'Daily Bread'
Friday, September 20, 2024
"Let us tremble at the great eye of God, which sees even under the earth, and the great bottom of the sea, and what the minds of men hide. Time does not separate anything, but everything is present in God. How is it possible for someone to cover up his evilness? On the last day of (Judgment) where will we hide ourselves? Who will help us then? How will we avoid God's gaze?"
+ St. Gregory the Theologian
Daily Scripture Reading
2 Corinthians 11:5-21 (Epistle)
5 For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles.
6 Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested among you in all things.
7 Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?
8 I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you.
9 And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so I will keep myself.
10 As the truth of Christ is in me, no one shall stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows!
12 But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast.
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
16 I say again, let no one think me a fool. If otherwise, at least receive me as a fool, that I also may boast a little.
17 What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord, but as it were, foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.
18 Seeing that many boast according to the flesh, I also will boast.
19 For you put up with fools gladly, since you yourselves are wise!
20 For you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face.
21 To our shame I say that we were too weak for that! But in whatever anyone is bold – I speak foolishly – I am bold also.
Luke 4:22-30 (Gospel)
22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
23 He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’”
24 Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.
25 But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land;
26 but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.
30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.
Monastic Martyr Hilarion of Saint Anne Skete, Mount Athos
Saint Hilarion was from Heraklion in Crete and his secular name was John. He had five other siblings, John, Polyzoes, George, and two sisters, whose names are unknown. His parents, Francis and Katherine, had raised him with diligence, and he had learned to read and write. When he was a young man, his uncle took him to Constantinople, promising to train him for some occupation.
Although John stayed with him for ten years, his uncle neglected to train him and did little else for him. That is why John was forced to leave his uncle’s house and get a job as the clerk of a merchant from the island of Chios, who came to trust John. One day, the merchant was obliged to leave his shop and travel back to Chios, placing John and another Orthodox Christian employee in charge of the business.
When he returned, the two employees gave their boss an accounting for the time that he was away. The merchant said that he had been cheated, because the money they collected did not correspond to the value of the goods that were sold. Although the merchant did not make an inventory before going to Chios, he estimated that the two clerks were short by thirty grosia. The other employee had been with the merchant for many years, and so all suspicion fell on John. He was told that there would be severe consequences if he did not return the money at once.
Knowing that he was innocent, John asked his uncle to help him, but his uncle refused to see him. In his despair he went to the palace, hoping to see the valide sultana, the Sultan’s mother. First, however, he met the Ethiopian eunuch, Mertzan Aga. It appears that John knew him and told him what had happened. The evil Aga seized this opportunity and told him that if he converted to Islam, he would not be liable to any punishment; moreover, he would receive many riches and honors.
In his fear and anxiety, John accepted. Then he was presented to the Sultan’s mother, who introduced him to the Sultan. Right away, John was circumcised, and was given Muslim clothing and other gifts. In addition, a certain hodja was appointed to instruct him in Islamic teachings.
What Does the Cross Mean for us Today?
By Priest Robert Miclean
The cross of Christ, the Lord’s triumphant and life-giving death whereby He destroys death, is so important for us to understand and internalize as Orthodox Christians, that the Church gives special significance and specific Scriptural readings for both the weekend before the Feast and the one that follows. This Sunday after the Exaltation, the Church would have us ask ourselves, “what does the power of the cross mean for me personally, living in the world today?”
Sadly, for many in today’s secular culture, its meaning, personally and corporately, has been lost, drowned out by the priorities of our work-a-day lives, where the Church takes a backseat to so many other temporal priorities. The secular world thinks in such terms: all I experience here and now, everything I see and touch, is the extent of my existence and what is knowable, so, “eat, drink, for tomorrow, we die” (I Cor. 15:32). In part, for this reason, the world urges focus on self, ego, “me first,” even as it urges us not to deny ourselves anything; in short, our culture leads us to and encourages spiritual lethargy, spiritual death. For this reason, the keeping of the fasts and Feasts, such as this past week’s Feast of the Cross, prescribed by Christ through His Church, are vital to us and not just ‘extra’ services that can be missed if one is too busy.
A world that doesn’t believe in God and His revelation, that denies the bodily Incarnation, miraculous, and life-saving, historic events of Christ and His power is a world where there are no real consequences for evil or the darkness and violence of the evil one. It’s a world where the way to healing from passions is forgotten and we as a people go from bad to worse. It’s a world where it becomes increasingly difficult to be a true Christian, one who loves God “with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his mind,” (Matt. 22:37) to which we are all called; it’s not the world as God would have it and for that reason, Christ gives us the cross.
The cross is our answer to the fallen world and its hopelessness, to those who deny God and His loving calling on their lives, and to all who falter in their faith. The cross is always a reminder of the ultimate reality and relevance of the Kingdom of God for us, a reminder of Christ’s self-emptying (kenosis in the Greek)—Christ’s willing, voluntary offering of Himself to defeat sin and death on our behalf and make possible a new race of Adam that will in Him likewise conquer sin and death. In His “dying to self,” we who take up our cross to prioritize Christ and the Gospel, regain our true humanity, our God-given purpose and calling in this life.
But here’s the truth: we can’t follow Christ and become fellow partakers of His victory if we aren’t likewise willing to empty ourselves of all that’s not in keeping with Christ and His Gospel. As Christ says, we cannot serve God and mammon (Mt. 6:24). Instead, we’re called to be ‘in the world, but not of the world.’ This calling isn’t something we can just decide to forego as ‘modern’ Christians. Instead, we challenge ourselves daily to live for Christ, to submit ourselves to His will and reflect the Kingdom of God in all that we are and all that we do. In other words, we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Christ. In this way, we are deified.
This week’s calendar reminders:
Monday 9/16: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday 9/17: no services or events
Wednesday 9/18: no services or events
Thursday 9/19: Matins 8:30 a.m.; Men’s Group 7 p.m.
Friday 9/20: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Saturday 9/21: Women’s Group 9 a.m.; Catechumen Class 4:30 p.m; Choir Rehearsal 5:00 p.m.; Panikhida 5:45 pm; ; Great Vespers 6 pm
Sunday 9/22: Divine Liturgy 9: 15 a.m.
