Friday, July 16, 2004
Fast Day
Hieromartyr Athenogenes, Bishop of Herakleopolis
2nd at Vesprs/2, Prophet Elijah: 1 Kings 18:41-46 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 7:35-8:7 Gospel: St. Matthew 15:29-31
1 Kings 18:41-46, especially vs. 41: "And Elijah said to Ahab, 'Go up, eat and drink; for
there is a sound of the rushing of rain.'" We disdain the commandments of God at great peril to life, limb, and our heart's
well-being. God records for us that Ahab, the king of Israel, provoked Divine wrath upon himself, his household, and his
nation "more than all who were before him" (1 K. 16:30). Still, in His mercy, the Lord permits us to perceive what was
plain and evident to His servant, Elijah. The Prophet knew that the king's marriage to Jezebel unequally yoked the
monarch, as well as the people and the realm, to a committed pagan (1 K. 16:31; 2 Cor. 6:14). He understood that the
king's worship of Baal affronted the true Lord Who gives life to all (Ex. 20:3,4). What the king ignored in building a
temple for Baal in the nation's capital, Elijah discerned to be an approaching disaster for the kingdom (1 Sam. 15:23).
Elijah, however, was a man of great faith, one who took God at His word and lived his entire life in close communion with
the Lord. Therefore, God entrusted the power of a prolonged drought and famine solely to the word of Elijah as a warning
to the king and the nation (1 K. 17:1). Later, the Lord affirmed His trust in His Prophet before the people on Mount Carmel
(1 K. 18:20-39), an event that precipitated the execution of the priests of the cult of Baal (1 K. 18:40). It was at that point
that the great Prophet was prepared to say to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of the rushing of rain" (1 K.
18:41). At that moment Elijah knew that the drought was coming to an end, though there was no cloud visible in the sky
(vs. 43).
What is "great faith," a stamp so plainly evident on the person of Elijah? Surely, it is knowing God, and waiting for God,
and, above all, having the hand of God upon one's own person (vs. 46). Without question, Elijah knew God, but let us be
careful and clear. The Prophet had a functioning relationship with the Lord. We must not understand by these words that
he knew much 'about' God. No, he knew the Lord, person to Person. Hence, the Lord could speak to him, and Elijah
heard the "word of the Lord" (1 K. 18:1). How is it possible that a man can hear the word of the Lord? It is because he
"stands before" the Lord (1 K. 17:1).
How is it that anyone 'knows' another person? Is it not by spending time with another, conversing with another, and so
coming to know the heart and mind of another? Knowing God is similar. Think of what is implied in the little reference of
Elijah to his life with God, "the Lord God lives, before Whom I stand" (1 K. 17:1). Hours and days of inner struggle and
prayer are embedded in that phrase. Many of the ascetic Fathers such as St. Isaac the Syrian speak of such inner work:
"The ladder that leads to the Kingdom is hidden within you, and is found in your own soul. Dive into yourself and in your
soul you will discover the rungs by which to ascend." God is there and present for us. Let us struggle to stand before Him,
to be present with Him.
Great faith also entails waiting for the Lord, for God acts in His good time, when He is ready. Elijah did not go to Ahab
until "many days" had passed and until the "word of the Lord came"(1 K. 18:1). Likewise, after the defeat of the priests of
Baal, Elijah "bowed himself down upon the earth" and waited for God, waited in faith (1 K. 18:42). Then the cloud came
(vs. 44).
When one knows God and is content to wait for Him, God empowers such a person with great faith. It is fair to say of such
a person that "the hand of the Lord" is upon him. In such a state, a man is able to run before those of little or no faith, even
as Elijah ran the seventeen miles from Mount Carmel to Jezreel ahead of Ahab's chariot (vs. 46).
O Lord Thou art become my helper; in the shelter of Thy wings will I rejoice. My soul hath cleaved after Thee, Thy right
hand hath been quick to help me. (Ps. 62:7,8 LXX)
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Great-Martyr Marina of Antioch in Pisidia
2nd at Vespers/3, Prophet Elijah: 1 Kings 19:1-18 Epistle: Romans 12:1-3 Gospel: St. Matthew 10:37-11:1
1 Kings 19:1-18, especially vs. 9: "He came to a cave, and lodged there; and
behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'" Accustomed to
standing before God and being with his Lord, Elijah heard God when He spoke to him. For this reason, the Prophet also
reveals how God is present for all those who know Him. How is that? How is it that God presents Himself to those who
are mature in faith so that a struggler knows clearly when it is "the word of the Lord" that he is hearing in the still, small
voice that speaks within (vss. 9,13)?
In the present passage, God discloses how He presents Himself to His beloved. Follow the narrative: continuing the raging
cultural war inside the kingdom of Israel, Queen Jezebel, with the full power of the throne, blatantly threatened Elijah's life
(vs. 2). So the Prophet "arose and went for his life," moving south away from her control in Israel, even through the
adjoining kingdom of Judah to the southernmost limits of 'civilization' at Beer Sheba from which he pressed on (vs. 3).
Exhausted by a day's journey into the desert, he prays for death, lies down, and sleeps (vss. 4,5). Now, with Elijah in
extremity, God would make Himself clearly present.
God provided for the Prophet, feeding him by an angel to sustain him for his sojourn in the wilderness (vss. 4-8). Knowing
God as a Provider reoccurred as a pattern throughout Elijah's life. The ravens fed him when God sent him to the brook
Cherith in the Transjordan wilderness (1 K. 17:4-6). In the confrontation with the priests of Baal, God provided the fire
which consumed Elijah's offering (1 K. 18:38). Beloved of the Lord, God is ever-present, providing for us also as David
cries: "Thou hast visited the earth and abundantly watered her; Thou hast multiplied the means of enriching her...Thou hast
prepared their food" (Ps. 64:9,10 LXX). He provides for all our needs - especially even delivering us from our sins (Ps.
78:9 LXX).
Notice, next, how God probes His Prophet's consciousness to present Himself within Elijah's mind and heart. Twice the
Lord asks, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 K. 19:9,13). The Lord Jesus likewise probes His disciples to reflect with
Him. He asked the Twelve, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, Am?" (Mt. 16:13). Then, much as in the case of
Elijah, the Lord Jesus pressed again, "But who do you say that I Am?" (Mt. 16:15). Let us never forget that the Lord is
probing our consciousness as well: "I stand at the door and knock" (Rev. 3:20). In our decision making, God is present,
ever probing that we should awaken to Him.
This probing of God into our hearts and minds serves to awaken us, to make us aware of His presence so that we will hear
Him when He speaks to us. Once God has the full attention of one of His servants, He commands. He had Elijah's
attention so well that the Prophet could declare to Ahab "there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my
word" (1 K. 17:2). Then God commanded Elijah to go to the brook Cherith (1 K. 17:3). When the water dried up there,
God commanded Elijah to "Arise, go to Zarephath" (1 K. 17:9). After three years of drought, the Lord directed His Prophet
to "Go, show yourself to Ahab" (1 K. 18:1).
Again, having Elijah's attention, God commands the Prophet: "Go return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus" (1
K. 19:15), to the capital of Syria, and there "anoint Hazael to be king over Syria; and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall
anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be Prophet in your place"
(1 K. 19:15,16). Thus God will finish the cultural war in Israel and rid the kingdom of Ahab and Jezebel.
O Lord, Thou hast provided us with Thy life-giving Mysteries for our souls and bodies, and enlightened the eyes of our
hearts: by Thy grace may we ever obey Thy commandments.
Sun., July 18, 2004
(Tone 6)
Sunday of the Fathers of the 1st 6 Ecumenical Councils
3rd at Vespers/1, Prophet Elijah: 1 Kings 19:19-21 Epistle: Romans 15:1-7 Gospel: St. Matthew 9:27-35
1 Kings 19:19-21, especially vss. 19, 20: "Elijah passed by him and cast his mantle upon
him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah." The gesture by Elijah was simple - casting of his mantle upon Elisha, but
it changed the man's life forever. The call of God on one's life is compelling, requiring assent and action. Today's reading
records the call of God to the young son of Shaphat, the one chosen of God "to be Prophet in [Elijah's] place" (1 K. 19:16)
and to continue the cleansing of Israel in the cultural war provoked by the idolatries of King Ahab. Elijah's casting of his
cloak upon Elisha gained the young man's instant assent as revealed in his offering of the plough oxen and in his going
after and ministering to Elijah.
That it was God Who issued the call is evident, for Scripture shows that Elijah acted on the basis of orders from God (1 K.
19:16). Further, Elisha did not confer with anyone concerning his decision to follow Elijah, but immediately ran after him
(1 K. 19:20), and, finally, Elisha's unquestioning service to the elder Prophet reveals that his anointing was of God (vs. 21).
All authentic calls to ministry among the People of God issue from God alone. Those who act on the Lord's behalf in
relation to aspirants moving toward Divine service are only vessels of God to carry out His purposes. This truth, revealed
so plainly in the present account, applies even today to the families, confessors, Bishops, Commissions on Ministry, and
Seminary faculties who share in preparing candidates for ministry in the Church. Note: when Elisha says, "I will follow
you," the old Prophet of God replies to him, "what have I done to you?" (vs. 20). Hereby, Elijah makes clear that the call
which Elisha 'hears' is not issuing from the Prophet but from the Lord. He might well have added, "I have done nothing
but issue the call of God."
The instant response of Elisha and the absence of any evident reluctance from his family further reveal the Divine nature of
the call. Slaughtering and preparing a pair of oxen on a moment's notice is no small matter - even for one raised on a farm.
This is true with respect to the loss of the plough stock as well as for the labor involved in preparing them for a feast.
When Elijah cast his cloak on the son of Shaphat, the act was catalytic. It precipitated a response to God's call in the heart
of Elisha and brought about the subsequent actions. Note that Elisha's family joined in the celebration of what God had
wrought within the young man, all of them eating from the oxen that had been instruments of his former occupation. The
break with the past was complete, for his plough-animals were roasted for the meal (vs. 21), and all was done without
discussion. The anointing was accepted as a call from God.
Finally, observe that Elisha comes under the authority of the call from God not merely by following the Prophet of God but
also by ministering to him, by serving under God's designated and anointed servant. In the Septuagint this is especially
clear in the verb choice - "ministered" or "eleitourgei" in the original, from which the word "liturgy" comes. The call to
Elisha from God led him into a public ministry in the Lord's service, just as the text says, Elisha "ministered" to Elijah (vs.
21). In serving the People of God, either anciently or since the Lord Jesus' liturgy on behalf of the world, those called into
God's service are all under the authority of others. There is no place for Lone Rangers within the ranks of the authentic,
canonical ministry of the Church.
This reading should prompt all who call themselves Christians to consider their ministry under Christ and His Church, for
all of us are accountable to God and should be responsive instantly as He calls us to serve in submission to His leaders
within the Body of Christ.
Be mindful, O Lord, of every Bishop of the Orthodox; of our Priests and Deacons, whom Thou hast established to feed Thy
flock; and by their prayers, have mercy upon us and save us.
Monday, July 19, 2004
The Venerable Macrina, Sister of Basil the Great
3rd at Vespers/2, Prophet Elijah:2 Kings 2:1, 6-14 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 9:13-28 Gospel: St. Matthew 16:1-6
2 Kings 2:1, 6-14, especially vs. 14: "Then he took the mantle of Elijah that
had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" And when he had struck the
water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other; and Elisha went over." The dramatic account of the Lord's
translation of the Prophet Elijah into His own "brilliant city" in the heavens confirms the Divine glorification of the
Tishbite and his eternal place as chief among the God-inspired Prophets. It indicates the reason why the Church calls upon
the Faithful to "raise our voices in rejoicing and joy, saying, Rejoice, O earthly angel and heavenly man, Elijah of great
name!"
Furthermore, the account of Elijah's ascension also serves as a type of the succession in ministry which has functioned
among God's People from before the Lord's Incarnation up to the present. Today, continuity in ministry is embodied in the
doctrine of Apostolic Succession which asserts, in the words of Father Thomas Hopko, that "the genuine faith and life of
the Church is passed on from church to church, from generation to generation and from place to place, through the
succession of Holy Tradition in the consecration of Bishops, whose teachings and practice is identical to each other and to
that of the apostles of Jesus." Hence, in reading of the exaltation of that noble, holy man, Elijah, there is revealed the
passing on of the genuine faith and life of God's People from Elijah to the godly Elisha and to many generations
subsequently.
