From antiochan.org, dynamispublications.org, rongolini.com and bible gateway.com:
Daily Readings:
Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: Fifth Day of the Feast of the Encounter of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, Memory of our venerable Father Bukolos, Bishop of Smyrna (?), The holy Martyr Julian, a Physician of Emesa (+under Numerian, 283-284)
Scriptural Readings:
Saint Luke 19:1-10 (2/6-2/19) The Sunday of Zacchaeos
To See Jesus: Saint Luke 19:1-10, especially vs. 4: “So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.” Traveling with His disciples, the Lord Jesus, God Incarnate in human flesh, passes through Jericho. The city, well below sea level, close to the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, is a center of date farming, due to a tropical climate. There the Lord meets and heals a blind man, Bar Timaeus (Lk. 18:35-43, Mk. 10:46-52). Then starting toward the steep road up to Jerusalem, He meets a short man, a Chief Tax Collector, Zacchaeos (Lk. 19:1-10). The common theme in the two encounters is the healing by Lord of the inner eyes of Bar Timaeus and Zacchaeos - the illumination of both men.
What a blessing when the Lord Jesus open the eyes of the heart! Saint Nikolai of Zica observes that Christ is a mirror, “...in which each one of us sees himself as he is. This unique mirror has been given to men for them to see themselves as they are.” The physically blind Bar Timaeus saw himself healed, and he was, indeed, healed. Zacchaeos, the spiritually blind, looked into the mirror of Christ and saw a shriveled, grasping self. However, he also saw his true nature as a caring, generous, giving man fashioned in the image of God. Christ opened his inner eyes, and Zacchaeos found the path to repentance and his true person lost in the recesses of his heart.
Look closely at Christ for the whole truth about yourself, your heart and soul. Saint Peter looked at his fishing boat sinking under an enormous catch, and the sight of his sin arrested him. He fell to his knees: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Lk. 5:8). Zacchaeos heard that Jesus was coming, and he yearned to see the wonder-worker and teacher from Galilee - to see “...Who Jesus was...” (vs. 3). Being short, he climbed a tree to catch a view since he could not look through the throngs that lined the roadway (vs. 3). But notice what the text says: it was the Lord Who first saw this inquiring publican. Christ saw the little man in the tree, but He saw deeper into Zacchaeus’ spirit, a heart folded in upon itself and shriveled. The Lord Jesus perceived his yearning and openness. The Divine Physician saw a man who would and could be healed. Hence, He called out to him, “...come down...” (vs. 5).
“So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully” (vs. 6). Notice that when Zacchaeos looked into the mirror of Christ he saw a ‘new man,’ a true self reflected back. The little publican had grown to loathe ‘the old man’ within himself. He longed to be rid of him, and so it was that he hastened toward Christ, that the Lord might enter his home and his life. Hope was born. He received ‘Him joyfully’ (vs. 6), the Savior Who bestows ‘the new man’ on any who will invite Him into their inner life. Think of it! Receive Christ and be healed!
The Evangelist tells us that there were others who saw the Lord “...gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner” (vs. 7). ‘They’ saw only ‘the old man,’ the hated tax collector, for their hearts were darkened. Being trapped in their sins, they did not see Christ the Physician. They did not see Jesus going to a patient in need. To their blinded sight, the Lord was merely Jesus of Nazareth, a fraudulent teacher of lies. Let us yearn to see Jesus as Zacchaeos did, with the eyes of our hearts opened. O Christ, come and work Thy new creation within me!
Zacchaeos caught sight of the path of healing repentance - not lonesome remorse, but a possible step toward true life. Blessed Theophylact points out that “If we consider well, we see that nothing at all remained of Zacchaeos’ money. Half he gave to the poor, and of the half that remained to him, he gave fourfold to those whom he had wronged.” May Christ our God show us the way to life-giving repentance and supply His grace to walk therein.
May I ever remember Thy grace, and live unto Thee, our Master and Benefactor.
2 Corinthians 6:16-17:1
2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1 (King James Version)
16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
2 Corinthians 7
1Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Matthew 15:21-28
Matthew 15:21-28 (King James Version)
21Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
22And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
28Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
The Synaxarion:
February 6
Fifth Day of the Feast of the Encounter of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of our venerable Father Bukolos, Bishop of Smyrna (?)
The holy Martyr Julian, a Physician of Emesa (+under Numerian, 283-284)
From his tender youth, Saint Bukolos was consecrated to God to be a receptable of the Holy Spirit. Tried by Saint John the Theologian and having been found worthy, he was elected Bishop of Smyrna. Enlightened by the Holy Spirit, he illumined those who were seated in darkness and by baptism made them sons of light, delivering them from the devil's tyranny. Before his death he established Saint Polycarp as the shepherd and doctor of the faithful in Symrna. Where his body was placed into the earth, God made a plant grow which heals all sickness, up to our times.
A pious young man from Emesa, Saint Julian was versed in medicine. He cared for bodily ills but in reality took better care of souls for he was a doctor of the body as well as the soul. Under Emperor Numerian (283-284), Bishop Silvan was seized by the pagans and condemned to the beasts at the same time as the deacon Luke and the lector Mokios. Amid those who led them to punishment, Saint Julian went to embrace them. Seized, he was beheaded immediately after the three martyrs' execution.
