Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Wednesday of the Sixth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 127]. Brethren:

2 ⁹“Eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, and neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things which God prepared for those who love Him [cf. Is. 64:4].” ¹⁰But God revealed them to us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹For who among men knoweth the things of a man, except the spirit of the man that is in him? Even so no one knoweth the things of God, except the Spirit of God. ¹²Now we did not receive the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is of God, in order that we might know the things which were freely given to us by God, ¹³which things also we speak, not in words taught of human wisdom, but in those taught of the Holy Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ¹⁴But a material-minded man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for it is foolishness to him, and he is not able to come to know it, because it is spiritually examined. ¹⁵But the spiritual one examineth all things, yet he himself is examined by no one. ¹⁶“For who knoweth the mind of the Lord? Who shall instruct Him [cf. Is. 40:13]?” But we have the mind of Christ.

3 ¹And I, brethren, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual ones, but as to carnal ones, as to infants in Christ. ²I gave you milk to drink, and not solid food; for ye were not yet able, but neither now are ye yet able. ³For ye are yet carnal. For whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal and walking according to man? ⁴For whenever one saith, “I indeed am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are ye not carnal? ⁵Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to each? ⁶I planted, Apollos watered, but God was giving the increase. ⁷So that neither is the one who planteth anything, nor the one who watereth, but God Who giveth the increase. ⁸Now the one who planteth and the one who watereth are one, and each one shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 53]. The Lord said this parable:

13 ³¹“The kingdom of the heavens is like a grain of mustard, which a man took and sowed in his field, ³²“which indeed is the smallest of all the seeds; but whenever it is grown, it is the greatest of all the herbs, and doth become a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and settle in its branches.” ³³He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of wheat meal until the whole was leavened.”

³⁴Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; and without a parable He was not in the habit of speaking to them, ³⁵in order that it might be fulfilled that which was spoken by the prophet, saying, “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been hidden from the foundation of the world [cf. Ps. 77(78):2].”

³⁶Then Jesus sent the crowds away and went into the house.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy, glorious, and all-praised chiefs of the Apostles, Peter and Paul.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 193]. Brethren:

11 ²¹In whatever anyone may dare—I speak in folly—I also dare. ²²Are they Hebrews? I am also. Are they Israelites? I am also. Are they seed of Abraham? I am also. ²³Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as being beside myself—I am more: in toils more abundant, in blows more excessive, in prisons more abundant, in deaths often. ²⁴Under the Jews five times I received forty stripes less one. ²⁵Thrice I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I was shipwrecked, a night and day I have spent in the deep; ²⁶in journeyings often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from mine own race, in perils from Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; ²⁷in weariness and hardship, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— ²⁸besides things external, that which riseth against me day by day: the care of all the churches. ²⁹Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not set on fire? ³⁰If it is needful to boast, I will boast in the things concerning my weakness. ³¹The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is blessed to the ages, knoweth that I lie not. ³²In Damascus the ethnarch of Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes, wishing to take me; ³³and through a window in a braided rope-basket was I let down through the wall, and escaped his hands.

12 ¹Indeed it is not expedient for me to boast; for I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. ²I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I know not, or out of the body I know not, God knoweth—such a one was carried off as far as the third heaven. ³And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I know not, God knoweth— ⁴that he was caught up into Paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is not allowed for a man to speak. ⁵On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on behalf of myself I will not boast, except in my weaknesses. ⁶For if I should wish to boast, I shall not be foolish; for I will speak the truth. But I forbear, lest anyone should reckon to me above what he seeth me to be or what he heareth in any degree of me. ⁷And lest I should be lifted up by the surpassingness of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn for the flesh, a messenger of Satan, that he may keep on buffeting me, lest I should be lifted up. ⁸Concerning this I besought the Lord thrice, that it might stand off from me. ⁹And He hath said to me, “My grace is sufficient for thee; for My power is being made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore will I rather boast in my weaknesses, that the power of the Christ might dwell upon me.

Gospel

In the Orthros

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 67]. At that time:

21 ¹⁴Jesus was made manifest to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.

¹⁵When therefore they ate breakfast, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these?” He saith to Him, “Yes, Lord, Thou knowest that I have affection for Thee.” He saith to him, “Be feeding My little lambs.” ¹⁶He saith to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?” He saith to Him, “Yes, Lord, Thou knowest that I have affection for Thee.” He saith to him, “Be shepherding My sheep.” ¹⁷He saith to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonas, hast thou affection for Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Hast thou affection for Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I have affection for Thee.” He saith to him, “Be feeding My sheep. ¹⁸“Verily, verily, I say to thee, when thou wast younger, thou used to gird thyself and walk about where thou wouldest; but whenever thou growest old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and bring thee where thou wouldest not.” ¹⁹But this He said signifying by what kind of death he shall glorify God. And having said this, He saith to him, “Follow thou Me.” ²⁰And Peter, having turned about, seeth the disciple, whom Jesus loved, following—who also leaned back on His breast at the supper—and said, “Lord, who is the one who is delivering Thee up?” ²¹After Peter saw him, he saith to Jesus, “But Lord, this man—what?” ²²Jesus saith to him, “If I wish him to tarry while I am coming, what is that to thee? Do thou be following Me.” ²³Then this saying went out among the brethren that “that disciple dieth not”; and yet Jesus did not say that “he dieth not,” but, “If I wish him to tarry while I am coming, what is that to thee?”

