From the Greek Orthodox Diocese of America:
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
DAILYREADINGS
Daily Scripture Readings and Lives of the Saints for Saturday, October 16, 2010
Daily Reading & Meditation
Saturday (October 16): "The Holy Spirit will teach you what you ought to say"
Scripture: Luke 12:8-12
8 "And I tell you, every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; 9 but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And every one who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say; 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
Meditation: What is the unforgivable sin which Jesus warns us to avoid? Jesus knows that his disciples will be tested and he assures them that the Holy Spirit will give them what they need in their time of adversity. He warns them, however, that it's possible to reject the grace of God and to fall into apostasy (giving up the faith) out of cowardice or disbelief. The scriptural expression to deny someone means to disown them. Jesus also speaks against blaspheming the Holy Spirit. What is blasphemy and why is it reprehensible? Blasphemy consists in uttering against God, inwardly or outwardly, words of hatred, reproach, or defiance. It's contrary to the respect due God and his holy name. Jesus speaks of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit as the unforgivable sin. Jesus spoke about this sin immediately after the scribes and Pharisees had attributed his miracles to the work of the devil instead of to God.
A sin can only be unforgivable if repentance is impossible. If someone repeatedly closes his heart to God and shuts his ears to his voice, he comes to a point where he can no longer recognize God even when God makes himself known. Such a person ends up perceiving evil as good and good as evil (Isaiah 5:20). To fear such a sin, however, signals that one is not dead to God and is conscious of the need for God's grace and mercy. There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who refuses to accept God's mercy by repenting of wrongdoing, rejects the forgiveness of their sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. God gives grace and help to all who humbly call upon him. Giving up on God and refusing to turn away from sin and disbelief results from pride and the loss of hope in God.
What is the basis of our hope and confidence in God? John the Evangelist tells us that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Jesus' death on the cross won for us our salvation and adoption as the children of God. The love and mercy of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit are freely given to those who acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Is your hope securely placed in Christ and his victory on the cross?
"Lord Jesus, you are my hope and salvation. May I trust you at all times and rely on your grace in times of testing and temptation. Let the fire of your Holy Spirit burn in my heart and fill me with a consuming love for you."
Psalm 8:2-7
2 By the mouth of babes and infants, thou hast founded a bulwark because of thy foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established;
4 what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him?
5 Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor.
6 Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field.
Lives of the Saints Reading:
October 16.—ST. GALL, Abbot.
ST. GALL was born in Ireland soon after the middle of the sixth century, of pious, noble, and rich parents. When St. Columban left Ireland, St. Gall accompanied him into England, and afterward into France, where they
p. 338
arrived in 585. St. Columban founded the monastery of Anegray, in a wild forest in the diocese of Besançon, and two years afterward another in Luxeuil. Being driven thence by King Theodoric, the Saints both withdrew into the territories of Theodebert. St. Columban, however, retired into Italy, but St. Gall was prevented from bearing him company by a grievous fit of illness. St. Gall was a priest before he left Ireland, and having learned the language of the country where he settled, near the Lake of Constance, he converted to the faith a great number of idolaters. The cells which this Saint built there for those who desired to serve God with him, he gave to the monastery which bears his name. A synod of bishops, with the clergy and people, earnestly desired to place the Saint in the episcopal see of Constance; but his modesty refused the dignity. He died in the year 646.
Reflection.—"If any one would be My disciple," says Our Saviour, "let him deny himself." The denial of self is, then, the royal road to perfection.
Readings for today:
St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 3:12-18
Matthew 27:33-54
Feasts and Saints celebrated today:
Longinos the Centurion
Epistle Reading
The reading is from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 3:12-18
BRETHREN, since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who
put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not see the end
of the fading splendor. But their minds were hardened; for to this
day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted,
because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever
Moses is read a veil lies over their minds; but when a man turns to the
Lord the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face,
beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from
one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is
the Spirit.
(C) 2010 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Gospel Reading
The reading is from Matthew 27:33-54
At that time, when the soldiers came to a place called Golgotha
(which means the place of a skull), they offered him wine to drink,
mingled with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when
they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by
casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over
his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus
the King of the Jews." Then two robbers were crucified with him, one
on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided
him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who would destroy the temple
and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God,
come down from the cross." So also the chief priests, with the scribes
and elders, mocked him, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save
himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross,
and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him
now, if he desires him; for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" And the
robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until
the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud
voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me?" And some of the bystanders hearing it said, "This
man is calling Elijah." And one of them at once ran and took a
sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him
to drink. But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will
come to save him." And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded
up his spirit.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to
bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also
were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were
raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into
the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who
were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what
took place, they were filled with awe, and said, "Truly this was the
Son of God!"
(C) 2010 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Longinos the Centurion
Reading from the Synaxarion:
This Martyr was in the service of Pontius Pilate at the time of Christ
our Saviour's Passion. While standing guard at the Cross and
beholding the earthquake and all that came to pass, he cried out with fear,
"Truly this was the Son of God" (Matt. 27:54). After the Resurrection,
he forsook the military and departed for Cappadocia, his homeland,
where he preached Christ. By the agency of Pontius Pilate, Tiberius
Caesar had him arrested and beheaded.
Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Thy Martyr, O Lord, in his courageous contest for Thee received the
prize of the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal
God. For since he possessed Thy strength, he cast down the tyrants
and wholly destroyed the demons' strengthless presumption. O Christ
God, by his prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.
Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
With great joy the Church of Christ today rejoiceth on the festive
memory of blest Longinus, the all-famed and godly prizewinner. And she
doth cry out: O Christ, my foundation and might art Thou.
Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery
No comments:
Post a Comment