Orthodox Daily Devotional September 9-15

Monday

St Theophylact commentary on the raising of Jarius daughter continued…

Those of the household of the ruler of the synagogue thought that Christ was one of the teachers, which is why they besought Him to come and pray for the little girl. So, then, when she died, they thought there was no longer any need for Him to come, as she had died. But He encouraged the father and said, “Only believe.” He did not permit anyone to accompany Him except these three disciples. For Jesus, in His humility, did not want to do anything to make a display of His power. When He said that the little girl had not died, but was sleeping, they laughed Him to scorn, and thus they could not later say that she had only been unconscious and therefore it was nothing marvelous that He raised her up. That they had laughed Him to scorn for saying that she was not dead would be evidence against any claim they might make that He had not raised up one who was truly dead. He took her by the hand so as to impart His power to her. And He gave her something to eat so as to confirm that her resurrection was real, and not a phantasy.

Tuesday

Mark 6: And He went out from thence, and came into His own country; and His disciples follow Him. And when the sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? And what wisdom is this which is given unto Him, that even such mighty works are wrought by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Judah, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended at Him. He goes to His home town, not unaware that they would scorn Him, but first, so that they would not later be able to say, “If He had come here, we would have believed,” and secondly, so as to rebuke their envious attitude. For they ought to have boasted in the Lord as one who brought honor to their native city by His teachings and miracles; but instead they despised Him for His humble birth. Such a great evil is envy! For it always casts good things into darkness, and does not permit the envious even to see them. Even now there are many who slander those of low birth who in every other respect are worthy of honor, and in so doing their thoughts are bad and most ignoble.

Wednesday

Mark 6:   But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And He marvelled because of their unbelief. Speaking generally, the Lord said that all prophets are without honor in their own country. For if they were of illustrious birth, they would be envied, and on this account be without honor. But if they were of low birth, they would again be without honor on account of their low birth. He could not do any mighty works there, not because of His weakness, but because of their unbelief. He does not do any mighty works there, to spare them lest it be to their greater condemnation that they do not believe even when they have witnessed miracles. But in another sense, the working of miracles requires both the power of the one who works them and the faijh of those who receive them. There in that city, because those in need” of healing lacked the necessary faith, it was not possible for Jesus to work any signs. Thus, “He could do no mighty work” means “It was not possible for Him to do any mighty work.”

Thursday

6-11. And He went round about the villages, teaching. And He called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them authority over unclean spirits; and commanded them that they should lake nothing for (heir journey, save a staff only; no satchel, no bread, no money in their belt: but be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. And He said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. The Lord taught not only in the cities but also in the villages, that we might learn not to despise the small, nor always to seek out the big cities, but to sow the word even in the humble villages. He is not the only one to teach, but He also sends out the twelve. He sends them out in pairs to embolden them. For if He sent them out singly, one of them might become fainthearted. Moreover, if He sent them out in groups of more than two, there would not have been enough apostles for all the many villages. Thus He sends them out two by two, for “Two are better than one,” as Ecclesiastes says.  He commanded them to take nothing with them, neither satchel, nor money, nor bread, teaching them by this means not to love possessions, and so that those who saw these apostles, who owned nothing, would be moved, and would learn from them nonpossessiveness. Upon seeing an apostle taking neither satchel nor bread, even the basic necessities, who would not be moved, and would not also then   divest himself and undertake the life of nonpossession?2 He instructs them to stay in one house, lest they appear to be unstable, going from one house to the next and gourmandizing. He tells them to shake off the dust as a testimony to those who do not receive them. By this the apostles would show them that they had journeyed a long way on behalf of those ungrateful ones, who nonetheless received no benefit thereby. Or, it would show that the apostles had received nothing from them, not even the dust on their feet, but even this they shook off so that it would be a testimony and a reproof to them. “Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment” than for those who did not receive you. The men of Sodom, having been punished here in this life, will be punished even more fearfully in the next. Yet the apostles were not sent to them. Therefore, those who have rejected the apostles will suffer more harshly than the Sodomites.

Friday

Mark 6: 12–13. And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. Of the four evangelists, only Mark relates that the apostles anointed with oil, but James, the brother of God,  says this as well in his general Epistle: “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the presbyters of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil.”  Therefore, in addition to being a help in labors, the fuel of light, and the cause of gladness,  oil also means the mercy of God and the grace of the Holy Spirit, for thereby we are freed from labors, and receive light, joy, and spiritual gladness. The significance of olive oil in (he life of the ancient world, and in the Mediterranean world today, is perhaps difficult for others to comprehend. But even western Christians of the twentieth century may have some direct experience of oil as the fuel of light, when they fill their vigil lamps.

Saturday

Mark 6: And king Herod heard of Him, ( His name was spread abroad,) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. Others said, That it is Elijah. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. This Herod was the son of him who slew the infants. He was tetrarch, but Mark calls him “king”, using the name without differentiation. When Herod, then, heard of the miracles of the Lord, and knowing that John, whom he killed without a cause, had been a righteous man, he suspected that John had risen from the dead, and by virtue of his resurrection had acquired the power to work miracles. For previously John had not worked any sign. But after his resurrection, Herod thought that John had received the power to work miracles. Others thought that Jesus was Elijah, for He rebuked many, as when He said, “O faithless generation!”  Herod was a coward, and he was so wretched that he was even afraid of the dead.