{"id":13362,"date":"2023-12-16T20:33:11","date_gmt":"2023-12-17T01:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/?p=13362"},"modified":"2023-12-13T19:57:02","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T00:57:02","slug":"daily-devotional-for-december-17-23-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/?p=13362","title":{"rendered":"Daily Devotional for December 17 &#8211; 23"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sunday<\/p>\n<p>Luke 19:28<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"text Luke-19-28\"><sup class=\"versenum\">28\u00a0<\/sup>When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. <\/span> <span id=\"en-NKJV-25761\" class=\"text Luke-19-29\"><sup class=\"versenum\">29\u00a0<\/sup>And it came to pass, when He drew near to <sup class=\"footnote\" data-fn=\"#fen-NKJV-25761g\" data-link=\"[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NKJV-25761g&quot; title=&quot;See footnote g&quot;&gt;g&lt;\/a&gt;]\">[<a title=\"See footnote g\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke%2019&amp;version=NKJV#fen-NKJV-25761g\">g<\/a>]<\/sup>Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, <i>that<\/i> He sent two of His disciples, <\/span> <span id=\"en-NKJV-25762\" class=\"text Luke-19-30\"><sup class=\"versenum\">30\u00a0<\/sup>saying, <span class=\"woj\">\u201cGo into the village opposite <i>you,<\/i> where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring <i>it here.<\/i><\/span> <\/span> <span id=\"en-NKJV-25763\" class=\"text Luke-19-31\"><sup class=\"versenum\">31\u00a0<\/sup><span class=\"woj\">And if anyone asks you, \u2018Why are you loosing <i>it?<\/i>\u2019 thus you shall say to him, \u2018Because the Lord has need of it.\u2019 \u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NKJV-25764\" class=\"text Luke-19-32\"><sup class=\"versenum\">32\u00a0<\/sup>So those who were sent went their way and found <i>it<\/i> just as He had said to them. <\/span> <span id=\"en-NKJV-25765\" class=\"text Luke-19-33\"><sup class=\"versenum\">33\u00a0<\/sup>But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, \u201cWhy are you loosing the colt?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NKJV-25766\" class=\"text Luke-19-34\"><sup class=\"versenum\">34\u00a0<\/sup>And they said, \u201cThe Lord has need of him.\u201d <\/span> <span id=\"en-NKJV-25767\" class=\"text Luke-19-35\"><sup class=\"versenum\">35\u00a0<\/sup>Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. <\/span> <span id=\"en-NKJV-25768\" class=\"text Luke-19-36\"><sup class=\"versenum\">36\u00a0<\/sup>And as He went, <i>many<\/i> spread their clothes on the road.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Prayer:\u00a0 We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee, for by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Monday<\/p>\n<p>Commentary from the Navarre Bible Commentary&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Normally in the Gospels when there is mention of going to the Holy City it is in terms of \u201cgoing up\u201d to Jerusalem (cf. Mt 20:18; Jn 7:8), probably because geographically the city is located on Mount Zion. Besides, since the Temple was the religious and political centre, going up to Jerusalem had also a sacred meaning of ascending to the holy place, where sacrifices were offered to God.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus makes use of a donkey for his entry into Jerusalem, thereby fulfilling an ancient prophecy: \u201cRejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass\u201d (Zech 9:9).<\/p>\n<p>The people, and particularly the Pharisees, were quite aware of this prophecy. Therefore, despite its simplicity of form, there was a certain solemnity about the whole episode which impressed those present, stirring the hearts or the people and irritating the Pharisees. By fulfilling the prophecy our Lord was showing everyone that he was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament.<\/p>\n<p>Prayer:<\/p>\n<p>O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and idle talking give me not.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday<\/p>\n<p>Luke 19:<span id=\"en-NKJV-25769\" class=\"text Luke-19-37\"><sup class=\"versenum\">37\u00a0<\/sup>Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, <\/span> <span id=\"en-NKJV-25770\" class=\"text Luke-19-38\"><sup class=\"versenum\">38\u00a0<\/sup>saying:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"poetry top-1\">\n<p class=\"line\"><span class=\"text Luke-19-38\">\u201c <span class=\"oblique\">\u2018Blessed<\/span> <i>is<\/i> <span class=\"oblique\">the King who comes in the name of the<\/span> <span class=\"small-caps divine-name\">Lord<\/span><span class=\"oblique\">!\u2019<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"text Luke-19-38\">Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"top-1\"><span id=\"en-NKJV-25771\" class=\"text Luke-19-39\"><sup class=\"versenum\">39\u00a0<\/sup>And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, \u201cTeacher, rebuke Your disciples.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NKJV-25772\" class=\"text Luke-19-40\"><sup class=\"versenum\">40\u00a0<\/sup>But He answered and said to them, <span class=\"woj\">\u201cI tell you that if these should keep silent,<\/span> <span class=\"woj\">the stones would immediately cry out.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Prayer:<\/p>\n<p>But rather a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience, and love bestow upon me Thy servant.<\/p>\n<p>Yea, O Lord King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother; for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.<\/p>\n<p>Wednesday<\/p>\n<p>Navarre Commentary:<\/p>\n<p>Christ is greeted with the prophetic words referring to the enthronement of the Messiah, contained in Psalm 118:26: \u201cBlessed be he who enters in the name of the Lord!\u201d But the people also acclaim him as king. This is a great messianic demonstration, which infuriates the Pharisees. One of the acclamations, \u201cPeace in heaven and glory in the highest\u201d, echoes the announcement made by the angel to the shepherds on Christmas night (cf. Lk 2:14).