reply to those who say that there is no room in our logic for Christ the worker of miracles? Answer simply: Place yourself within His. In His logic are contained all eternity and all transient goodness, so you could, if you wished, find a place therein for yourself. If you cannot fit a barrel into a thimble, you can fit a thimble into a barrel. Clement of Alexandria says: ‘Philosophers are as children until they become mature in Christ...’ for the truth is never contained only in the processes of rational thought. Christ came to make men new, and so also to make new the logic of men. He is our Logos and our logic. Thus we must direct our minds in accordance with His, not He with ours. He is the corrective of our minds. The sun does not adjust itself to our clocks, but they to the sun.

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.