Succession in ministry among the People of God, as the reading shows, is anchored in an observable and heartfelt unity
among those who serve God's People in His Name and Power. In the case of the two holy Prophets, the reading reveals
their unity in several ways. First, Elijah gave his disciple every opportunity and the freedom to find his own path before
God now that the Lord had shown them that He "was about to take" Elijah (vs. 1). Nevertheless, Elisha three times
demured: "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you" (vss. 2,4,6).
The omitted verses (vss. 2,5) show further that the unity between the two great Prophets was shared widely and included
groups of the "sons of the prophets" (vss. 3,5), other members of the prophetic order. In addition, it should be noted that
the unity in ministry which underlies succession is for life and extends beyond this earthly existence: Elisha went across the
Jordan with Elijah knowing that the Lord was about to take his master, but he maintained their unity even unto death.
Then, afterwards, Elisha called out to "the Lord, the God of Elijah" (vs. 14), revealing that he considered their unity
binding through death and for all eternity. This same profound unity has served Apostolic Succession from the Apostles to
include our present-day Bishops. As Bishop Kallistos Ware explains: "The Church is...formed by the communion of many
hierarchs with one another, and of each hierarch with the members of his flock."
Is it not apparent that the unity underlying succession in ministry is a gift from God? And also that God is Himself the
source of the unity and the One Who assures and preserves unified succession among those He calls into His service?
Succession is not of human agency, though it be expressed by human actions (vss. 8,14). It is mystical in nature because it
is God-given. All the blessings which were extended to the People of God in the kingdom of Israel during the lifetime of
Elijah were continued without interruption by Elisha (2 K. 2,4-9,13). "Double share" (vs. 9) does not mean quantity. It is
an Hebraic idiom for the right of the successor. Thus, the charisms of the Apostles are being extended by the Lord through
His Bishops to this day.
Be mindful, O Lord, of every Bishop of the Orthodox, who rightly divideth the word of Thy truth and put not to confusion
any in Thy ministry, but visit us all with Thy benevolence.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
The Holy Prophet Elijah (Elias)
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 1:1-15 Epistle: James 5:10-20 Gospel: St. Luke 4:22-30
1 Maccabees 1:1-15, especially vs. 11: "In those days lawless men came forth from
Israel, and misled many, saying, 'Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles round about us.'" Today, we begin a
course reading through the first four chapters of First Maccabees. These chapters summarize the struggle of the ancient
People of God to maintain their faith and worship in purity during the time of the Seleucid King, Antiochus IV Epiphanes
(175-164 BC). It was during his reign, and as a result of his vicious repression of Judaism (167 BC), that a revolt ensued,
beginning with the martyrdom of seven brothers, their mother, Solomona, and the Scribe Eleazar (see 2 Maccabees 6, 7 as
well as 4 Maccabees).
The present reading introduces this period of antipathetical Hellenism in Palestine, an era for which the conquests of
Alexander the Great in 333 BC set the stage. The reign of the Seleucid kings came after the writing of the Hebrew Old
Testament. The last Hebrew books were penned during the age when the Persian empire ruled Palestine - after defeating
the Babylonians in 539 BC. Persian policy had been friendly toward the Jews' return to the Holy Land, toward restoring
the Temple and rebuilding Jerusalem, which deepened Jewish religious devotion and worship.
Understand that what the text reports refers to the start of a Greek cultural epoch. The defeat of Darius III, "king of the
Persians and the Medes" (vs. 1), was the result of a series of brilliant military campaigns conducted by Alexander the
Macedonian. First, in 336 BC, he united the Greek cities under him. Then in 334, he crossed the Hellespont into Asia with
30,000 to 40,000 troops. At the battle at Issis, in 333, where the south coast of Anatolia ends in the east coast of the
Mediterranean, Alexander routed the huge army of Darius. In the next two years he conquered Darius' province of Egypt,
twice crossing Palestine, first south and then north.
Alexander's next campaigns, in fact, were pursuits of Darius across what is now northern Syria and Iraq all the way to the
Tigris river. He then swept north and south through the Persian heartland (modern day Iran) during 331 and 330 until
Darius was assassinated by his own nobles. Afterwards, Alexander continued his conquests into the Kabul valley (modern
Afghanistan), taking four years to destroy the remnants of the Persian forces and some hill tribes. At last he followed the
Indus river south through what is now Pakistan to the sea (near modern Karachi).
Alexander "plundered many nations" and "the earth became quiet before him" (vs. 3). However, while retracing his steps,
he died suddenly of fever at Babylon, but not before dividing "his kingdom among [his generals] while he was still alive"
(vss. 6,7). To one of these generals, Seleucus, fell the region including the Mesopotamian valley, Syria, southern Turkey,
Lebanon, and Palestine. The infamous Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-169 BC), whom the text calls "a sinful root"(vs. 10),
was a descendant of this first Seleucus. Antiochus IV's father, Antiochus III, was defeated by the Romans in 190 BC for
sheltering Hannibal, the Carthaginian, and for invading Greece, at which time the Romans took Antiochus IV hostage (vs.
10).
Later still, the Romans permitted Antiochus IV to assume his kingdom. He then aggressively promoted Greek culture and
religion. In Judea his actions deeply divided the Jews (vss. 11-15). The gymnasium mentioned in the text (vs. 14) was a
planned part of a policy to end Jewish separatism. Also, Antiochus plundered the Jewish Temple, ended sacrifices, and
Sabbath observation, destroyed copies of the Law, and required Jews to participate in the pagan festivals. Some Jews
actually did abandon "the holy covenant [and] joined with the Gentiles" (vs. 15); yet...Thy Martyrs, O Lord, have received
imperishable crowns and crushed the powerless might of Satan. Through their intercessions, O Christ our God, save our
souls.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Fast Day
Victor of Marseilles
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 1:16-28 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 10:12-22 Gospel: St. Matthew 16:20-24
1 Maccabees 1:16-28, especially vss. 25, 26: "Israel mourned deeply in every
community, rulers and elders groaned...." As we noted yesterday, Antiochus IV Epiphanes aggressively imposed pagan
Greek culture on his kingdom to unify it. After his successful military campaign in Egypt (vss. 17-19), he intensified the
efforts to suppress the Faith of God's ancient people. He plundered the Temple, ordered an end to sacrifices and Sabbath
observance, destroyed copies of the Law, and required Jews to participate in pantheistic worship. Earlier in his reign, he
had replaced the orthodox High Priest, Onias III, with his brother Jason, a man sympathetic to King Antiochus' hellenizing
policy. Then, before the war with Egypt, Menalaus, an associate of Jason, offered the king a handsome price for the High
Priesthood, and Antiochus 'appointed' him as High Priest, a man not even in the lineage of Aaron, but of the tribe of
Benjamin. This was a grave scandal to pious Jews (Lev. 12:10-15).
Observe that the writer of Maccabees does not explain Antiochus' withdrawal from Egypt (1 Mac 1:20) after his successful
campaign there. Actually, the decision was forced on him by a Roman envoy who drew a circle around him in the sand and
exacted his promise to quit Egypt. The Romans were not about to have a Seleucid ruling both Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Understanding Roman power, Antiochus withdrew and came to Jerusalem where with the help of Menalaus he enriched his
royal treasuries by taking "silver and gold, and the costly vessels; he took also the hidden treasures which he found" (vs.
23) from the Temple. Antiochus' "murders" (vs. 24) were carried out among known opponents of Menalaus. His speech
of "great arrogance" (vs. 24) was a royal edict requiring all nationalities of his empire to worship the Greek deities. The
pious, Hasidic Jews felt shame and anger very "deeply in every community" (vs. 25).
For Orthodox Christians, the profound pain and bitter offense which the ancient People of God felt when Antiochus
Epiphanes sacked and desecrated their Temple is entirely understandable. The Temple and its "sanctuary and...the golden
altar, the lampstand for the light, and all its utensils" (vs. 21) were consecrated, set apart, as were the Priests and especially
the High Priest - all being "holy to the Lord" (Ex. 30:1-10). Similarly, our Orthodox churches, icons, sacred vessels,
Priests and the Divine Liturgy are all consecrated and set apart as holy to God Himself. Therefore, all these are treated with
great reverence as means for knowing God.
The awe which the Jews felt and which Orthodox Christians know in relation to holy things, persons, feasts, and practices
derives from the fact that these are tangible means which God uses to disclose Himself to the hearts and minds of the
Faithful. While worship always is reserved for God alone, veneration is natural around holy things used in the worship and
ministry of the Lord. How sad are those who have not opened their hearts to the Living God Who created them nor have
faced His Holy Presence in awe and reverence. As Bishop Kallistos Ware says, "Unless we start out with a feeling of awe
and astonishment - with what is often called a sense of the 'numinous' - we shall make little progress on the Way."
Saddest of all are those who not only do not know God but are determined to inflict their beliefs, ideologies, or false
religions upon the Faithful. History is replete with such antagonists and their desecrations. Two examples which the
Orthodox remember with pain come to mind: the conversion of the Hagia Sophia by the Islamists into a mosque with the
defacing of its icons, and, equally painful to the Faithful, is the memory of the Bolsheviks closing of churches with massive
executions and imprisonment of bishops, clergy, monks, nuns, and devout lay members.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us!
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Mary Magdalene, Myrrh-bearer and Equal-to-the-Apostles
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 1:41-53 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 10:28-11:7 Gospel: St. Matthew 16:24-28
1 Maccabees 1:41-53, especially vs. 52: "Many of the people, every one who
forsook the Law joined them, and they did evil in the land...." Programs and policies designed to impose values of human
invention have a long, sordid history. The Inquisition, the French Revolution, the Communist Internationale, and the Nazi
endeavor at world domination are now seen to have been only additions to earlier efforts like those of the Seleucid Kings
and the early Roman Emperors to eliminate the beliefs, practices, and the way of life revealed by God for His People and
for all mankind. At times the forces of conformity have been indirect, implemented through social pressure, advertisement,
and propaganda. At other times, the full concentration of the State power, or the threat of such, have been brought to bear
so that "whoever [would] not obey the command of the king [should] die" (vs. 50). Do we not live in a time when the
media and other indirect powers are being applied to our Holy Faith?
Indeed, Beloved of God, the tide of conformity against the truth of God is flooding in, and the pressures against Life are
swelling. No sooner has the bankruptcy of Marxism and National Socialism been exposed and checked, than the
proponents of secularism and humanism now are working to advance other agenda opposed to the revealed truth of God.
Now is our turn to stand faithfully against the success of a new cultural 'cold war,' with its use of low-level and indirect
force. We may forsake the Truth of God and join them in doing "evil in the land," or go "into hiding" (vss. 52,53) or we
may wake up, take a stand, and oppose the falsehood.
Discernment surely is required of us. Without the Light of Christ and His Gospel that the Holy Orthodox Faith sheds upon
those who truly believe in Christ Jesus as King and God, one is open and vulnerable to the winds of the media that blow the
latest lies of the 'politically correct' into the mind and heart. It is not enough to attend Liturgy on Sunday and rely upon
that alone to assure us that we are Orthodox. The Faith must be lived in our decisions about tuning in or tuning out the
media. So little is innocent anymore on TV, over the radio, in newspapers, in magazines, and in the circulars and mailers
that flood our homes.
The present situation among the Faithful is critical at this moment. Few are entirely free of the polluting lies that are
sweeping in on us. Lord, O Lord, "help us, save and have mercy upon us, and keep us, O God by Thy grace." Help us
choose not to stay at home on week nights and watch and listen to the lies, but to rise up and attend the Church's teaching
and worship at midweek events and services. Give us grace to tune out the popular media and to read the Holy Scriptures,
the wonderful works of the ancient and contemporary Fathers of the Church, and other material profitable for the mind and
heart. Help us to spend time with our children preparing them to make God-pleasing decisions about sex, drugs and
alcohol, the other lies that fill their classrooms, and the fads and trends that invite them to rebel against God's truth.