<a name=\"_Toc176499895\"><\/a>40 To the reproaches of the Pharisees, who are scandalized by the people\u2019s shouts, our Lord replies in a phrase which sounds like a proverb: so obvious is his messiahship that if men refused to recognize it nature would proclaim it. In fact, when his friends were cowed on the hill of Calvary the earth trembled and the rocks split (cf. Mt 27:51). At other times our Lord imposed silence on those who want to proclaim him King or Messiah, but now he adopts a different attitude: the moment has come for his dignity and his mission to be made public.<\/p>\n<p>Prayer:<\/p>\n<p>Yea, O Lord King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother; for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Thursday<br \/>\nLuke 19:<span class=\"text Luke-19-41\"><sup class=\"versenum\">41\u00a0<\/sup>Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, <\/span> <span id=\"en-NKJV-25774\" class=\"text Luke-19-42\"><sup class=\"versenum\">42\u00a0<\/sup>saying, <span class=\"woj\">\u201cIf you had known, even you, especially in this<\/span> <span class=\"woj\">your day, the things <i>that<\/i><\/span> <span class=\"woj\"><i>make<\/i> for your<\/span> <span class=\"woj\">peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.<\/span> <\/span> <span id=\"en-NKJV-25775\" class=\"text Luke-19-43\"><sup class=\"versenum\">43\u00a0<\/sup><span class=\"woj\">For days will come upon you when your enemies will<\/span> <span class=\"woj\">build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side,<\/span> <\/span> <span id=\"en-NKJV-25776\" class=\"text Luke-19-44\"><sup class=\"versenum\">44\u00a0<\/sup><span class=\"woj\">and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and<\/span> <span class=\"woj\">they will not leave in you one stone upon another,<\/span> <span class=\"woj\">because you did not know the time of your visitation.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Prayer:\u00a0 O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, blot out our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name&#8217;s sake.<\/p>\n<p>Friday<\/p>\n<p>Navarre Commentary on Jerusalem&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>When the procession reaches a place where there is a good view of the city, they are disconcerted by Jesus\u2019 unexpected weeping. Our Lord explains why he is weeping, by prophesying the destruction of the city which he loved so much: not one stone will remain on another, and its inhabitants will be massacred \u2014 a prophecy which was fulfilled in the year 70, when Titus razed the city and destroyed the Temple.<\/p>\n<p>These historical events will be a punishment for Jerusalem failing to recognize the time of its visitation, that is, for closing its gates to the salvific coming of the Redeemer. Jesus loved the Jews with a very special love: they were the first to whom the Gospel was preached (cf. Mt 10:5-6); to them he directed his ministry (cf. Mt 15:24). He showed by his word and by his miracles that he was the Son of God and the Messiah foretold in the Scriptures. But the Jews for the most part failed to appreciate the grace the Lord was offering them; their leaders led them to the extreme of calling for Jesus to be crucified.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus visits every one of us; he comes as our Saviour; he teaches us through the preaching of the Church; he gives us forgiveness and grace through the Sacraments. We should not reject our Lord, we should not remain indifferent to his visit.<\/p>\n<p>Prayer:\u00a0 Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3X)<\/p>\n<p>Saturday<br \/>\nLuke 19:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"text Luke-19-45\">Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who <sup class=\"footnote\" data-fn=\"#fen-NKJV-25777h\" data-link=\"[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NKJV-25777h&quot; title=&quot;See footnote h&quot;&gt;h&lt;\/a&gt;]\">[<a title=\"See footnote h\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke%2019&amp;version=NKJV#fen-NKJV-25777h\">h<\/a>]<\/sup>bought and sold in it, <\/span> <span id=\"en-NKJV-25778\" class=\"text Luke-19-46\"><sup class=\"versenum\">46\u00a0<\/sup>saying to them, <span class=\"woj\">\u201cIt is written,<\/span> <span class=\"woj\">\u2018My house<\/span> <sup class=\"footnote\" data-fn=\"#fen-NKJV-25778i\" data-link=\"[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NKJV-25778i&quot; title=&quot;See footnote i&quot;&gt;i&lt;\/a&gt;]\">[<a title=\"See footnote i\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke%2019&amp;version=NKJV#fen-NKJV-25778i\">i<\/a>]<\/sup><span class=\"woj\">is a house of prayer,\u2019 but you have made it a<\/span> <span class=\"woj\">\u2018den of thieves.\u2019<\/span> <span class=\"woj\">\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"en-NKJV-25779\" class=\"text Luke-19-47\"><sup class=\"versenum\">47\u00a0<\/sup>And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, <\/span> <span id=\"en-NKJV-25780\" class=\"text Luke-19-48\"><sup class=\"versenum\">48\u00a0<\/sup>and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Commentary:<\/p>\n<p>Jesus\u2019 indignation shows his zeal for the glory of his Father, to be recognized at this time in the Temple itself. He inveighs against the traders for engaging in business which has nothing to do with divine worship (cf. Mt 21:12; Mk 11-15). Even the priests allowed some of these abuses to go on \u2014 perhaps because they benefitted from them in the form of taxes. The traders did perform services necessary for divine worship but this was vitiated by their excessive desire for gain, turning the Temple into a market-place.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy house shall be a house of prayer\u201d: Jesus uses these words from Isaiah (56:7; cf. Jer 7:11) to underline the purpose of the Temple. Jesus\u2019 behaviour shows the respect the Temple of Jerusalem deserved: how much more reverence should be shown our churches, where Jesus himself is really present in the Blessed Eucharist (cf. notes on Mt 21:12-13; and Mk 11:15-18).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Jesus Prayer:\u00a0 Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have Mercy on me a sinner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sunday Luke 19:28 28\u00a0When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29\u00a0And it came to pass, when He drew near to [g]Bethphage and Bethany, at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-orthodox-daily-devotional","has_no_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13363,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13362\/revisions\/13363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}