From antiochan.org and dynamispublications.org:
Daily Readings:
Saints/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: the Nativity Fast, Feast of St. Nicholas
December 6
Memory of our Father among the Saints, Nicholas the Wonderworker,
Archbishop of Myra in Lycia. (Fourth century)
This holy bishop lived in the time of Emperors Diocletian and Maximian. After having led the monastic life for a while, he was promoted to the episcopal dignity for his exceptional and eminent virtue. Because he defended the interests of Christians and courageously preached the true religion, he was seized by the city's magistrates and thrown into prison in company with other Christians, after he was overpowered by assaults and inflicted with all kinds of tortures. When the great and pious Constantine took possession of the Roman Empire by a Providential decree, all the prisoners in fetters were released. Thus set at liberty, Saint Nicholas returned to Myra and took part in the Council of Nicaea held sometime after by Emperor Constantine in 325.
He died at a very old age leaving his holy body to the faithful as a source of balm and healing. He remains as if living after his death, having received from heaven the gift of miracles. His relics are preserved in Bari, Italy. His power as a wonderworker gave birth to a marvelous legend which is the origin of traditional children's festivals in the East as well as the West.
Third Class Feast, follow the general order of a Third Class Feast.
Scriptural Readings:
Proverbs 10:31-11:2 (12/6-12/19) Second Vesperal Reading: Nicholas the Wonderworker
Grace-Filled Pastors: Proverbs 10:31-11:12, especially vss. 31, 32: “The mouth of a righteous man distills wisdom...” and “the lips of righteous men distill grace....” For centuries, worthy men have been made Deacons, Priests, and Bishops. In their time, some of these drew upon the grace received so that after their repose the Church glorified them as Saints. While prayers are offered at all ordinations that “...the grace of the all-holy Spirit may come upon...” those chosen, it is instructive to search into the lives of those pastors who attained the glory of sainthood.
The present passage describes the Saints as ‘righteous’ (vss. 31,9), ‘humble’ (vs. 2), ‘discerning’ (vs. 10), and ‘faithful in spirit’ (vs. 12). The Holy Spirit surely has raised many men to productive ministry, yet, in the power of the Spirit, some have defined these words by their very lives. Matthew the Poor identifies the mark of the Saints who exhibit righteousness, humility, discernment, and faithfulness: “...submission of the human ego to God...effected in such a manner as to release the soul and let it live in total surrender to the will of God.”
Indeed, good Pastors meet Abba Matthew’s guidelines for submission to the Lord. They rely not on their own wisdom, remain wary of thinking highly of themselves, embrace discipline as a gift of great profit, obey the Spirit’s leading, confess weakness and ignorance, and, in regular prayer, examine their thoughts, intentions, purposes, words, and deeds in the light of God’s word and the counsel of their superiors. Beloved, these are actions God requires of us all! God calls the faithful to Himself. Pray both for our pastors and for all in the Church.
Examine the words of glorified Pastors - their sermons, teaching, counsel, and writings. Being righteous, their mouths ‘distilled wisdom’ (vs. 31), not just bits of information nor popular phrases, but God’s wisdom that illumines, transforms, and guides toward salvation in Christ. Saint Demetrius of Rostov summed up the style of an exemplary Saint, Nicholas of Myra: “His way of life became known to everyone...so that the Christians might be edified and glorify God.”
We learn further that “...the perception of the righteous is prosperous” (vs. 8). We recognize that the grace of the Holy Spirit and submission by a Pastor to the will of God often result in a depth of insight and a grasp of situations that enable the Gospel to take hold in the hearts and minds of the faithful he serves. As fellow servants in Christ with our Pastors, let us join them in seeking God’s will that the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ may touch many lives.
Being true in defending the Gospel, “the lips of righteous men distill grace...” (vs. 32); not that their words always were warmly received. Deacon Athanasios the Great led the First Ecumenical Council to refute the Arian heresy, and Saint Nikolai of Zica notes that “...his devotion and his zeal for Orthodoxy...contributed very greatly to the containing of the Arian heresy.” Still, for forty years as the Archbishop of Alexandria, he frequently was exiled on false charges, yet he never wavered. Our pastors need us to stand with them in defense of the Faith.
“...the mouth of the humble ponders on wisdom”(vs. 2), in the sense meant by meletao, the original verb: not only by reflection or musing from the depths of the heart upon known truths, but in applying truths in practice. As the Prophet David says, “My heart grew hot within me, and in my meditation a fire was kindled. I spake with my tongue” (Ps. 38:4,5).
Finally, a gracious Pastor is “...a man of discernment [who] keeps quiet” (Pr. 11:10). The word ‘quiet’ here is ‘hesychia.’ The Fathers show us it means the search for Christ the Truth is in the silent prayer of the heart. Here again is the Pastoral task and the work of every Christian.
O God of grace, lead Thy Pastors and Thy People by Thy Holy Spirit, to edify all, restore the wayward, proclaim the Gospel of Thy kingdom, and minister the word of Truth to Thy glory.
Hebrews 13:17-21
Hebrews 13:17-2117Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls and will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with sighing—for that would be harmful to you.
18Pray for us; we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. 19I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you very soon. 20Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luke 6:17-23
Luke 6:17-2317He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
20Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
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