'Daily Bread'
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
“We have such a law: If you forgive, it means that God has forgiven you; but if you do not forgive your brother, it means that your sin remains with you.”
+ St. Silouan the Athonite, Writings, VII.9
Daily Scripture Readings
Gal 1:11-19 (Epistle, Saint)
11 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.
12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.
14 And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,
16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,
17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.
19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.
Luke 11:9-13 (Gospel)
9 So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Holy Apostle James (Jacob), the Brother of the Lord (ca. 63)
The Holy Apostle James, the Brother of God (Adelphótheos) was the son of the Righteous Joseph before he was betrothed to the Most Holy Theotokos. Tradition says that Joseph had other sons with his first wife. Thus, James was called the Lord's brother. Saint James had been a Nazirite, a man or woman consecrated to God for a limited time. During the period of consecration the Nazirites vowed to to abstain from wine and other intoxicating beverages, they could not cut their hair, and all contact with a corpse was forbidden (Numbers 6:1-21).
When the Savior began to proclaim the Kingdom of God, Saint James believed in Christ and became His Apostle. Later, he was chosen as the first Bishop of Jerusalem.
Saint James presided over the Council of Jerusalem and his word was decisive (Acts 15). In his thirty years as bishop, Saint James converted many Jews to Christianity. Angered by this, the Pharisees and the Scribes plotted together to kill the holy bishop. They led him up on the pinnacle of the Jerusalem Temple and asked him what he thought of Jesus. The holy Apostle bore witness that Christ is the Messiah, which was not the response the Pharisees were expecting. Enraged, the Jewish leaders threw him off the roof. He did not die at once, but gathering his final strength, he prayed to the Lord for his enemies while they were stoning him. Saint James’ martyrdom occurred about 63 A.D.
The holy Apostle James composed a Divine Liturgy, which formed the basis of the Liturgies of Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom. The Church has preserved an Epistle of Saint James, one of the books of the New Testament. In it Saint James advises: "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath" James 1:19) and "Be doers of the word, and not just hearers, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22).
In 1853, Patriarch Hierótheos of Alexandria sent a portion of the relics of Saint James to Moscow.
The Church distinguishes between the Holy Apostle James the Brother of God, Saint James the son of Zebedee (April 30), and Saint James the son of Alphaeus (October 9).
Saint James the Apostle is also commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity of Christ, with the Prophet-King David and Saint Joseph the Betrothed.
Armed with Faith: Why do we need to forgive?
This week’s calendar reminders:
Monday 10/21: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday 10/22: no services or events
Wednesday 10/23: no services or events
Thursday 10/24: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Friday 10/25: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Saturday 10/26: Catechumen class 4:30; Panahikda 5:30; Great Vespers 6 pm
Sunday 10/27: Divine Liturgy 9: 15 a.m. (Ronan & Samantha Chrismation)