Forgive us O God for even considering that we "should give up [the] customs" (vs. 42) which the Church received from
Thee and continues to teach. Forgive us for accepting lies that sound good, but subtly erode Orthodox truth. Forgive us for
all the times in which we have "gladly adopted [false] religion" and ideas and "sacrificed" to the idols of social acceptance
and popularity and thereby have "profaned the sabbath" (vs. 43) and service of God in our daily lives.
Let us be "politically incorrect" and confess: abortion and euthanasia are abominations, and same-sex unions are defiling.
Marriage between a man and a woman is God's holy creation. I believe, O Lord, and I confess that Thou art truly the
Christ, the Son of the living God, Who didst come into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
Friday, July 23, 2004
Fast Day
The Holy Prophet Ezekiel
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 1:54-64 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 11:8-23 Gospel: St. Matthew 17:10-18
1 Maccabees 1:54-64, especially vs. 64: "And very great wrath came upon Israel."
In considering Israel's experience under the Seleucids, a Christian reader ought to reflect soberly on certain social policies
now being promoted in Western culture that oppose the revealed truth of God. There is a history lesson in the abrupt
cultural shift which God's People met after the first hundred years following Greek conquest. While daily life for the Jews
mostly was benign, very much like the daily life the Faithful enjoy today in the world, government programs suddenly
shifted to a systematic repression of God's truth.
Following Alexander's conquest, Palestine was ruled from Egypt, under a dynasty of kings descended from Ptolemy, one of
Alexander's generals. The era was marked by prosperity and tolerance. Many Jews even adopted Greek as their first
language. It was Jewish scholars in Egypt who, during this time, translated the Old Testament Scriptures into Greek, the
version known today as the Septuagint (LXX), which served as the Bible of the Apostolic Church and remains to this day
as the Old Testament of the Orthodox Church.
In Palestine the High Priest quietly served God's People under the crown in Egypt, even collecting taxes within the Jewish
community. However, after Antiochus IV's war against Egypt (1 Mac. 1:16-20), Palestine passed into his control, and
conditions became oppressive for any of the Faithful who held firmly to the traditions handed down from Moses and the
Prophets. The present reading reveals how thoroughly the Seleucid regime set about systematically to eliminate Judaism.
While the form of the contemporary cultural war in North America is not marked by the same sort of naked state violence
used by the Seleucids, one discerns certain parallels in the flagrant secularist attacks on the beliefs and practices of
Orthodox Christians.
First, there was disdain for what the Faithful respected as holy - places, vessels, activities, persons, and seasons - so much
that made up the warp and woof of devout life. The Seleucids blatantly "erected a desolating sacrilege upon the altar of
burnt offering" (1 Mac. 1:54) and introduced the cult of Olympian Zeus into the Temple itself. An altar to Zeus, together
with his image, was set up above the altar of sacrifice, and, then, swine's flesh was offered there. Anyone slightly familiar
with the Mosaic Law will immediately perceive the horror for the devout Jews. Yet, a similar disdain for the holy is
widespread today, which one finds in the media, in judicial rulings against religious expression, or in the forbidding of
public displays of religious images.
The officials of Antiochus suppressed religious education of the young, for "the books of the law which they found they
tore to pieces and burned with fire" (vs. 56). Today the policies and curricula used in public education, to which the
children of Orthodox families are subjected, inculcate values and assumptions wholly contrary to the truth which the
Church has received and seeks to pass on generation by generation. There is an open prejudice against the miraculous, the
experience of God acting in human life, and an openness to His Self-revelation; for such verities cannot be measured
tangibly nor proven by the exclusive tenets of the scientific method.
Finally, the Seleucids vigorously promoted self-indulgence. "But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts
not to eat unclean food." Rather, "they chose to die...than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant...." (vss.
62,63). Today, the media assume self-indulgence as the correct life-style, effectively inviting the Faithful to violate the
Fasts, abandon prayer and ascetic discipline, and ignore chastity and traditional marriage.
O Lord, our God, assist us in serving Thee in true holiness and faithfulness throughout this present life, so that we fail not
finally to attain Thy heavenly kingdom and the age to come.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Passion-Bearers Boris (Roman) and Gleb (David)
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 2:1-14 Epistle: Romans 13:1-10 Gospel: St. Matthew 12:30-37
1 Maccabees 2:1-14, especially vs. 14: "And Mattathias and his sons rent their
clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned greatly." St. John of the Ladder says, "Mourning according to God is sadness of
soul and the disposition of a sorrowing heart, which ever madly seeks that for which it thirsts; and when it fails in its quest,
it painfully pursues it, and follows in its wake grievously lamenting." This definition of mourning which the Abbot of
Sinai received from God matches precisely the portrait of Mattathias and his sons lamenting the degradation described in
today's reading. Thirsting for the holiness that is of God and from God, Mattathias saw instead only "blasphemies being
committed in Judah and Jerusalem" (vs. 6). Thereat his soul was plunged into sadness. His heart sorrowed. Failing to find
what his priest's spirit sought, "grievously lamenting," he could only follow in the boiling wake of the disaster that had
befallen the entire land of Judah.
Mattathias must be counted among the pious of God's People, those whom the Jews call "the Hasidim." His heart was
wounded by the systematic efforts of the Seleucids to unify the kingdom of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, knowing that what
God defined as holy was being ruined - the People, the City, the Temple, the sacred vessels, even innocent babes.
Mattathias' mourning, however, was not mere sorrow at a personal loss, but "mournful repentance." For his grieving, as
described in today's reading, included all the elements of godly sorrow provoked by sin and wrong. The truly pious do not
stand apart from others grief nor suffer evil as an individual loss. One who fears God experiences behaviors contrary to
God's revealed will as affronts and sins against the Lord. The objective actions, which Mattathias perceived as wrongs
according to God's judgment, which he saw as sins, evoked his mourning. The natural, healthy reaction to sin always is
mournful repentance, godly sorrow (1 Cor. 7:10).
Consider the conditions for which Mattathias and his sons mourned: "the ruin of my people" (1 Mac. 2:7) was his reference
to the murder of the inhabitants of Jerusalem killed during a truce (1 Mac. 1:30). "The ruin of the holy city" (1 Mac. 2:7)
was an allusion to the sacking and destruction of the sacred city of Jerusalem by the chief Seleucid collector of tribute (1
Mac. 1:31). Using the phrase, "the sanctuary given over to the aliens" (1 Mac. 2:7), he was speaking of the invasion of the
Temple for pagan rites (1 Mac. 1:46), a sanctuary which God forbade Gentiles to enter. When he says that "her glorious
vessels have been carried into captivity" (1 Mac. 2:9), he was recalling the looting of the holy vessels of the Temple by
Antiochus (1 Mac. 22-24). Added to all this, Mattathias remembered that the babes of God's people "have been killed in
her streets" (1 Mac. 2:9), for infants found circumcised were killed by the Seleucids (1 Mac. 1:60).
Which of these deeds was not contrary to God's will as stated in explicit terms in the Divine Law? "Thou shalt do no
murder. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" (Ex. 20:13,15,16). His grief was
mournful repentance.
Mattathias was plunged into mournful repentance by blatant sins being committed in every city and village (vs. 6). It was
spiritually appropriate for him to repent and mourn. When he cried, "Alas! Why was I born to see this...." and he and "his
sons rent their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned" (vs. 14). It was not merely grief according to the flesh - natural
when one's countrymen and cities are being destroyed by an enemy, for notice "blasphemies," "holy place" and "profaned"
(vss. 6,12). His mourning clearly must be called mournful repentance.
Open to me the doors of repentance, O Life-giver; for my soul goeth early to the temple of Thy holiness, coming in the
temple of my body, wholly polluted.
Sun, July 25, 2004
(Tone 7)
Dormition of Righteous Anna, the Mother of the Theotokos
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 2:15-30 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 Gospel: St. Matthew 14:14-22
1 Maccabees 2:15-30, especially vs. 27: "Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports
the covenant come out with me!" Zeal is considered to be ardent interest in or pursuit of a desired object, yet the zeal of
fallen human beings always is a mix of the best and worst within us as we pursue what we desire. By contrast, as the
Apostle shows (Jn. 2:17), the Lord Jesus, with pure zeal cleansed the Temple of moneychangers, fulfilling prophecy that
"Zeal of Thy house hath eaten Me up" (Ps. 68:12 LXX). Indeed, our zeal is bound up in self-serving and not in honoring
God. St. Paul's example of the zeal refers to those who reject Jesus as Lord (Rom. 10:1-4). However, the zeal of Christ
has a different essence, following the pattern of Scripture, in which "zeal" is purified by God (Is. 9:7; Ezek. 5:13). Thus,
some, like Mattathias, burn with zeal" to uphold the righteousness of God (cf. 2 K. 10:15-17; 2 Cor. 7:11).
Godly zeal - of the sort Mattathias exhibited in Modein - is stirred to full flame at the enforcing of apostasy, as by the
officers of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes before Mattathias eyes (vs. 15). The "abomination of desolation" - the worship of
the Olympian Zeus - had been imposed into the Temple at Jerusalem, including the offering of swine on God's altar. The
act was a horror to Mattathias. Then, however, such worship was commanded in every city and town throughout Judah,
and holy zeal, the response of a God-purified heart, ignited in Mattathias. He saw blatant apostasy before his eyes, and he
responded with a zeal of the type which Christ would reveal fully in His cleansing of the Temple before His Passion.
The pure worship of God, commanded in the Law of Moses, had long required that sacrifices only be offered in the Lord's
Temple. Over several centuries, a great and prolonged struggle had gone on in ancient Israel to assure that sacrifices would
only be offered in the Temple at Jerusalem, the single national shrine, God's own designated house of prayer for His
People. Sacrifices at other locations were prone to the subtle introduction of pagan elements (cf., 1 K. 14:22-23). But, the
Seleucid actions commanded sacrifice in every town, and, to assure offence, swine were to be used for the sacrifices - an
unusual practice even for pagans.
Outspoken condemnation of sin and apostasy is another characteristic of righteous zeal. Mattathias' declaration to the
king's officers (1 Mac. 2:19-22) arose in his heart from the Holy Spirit just as did the Lord's outburst against "the
moneychangers, and...them that sold doves...It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it
a den of thieves" (Mt. 21:12,13). In the righteous man's declaration against "departing" from Mosaic tradition, or deserting
"the law and the ordinances" or "turning aside" from the Faith, one hears the universal cry of all the righteous in their pain
and offense at sin and wrongdoing: "My zeal for Thee hath made me to pine away because mine enemies have forgotten
Thy words" (Ps. 118:139 LXX). Both in Mattathias' assault and in the Lord's cleansing of the Temple, indignant words
were the prelude to a full response against evil. Action served as an icon to challenge the Faithful to repudiate sin, resist
apostasy, and seek purity before God. Mattathias not only killed the principals engaged in the abominable sacrifice, but
issued a challenge to all gathered at the scene (1 Mac. 2:27). Similarly, the Lord Jesus' actions prompted "the blind and the
lame" to come to Him in the Temple for healing (Mt. 21:14). In both cases, acts of protest led to full scale repudiation of
sinful activities: for Mattathias, in the igniting of a rebellion (1 Mac. 2:29, 30) and for the Lord Jesus, the setting of His
face toward His Passion to defeat Sin, Death, and Satan.
O Christ our God, Who gave Thyself for us to redeem us from all iniquity, and purify us to Thyself as a people, zealous of
good works, fill us with holy fervor for Thee (see Titus 2:14)
Monday, July 26, 2004
Venerable Virgin-Martyr Paraskeva of Rome
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 2:31-48 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 11:31-12:6 Gospel: St. Matthew 18:1-11
1 Maccabees. 2:31-48, especially vs. 41: "So they made this decision that day:
'Let us fight against every man who comes to attack us on the sabbath day; let us not all die as our brethren died in their
hiding places.'" After receiving the Holy Gifts in the Divine Liturgy, the Faithful respond to the ineffable glories that have
been imparted from the Chalice with the singing of this hymn: "We have see the true light, we have received the heavenly
Spirit; we have found the true Faith, worshiping the undivided Trinity: for He hath saved us." What, however, shall we say
and what are we to do in those moments when the Holy Orthodox Faith itself becomes the focus of attack by dark lies, the
spirits of evil, and the forces of false religion which aim to extinguish the rightful worship of God?
