From antiochan.org, dynamispublications.org:
Daily Readings:
Saints/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: The Nativity Fast
Scriptural Readings:
2 Timothy 4:9-22
2 Timothy 4:9-22
9Do your best to come to me soon, 10for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry. 12I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will pay him back for his deeds. 15You also must beware of him, for he strongly opposed our message.
16At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! 17But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 19Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus remained in Corinth; Trophimus I left ill in Miletus. 21Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers and sisters. 22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Luke 20:1-8
Luke 20:1-8
20One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders 2and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?” 3He answered them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: 4Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” 5They discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
Nahum 1:1-14 (12/1-12/14) A Reading in Kellia on the Feast of the Holy Prophet Nahum
Norms & Destiny: Nahum 1:1-14 SAAS, especially vss. 7, 8: “The Lord is merciful to those who wait on Him in the day of affliction, and He knows those who reverence Him. For with an overwhelming flood He shall make an end to those rising up, and darkness will pursue His enemies.” Terrorist attacks today have awakened nations and peoples to consider their destiny and their vulnerability. The painful cruelty of terrorism gives the words of the Holy Prophet, Nahum the Elkoshite, and of Sir William Watson, a twentieth century English poet, striking poignancy. Take Sir William’s poem, “Lachrymae Musarum” in which he writes:
The seasons change, the winds they shift and veer;
The grass of yesteryear
Is dead; the birds depart, the groves decay:
Empires dissolve and peoples disappear:
Song passes not away.
The Prophet Nahum’s ‘song’ endures in three short chapters enshrined in Holy Scripture - its music being God’s living voice to His enemies and His People. The words of the Prophet affirming that “Empires dissolve and peoples disappear” are the eternal hymn of the Church. The song begs reflection by those who plot the demise of others as well as by those they would destroy. While largely forgotten are the ancient historical circumstances to which the Prophet of Elkosh spoke, the truth of his words - the abiding word of the Lord - lives on with fresh application for all who vainly hope that things will always be as they have been and are today.
Assyria, a fierce empire in upper Mesopotamia, rose to international prominence in the ‘Fertile Crescent’ about 900 BC. It proved invincible to neighboring kingdoms, to mighty empires such as Egypt, Elam, and Babylonia, as well as Lydia in Anatolia, and, of course, to the tiny kingdom of Judah in Palestine, the homeland of Nahum.
Assyria reached the zenith of power during the reign of its emperor Ashurbanipal (668-627 BC). Then, suddenly, the nation declined and disappeared forever following the destruction of its capital, Nineveh, by the Babylonian army in 612 BC. Illumined by God, Nahum foretold this scouring defeat, which gives his prophecies pertinence to peoples everywhere at all times.
The present reading is the opening portion of Nahum’s prophecy. It divides into two parts: the first reveals God’s judgment toward His ‘adversaries’ as well as His will for “...those who reverence Him” (vss. 2,7); the second portion describes how God acts toward those who “...plot against the Lord” and toward His own who have been in ‘bonds’ under them (vss. 9,13).
The Lord “...takes vengeance on His adversaries...” (vs. 2). The Prophet frames this word of the Lord in images drawn from the destructive powers of nature (vss. 5,6). But be attentive: God’s aim ever is mercy for “...those who wait on Him in the day of affliction” (vs. 7).
If you love the Lord, then know that enemies and affliction are ever the ‘norm’ for the faithful. Our Lord Himself ‘was ill-treated’ (Is. 53:7). Lobbyists against truth and politicians who temporize with terrorists are enemies of God, as are those openly bent on destroying life, families, cities and churches: Nahum declares God’s judgment on all such. However, rejoice, the Master’s Resurrection declares our eternal destiny: “...neither death nor life...nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38,39).
Holy art Thou, O Master Who lovest mankind, Who hast provided for us the salvation of regeneration, which is in Thy Christ Himself, Who brought us to the knowledge of Thee our God.
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