'Daily Bread'
Monday, August 5, 2024
“Wherever God is — there is peace. And the opposite is self-evident: where there is envy, enmity, impatience, self-love — there is the devil. Wherever the devil is — there, everything is ruinous, proud and hostile.”
+ St. Anatoly of Optina, quoted from Living Without Hypocrisy: Spiritual Counsels of the Holy Elders of Optina
Daily Scripture Reading
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 5:9-6:11
9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.
10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.
11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner – not even to eat with such a person.
12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?
13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”
1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
4 If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge?
5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?
6 But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!
7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?
8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Gospel: Matthew 13:54-58
54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?
55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?”
57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.”
58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Forefeast of the Transfiguration of our Lord - August 5
The Lord had begun warning his disciples about the dangers they would face, and also about His Passion and death. He also told them that they would be persecuted by pagans and enemies of the Gospel. He explained that these things pertain to the present life, but what is essential is eternal life. Desiring to give His disciples a foretaste of eternal life, he took three of them, Peter, James and John, and brought them up to Mount Tabor.
There He was transfigured before them and His face shone like light. Moses and Elias appeared and spoke with Jesus. The Lord took only those disciples because they were more pre-eminent than the others. Peter was chosen because he loved Christ very much, John because he also loved Christ, and James because he was able to drink the cup that Christ drank (Matthew 20:23).
The Lord showed them Moses and Elias in order to correct their erroneous ideas of who He was, as though He were Saint John the Baptist, or some great prophet. That is why He revealed His glory to them ‘as far as they could bear it.’ All this took place during the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor.
The Icon of the Transfiguration of the Savior - Trisagion Films
The Transfiguration of Christ is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on August 6 and August 19 (according to Old Calendarists), using the Gregorian Calendar, Julian Calendar, and Revised Julian Calendar. Jesus had gone with his disciples Peter, James, and John to Mount Tabor. Christ's appearance was changed while they watched into a glorious radiant figure.
There appeared Elijah and Moses, speaking with Jesus. The disciples were amazed and terribly afraid. This event shows forth the divinity of Christ, so that the disciples would understand after his Ascension that He was truly the radiant splendor of the Father, and that his Passion was voluntary (Mark 9:2-9). It also shows the possibility of our own theosis.
This event was the subject of some debates between Gregory Palamas and Barlaam of Calabria. Barlaam believed that the light shining from Jesus was created light, while Gregory maintained the disciples were given grace to perceive the uncreated light of God. This supported Gregory's larger argument that although we cannot know God in His essence, we can know Him in his energies, as He reveals Himself. Accounts of the Transfiguration are found in the Bible: Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-9, Luke 9:28-36, and II Peter 1:16-19.
This week’s calendar reminders:
Monday 8/5: Matins 8:30 a.m., Vigil for Transfiguration, 6 p.m. at Holy Transfiguration in New Haven
Tuesday 8/6: Festal Divine Liturgy, New Haven 9 a.m.
Wednesday 8/7: no services
Thursday 8/8: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Friday 8/9: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Saturday 8/10: No Catechumen Class 4:30 pm; Great Vespers 6 pm
Sunday 8/11: Divine Liturgy 9: 15 a.m.