The question is neither idle nor theoretical, as events in the two thousand years of Orthodox history make abundantly clear.
Like those in today's reading who "went down to the hiding places in the wilderness" (vs. 31), many, in the spirit of the
Lord, have sought to avoid direct confrontation with religious repression by withdrawal into the wilderness places and by
passive resistance. In the annals of the martyrs, there are countless examples of those who simply waited for the enemies of
truth to come and kill them without answer or the hurling of a stone or the blockading of their hiding places. Abba Moses,
whose Feast Day falls on the 28th of this month, foresaw an assault of barbarians against his monastery and urged his
disciples to flee, but he and six who stayed with him were run through when the raiding party descended on them.
A massive civil war was fought across the length and breadth of the Russian Empire during the earliest days of the
Bolshevik rise to power, for many of the Russian Faithful understood clearly the intentions of the militant revolutionary
government with respect to the Church and the Holy Faith. Their perception was quite correct, for, in the decades
following the defeat of the White Russian armies, murderous repression and systematic violence were used in an attempt to
stamp out the Faith, .
In the case of the resistance to Antiochus IV Epiphanes' efforts to paganize them, the vastly outnumbered Jews eventually
prevailed. The tiny region of Judah which had lived quietly under its former pagan Greek overlords within the Ptolemaic
empire, when faced with the blunt new policy of death or armed revolt imposed by the new Seleucid government, chose to
take up arms and resist. Choices under such conditions are always complex and difficult as the options of withdrawal and
hiding are no longer feasible. Take the case of those described in today's reading who were committed to keeping the
terms of the Old Covenant with its Divine ordinance given through Moses: "The Lord has given you the sabbath,
therefore...let no man go out of his place on the seventh day" (Ex. 16:29). A thousand died in "innocence" (1 Mac.
2:37,38).
Seeing what had happened to their brethren who were scrupulously faithful to the Divine Law, the Hasidim (called in the
text by the Greek form of the word, "Hasideans") chose to join Mattathias and his sons in armed revolt (vs. 42). Having
crossed the line from passive resistance to fighting "willingly for the Law" (vs. 42), they "organized an army, and struck
down sinners in their anger and lawless men in their wrath" (vs. 44). The pain of their decisions, "to violate the sabbath to
preserve the sabbath," set the stage for the violence that later was targeted against the Lord Jesus for healing on the sabbath
and asserting that "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath" and that "the Son of Man is...Lord of the
Sabbath" (Mk. 2:27,28).
The Church is revealed to all as a brilliantly lit heaven, leading the Faithful in the way of light. Standing therein, we cry
aloud. Make firm the foundation of this house, O Lord.
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Great-Martyr and Healer Panteleimon
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 2:49-70 Epistle: 2 Timothy 2:1-10 Gospel: St. Luke 21:12-19
1 Maccabees 2:49-70, especially vs. 50: "Now, my children, show zeal for the Law,
and give your lives for the covenant of our fathers." Mattathias reminds his sons that they are more than just his children.
They are members of a People joined in a covenant of such a great value that he is not ashamed to ask them to "give their
lives" for it. While rightly, as Orthodox Christians, we distinguish between that Old Covenant under which Mattathias
lived and the New Covenant which is our portion in Christ, still we share a covenant history with this zealous old man and
his sons, for we too are covenant people, we too are what St. Peter calls "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, [God's] own special people" (1 Pet. 2:9). What was special about Mattathias and his family, and also about
Orthodox Christians, is the fact that God has chosen to join with us in covenant, to lift us up from the ranks of humanity in
general and to bestow upon us a very unique bond with Himself.
One only has to read slightly between the lines in the deathbed words of Mattathias to learn much about the meaning of
being a covenant people - Old or New. Observe: only once did Mattathias speak of God, and then only to mention "Him"
with a pronoun (vs. 61). Yet the whole of the message to his sons plainly is about trusting in God. Start with Mattathias'
recollection of Abraham: his point is that the great Patriarch so trusted in God that he remained faithful even when tested
by God, and thus was reckoned as righteous (vs. 52). The implication of trust in God is present in each subsequent
example (vss. 53-60). The conclusion is drawn to the surface and stated explicitly immediately afterwards (vs. 61).
As Mattathias taught his sons, so he teaches us - that we ought to distinguish between "trust in God" in some general sense,
a cliche bantered about by many at present, and a true trust in God which Mattathias had in mind when he said, "give your
lives for the covenant of our fathers" (vs. 50). It is one thing to affirm that "I trust in God," meaning: "He is in heaven
looking after things up there and down on earth, and therefore we can trust that matters are going to work out all right."
Mattathias' examples better match what Orthodox pray repeatedly in every Liturgy: "let us commend ourselves and each
other, and all our life unto Christ our God." In that phrase, "and all our life," lies the difference. Mattathias' challenge is
to base our entire life, to found every action, and to trust at every moment solely in God. Covenant people are united to
God in everything they say and do - without exception.
Covenant people also are those with a living memory. While Mattathias' recitation of the deeds of the ancient Saints is a
challenge to have unreserved trust in God, it also is a challenge to keep faith with those other covenant members who stand
beside us now, who have lived before us, and those who will come after us under the covenant. The bond of the covenant
is not only with God, it also is exactly what the phrase in the Liturgy includes: "ourselves and each other." The bond
extends backward and forward in time - it is a "great cloud of witnesses" (Heb. 12:1).
Finally, Mattathias asserts that covenant people are they who "receive" from God (vs. 51). Look at what people of the
covenant receive: great honor, an everlasting name, righteousness before God, sometimes recognition or inheritance in this
life, but above all eternal salvation and deliverance. In all the instances which he mentions, the sole aim of the Faithful was
not to receive something from God, but to keep the covenant already received from Him. A covenant with God is in itself
of inestimable worth. What else one receives is incidental.
Look down from Thy holy heights, O Lord, upon Thy people who await of Thee rich mercy. Visit us in Thy goodness.
Make firm our lives with Thy holy and sacred laws.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Venerable Paul, Founder of St. Paul Monastery on Mt. Athos
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 3:1-24 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 13:4-14:5 Gospel: St. Matthew 20:1-16
1 Maccabees 3:1-24, especially vs. 19: "It is not on the size of the army that
victory in battle depends, but strength comes from Heaven." The portrait of Judas Maccabeus as a warrior putting on his
breastplate, girding on his armor of war, and waging battles by a sword (vs. 3), as well as the descriptions of his two,
opening guerilla campaigns against the Seleucid forces (vss. 10-12,13-24), shows why today's reading begins with a poetic
tribute to this soldier of God (vss. 3-9). His accomplishments illustrate the truth that the People of God receive a heavenly
strength for success unimaginable in worldly terms.
St. Nikolai of Zica wondered at the strength of another small band: "twelve men of simple birth and trade, having
no....earthly glory or might [who left] their homes and kinsfolk and set out over the whole world...this is something
completely new, and...cannot be explained by anything other than by God's help, God's collaboration and God's grace" -
heavenly strength. Judas Maccabeus understood and accepted that he was a warrior of the Lord, fighting in the Lord's
strength for the Israel of God (vss. 1,2). Beloved of the Lord, let this reading remind every one of us that we too are
warriors of the Lord. Let us not surrender to the all prevalent delusion that Christians are simply members of a society
organized to enjoy occasional fellowship and worship - a mere adjunct to the battles of "real" life. Not at all! Like the
Maccabees, we are warriors under endless attacks from Satan and his foul spirits who, in pride and arrogance, are
determined to enslave us (vss. 14,20). These enemies are more intent than even the Seleucids to ensnare us by error, guile,
idolatry, concupiscence, deceit, and uncleanness.
The Apostles and the Holy Fathers so often refer to our situation as wrestling not "against flesh and blood...[but] against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12). No less a warrior than St. John Chrysostom begs us to remember Christ's warning
concerning the tribulation so that we "not grow careless or over-confident, but...struggle on out of fear. For a person
derives no benefit from the other virtues, even though he dwells in heaven, if he is in the grip of the presumption that led to
the fall of the devil, Adam, and many others."
Like Judas Maccabeus, let us be watchful and alert for the predictable sorties of our mortal enemy. Notice that it is said of
Judas that when he learned of the pending attack of Apollonius, "he went out to meet him, and he defeated and killed him"
(1 Mac. 3:11). He expected attack. He was watching for it. He did not wait passively for the enemy to find him, but
immediately went on the offensive as he became aware of an advance toward him. Satan is always probing, dropping
thoughts, sending his demons to worry, mock, and arouse our sinful passions. Let us develop the watchfulness of soldiers,
keeping our perimeter posted and alert. When the first hint of the enemy comes, let us go out and defeat him in heavenly
strength.
If we are deluded like the Seleucid governor, Seron, and foolishly believe that in the spiritual life we "will make a name for
[ourselves] and win honor in the kingdom," let us realize that we have entered into plain madness. Judas Maccabeus,
soldier of the living God that he was, knew that "It is easy for many to be hemmed in by few, for in the sight of Heaven
there is no difference between saving by many or by few" (vs. 18). Beloved, truly, as another great solider of the Lord said,
"By Thee shall I be delivered from a host of robbers, and by my God shall I leap over a wall" (Ps. 17:29 LXX). Victory is
with the Lord alone Who gives heavenly strength.
I will love Thee, O Lord my strength; the Lord is my foundation, and my refuge, and my deliverer. My God is my helper,
and I will hope in Him, my defender. (Ps. 17:1,2 LXX)
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Martyrs Kallinikos of Gangra in Asia Minor and Theodota
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 3:25-41 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 14:6-19 Gospel: St. Matthew 20:17-28
1 Maccabees 3:25-41, especially vss. 34, 35: "As for the residents of Judea and
Jerusalem, Lysias was to send a force against them to wipe out and destroy the strength of Israel and the remnant of
Jerusalem; he was to banish the memory of them from the place...." The annals of history are filled with the names of
those who have settled for a "final solution" to the threat they perceived in the People of God: Pharaoh, Antiochus IV
Epiphanes, Diocletian, Hitler, and Joseph Stalin. Still, God's People continue, while those who thought to "banish the
memory of them" (vs. 35) are the subjects of studies and histories, part of an immense testimony concerning the futility of
opposing the will of God.
Orthodox Christians who examine the policy of Antiochus outlined above, must think of the chief priests and Pharisees
weighing the reports that Jesus of Nazareth had raised Lazarus from the dead: "This Man works many signs. If we let Him
alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation" (Jn.
11:47,48). Their fears impelled them to a final solution: "it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and
not that the whole nation should perish" (Jn. 11:50).
Mankind's 'final solutions' inevitably involve power and force: chariots, great armies, governors, deportation, special
camps, and, always executions. Hovering behind each of these somber images is the specter of death. In reading the
present passage, we are impressed by the size of the army which Lysias gathered to carry out his king's orders,
"elephants....forty thousand infantry and seven thousand cavalry" (vss. 34,39). But let us not forget that God the Life-Giver
also has His "final solution" to the mad efforts of the desperate and the specter of death. God's final solution raises the
banner of life, the icon of Resurrection, peace and blessing.
Beloved of the Lord, above all, let us remember the Apostolic admonition that "whatever things were written before were
written for our learning" (Rom. 15:4). Hence, let us be cautious and humble before God when we, like King Antiochus,
find our plans and solutions frustrated or opposed, for the hand of God is never absent from human activities and history,
whether on the grand scale of things or in the little routines of everyday life. Rather, let us recall that God is the Lord "and
we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand" (Ps. 94:7 LXX). When our will is crossed and frustrated, it is
our sin and the prompting of demons that arouses fear within us. See how "greatly angered" Antiochus was at the reports
of Judas' battles and victories (1 Mac. 3:26,27). Pride was aroused, and he plunged into frantic action. In the face of
frustration, when anger rises, let us heed St. John of the Ladder: "Pride is utter penury of soul, under the illusion of wealth,
imagining light in its darkness. The foul passion not only blocks our advance, but even hurls us down from the heights."
