Daily Bread
Saturday, December 21, 2024
If our thoughts are kind, peaceful, and quiet, turned only to the good, then we also influence ourselves and radiate peace all around us - in our family, the whole country, everywhere. This is true not only here on earth, but in the cosmos as well. When we labor in the fields of the Lord, we create harmony. Divine harmony, peace, and quiet spread everywhere.
- Elder Thaddeus of Vitnovica
Daily Scripture Readings
Galatians 3:8-12 (Epistle, Saturday Before)
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”
11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”
12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”
Luke 13:18-29 (Gospel, Saturday Before)
18 Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
20 And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?
21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.
23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them,
24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’
26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’
27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’
28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God
Forefeast of the Nativity of our Lord
The Forefeast of the Nativity of the Lord begins on December 20. From now on, most of the liturgical hymns will be concerned with the birth of the Savior.
At Vespers for this third day of the prefeast of the Nativity we sing, “Christ is born on earth to crush the power of evil, to enlighten those in darkness, and to free the captives. Let us go forth to meet Him.”
What Is Rejected Becomes the Cornerstone
I stood in amazement. It had been announced that I was leaving to become Orthodox. I expected a lot of theological questions, but instead my clergy peers had questions like how I would earn a living, what would become of my pension, and how I would handle the loss of medical benefits. Not a single theological question was asked that day. I replied that as a father and a husband I knew that these issues were important and I had dealt with them, but I wondered, of such is the kingdom of heaven?
I had no delusions that the skills I had developed over the years in the church would have any value in the marketplace. When I went to an employment agency, I knew it would be like a Saturday Night Live skit I once viewed. A soldier returning from the Vietnam war was seeking employment. The interviewer assured him that they loved to employ veterans. So he asked the soldier about what he could do, what skills he possessed. “Well,” he said, “I can parachute out of a plane.” The interviewer filed through his cards and said that they didn’t have anything in that area of expertise. The soldier went on to say that he could throw a grenade, shoot a rifle, etc. Each time the interviewer was sad to report no jobs were available for that kind of skill.
This week’s calendar reminders:
Monday 12/16: Matins 8:30am
Tuesday 12/17: no services or events
Wednesday 12/18: Yale Russian Chorus concert - 7pm
Thursday 12/19: Matins 8:30 am; Men’s Group 7pm
Friday 12/20: Paraklesis to the Theotokos 8:30am
Saturday 12/21: Catechumen Class 4:30pm; Choir Rehearsal 5pm; Great Vespers 6 pm
Sunday 12/22: Divine Liturgy 9:15am
<CLICK BELOW> to Donate to the Scholarship Fund
