Daily Bread
Thursday, January 30, 2025
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Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 (Vespers, 3rd reading)
1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.
2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be affliction,
3 and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace.
4 For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality.
5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
6 like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.
7 In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble.
8 They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them for ever.
9 Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect, and he watches over his holy ones.
John 10:9-16 (Matins Gospel)
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Synaxis of the Ecumenical Teachers and Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom
Synaxis of the Three Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom: During the eleventh century, disputes raged in Constantinople about which of the three hierarchs was the greatest. Some preferred Saint Basil (January 1), others honored Saint Gregory the Theologian (January 25), while a third group exalted Saint John Chrysostom (November 13).
Dissension among Christians increased. Some called themselves Basilians, others referred to themselves as Gregorians, and others as Johnites.
By the will of God, the three hierarchs appeared to Saint John the Bishop of Euchaita (June 14) in the year 1084, and said that they were equal before God. “There are no divisions among us, and no opposition to one another.”
They ordered that the disputes should stop, and that their common commemoration should be celebrated on a single day. Bishop John chose January 30 for their joint Feast, thus ending the controversy and restoring peace.
Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) on How Christians Should Deal with News
There are many problems in constantly waiting for news. These problems affect both secular people and church people. Especially church people, who, it would seem, should completely rely on God's will. But here it's different.
People get so used to news that they can no longer live in peace without it. At the same time, they forget that the presentation of news in the media is sometimes very far from an adequate transmission of information.
Let’s try to abstract and read the news as if from the outside, without involvement. What will we see? A catchy headline that often manipulates the reader’s mind from the very first words: puts the “correct” accents, or even worse – immediately, even before reading the news piece itself, issues a verdict. And it’s not uncommon for a headline to not match the essence of what is said in the text itself. But the impression has already been created and the reader is ready to accept the information in the right light (in the “right” way, of course, for the one who wrote or, rather, ordered this news piece).
And at the same time, newsmakers play on people’s expectations, aspirations, desires, passing off wishful thinking or, conversely, exaggerating where everything is not so terrible (depending on the need of those who want to form this or that public reaction).
Is there really no real news? Of course there is. But think about how often do we ourselves, retelling an event to our acquaintances, adhere to accuracy in describing what happened? After all, we often embellish something or, on the contrary, denigrate it. And how often do we adjust the facts to give the appearance of what we would like [to be true]? Sometimes we don’t even notice how we distort realities to please some of our impulses. But it’s not only with our acquaintances – indeed, sometimes we ourselves are ready to convince ourselves of anything. Alas, such is the property of fallen human nature: “all men are liars,” says the psalmist (Ps. 116:11).
Only the Lord can be absolutely honest. But with people it’s a little more difficult. This should always be kept in mind when absorbing any information. Approach it with restraint, find manipulations, distortions, etc. But the most important thing is not to get involved. After all, we remember that without God’s will nothing can happen to us (Luke 21:18), which means that everything that happens to us and to the whole world takes place exclusively by God’s Providence. It is only important to accept His will with humility – and then no news will frighten us or mislead us.
This week’s calendar reminders:
Monday 1/27: Matins 8:30 am
Tuesday 1/28: no services or events
Wednesday 1/29: no services or events
Thursday 1/30: Matins 8:30 am
Friday 1/31: Matins 8:30 am
Saturday 2/1: Catechumen Class 4:30 pm; Choir Rehearsal 5pm; Great Vespers 6 pm
Sunday 2/22: Divine Liturgy 9:15am
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Christ the Savior Orthodox Church is located in Southbury, Connecticut, and is part of the New England Diocese of the Orthodox Church of America.
Mailing address: Christ the Savior Church, 1070 Roxbury Road, Southbury, CT 06488
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Fr. Moses Locke can be reached at frmoseslocke@gmail.com