Beware of man's final solutions.
Clearly, the great king of the Seleucid empire, secure in his elephants and "all the forces of his kingdom" (vs. 27), failed to
see the finger of God in the disruption of his program to force false religion on God's People. At least the magicians of
Pharaoh's court saw God at work in the plagues, but no such caution was even spoken to Antiochus. Beloved, when
"things don't work out," it is time to seek the Lord and to hear from Him what Joshua was told, that there is sin in us and
that we have "transgressed My covenant which I commanded" (Jos. 7:11). May repentance and amendment of life keep us
far from becoming, like Pontius Pilate and Antiochus IV, a thread woven into the dark background of God's bright
redemption of mankind.
To Thee I come, O Christ, blinded in my soul's eyes, crying unto Thee in repentance, Thou art the light of transcendent
radiance to those who are in darkness.
Friday, July 30, 2004
Fast Day
The Venerable Angelina of Serbia
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 3:42-60 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 Gospel: St. Matthew 21:12-14, 17-20
1 Maccabees 3:42-60: especially vs. 53, "How will we be able to
withstand them, if Thou dost not help us?" There are times in this life when circumstance converge to thrust men, families,
or whole nations into battles in which "their final destruction" is a real possibility (vs. 42). The revolt of the Hasmoneans,
which began with the elder Mattathias, was continued by his sons in a series of guerrilla actions led by Judas Maccabeus
with impressive initial success (1 Mac. 2:1-3:41). However, these Jewish rebels represented a tiny minority population
within the huge Seleucid empire of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He was a seasoned ruler who determined that the subjects of
"his whole kingdom ...should be one people, and that each should give up his customs" (1 Mac. 1:41) and submit to "the
command of the king" or die (1 Mac. 1:50). The resistance of the orthodox believers - of the Hasidim - already had
"greatly angered" Antiochus (1 Mac. 3:27). As a result, he had placed the final solution to the Jewish question in the hands
of his viceroy, Lysias (1 Mac. 3:32-36).
Lysias chose to send a major Seleucid army group of "forty thousand infantry and seven thousand cavalry" into Judah to
"destroy it, as the king had commanded" (1 Mac. 3:39). These forces encamped near Emmaus, twenty five miles west of
Jerusalem. The balance of forces arrayed against the People of God was greatly disproportionate. The question of whether
Judas Maccabeus and his allies would be allowed their first success and left in peace was removed. Now they faced a fight
to death in which "final destruction" was the likely probability.
A great question arises: what can the Faithful do when confronted with unavoidable battles in this life? not just military or
bodily assaults, but the more significant battles men have always faced - the medical, social, psychological, and spiritual
struggles - debilitating disease, addiction, dissension, unfaithfulness, divorce, unscrupulous associates, malice, lying, lack
of love, and cruelty from family members, friends and neighbors?
Today's reading describes Judas Maccabeus preparing for battle. In his actions one can discern a godly plan to help the
Faithful meet superior forces or overwhelming problems.
First, the Maccabeans agreed, "Let us repair the destruction of our people, and fight for our people and the sanctuary" (1
Mac. 3:43). It is necessary to address the problem, take up the fight, and forgo whimpering, the wringing of hands, and
passive submission.
Then, they "assembled... to pray and ask for mercy and compassion" (vs. 44). No Christian ought to act alone nor without
prayer.
Observe, that along with prayer, "they fasted that day" (vs. 47), mourning before the Lord. Beloved, our Lord has given us
a powerful weapon in fasting by which we may "keep the Faith inviolate...crush underfoot the heads of unseen tempters
[and] emerge victors over sin."
Then, "they opened the book of the Law" (vs. 48) and searched the Scriptures for light.
Next, the Faithful reviewed before the Lord God the pain which their present difficulties had forced upon them, principally
the inability to worship as He had commanded them (vss. 49-52). All facets of one's problems must be examined as much
as possible through God's eyes.
Note that they "appointed leaders" and sent home those not prepared to fight (vss. 55,56). One must use his strengths and
set aside all that distracts from the battle ahead.
Finally, they entrusted the outcome of the battle plan to the will of God (vss. 53,60). When we have done all in human
power, in a God-pleasing manner, let us rest in the Lord.
O Lord, in all perplexities, grant us the grace of Thy Spirit to ask what Thou wouldest have us to do, and save us from all
false choices, that in Thy straight path we may not stumble.
Saturday, July 31, 2004
The Righteous Joseph of Arimathea
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 4:1-25 Epistle: Romans 14:6-9 Gospel: St. Matthew 15:32-39
1 Maccabees 4:1-25, especially vs. 10, 11: "And now let us cry to Heaven, to
see whether He will favor us and remember His covenant with our fathers and crush this army before us today. Then all
the Gentiles will know that there is One Who redeems and saves Israel." The reader of the New Testament will find a
number of references to soldiers and an acceptance of the military occupation. Soldiers who came to the Forerunner were
told not to "intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and to be content with your wages" (Lk. 3:14). A centurion asked the Lord
Jesus to heal his servant "who was dear to him" (Lk. 7:2); and not only did the Lord heal the servant, but also He praised
the great faith of the officer (Lk. 7:9-10). Still, the Lord's non-resistance when arrested, and His counsel to "love your
enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and
persecute you" (Mt. 5:44) encourages us to avoid conflict and fighting.
However, in reading the Scriptural account of the Maccabean uprising, we face an issue of conflict in which the adversaries
of the Faithful were bent on the complete destruction of both the Faith and of God's People. Mattathias moved away from
Jerusalem to Modein to avoid any participation in the desecrating of God's Temple (1 Mac. 2:1). When "the king's officers
who were enforcing the abandonment of Judaism, they came to Modein to force the Jews to offer sacrifice" (1 Mac. 2:15).
Mattathias was non-violent in opposing the order to "do what the king commands" (1 Mac. 2:18). "Far be it from us to
desert the Law...we will not obey the king's words" (1 Mac. 2:21,22). However, when a fellow Jew offered pagan
sacrifice, Mattathias knew he faced a sinful policy (1 Mac. 1:54-57). Then, he struck out (1 Mac. 2:24,25).
Events led the Jewish minority inexorably into warfare with the Seleucids (1 Mac. 2, 3). Successive battles grew in size
and determination on both sides. Lysias' army sent against the Maccabeans, which today's reading describes, invaded with
a murderous mandate, and their size, training, and equipment were immense. There was no room for negotiation.
Surrender or extermination were the alternatives. Thus, like their forebears who faced Pharaoh and his chariots at the Red
Sea, Judas Maccabeus and his men were wholly dependent on God's deliverance for the dwindling minority of Israel (1
Mac. 4:9-11). As St. Nikolai of Zica says: "...preparation is like a proposal to God; but it is God, not the proposer who
decides."
In the battle for Constantinople in 1453 AD, the beleaguered defenders of the City, after six weeks of resistance, could not
hold out against the superior forces of the Ottoman Turks. Fortunately, as Bishop Kallistos Ware notes, life under the new
infidel rulers was not utterly impossible for "the Turks themselves...treated their Christian subjects with remarkable
generosity." In retrospect, we see that the defeat of the White Russians by the Reds, though it led to a unimaginably brutal
repression of the Church, did not exterminate Orthodoxy in Russia.
As much as we admire the peacemakers among the Faithful, let us also be humble before those who have put their lives in
the mortal danger on the battlefield and with the sword to save the Holy Faith. The martyr Tsar Lazar of the Serbs said
before his defeat at Kosovo by superior Islamic forces: "It is better for us to experience death, than to live in shame and
slavery." God saved the Maccabeans, for He "is good [and] His mercy endures for ever. Thus Israel had a great
deliverance that day" (vss. 24,25). God is Savior, sometimes in miraculous ways in the conflicts of this life, but above all,
He always saves the Faithful in the struggle for eternity.
O our God, Who loveth mankind, Who art ever gracious and conciliatory, keep Thy holy Church and all men from wrath,
fire, the sword, foreign invasion, civil war and sudden death.
Thursday, July 1, 2004
Cosmas and Damian, Unmercenaries, Martyrs at Rome
Kellia: Job 38:31-41 Epistle: Romans 15:17-29 Gospel: St. Matthew 12:46-13:3
Job 38:31-41, especially vs. 35Q: "And will you send lightnings, and will they go? And will
they say to you, What is your pleasure?" The Orthodox Christian will readily recognize similarities between this passage
in Job and the Vesperal Psalm (103 LXX), both of which declare: "How magnified are Thy works, O Lord! In wisdom hast
Thou made them all; the earth is filled with Thy creation" (Ps.103:26 LXX). Both are reflections on the array of the
heavens stretched out across the sky "as it were a curtain," moving in precision with the seasons on earth (Ps.103:3,21; Job
38:31-33). Both speak of the mantle of clouds that water and satisfy all life on earth (Ps.103:7-14; Job 38:34-35,37).
Likewise, both mention that the Lord, in His good governance, looks after even the wild beasts that "fear in their lairs" (Job
38:39-41) or seek "their food from God" (Ps.103:23). Even the gifts of creativity which God has given to mankind receive
mention in both passages (Ps.103:15-17; Job 38:36).
The finely tuned details of the created order which God establishes and controls manifest His governance of the entire
universe. Whether one gazes day and night into the changing skies as the ancients did to mark off the progression of days
and seasons, or one peers through great telescopes as do our scientific astronomers on mountain tops and via satellites in
space, the order of the universe remains a matter of awe and wonder for mankind. A major role of Holy Scripture is to
announce the Governor Who directs the whole, and to teach each and every person to say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, Who
establisheth the earth in the sureness thereof" (Ps.103:1,6).
Looking closely at what the Lord calls to Job's and our attention in these present verses, we read first about the
constellations of the night sky. Ancient men wondered at the seven stars of the Pleiades (Job 38:31), and spun stories to
explain the cluster. To the Greeks, they were seven maidens, although one is virtually invisible to the naked eye and was
said to hide her light because of her shame for marrying a mortal. On the other hand, the Greek seamen would only set sail
when the Pleiades were visible, for they knew that otherwise they would be liable to great storms; and ancient farmers
knew that the appearance of the Pleiades marked the planting season. The constellation Orion played a similar role,
announcing the season of storms, and each of the Mazzuroth or constellations "in his season" (vs. 32) provided guidance
for the various activities of man in maintaining life. Through the centuries, astronomers have mapped and identified many
of the stars, but that accumulative work continues to this day, so that mankind still has not learned all "the changes of
heaven, or the events which take place together under heaven" (vs. 33). We certainly cannot call the clouds or make them
obey us "with a violent shower of much rain, and send...lightnings" (vss. 34,35). Forecasts are the best we can do.
God is the Governor of earth and sky and of all that is in the vast reaches of space. Yet, He it is Who has "given to women
skill in weaving or the knowledge of embroidery" (vs. 36), as He gives artistic ability to every person as He chooses.
"Mark it," says St. John Chrysostom, "He is also speaking of the practical. He mingles the small with the grand.....But
would the works of this craft be as remarkable if they were not a gift?" God is, as St. Gregory the Great has said, "the
Cause of causes, and as He is the Life of the living, so is He the Reason of reasonable creatures." He provides for the
whole earth, this tiny jewel spinning around the sun, and without fail governs what He has made, bringing the seasons for
growth and rest, planting and harvest. Let us be faithful witnesses to His government over this ineffable world He gives us.
For healthful seasons, for the abundance of the fruits of earth and for peaceful times, and for our deliverance from all
dangers and necessities, receive our humble thanks, O Lord.
Friday, July 2, 2004
Fast Day
Deposition of the Robe of the Theotokos
Kellia: Job 42:1-9 Epistle: Romans 16:1-16 Gospel: St. Matthew 13:4-9
Job 42:1-9 LXX, especially vss. 8, 9: "'My servant Job shall pray for you, for I will only
accept him: for but for his sake, I would have destroyed you'....so God pardoned their sins for the sake of Job." During the
time of the Lord God's pronouncements (Job 38-41), Job responded only once and then just briefly (Job 39:33-35 LXX).
