3rd SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST — Tone 2. Virgin Martyr Febronia of Nisibis (ca. 304). Saint Theólēptos, Metropolitan of Philadelphia (1325).
Tone 2 Troparion (Resurrection)
When You descended to death, O Life Immortal, You slew hell with the splendor of Your Godhead. And when from the depths You raised the dead, all the powers of heaven cried out:// “O Giver of life, Christ our God, glory to You!”
Tone 4 Troparion (St. Nicholas)
The truth of your deeds has revealed you to your flock as a rule of faith, an image of meekness and a teacher of self-control; your humility exalted you; your poverty enriched you.// O Father Bishop Nicholas, pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved.
Tone 4 Troparion (Forerunner)
O Prophet and Forerunner of the coming of Christ, although we cannot praise you worthily, we honor you in love at you nativity, for by it you ended your father’s silence and your mother’s barrenness,// proclaiming to the world the incarnation of the Son of God!
Tone 4 Troparion (St. Febronia)
Your lamb Febronia calls out to You, O Jesus, in a loud voice: “I love You, my Bridegroom, and in seeking You, I endure suffering. In baptism I was crucified so that I might reign in You, and I died so that I might live with You. Accept me as a pure sacrifice, for I have offered myself in love.”// Through her prayers save our souls, since You are merciful!
Tone 2 Kontakion (Resurrection)
Hell became afraid, O almighty Savior, seeing the miracle of Your Resurrection from the tomb! The dead arose! Creation, with Adam, beheld this and rejoiced with You,// and the world, my Savior, praises You forever.
Tone 3 Kontakion (Forerunner)
Today the formerly barren woman gives birth to Christ’s Forerunner, who is the fulfillment of every prophecy; for in the Jordan, when he laid his hand on the One foretold by the Prophets,// he was revealed as Prophet, Herald, and Forerunner of God the Word.
Tone 6 Kontakion (St. Febronia)
“Most sweet Jesus, my Bridegroom, it is not hard for me to follow You,” cried Febronia, “the sweetness of Your love gives wings of hope to my soul, the beauty of Your mercy has sweetened my heart; may I drain the cup of sufferings in imitation of You, so that You may count me worthy to be among the wise virgins: those who dance with You in Your bridal chamber.” Therefore, venerable passion-bearer, as we honor the struggles of your labors, we entreat you:// “Pray that we not find the doors of the bridal chamber locked to us!”
Tone 6 Kontakion (Steadfast Protectress)
Steadfast Protectress of Christians, Constant Advocate before the Creator; Do not despise the cries of us sinners, but in your goodness come speedily to help us who call on you in faith. Hasten to hear our petition and to intercede for us, O Theotokos, for you always protect those who honor you!
Tone 2 Prokeimenon (Resurrection)
The Lord is my strength and my song; / He has become my salvation. (Ps. 117:14)
V. The Lord has chastened me sorely, but He has not given me over to death. (Ps. 117:18)
Romans 5:1-10 (Epistle)
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Tone 2
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
V. May the Lord hear you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! (Ps. 19:1)
V. Save the King, O Lord, and hear us on the day we call! (Ps. 19:9)
Matthew 6:22-33 (Gospel)
The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
On Discernment: Self Knowledge
To “know thyself” is the first level of discernment. When we begin spiritual life, enthusiasm must be tempered with knowledge and humility, or we will try to go too far too fast. At the same time, we must not allow our own weakness and reluctance to change our ways to dictate our spiritual life and thus cause us to remain content with our failure to reach the Christian ideal, confusing “difficult” with “impossible.” We are only called to do what we can, but many people interpret that as doing what we want or what makes us comfortable. To live the gospel is not easy, but neither is it impossible. The commandments to love your enemy, to forsake all for the gospel, to endure affliction and turn the other cheek are not for the select few, but for every one of us: “No one should plead inability to do what is asked of us in the gospels, since there are souls who have accomplished far more than is commanded. Evil or passion is not something naturally implanted in things. God is not the creator of passions. On the other hand, there are many natural virtues that have come to us from Him. These clearly include the following: mercy, something even the pagans have; love, for even dumb animals bewail the loss of one of their own; faith, which all of us can generate of ourselves; hope, since we all lend, and take to the sea, and sow seed, expecting to do well out of it. Hence if love comes naturally to us—and it has been shown to be so—if it is the bond and the fulfillment of the law, virtues cannot be too far from nature. For which reason, those who claim to be unable to practice the virtues should be ashamed of themselves.” – St. John Climacus.
