from antiochan.org, dynamispublications,org, rongolini.com and biblegateway.com:
Daily Readings:
Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: Fore-Feast of the Theophany, St. Sylvester, Pope of Rome
Scriptural Readings:
Saint Luke 13:10-17 (1/2-1/15) Twenty-seventh Sunday after Pentecost
To Heal All: Saint Luke 13:10-17, especially vs. 16: “So ought not this woman...be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” During the reign of King Asa of Judah (911-870 BC), the Prophet Hanani reproached the king for making defensive treaties with pagans instead of relying upon God (2 Ch. 16:1-9). The Prophet reminded King Asa of a basic truth concerning God and mankind: “...the eyes of the Lord look over the whole earth, and strengthen every heart that is loyal to Him” (2 Ch. 16:9). In this reading from Luke’s Gospel, note that Hanani’s declaration is manifest in the Lord Jesus’ actions. In healing the bent woman He also offered healing to all present, just as today He seeks to renew “...every heart that is loyal to Him.”
Note two things the Lord Jesus did in healing the bent woman: He declared that she was loosed from her infirmity (vs. 12), and He laid His hands on her (vs. 13). Saint Cyril of Alexandria draws attention to the difference between the manner in which our Lord heals and the style of the worthies of the Old Testament when they healed: “...each of the holy prophets, if anywhere at all they wrought any miracle, is seen to have done it by the power of God.”
The ancients fell on their faces before the Almighty and besought Him with appropriate words of prayer, while “Christ, the Savior of all, offers no prayer, but refers the accomplishment of the matter to His own power, healing her by a word and the touch of the hand.”
Not to overwhelm the multitudes who were present in the synagogue, but rather to awaken them to His Divinity, Christ Jesus subtly departs from a familiar pattern employed by the ancient saints for gaining God’s compassion and healing. He behaves in a way that befits His Divine nature so all may perceive the nature of the One present with them and turn to Him to be healed. Our Lord’s ‘low-key’ style did not overwhelm or force the witnesses to believe in Him. Rather, He led them to trust Him for their healing. In response, “...all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him” (vs. 17).
When the Lord was censured for working on the Sabbath - allegedly contrary to the Law of Moses (Ex. 20:8-11) - He admonished the ruler of the synagogue for condemning Him, pointing out a contradiction in the man’s thinking. The Evangelist tells us that the ruler and other ‘adversaries’ of the Lord were ‘put to shame’ (vss. 15-17). Actually, the Lord yearned for them to be healed from false thinking, but, as Blessed Theophylact notes, they “...burned with rage that He had healed at all,” missing the opportunity to have their hearts and their theology healed.
Had the Lord Jesus’ adversaries even wondered if He were divine because of His manner of healing, they might have realized that God gave the commandment to rest on the Sabbath for the benefit of men and beasts, but not for Himself. God did rest on the Sabbath (Gn. 2:2), yet never ceases to provide for us. If, on the Sabbath, the sun left its course, the rains did not fall, and the rivers did not run, and God's other works stopped, what disasters would befall us!
By laying His hand upon the bent woman, our Lord used His human nature, drawn from the Theotokos, to show us a higher means for healing. As Saint Cyril of Alexandria discerned in this act of the Lord: “...it is possible to see that His holy flesh bore in it the power and activity of God. Thereby, He revealed that the Incarnation of the Word and His assumption of human nature took place for the overthrow of death and the destruction, and of that envy nourished against us by the wicked serpent....” We, Brethren, are initiated into this Holy Mystery. We are privileged to partake of the same healing from this same life-giving Lord and God!
O Lord, may Thy life-giving Mysteries be for the healing of our souls and bodies.
Saint Mark 1:1-8 (1/2-1/15) Sunday before the Theophany of Christ our God
The Righteous Prophet John: Saint Mark 1:1-8 NKJ, especially vs. 6: “Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.” How shall we understand the strange, austere Forerunner John? He steps into history for a brief moment, inaugurating the Lord Jesus’ ministry. His dress, diet, manner of teaching, and use of baptism for repentance form a dramatic portrait. He is not someone who we would likely meet on the street. The Evangelist Mark announces “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mk. 1:1). However, he quickly shifts attention to John. Who is this man? Why does he dress and eat as he does? Why does Saint Mark focus on him to begin his Gospel?