Fifth Class Feast.
Daily Readings:
Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: Fifth Day of the Feast of the Encounter of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, Memory of our venerable Father Bukolos, Bishop of Smyrna (?), The holy Martyr Julian, a Physician of Emesa (+under Numerian, 283-284)
Scriptural Readings:
Saint Luke 19:1-10 (2/6-2/19) The Sunday of Zacchaeos
To See Jesus: Saint Luke 19:1-10, especially vs. 4: “So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.” Traveling with His disciples, the Lord Jesus, God Incarnate in human flesh, passes through Jericho. The city, well below sea level, close to the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, is a center of date farming, due to a tropical climate. There the Lord meets and heals a blind man, Bar Timaeus (Lk. 18:35-43, Mk. 10:46-52). Then starting toward the steep road up to Jerusalem, He meets a short man, a Chief Tax Collector, Zacchaeos (Lk. 19:1-10). The common theme in the two encounters is the healing by Lord of the inner eyes of Bar Timaeus and Zacchaeos - the illumination of both men.
What a blessing when the Lord Jesus open the eyes of the heart! Saint Nikolai of Zica observes that Christ is a mirror, “...in which each one of us sees himself as he is. This unique mirror has been given to men for them to see themselves as they are.” The physically blind Bar Timaeus saw himself healed, and he was, indeed, healed. Zacchaeos, the spiritually blind, looked into the mirror of Christ and saw a shriveled, grasping self. However, he also saw his true nature as a caring, generous, giving man fashioned in the image of God. Christ opened his inner eyes, and Zacchaeos found the path to repentance and his true person lost in the recesses of his heart.
Look closely at Christ for the whole truth about yourself, your heart and soul. Saint Peter looked at his fishing boat sinking under an enormous catch, and the sight of his sin arrested him. He fell to his knees: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Lk. 5:8). Zacchaeos heard that Jesus was coming, and he yearned to see the wonder-worker and teacher from Galilee - to see “...Who Jesus was...” (vs. 3). Being short, he climbed a tree to catch a view since he could not look through the throngs that lined the roadway (vs. 3). But notice what the text says: it was the Lord Who first saw this inquiring publican. Christ saw the little man in the tree, but He saw deeper into Zacchaeus’ spirit, a heart folded in upon itself and shriveled. The Lord Jesus perceived his yearning and openness. The Divine Physician saw a man who would and could be healed. Hence, He called out to him, “...come down...” (vs. 5).
“So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully” (vs. 6). Notice that when Zacchaeos looked into the mirror of Christ he saw a ‘new man,’ a true self reflected back. The little publican had grown to loathe ‘the old man’ within himself. He longed to be rid of him, and so it was that he hastened toward Christ, that the Lord might enter his home and his life. Hope was born. He received ‘Him joyfully’ (vs. 6), the Savior Who bestows ‘the new man’ on any who will invite Him into their inner life. Think of it! Receive Christ and be healed!
The Evangelist tells us that there were others who saw the Lord “...gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner” (vs. 7). ‘They’ saw only ‘the old man,’ the hated tax collector, for their hearts were darkened. Being trapped in their sins, they did not see Christ the Physician. They did not see Jesus going to a patient in need. To their blinded sight, the Lord was merely Jesus of Nazareth, a fraudulent teacher of lies. Let us yearn to see Jesus as Zacchaeos did, with the eyes of our hearts opened. O Christ, come and work Thy new creation within me!
Zacchaeos caught sight of the path of healing repentance - not lonesome remorse, but a possible step toward true life. Blessed Theophylact points out that “If we consider well, we see that nothing at all remained of Zacchaeos’ money. Half he gave to the poor, and of the half that remained to him, he gave fourfold to those whom he had wronged.” May Christ our God show us the way to life-giving repentance and supply His grace to walk therein.
May I ever remember Thy grace, and live unto Thee, our Master and Benefactor.
2 Corinthians 6:16-17:1
2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1 (King James Version)
16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
2 Corinthians 7
1Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Matthew 15:21-28
Matthew 15:21-28 (King James Version)
21Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
22And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
28Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
The Synaxarion:
February 6
Fifth Day of the Feast of the Encounter of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Memory of our venerable Father Bukolos, Bishop of Smyrna (?)
The holy Martyr Julian, a Physician of Emesa (+under Numerian, 283-284)
From his tender youth, Saint Bukolos was consecrated to God to be a receptable of the Holy Spirit. Tried by Saint John the Theologian and having been found worthy, he was elected Bishop of Smyrna. Enlightened by the Holy Spirit, he illumined those who were seated in darkness and by baptism made them sons of light, delivering them from the devil's tyranny. Before his death he established Saint Polycarp as the shepherd and doctor of the faithful in Symrna. Where his body was placed into the earth, God made a plant grow which heals all sickness, up to our times.
A pious young man from Emesa, Saint Julian was versed in medicine. He cared for bodily ills but in reality took better care of souls for he was a doctor of the body as well as the soul. Under Emperor Numerian (283-284), Bishop Silvan was seized by the pagans and condemned to the beasts at the same time as the deacon Luke and the lector Mokios. Amid those who led them to punishment, Saint Julian went to embrace them. Seized, he was beheaded immediately after the three martyrs' execution.
Fifth Class Feast.
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