Sunday

Luke 8: 26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes,[c] which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes,[d] nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

30 Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”

And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.

32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.

34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. 37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes[e] asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.

38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

OSB Commentary: The demons, recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment. Though the malice of the demons is great, they can do nothing against the will of God, and thus can only enter the swine at Christ’s command. The immediate destruction of the herd shows that the men had been protected by God’s care; otherwise, they would have perished under the demonic influence. Further, it reinforces that swineherding was not lawful for the Jews, and shows the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice.

Monday

*The devotional this week is from the St. Nikolai’s Prologue of Ohrid

The Christian Faith is the only Faith in the world that has one determined and never-changing standard of values. St. John Chrysostom speaks clearly about how it measures and classifies its values. He says: “Things are divided into three categories: The first are good and cannot be evil— for example, wisdom, charity and the like. The second are evil and can never be good— for example, perversion, inhumanity and cruelty. The third, at times, become one or, at times, become the other, according to the disposition of those who make use of them.” This divine teacher explains that riches and poverty, freedom and slavery, power, disease, and even death itself fall into the third category. They are neither good nor evil by themselves, but become either one or the other, according to the disposition of men and the use that men make of them. For example, if riches were good and poverty evil, then all rich men would be good and all the poor would be evil. However, we are daily convinced that, as there are good and evil rich men, so also are there good and evil poor men. The same can be applied to the healthy and the sick, the free and the enslaved, the satiated and the hungry, and those in authority and those under subjugation. Even death is not evil, for “the martyrs, through death, became more fortunate than all others.”

Tuesday

It benefits little to prove by human logic and words that the teaching of Christ is the teaching from God. The fastest and most reliable way to know that this is truth is to do the will of God in the same way that Christ proclaimed it and testified to it. Whoever does this will know that the teaching of Christ is the teaching from God. If you weep for the sake of God, you will know what a comfort He is. If you are merciful, you will know the mercy of God. If you build peace, you will know how it becomes you to be called a son of God. If you forgive men, you will know that God forgives you. No one can ever know that the teaching of Christ is the teaching from God, except he who does the will of God. Doing the will of God and fulfilling His commandments is the only key for unlocking Paradise, in which God is seen. That is the key for understanding Holy Scripture and all the mysteries of revelation. St. Basil writes: “In order to understand that which is hidden in Sacred Scripture, purity of life is needed.” What else does the Lord want from us, when He teaches us that through doing His will we arrive at the understanding of the divinity of His teaching? He simply wishes that we, by [the fruit of] our deeds, become convinced of the divinity of His teaching. He does not desire that we be convinced of this in an easy manner, but rather in a more difficult manner— not only by listening, but by doing, because whoever is convinced in  an easy manner will easily waver and change his mind; and as for him who is convinced in a difficult manner, it would be difficult for him to change his mind. Brethren, that is why we must endeavor to fulfill the will of God, in order that we may know God and save our souls.

Wednesday

Brethren, the very hairs of your head are all numbered— even more so are the days of your life! Do not be afraid, therefore, that you will die before your appointed time, or yet hope that you will somehow be able to extend your life for one day beyond the will of Him Who counts and measures. Let this knowledge teach you meekness and fear of God. The very hairs of your head are all numbered— even more so are your sufferings on earth! Do not be afraid, therefore, that you will suffer beyond measure. Fear even less that your sufferings will remain forgotten and unaccounted for by Him Who sees all. This knowledge will teach you patience and confidence toward your Creator and Provider. The very hairs of your head are all numbered— even more so are your friends and enemies on earth! Do not be afraid, therefore, that you will have either too many friends or too many enemies. Neither be afraid that your enemies will overcome you, nor be assured that your friends will defend you. Concern yourself only that you have God for a friend, and do not be afraid of anything. Behold, He Who loves you unalterably is your only friend. O Good Lord, Wise Provider, Who knows the number, measure and time of all, banish from us every fear— except the fear of Thee— that through fear of Thee, we may arrive at pure and holy love for Thee, our Creator and Benefactor.

