Daily Bread
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Isaiah 6:1-12 (6th Hour)
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.
7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.”
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 “Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate,
12 The Lord has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
Genesis 5:1-24 (Vespers, 1st reading)
1 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.
2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.
3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
4 After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters.
5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.
6 Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh.
7 After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters.
8 So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.
9 Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan.
10 After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters.
11 So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died.
12 Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel.
13 After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters.
14 So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.
15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared.
16 After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters.
17 So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.
18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch.
19 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters.
20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.
21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.
22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.
23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.
24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Translation of the relics of Saint Nikephoros, Patriarch of Constantinople
Saint Nikephoros (Nikēphóros) was a dignitary at the court of the empress Irene (797-802), and then after receiving monastic tonsure, he became known for his piety. In the year 806 he was elevated to the patriarchal throne. The saint was a zealous defender of the holy Icons. When the Iconoclast emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820) came to rule, the saint in 815 was exiled to Prokonnis, where he died in the year 828.
In the year 846 the holy relics of Patriarch Nikephoros were opened, and were found incorrupt and fragrant. They transferred them from Prokonnis to Constantinople and placed them for one day in Hagia Sophia, and then transferred them to the Church of the Holy Apostles. The saint’s hands are preserved in the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos.
The saint left behind three writings against Iconoclasm. The main Feast of Saint Nikephoros is celebrated on June 2, but today we commemorate the finding and transfer of his holy relics.
The Essential Truth
by Fr. Vladimir Berzonsky
“I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of Egypt and out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods besides Me” (Deuteronomy 5:6)
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37)
“I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things” (Nicene Creed)
We recite it so simply and quickly, as though it is so obvious that it needs no discussion; however, we live in a world that challenges that fundamental truth and imposes the implications of its significance throughout society. Our culture emphasizes the rights of the individual to such an extent that we have all but lost the contrasting truth of unity in oneness of conviction.
The Hebrew people led out of Egypt by Moses were taught by the great prophet the essentials of their faith. Above all else was the absolute belief in one God. They could and did dispute the laws of the Almighty, His rules and obligations, but never the truth that God is one and there is no other. He is a jealous God and will not share authority with another. When Jesus Christ calls His followers to love the Lord more than any human relation including parents, children or spouse, He is lifting up the implications of that exclusive love for God.
When the human being sets himself or herself in the first place before the Lord Almighty, which is generally called “humanism,” what follows is a rearrangement of values. When I ask the meaning of life for me – why am I living, what is the root from which I draw my morals and actions, what is the basis for making any and all decisions, right and wrong are not absolute but rather determine what is good for me at any moment of time. God may be the Creator of all that exists, including me. He may have a plan that caused me to be brought into the world and live with some purpose in His mind. However, unless I can understand or figure out what that purpose is all about, it really doesn’t motivate me to try to direct my life as though I can or should know. Let the Church say that I am alive only by the grace of the Holy Spirit, I thank the Spirit, even the Father and Christ Jesus, but it has no absolute significance regarding the decisions I make or the pathway that I follow.
The above may describe the vast majority of people with whom we share the present time and space. On the other hand, if I take the gospel of Christ seriously at face value and seek to learn the hidden message underlying the words and actions of my Lord [and I have no right to call Him that unless I accept the conditions of being first a servant, then a disciple, and ultimately the friend of Jesus], I should begin by accepting the basic truth: I believe in one God. Nothing that exists is outside of the orbit of His creation, including myself. Every thing – each atom and molecule – is part of His plan, and while I do not understand much of it, I believe in His grand plan. I accept it in faith. I shall do my utmost to diminish self-reliance and reach out to unity with my Lord, directly in prayer and indirectly through unity with all others. I do not need to even know my true name – God knows it, just as He can see where I am headed and how far or near I am to fulfilling His idea of whom I should be.
This week’s calendar reminders:
Monday 3/10: Lenten Matins 8:30 am
Tuesday 3/11: no services or events
Wednesday 3/12: Presanctified Liturgy 6:30 pm
Thursday 3/13: Lenten Matins 8:30 am
Friday 3/14: Paraklesis to the Theotokos 8:30 am
Saturday 3/15: Catechumen Class 4:30 pm; Choir Rehearsal 5 pm; Great Vespers 6 pm
Sunday 3/16: 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