²⁴This is the disciple who beareth testimony concerning these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. ²⁵And there are also many other things, which if as much as Jesus did may be written one by one, I suppose even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

In the Liturgy

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 67]. At that time:

16 ¹³After Jesus came into the parts of Cæsarea Philippi, He began to ask His disciples, saying, “Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, and others Elias, and others Jeremias or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He saith to them, “But ye, whom do ye say that I am?” ¹⁶And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, the living One.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered and said to him, “Happy art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood did not reveal this to thee, but My Father Who is in the heavens. ¹⁸“And I say also to thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her. ¹⁹“And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on the earth shall have been bound in the heavens, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on the earth shall have been loosed in the heavens.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

July 12th – Civil Calendar
June 29th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Apostle Peter.

The son of Jonah and brother of Andrew the First-Called, of the tribe of Simeon and the town of Bethsaida, he was a fisherman and was at first called Simon, but the Lord was pleased to call him Kephas, or Peter (Jn 1:42). He was the first of the disciples to give clear expression to his faith in the Lord Jesus, saying: ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (Mt. 16:16). His love for the Lord was very strong, and his faith in Him went from strength to strength. When the Lord was put on trial, Peter denied Him three times, but it needed only one look into the face of the Lord, and Peter’s soul was filled with shame and repentance. After the descent of the Holy Spirit, Peter became a fearless and powerful preacher of the Gospel. After his first sermon in Jerusalem, about 3,000 souls were converted to the Faith. He preached the Gospel throughout Palestine and Asia Minor, in Italy and in Illyria. He performed many wonders, healing the sick and raising the dead, and even his shadow had the power of healing the sick. He had a major struggle with Simon the Magician, who declared himself to be from God but was actually a servant of the devil. He finally put him to shame and overcame him. Peter was condemned to death on the order of the wicked Emperor Nero, a friend of Simon’s. After installing Linus as Bishop of Rome and exhorting and encouraging the flock of Christ there, Peter went to his death with joy. When he saw the cross before him, he asked the executioner to crucify him upside-down, because he felt himself to be unworthy to die in the same way as his Lord. And so this great servant of the greatest Master went to his rest and received a crown of eternal glory.

2. The Holy Apostle Paul.

Born in Tarsus and of the tribe of Benjamin, he was formerly called Saul and studied under Gamaliel. He was a Pharisee and a persecutor of Christians. He was wondrously converted to the Christian Faith by the Lord Himself, Who appeared to him on the road to Damascus. He was baptized by the Apostle Ananias, named Paul and enrolled in the work of the great apostles. He preached the Gospel everywhere with burning zeal, from the borders of Arabia to the land of Spain, among both the Jews and the heathen, and received the title of ‘The Apostle to the Gentiles’. His fearful sufferings were matched only by his superhuman endurance. Through all the years of his preaching, he hung from day to day on a thread between life and death. Filling his days and nights with toil and suffering for Christ, organising the Church in many places and reaching a high level of perfection, he was able to say: ‘I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me’ (Gal. 2:20). He was beheaded in Rome in the reign of Nero, at the same time as St. Peter.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Simon Peter and Simon the Magician: the enemies of Christianity frequently like to quote examples of great wonder-workers among the pagans in order to deceive the weak in faith, to denigrate the Christian Faith and to extol paganism, sorcery, oracles, satanism and every sort of charlatanism. There is no doubt that Satan attempts to perform miracles through his servants, but these miracles are not wrought out of love for mankind, compassion, mercy or faith in God; but from pride, selfishness, vanity and hatred for mankind. Christians should learn from the stories of the apostles to differentiate between divine miracles and satanic deceptions and fantasies. Let them recall the Apostle Peter and Simon the Magician. Let them compare Peter’s miracles with the seeming miracles of Simon. The apostle turned the stony hearts of men into noble and devout hearts, he healed the sick, raised the dead—and all this through prayer and faith in the living God. Simon the Magician, on the other hand, made the people marvel with his illusions. Peter the Apostle was a friend of God. Simon the Magician was a friend and protege of the debauched Nero, who ended his life by suicide. The miracles of the pagan fakirs fall into the same category as the illusions and deceptions of Simon the Magician. Just as sand in a heat-haze resembles water, so the ‘miracles’ of the fakirs resemble the life-giving miracles of Christianity.

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.