His reply disclosed that he was loath to speak more (39:34,35 LXX), being overwhelmed at the judgments of the living
God. Words seemed pointless, perhaps even offensive or at least presumptuous. Finally, however, Job struggles again to
answer, to respond, as he is able, to what God has revealed. Job's reply divulges some of what he has gleaned from the
Lord's declarations.
Observe: Job first acknowledges the unique and utterly superior nature of God's Person. He confesses the unlimited power
of God: "Thou canst do all things, and nothing is impossible with Thee" (Job 42:2 LXX). He admits that nothing is hidden
or "kept back" from God, and not merely spoken words or tangible actions, but the smallest, ill-formed thoughts buried
within one's psyche: "who is he that hides counsel from Thee?" (vs. 3). We live at every moment completely open before
God in every aspect of our being. How much there is to forgive!
In addition, Job admits frankly the deficiency of his own knowledge and also the wonder and awe he feels because God has
told him so many truths that he did not know before, "great and wonderful things which I did not understand" (vs. 3). In
these admissions, we are permitted to glimpse a bit into the heart of a Prophet of God and to see how a human being who is
humble before God may be transformed and deified by Divine grace through suffering.
What is more, we become witnesses to a conversation of a truly holy man with God, of a humble man who is not stripped
of his capacity to address God but is enabled to grow in relationship to God. See what Job says: he pleads that God will
hear him, permit him to speak creature to Creator, and will crown the relationship by teaching him that which God alone
can impart (vs. 4). Most remarkable is Job's statement that "I have heard the report of Thee by the ear before: but now my
eye has seen Thee" (vs. 5).
Concerning this remark, St. Gregory the Great notes that Job's sufferings caused "him to differ from what he was before.
And because he had seen more plainly the light of truth with the eye within, he more clearly discerned and beheld the
darkness of his humanity." The point is drawn to our attention by St. Isaac the Syrian: that when a man like Job "perceives
these invisible and by far more excellent things...then there is begotten by the perception proper to this knowledge another
faith, not one which is opposed to the first faith, but one which confirms it. And this is called 'the faith of divine vision.'"
Throughout the interaction between the Lord, Job, and Job's friends, the forgiveness and healing power of God overflows.
For His Prophet, God gives a divine vision which is greater and more certain than the hearing Job knew formerly. In the
word of the Lord to Job's friends: "My servant Job shall pray for you, for I will only accept him" (vs. 8) we see how greatly
the forgiveness and healing of God can renew one who is truly humble and repentant.
God discloses the boundlessness of His mercy in the way in which He deals with the thoughtless, insensitive, and arrogant
friends of Job. First, He taught them to turn to His Saints for intercession, and then, by the prayers of His Holy Prophet,
"He pardoned their sins for the sake of Job" (vs. 9). How clearly God encourages us likewise to seek the prayers of the
Saints.
May Christ, our true God, through the intercessions of His most Holy Mother, and of all the Saints, have mercy upon us
and save us, forasmuch as He is good and loveth mankind.
Saturday, July 3, 2004
The Martyrs Hyacinth and Theodota
Kellia: Job 42:10-17 Epistle: Romans 16:1-16 Gospel: St. Matthew 9:9-11
Job 42:10-17 LXX, especially vs. 10: "And the Lord prospered Job: and when he prayed
also for his friends, He forgave them their sin: and the Lord gave Job twice as much, even double of what he had before."
It is in the restoration of Job that the Faithful discover the type of our fully completed renewal in Christ. How readily we
are able to perceive the foreshadowing of the Lord's Passion in the stripping of 'life' from Job in successive blights! The
devil has his pleasure in removing the outward supports of household, goods, and chattel from Job, of shattering the "hedge
about him" which had served as the Prophet's tangible blessing from God (Job 1:10). Next, he assaults Job's own "flesh
and blood" in the catastrophic death of his children; and, in a final touch, Satan strikes the Prophet's own physical
members, "his bones and his flesh" (Job. 2:5), reducing them to nothing but boils and corruption, so leaving the broken
man nowhere to exist other than upon a dungheap, the ultimate figure of death.
Indeed, let us behold the renewal of our flesh in the restoration of Job even to "double of what he had before" (Job 42:10).
The devil did his utmost, and Job, as the type of the saving God-man, in refusing to "say some word against the Lord, and
die" (Job 2:9), prefigures what Panayiotis Nellas calls the liberation "of human nature from enmity toward God and from
enslavement to the devil." As "the Lord's wounds become the means of healing for humanity," so Job's suffering is the
precursor of the "one hundred seventy years" after his affliction (Job 42:16). As St. Nicholas Cabasilas says, "It was when
He mounted the Cross and died and rose again that the freedom of mankind came about, that the form and the beauty were
created."
Likewise, in mounting the dungheap and there refusing to curse God, Job defeats Satan's scheme to besmirch him, a
faithful suffering servant of God, a "harmless, true, blameless, godly man" (Job 2:3). No, rather, he resolutely "cleaves to
innocence" and thereby overturns the dark powers. How profoundly Job models the Suffering Servant Who was to come!
Panayiotis Nellas points out that, by His descent "to death, the Logos renewed humanity in general and made it incorrupt
along with the human nature which He had assumed and by means of it." By accepting his 'death' on the dungheap, God's
suffering Prophet Job reveals and foreshadows the ultimate destiny of human nature in Christ, manifesting in himself,
through his tormented flesh, the laying aside of mortality by Christ.
When Christ our God recast human nature, raising it up in a new, imperishable, and spiritual body, He disclosed the true
human body, the "spiritual body" (1 Cor 15:44), that is free from the limitations of time and space and is endowed with
new spiritual senses and functions - what Panayiotis Nellas calls "the resurrected blessed flesh of the Lord" in which all the
Faithful in Christ partake. Hence, Christ "creates a new place for [renewed men] to live. And this place is His body."
Notice "the new place" and condition in which Job lives when the Lord prospers him: a place in which he prays for his
friends, and they receive the forgiveness from God (Job 42:10). As St. Gregory the Great notes: "he makes his prayers
more powerful in his own behalf who offers them also in behalf of others."
The doubling "of what [Job] had before" (vs. 10) also typifies the new Life in Christ. His daughters represent the new Day
that has dawned in Christ, the sweet smelling savor (cassia) of His pure offering, and the "cornucopia," the limitless horn of
grace that showers the Faithful (vs. 14). Truly, Job has been raised with those whom the Lord raised up from Hades (vs.
17). May we who read of Job, imitate his valiance, compete with him in patience, that...nobly standing up to the ambushes
of the devil, we may obtain all that Thou dost give, O Christ.
Sunday, July 4, 2004
(Tone 4)
Andrew, Bishop of Crete, Author of the Great Canon
Kellia: 1 Samuel 17:1-11 Epistle: Romans 10:1-10 Gospel: St. Matthew 8:28-9:1
1 Samuel 17:1-11 RSV (1 Kings 17:1-11 LXX), especially vss. 10, 11:
"And the Philistine said, 'I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.' When Saul and all
Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid." After the rupture of relationship
between the Prophet Samuel and Saul the King, Scripture reports that "Samuel went to Ramah...and...did not see Saul again
until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul [because] the Lord repented that He had made Saul king over
Israel" (1 Sam. 15:34,35).
Perhaps a report of the breach between the great Prophet and Israel's king encouraged the Philistines to foray up the valley
of Elah from the coastal plain toward the heart of Saul's kingdom in the Judean highlands. But Saul roused his forces and
met them in the low, rolling hill country between Philistia and Israel. However, the Philistines had a surprise for the army
of Israel, "a champion named Goliath, of Gath" (1 Sam. 17:4), an imposing giant who provoked great fear in "the ranks of
Israel" (vs. 11).
As the Prophet David teaches, fear enervates those whose hearts are not established in God. They shall fear to "look down
upon [their] enemies" (Ps. 111:7 LXX). Fear is the plight of fallen man since that terrible day when Adam heard the voice
of God in the garden and in fear hid himself (Gen. 3:10). The devil never ceases to lure each man into despair whenever
possible. As St. Seraphim of Sarov points out: "Judas the betrayer was fainthearted and unskilled in battle, and so the
enemy, seeing his despair, attacked him and forced him to hang himself, but Peter, a firm rock, when he fell into great sin,
like one skilled in battle did not despair nor lose heart, but shed bitter tears from a burning heart and the enemy...fled far
from him wailing in pain."
The Holy Fathers clearly teach that pride is the source of fear. As St. John of the Ladder says: "A proud soul is a slave of
cowardice; it vainly trusts in itself, and is afraid of any sound or shadow of creatures." Here, then, was the deep sin of Saul
and his army, which the immensity and bravado of Goliath unmasked. He taunts the ranks of Israel: "Why have you come
out to draw up for battle?" (1 Sam. 17:8). Goliath placed the entire contest in the realm of the flesh, and the ranks of Israel
and their King, being filled with pride from victory in earlier campaigns against the Philistines (1 Sam. 14:47), accepted his
perspective and were filled with fear.
St. Peter of Damaskos offers more light on both Israel and Goliath of Gath: the "two passions of overbearingness and
cowardice, though they appear to be opposites, are both caused by weakness." The overbearingness displayed by Goliath
pulled him upward into "something startling and frightening, like some powerless bear," while the cowardice of the
Israelites caused them "to flee like a chased dog." And St. Peter continues, "No one who suffers from either of these two
passions puts his trust in the Lord,.and, therefore, he cannot stand firm in battle."
How then can one break out of the grip of fear? Again, let us learn from the Prophet David who shortly would enter this
field, survey the massive Goliath and the fearful ranks of Israel, and overcome "the pangs of death...and torrents of
iniquity" (Ps. 17:4 LXX). Indeed, let us heed St. John of Kronstadt: "Do not fear the conflict, do not flee it. Where there is
no struggle, there is no virtue; where faith and love are not tempted, it is not possible to be sure whether they are really
present. They are proved and revealed in adversity." Instead, let us say, "I shall not fear; but as for me I will hope in Thee"
(Ps.55:2 LXX).
O Master, graciously illumine our hearts with the light of Thy countenance, maintain the shield of our faith unassailed by
the enemy, upholding us inviolate by Thy grace.
Monday, July 5, 2004
Venerable Sergios of Radonezh
Kellia: 1 Samuel 17:17-27 Epistle: Romans 16:17-24 Gospel: St. Matthew 13:10-23
1 Samuel 17:17-27, especially vs. 26: "For who is this uncircumcised
Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" The Holy Fathers are wary of human wrath, anger, and
indignation, realizing that almost always "the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God" (Jas. 1:20). Still, it
seems that outrage does have a rightful place in the spiritually mature. Such a recognition led St. John Cassian to say
cautiously, "Our incessive power can be used in a way that is according to nature only when turned against our own
impassioned or self-indulgent thoughts. This is what the Prophet David teaches when he says, 'Be angry and sin not' (Ps.
4:5 LXX)." Hence, as a Christian gains the grace of detachment through godly struggle within himself, the desire for God
predominates in his soul, and that alone will give rise to an anger "in accordance with nature," a godly anger which, as St.
Isaac the Solitary says, "flares up against all the tricks of the enemy."
The Lord Jesus Himself warns the Faithful against the common anger of fallen mankind: "I say to you that whoever is
angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment" (Mt. 5:22). Even here, St. John Cassian cautions
us about this teaching of the Lord, for he leaves out the phrase, "without a cause," explaining that "this is the text of the
best manuscripts; for it is clear from the purpose of Scripture in this context that the words 'without a cause' were added
later. The Lord's intention is that we should remove the root of anger, its spark, so to speak, in whatever way we can, and
not keep even a single pretext for anger in our hearts, otherwise we will be stirred to anger initially for what appears to be a
good reason and then find that our incessive power is totally out of control."
Today's reading reveals an instance of true, godly indignation, an outrage awakened within the anointed of God, David the
Prophet - anger precipitated by the insolence of the champion, Goliath, of the Philistines, against "the armies of the living
God" (1 Sam. 17:26). David saw Goliath come "out of the ranks of the Philistines...and David heard him" (vs. 23).