Mark 1:2-3 are ancient prophecies concerning God’s ‘Messenger’ - three Old Testament verses woven together: Ex. 23:20, Mal. 3:1, and Is. 40:3. Jewish scholars of the first century before Christ accepted these verses as predictions of the coming of the Messiah. For them, the appearance of the ‘Messenger of the Lord’ would signal the dawning of the age of the Messiah, of the coming of the Christ; and many saw Saint John as His Forerunner.
Saint John’s dress and actions conveyed another message - the imminent return of the Prophet Elijah. Holy Scripture described Elijah as “A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist” (4 Kg. 1:8), and that is how Saint John dressed (vs. 6)! In those days Jewish scholars concluded that Elijah would precede the Messiah as a ‘Messenger’ because he was the greatest of all the Prophets. Why? Nine centuries before, Elijah had ascended into heaven in a fiery chariot. Hence, his return would signal a unique and great moment of history.
Saint John Chrysostom observed about the Forerunner that “...he lived as though he were in heaven: and having got as it were a new way, spending all his time in hymns and prayers and holding intercourse...with God alone continually.” Our Lord Himself confirmed all these things about the Baptizer: “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him” (Mk. 9:12-13). Plainly, John was a key person in God’s eternal plan, fulfilling a portion of the Divine prophecy concerning Elijah as the precursor of the Messiah.
Consider another aspect of Saint John’s behavior. The Forerunner’s lifestyle followed the tradition of many ancient Prophets of Israel. He lived apart from the normal rounds of human activity (4 Kg. 6:1-7). An example of this may be found in a published account of the life of the Prophet Isaiah. It is reported that, because of the lawlessness of the people, Isaiah withdrew from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Later, when the men of Bethlehem also proved to be wicked, he withdrew even further south into the desert. There, with a company of men, he settled on a solitary mountain, again, apart from society. The entire community wore garments of hair to signify their life as Prophets. They ate a diet of wild foods gathered from the desert.
Understand then: for the people of the first century, the Forerunner’s preference for life in the wilderness marked him as a Prophet. As the Lord Jesus Himself said, “But what did you go out to see? A Prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a Prophet” (Mt. 11:9). As a Prophet, Saint John foretold the greatest work of the Lord’s ministry: “...He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mk. 1:8). Finally, be sure to count Saint John as the Messiah’s ‘Messenger’ (Mk. 1:2) as fulfilling part of Elijah’s work, and as the greatest among the Prophets preparing for Christ.
Behold, the Hope of Israel hath come. Serve, O Prophet, thou lamp for the Light, the dawn of the Sun, the righteousness of the Bridegroom, the Forerunner of the Word.
2 Timothy 4:5-8
2 Timothy 4:5-8 (King James Version)
5But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
6For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Mark 1:1-8
Mark 1:1-8 (King James Version)
Mark 1
1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
2As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
3The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
5And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
6And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
7And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
8I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
The Synaxarion:
January 2
Pre-festive Period of the Feast of the Holy Theophany of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of our Father among the Saints, Silvester, Pope of Rome (+335)
Upon the death of his predecessor Melchiades in 314, Saint Silvester was consecrated Bishop of ancient Rome. Saint Silvester sent legates to the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325. He died on December 31, 335, and was buried in the cemetery of Priscillus, on the Salarian Way.
Fifth Class Feast.
Typika and Beatitudes. Troparia: of the Pre-festive Period of Theophany, of Saint Silvester, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of Theophany. Epistle and Gospel of the period.
In occurrence with a Saturday, the Epistle and Gospel of the Saturday before Theophany are read. It is likewise the same on Saturday, January 4 or 5.
In occurrence with a Sunday (January 2, 3, or 4):
Typika and Beatitudes. Isodikon of the Sunday. Troparia: of the Resurrection, of the Pre-festive Period of Theophany, and of the Church Patron. Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of Theophany. Epistle and Gospel of the Sunday before Theophany.
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