Thursday

Thus speaks He Who knows, He Who has seen, and He Who cannot be deceived. Brethren, what have we to doubt anymore? This testimony is clearer than a summer’s noon, harder than diamonds and more precious than all the riches of this world; and this is the testimony: Those who are accounted worthy of that world and resurrection can no longer die, but are immortal like the angels of God. What are the angels like? Those same angels who appeared at the time of Abraham and came to the aid of men are the same ones who today appear and aid men. They are not dead but alive; they have not grown old but are young. They are the same ones who beheld Adam in Paradise and who will behold the Final Resurrection, and the Judgment, and the Kingdom of the saints. The righteous are similar to angels. The apostles, prophets, saints and martyrs live even today, and will live always and can no longer die. Hundreds and thousands of years pass, but they can neither die nor age anymore; rather, they are equal unto the angels. The Lord testified to us in the above words that the righteous will be crowned with immortality, and He demonstrated this by His own Resurrection, and affirmed it through His glorified saints. O my brethren, let us awaken and labor— to become worthy to obtain that blessed world!

Friday

In our day, you usually hear these words from parents: “We want to secure the life of our child.” That is why they work very hard to amass wealth— often unjustly— to educate their child in the calling that brings the greatest physical security and material benefit. And this is done by so-called Christians! They do this because their concept of real life and the real security of life is erroneous. Here is how a true Christian mother prepares her son for real life: At the time of her death, Blessed Euphrosyne spoke to her son, Clement of Ancyra: “Do me the honor, O my son, and bravely stand up for Christ and confess Him firmly and without hesitation! In my heart I hope that the crown of martyrdom will soon blossom on you, in my honor and for the salvation of many. Do not be afraid of threats, or swords, or pains, or wounds, or fire. Let nothing separate you from Christ, but look up to heaven— and from there you can expect your great, eternal and rich reward from God. Fear God’s majesty; be afraid of His awesome judgment; tremble at His all-seeing Eye; for all those who deny Him will receive the punishment of unquenchable fire and the eternally vigilant worm. Let this be my reward from you, my sweet son— for my pain in child-bearing and my effort concerning your education— that I may be called the mother of a martyr. Do not spare the blood that you received from me, but shed it, that from this I may also receive honor. Submit your body to torture, that I too may rejoice at this before our Lord— as though I myself had suffered for Him.”

Saturday

When our Lord deigned to direct a rebuke to the Pharisees and scribes, they had, as yet, neither killed anyone, nor deceived anyone, nor robbed anyone. Not only that: they had not yet even offended anyone by their words. Why then did our Lord admonish them when they had not committed any sin either in works or in words? Because their thoughts were evil. An evil thought is sin! This is a great new understanding, which Christ brought into the world. In truth, an evil thought is the sinful source of all sin because, before a man says something or does something sinful, he thinks sinfully. Thought is the causative sin. All other sins are only subsequent sins. Whoever wishes to annihilate evil actions, must first uproot evil thoughts. Whoever desires to stem the flow of water, must first dry up the source. Therefore, let no one justify himself by saying: “I am not a sinner, for I have not killed anyone, robbed anyone, profaned anyone, or lied to anyone!” Behold, we are full of deadly robbing, profaning and deceiving thoughts! If we have not committed sin by our deeds, this is simply a matter of the mercy of God and external circumstances. But, if God had allowed it, and if the circumstances had been favorable, we would have committed all those sins that we thought of. The serpent is venomous not only when it bites but also when it does not bite— because it carries the venom in itself. Therefore, not only is thought a sin, but it is also the source of sin, the beginning of sin, the seed and the root of sin. That is why the All-seeing and All-knowing Lord rebuked those who had evil thoughts: Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? O Lord, all-seeing and all-knowing, help us to cleanse our hearts and minds from evil thoughts, so that our words and deeds may be pure.