Furthermore, he saw that "all the men of Israel...fled from him, and were much afraid" of Goliath (vs. 24). Knowing that
the desires of the People of God always should long for the Lord alone - both constantly and entirely, David's indignation
awoke in a natural and righteous manner. He exemplified St. Peter of Damaskos' teaching: that "the incessive power
should actively oppose only what obstructs this longing, and nothing else." Goliath plainly opposed the desire of God for
His people, and so we may fairly say that David's outrage fit the exception set by St. Peter.
It is clear that God Himself unleashes His righteous anger upon His enemies who persistently, stubbornly, and arrogantly
oppose His purposes. The Psalmist recalls that God wrought His signs in Egypt as "He sent forth against them the wrath of
His anger, anger and wrath and affliction, a mission performed by evil angels. He had made a path for His wrath, and He
spared not from death their souls, and their cattle He shut up in death" (Ps. 77:53,54 LXX). Also Christ Jesus our Savior in
His zeal drove out the moneychangers doing business in the Temple with the command: "Do not make My Father's house a
house of merchandise" (Jn. 2:16). Often when Holy Scripture reports moments of anger arising in God's Prophets, it uses
the phrase, "then the Spirit of God came upon..." (Jdgs. 14:19; 1 Sam. 11:6). Surely the Spirit of God came upon David as
God's anointed when he observed Goliath's outrageous actions. Pray that our anger always is "of the Lord" and never
insults "the Spirit of grace" (Heb. 10:29).
Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, Thy helping grace, that we may obediently walk in Thy holy commandments and lead a
sober, righteous, and godly life, ever remembering Thy mercies.
Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Venerable Sisoes the Great
Kellia: 1 Samuel 17:28-40 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Gospel: St. Matthew 13:24-30
1 Samuel 17:28-40, especially vs. 32: "And David said to Saul, 'Let no man's
heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.'" Contrasts fill this reading: the fear of the
soldiers in the ranks contrasts with David's indignation. The soldiers' preoccupation with rewards differs from David's
distress at the pagan's defiance of God. Eliab's opinion that his brother has a perverse and presumptuous desire to see a
battle is very different from David's readiness to present himself for combat. Saul perceives David as incapable of facing
Goliath, yet David believes that he has exactly the experience needed to prevail. Saul's attempt to equip David turns out to
be humorous, and it contrasts with David's own ideas of how to prepare for the fight. There is even the very obvious
contrasts in size and between David and Goliath their respective military experience.
Let us, then, look again at the passage and ask, "What fuels these contrasts? Why is it that David stands out from everyone
around him? What in him makes his responses and his attitude so very different from others?" The account itself provides
the obvious answer: David was a man who truly trusted in God and the others did not. This is evident in his indignation
and in his meeting with King Saul (1 Sam. 17:26,36,37). His trust in God is balanced, being neither arrogant nor timorous,
but is a trust supported by noble motive, considered reasoning, and reliance on proven skill. David truly reveals a wise and
indomitable trust in God.
Observe the motive of a man who genuinely trusts in God. Before King Saul, speaking of Goliath, David reiterates the
concern that "this uncircumcised Philistine... has defied the armies of the living God" (vs. 36). He cannot brook defiance
of the Lord in Whom he trusts. Further, trust in God was so very much a part of David's makeup that he could not even
reply to Eliab's accusation of evil motives (vs. 28). He simply "turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the
same way" (vs. 30). Trust in God was so natural for David that he moved through the ranks of Israel's army seeking the
fellowship of another soul who also believed that God helps His beloved. As he himself said later: "The words of the Lord
tried in the fire; defender is He of all that hope in Him." (Ps. 17:30 LXX). Let us trust God with every aspect of our lives.
Note that David's trust in God was not contrary to his reason or to his experience. His confidence in God brought him
before the king. Then, when King Saul questioned his ability to fight with the giant Goliath, David made a reasonable case
for his being delivered "from the hand of this Philistine" (1 Sam. 17:37). He said to the king, "Your servant used to keep
sheep for his father; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and smote him
and delivered it out of his mouth; and if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him and killed him.
Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them" (vss. 34,35,36).
As children of God, let us always use the reason our Lord has given us when faced with the insolence of those who oppose
God, and let us assess our experience and ability as David did in preparing to serve the Lord.
Also, let us consider how David's trust in God effected his methods. The ludicrous image of the young man David
standing in the armor of a huge veteran fighter and unable to move (vss. 38,39) reminds us to trust God when selecting our
methods for answering His call to serve Him. The text says of Saul's armaments: "David put them off" (vs. 39). He chose
instead what God had given him as a shepherd, through which also the Lord had given him victory.
O Lord, Thou dost ever resist the proud and dost never forsake those who make their boast in Thy mercy, grant us the
grace of sure and abiding trust in Thee in all our ways.
Wednesday, July 7, 2004
Hieromartyr Evangelos, Bishop of Tomis (Constanta), Romania
Kellia: 1 Samuel 17:41-51 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 2:9-3:8 Gospel: St. Matthew 13:31-36
1 Samuel 17:41-51 RSV, especially vs. 47: "The Lord saves not with sword
and spear; for the battle is the Lord's." David's triumph stands alongside the preservation of the Three Holy Children in
the fiery furnace, Daniel in the lions' den, and the release of Jonah from the whale as another of the great types of the Lord
Jesus' victory over our 'invincible' enemy, death. David's outrage at the taunting of Goliath, which had struck fear into the
soldiers of God, and David's complete trust in the Lord were vindicated by "the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel" (vs. 45). The stripling youth standing over the fallen body of the Philistine champion, recalls the icon of the Lord
Jesus standing triumphantly over death, and bestowing life on those in the tombs. As "The Philistines... fled" (vs. 51), "let
His enemies be scattered and let them who hate Him flee from before His face" (Ps. 67:1 LXX).
Death never ceases to threaten us with its overwhelming power. Its inexorable arm extends over all mankind, leering and
insulting every beauty and accomplishment of our fallen race. "Death reigned from Adam" (Rom. 5:14), and Goliath, the
champion of death said, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field" (1
Sam. 17:42). No wonder "when Saul and all Israel heard...the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid" (1 Sam.
17:11). They were paralyzed by an 'unconquerable' agent of death. We sinful men are like that - powerless in our sin. As
St. John Chrysostom says of the Paralytic, "hopelessness for the future was sufficient to overstrain him....Yes, Lord, he
says, but I have no man....to put me in the pool. What can be more pitiable than these words?" St. John's question is ours.
Whose heart is not "crushed through long sickness" by death-dealing sin (Rom 7:18)? Bishop Kallistos Ware states the
truth: "death is...a violent affront against the wholeness of our human nature. Death may be something that awaits us all,
but it is at the same time profoundly abnormal. It is monstrous and tragic...despite all our realism we are justified in feeling
also a sense of desolation, of horror and even indignation." Having death among the powers of Rome in his hand, Pilate
accosted Jesus, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release
You?" (Jn. 19:10). David speaks to Goliath, and we hear the Divine voice of the eternal Champion calmly responding to
death for us: "You could have no power against Me unless it had been given you from above" (Jn. 19:11). The legions of
martyrs and ascetics who have taken the field under Christ's banner have, like David, run "quickly toward the battle line"
(1 Sam. 17:48) to meet those who sought to conquer them. The holy martyr Barbaros, though a secret Christian, was in the
armies of Rome during the reign of Julian the Apostate. When his legion confronted the Franks, his commander, Bacchus,
sent him out to single combat with an immense enemy hero like Goliath. St. Nikolai of Zica tells us that "Barbaros
prayed...to the living Lord, went out and conquered this giant." Still, when he revealed that he was a Christian, Julian
ordered Barbaros put to the harshest torture. St. Nikolai adds that many soldiers, "seeing his rare courage and
composure....embraced the Christian faith. Among them was the commander Bacchus himself." Julian beheaded them all.
"David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone" (vs. 50), and the Lord of life prevailed over death by
death, spilling His own blood for us on the ground of Golgotha. He it is Who says to us, "Thus it is written, and thus it was
necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day...And you are witnesses of these things" (Lk.
24:46,48).
When Thou didst rise from the grave, O Savior, Thou didst reveal Thy self a Man by nature, as Thou stood in the midst of
the Disciples; wherefore Glory to Thy Resurrection.
Thursday, July 8, 2004
Great-Martyr Prokopios of Caesarea in Palestine
Kellia: 1 Samuel 18:1-9 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 3:18-23 Gospel: St. Matthew 13:36-43
1 Samuel 18:1-9, especially vs. 8: "And Saul was very angry, and this saying
displeased him; he said, 'They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands; and what
more can he have but the kingdom?' And Saul eyed David from that day on." When King Saul called the young David
before him, having heard of his outspoken rage at Goliath, the exchange between them disclosed a real warmth and paternal
care on Saul's part and a respectful deference on the part of the youthful shepherd (1 Sam. 17:31-39). David consistently
presented himself to the king as "your servant" (1 Sam. 17:32,34,36), while Saul gave the youth a real chance to withdraw
his offer (1 Sam. 17:32,33). Even after hearing David's confidence and determination, the king still sought to equip the
young man with suitable armor for the fight, which David tried but found too cumbersome.
Today's reading is a sad sequel to the initial warmth in David's and Saul's relationship. How terrible a thing jealousy is, or
as John Dryden called it, "jaundice of the soul." Of course, jealousy may not be the only cause for Saul's change of heart.
In an undernourished heart and soul the natural virtue of faithfulness may be destroyed by threat, fear, instability of spirit,
or by contrary burning desires. There were followers who turned away from the Lord when they found His words too hard
to bear (Jn. 6:60,66), and even His Disciples fled from the Lord at His arrest in the garden (Mt. 26:56). How often the
Prophet Micah's cry has been repeated: "The faithful man has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among
men. They all lie in wait for blood; every man hunts his brother with a net" (Mic. 7:2)! Man spawns a history of fickle
hearts.
Observe: on the day this account begins, the soul of the crown prince Jonathan, the son of Saul, "was knit to the soul of
David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul" (1 Sam. 18:1). Clearly, King Saul himself greatly desired to have David
in his service, for he "would not let him return to his father's house" (1 Sam. 18:2). Notice, as these words suggest, the
king did more than "urge" David to enter his service. He actually "restrained" him from returning home. In the light of
Saul's later change, the question naturally arises, "What really was the king's motivation in keeping David in his service?
Was it, as in the case of Jonathan, a real affection and bonding (vs. 3)?" The evidence favors another conclusion: that Saul
initially perceived David as a worthy servant useful in furthering his own reign; and this proved true, for "David went out
and was successful wherever Saul sent him" (vs. 5). However, it seems that a deeper, jealous protection of his throne
predominated in Saul's personal makeup. This more sinister passion manifest itself in Saul's own words, as he began to
see in David a potential threat to his throne: "what more can he have but the kingdom?" (vs. 8).
As the history of the relationship between David and Saul unfolds in the subsequent chapters of First Samuel, the character
difference between the two becomes more and more obvious. At the same time, the bond of friendship between David and
Jonathan deepens to form a sharp contrast to the constant suspicion that drives King Saul. Jonathan appears to have
perceived in David a kindred spirit, another valiant, honorable warrior of God's People (vs. 4). How applicable is the
admonition of St. James for us: "submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will
draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (Jas. 4:7,8)! Let us learn
from the Apostle and not be found unprofitable to God, but keep the holy Covenant of the Son of David. O Jesus our
Lord, make straight our path, establish us all in Thy fear; guard our life; make firm our steps, through the prayers of the
righteous David and of all Thy Saints.
Friday, July 9, 2004
Fast Day
Hieromartyr Pankratios, Bishop of Taormina in Sicily
Kellia: 1 Samuel 20:1-7, 10-15 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 4:5-8 Gospel: St. Matthew 13:44-54
1 Samuel 20:1-7, 10-15, especially vs.13: "But should it please my father
to do you harm, the Lord do so to Jonathan, and more also, if I do not disclose it to you, and send you away, that you may
go in safety." True friendship surely is one of God's great gifts to mankind. The great wonder is that Christ Jesus
Himself, Who condescended to be one of us in flesh, reminds us: "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not
know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends" (Jn. 15:15). Thus the Church has learned to call our God
Incarnate, "Friend of Man" and "Lover of Mankind."
Jonathan, the son of King Saul, in every respect revealed himself as a type of our Divine, eternal, and unfailing Friend.