Unfortunately, because God’s commandments are not easy to keep (due to our own sins and weaknesses), we are apt to dismiss them as unrealistic and idealistic. We also tend to think of them as negative burdens rather than as positive opportunities. Thus we make a mockery of God, who gave us these commandments. While some Christians like to take so many passages of Scripture literally and use such passages against others when it suits them, when it comes to the things they are not so keen on doing themselves, such as forgiving enemies, they come up with a list of excuses as long as your arm. It is therefore essential that we have the humility to acknowledge that we keep falling short of God’s commandments, and that we need to repent.
Nonetheless, we must be mindful of our limitations. Some strive to pray and fast beyond their ability, which often leads them to giving up and losing hope. Being too austere can be just as detrimental to our spiritual life as being too lax:
“There are brave souls who lovingly and humbly undertake tasks that are well beyond them. There are proud hearts that do the same. Now it often happens that our enemies deliberately inspire us to do things beyond our capacities, and their objective is to make us falter so that we abandon even what lies within our power, and make ourselves ridiculous to our enemies.” – St. John Climacus
— Papavassiliou, Vassilios. Thirty Steps to Heaven. Ancient Faith Publishing.
On Fasting and Prayer
What is the point of fasting and prayer? Why must we work so hard? They cleanse us from sin, they lead to spiritual peace, to union with God, to sonship, to boldness before God. There are truly important reasons for fasting and confessing from the bottom of one’s heart. Immeasurable rewards will be given for conscientious labor. Do many of us love God as a son loves a father? How many of us dare, without condemnation and with boldness, call upon the Father in Heaven and say: “Our Father”? Is it not the exact opposite? Our hearts, deadened by the vanities of this world and attachments to its objects and pleasures, are incapable of crying out with a son’s voice. Is not our Heavenly Father distant from our hearts? Should not we rather imagine a vengeful God, since we have left Him to go into a far-away land? Yes, because of our sins, all of us are worthy of His righteous anger and punishment, and it is wonderful how long-suffering and forbearing He is to us: He does not uproot us like the barren fig trees. Let us hasten to propitiate Him with repentance and tears. Let us enter into ourselves; let us consider our unclean hearts in all strictness, and we will see what a multitude of impurities hinders the reach of divine grace. Only then will we realize that we are spiritually dead.
— Sergiev, Ivan Ilyich.(St. John of Kronstadt) My Life in Christ (p. 9). Holy Trinity Publications.
Reflection
St. Mark the Ascetic said: “Whoever desires to avert future tribulations must bear the present tribulations with joy.” Men consider slander to be a great tribulation, and there are few who bear this tribulation without grumbling. How beautiful is the fruit of tribulation that is endured with good grace! Tribulation is given to us for good spiritual commerce, but we miss the opportunity and thus remain empty-handed in the market place. Behold, even Athanasius, Basil, Chrysostom, Macarius, Sisoes, and thousands of other followers of the Most-slandered One were themselves slandered. But God, Who orders all things for our salvation, had so ordered that, on the thorn of slander, there would spring forth fragrant roses of glory for all those who are slandered for His name. Had Stephen not been slandered, would he have seen the heavens opened and seen the glory of God in the heavens? And did not the slander against Joseph the Chaste serve to his even greater glory?
— Velimirovic, Saint Nikolai. The Prologue of Ohrid (p. 948). Sebastian Press Publishing House.
Sunday Bulletin June 18, 2023