Like Christ Jesus, Jonathan listened to the burden of his friend's heart, invested himself in his friend's plan, protected his
friend, planned with his friend for good, and prayed God's blessing on his friend. Both Jonathan and the Lord, in the words
of Henry van Dyke, were friends who would walk a fearsome "mile with me along life's weary way."
Reading closely, we can find a quality in Jonathan's conversation with David that arrests the mind: he truly listened. Even
as he found David's perception of Saul's intent difficult to believe, he did not close out the terrible possibility of David's
dark analysis. Instead, he ended with a question: "why should my father hide this from me?" (1 Sam. 20:2). As David
pressed his case, Jonathan acceded to the grim possibility and offered his help (vs. 4). One is reminded of the Syro-Phoenician woman to whom the Lord listened and acceded (Mk. 7:24-30). And do we even allow the thought that our Lord
will not listen to us deeply and accede truly to our needs?
Jonathan was ready to do whatever was required to help his friend: "Whatever you say, I will do for you" (1 Sam. 20:4).
The Lord Jesus, the Friend of Man, also is ready to help all who call out to Him, just as He did with the two blind men who
cried, "Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!" He answered them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" (Mt.
20:31,32). Let us take the prayer of the blind men on our lips and cry in our need, "Lord, have mercy on us." As David
laid out a plan to prove Saul's true purpose toward himself (1 Sam. 20:5-10), the son of Saul actually assisted his friend in
refining the plan (vss. 11-13). Likewise, when the Disciples asked the Lord about a plan to feed a multitude (Mk. 6:35,36),
He assisted them to develop a better plan (Mk. 6:37-41). He has provided us with the Gospels and His Pastors and His
Holy Spirit to guide us, so let us not rush headlong into life, but seek His mind for our plans.
Notice that Jonathan was careful to protect his friend, in light of the potential threat to David's life: hence, before he
responded to the question, "Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?" (vs. 10), he took David away from
prying ears, "out into the field" (vs. 11). There he assured him that he would, whatever the case, see to it that David was
able to "go in safety" (vs. 13). Our gracious God is constant to warn us of danger to our lives, as experience and the Holy
Gospels show in so many ways (e.g., Jn. 16:1-4; Mt. 16:24, 25).
Finally, see how Jonathan prayed for God's blessing on his friend: "May the Lord be with you, as He has been with my
father" (1 Sam. 20:13). Christ promises us: "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide
with you forever" (Jn. 14:16), and the Apostles remind us that "He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to
God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:25). What a blessed People we are! "Let
us commend ourselves and each other and all our lives to Christ our God!" O Christ our God, Who didst enlighten the
world by Thy Resurrection on the third day, rescue Thy people out of the hand of Thine enemies, O Thou Friend of man.
Saturday, July 10, 2004
Hieromartyr Joseph the Damascene and His Companions
Kellia: 1 Samuel 20:24-42 Epistle: Romans 9:1-15 Gospel: St. Matthew 9:18-26
1 Samuel 20:24-42, especially vs. 42: "Then Jonathan said to David, "Go
in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the Name of the Lord...." A facet of genuine friendship is providing
help, or, as the epigram has it, "After the verb 'To Love,' 'To Help' is the most beautiful verb in the world." The glory of
authentic help sings from the present reading as Jonathan gives flesh to the Divine command: "If one of your brethren
becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him" (Lev. 25:35). While economic poverty was not
David's problem, his well-being was poor in the face of Saul's rage. As "our God is refuge and strength, a helper in
afflictions which mightily befall us" (Ps. 45:1 LXX), so also are His Saints. Jonathan amply demonstrates his stature as a
Saint, disclosing many marks of authentic help, including exerting himself, advocating selflessly, sympathetically
protecting his friend, sharing his pain, and placing their relationship in God's hands.
Jonathan exerted himself on David's behalf by making a plausible report to the king in order to search out the truth of
Saul's intentions (1 Sam. 20:27-29). Afterwards, he reported his findings to David (vs. 39). It turned out that he even put
his own life at risk to do this (vs. 33). Observe that he followed the demand of being a friend which the Lord Jesus also
recognizes: being a genuine friend requires effort (Lk. 11:8).
Notice how Jonathan placed David's life and well-being ahead of the progress of his own future, something not missed
even by his father, King Saul (1 Sam. 20:31). His selflessness is a type of the self-emptying of Christ, "Who being in the
form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant"
(Phil. 2:6, 7).
Advocating for one's friend is a hallmark of true friendship. Jonathan exhibited this trait by ignoring his father's
displeasure at him and by challenging Saul's intent to execute David (1 Sam. 20:30-32). In the Lord Jesus we also "have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins" (1 Jn. 2:1).
Saul's attack grieved Jonathan for David, "because his father had disgraced him" (1 Sam. 20:34). "Him" in this case refers
to David, and the term "disgraced" translates a word connoting "public humiliation." From sympathy, Jonathan was
chagrined that his father had openly dishonored David who had so faithfully and selflessly served his king. His compassion
for David is reminiscent of the Lord's sympathy with our fallen estate (Lk. 7:13; Jn. 11:35,38).
Jonathan was ever careful to protect his friend from danger and mishap, and not just by speaking up to his father, but in
meeting his friend covertly to assure that there were no witnesses to report David's presence to Saul (1 Sam. 20:35,41). Let
us never forget that our God at every hour preserves our "whole spirit and soul and body...blameless unto the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ" faithfully, both in calling us to Himself and in protecting us (1 Thess. 5:23,24).
As a friend, Jonathan bore the sorrows of his friend, weeping with him (1 Sam. 20:41). He exhibited the true friendship
that "weeps with them that weep" (Rom. 12:15). Even more, he was a type of the Lord Jesus Who bore "our griefs, and
carried our sorrows" (Is. 53:4).
Finally, see how Jonathan, as a true friend, was ever careful to invoke the Lord as a partner to the bond with his friend,
David (vs. 42). As Jonathan's help to his friend points us toward our Divine Friend and Lord Whose help is immeasurable,
let us "be illumined...and embrace one another. Let us speak, brothers...and forgive all for the sake of the Resurrection."
O God, our help and assistance, Who art just and merciful, and Who heareth the supplications of Thy people; look down
upon us and have mercy upon us.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
(Tone 5)
Olga (Helen), Princess of Kiev
Kellia: 1 Samuel 22:6-23 Epistle: Romans 12:6-14 Gospel: St. Matthew 9:1-8
1 Samuel 22:6-23, especially vs. 8: "No one discloses to me when my son makes
a league with the son of Jesse, none of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against
me, to lie in wait, as at this day." The maniacal fear one detects in the paranoid clamoring of King Saul to his courtiers
expresses one small portion of the dark, terrified soul of a man whom "the Lord has rejected" (1 Sam. 15:26), from whom
"the Spirit of the Lord departed...and [whom] an evil spirit from the Lord tormented" (1 Sam. 16:14). Holy Scripture is not
loathe to reveal both the heights and depths of the human soul, for the spirit and virtues of David and Jonathan are thrown
into relief against the twisted image of the depraved King Saul and of those like Doeg the Edomite who served Saul's evil
will.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in The First Circle likewise pulls back a curtain on the soul of another ruler, Joseph Stalin, who
indulged his impulses to murder. In describing the monthly interview between the "Absolute Ruler" and his Minister of
State Security, Victor Semyonovich Abakumov, Solzhenitsyn records Stalin's words and thoughts: "'One day soon I will
give you back capital punishment,' he said thoughtfully, looking outward, as if he were seeing years into the future. 'It will
be a good educational measure'..... 'Death' was the only reliable means of settling accounts in full....then from the bright
distance into which he had just been staring, Stalin shifted his eyes to Abakumov, and suddenly they narrowed craftily.
'Aren't you afraid you'll be the first one we shoot?'....But the word tore into Abakumov like a winter frost."
How do we understand such men whose place in history is drenched in blood? Let us see what God reveals about the lives
of divinely condemned and demented rulers such as Stalin and King Saul, men desperate to hold power by individual
murder or the massacre of communities.
Saul sat "spear in his hand, and all his servants...standing about him" (vs. 6). Intimidation is the constant of tyrants -
Israel's king with spear in hand or Stalin with his barbed joke. Solzhenitsyn adds Stalin's unspoken thought after he has
unnerved Abakumov: "Inevitably the moment would come when it would be necessary to throw Abakumov into the same
pit."
God reveals that tyrants rule through berating. King Saul battered his officials as they stood mute around him: "all of you
have conspired against me?" (vs. 8). Silence from all the king's advisers and courtiers. Abakumov could only listen and
receive the Great Man's words.
Not one of the courtiers answered Saul's question, only Doeg who was not even an Israelite but an alien from Edom. He
spoke, but not directly to the question. Instead, he reported what he had seen of David and the priests at Nob (vss. 9,10).
Lackeys such as Doeg, men ever lusting for approval from those in power, serve despots' eyes and ears to curry favor.
The trial of Ahimelech the High Priest that followed had the form of a reasonable judicial proceeding up to a point.
Charges were presented. The defendant had an opportunity to state his defense, which he did without guile. The king's
reply reveals yet another tactic of ruthlessly absolute rulers: the brushing aside of truth to assign guilt as a foregone
conclusion (vs. 16).
In tyrannical systems, there often is no delay between sentence and execution. Further, many innocents may be caught up
as the nets of oppression are thrown out widely. Such was the case with Saul, except that his own guards still were not
sufficiently cowed by his rage, and they refused (vs. 17), so the king turned to his henchman, Doeg the Edomite. Massacres
followed.
Still, God never leaves us without hope. The account ends with David's assurance of peace and safety to the one surviving
member of the High Priestly family, Abiathar (vss. 22,23).
O Christ Jesus, Thou Alone art our refuge and peace, help us and save us we pray Thee.
Monday, July 12, 2004
Martyrs Proklos and Hilarion of Ancyra
Kellia: 1 Samuel 23:7-18 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 5:9-6:11 Gospel: St. Matthew 13:54-58
1 Samuel 23:7-18, especially vs.17: "And he said to him, 'Fear not; for the
hand of Saul my father shall not find you; you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you; Saul my father also
knows this.'" "The will of God," says Olivier Clement, "is not a judicial imperative, it is an influx of life, it bestows
existence and renews it when it goes astray." This passage reveals that those who submit themselves to the will of God
allow His light to shine through their hearts and, thereby, receive life, renewal, and the discovery of the right way. The
reading also discloses that the converse is true. Joshua's challenge to the People of God applies: "choose this day whom
you will serve." Indeed, may the present passage arouse us to say with him, "but as for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord" ( Jos. 24:15).
There is lodged, in the verse quoted at the beginning of this meditation, the clear evidence that Saul and Jonathan, as well
as David, knew that it was God's will for David to "be king over Israel." Notice that Jonathan declared, "Saul my father
also knows this" (1 Sam. 23:17), and David knew it as well, from the time that Samuel anointed him (1 Sam. 16:13). This
known will of God illumines the action described in this reading: Saul's fruitless efforts to find and capture David, David's
decisions - to leave Keilah, to remain in the strongholds of the Wilderness, and to covenant with Jonathan - and Jonathan's
coming to David to strengthen his hand in God.
Consider first the determined efforts of King Saul to seize David. The fortified city of Keilah was well south of the
territory of Benjamin, the center of Saul's power, yet when the king learned that David was there, he mobilized his forces to
surround and catch him confined inside the town with it "gates and bars" (1 Sam. 23:7,8). He was confident: "God has
given him into my hand" (vs. 7). Did he believe that? It was a delusion, for he was outside the will of God in seeking to
kill David. He was bound to go astray. Since he knew that David was to be king after him, his every effort to find and kill
the son of Jesse was sheer contempt for God's will. Saul was enslaved to his passions, a lost, confused soul, seeking to
write history himself.
On the other hand, observe in David a man submitted to the will of God and striving in all matters to keep himself in that
will. Knowing that Saul was actively seeking his life and remembering only too well the ruin that befell Ahimelech, the
other priests and their families at Nob (1 Sam. 22:18,19), David was righteous in considering the danger he posed to the
people of Keilah. Although the city was armed, walled, and defensible, what should David