Pure Monday

Isaiah 1:1-20

¹ The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

² Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!
For the LORD has spoken:

“ I have nourished and brought up children,
And they have rebelled against Me;
³ The ox knows its owner
And the donkey its master’s crib;
But Israel does not know,
My people do not consider.”
⁴ Alas, sinful nation,
A people laden with iniquity,
A brood of evildoers,
Children who are corrupters!
They have forsaken the LORD,
They have provoked to anger
The Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away backward.
⁵ Why should you be stricken again?
You will revolt more and more.
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faints.
⁶ From the sole of the foot even to the head,
There is no soundness in it,
But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
They have not been closed or bound up,
Or soothed with ointment.
⁷ Your country is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire;
Strangers devour your land in your presence;
And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
⁸ So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard,
As a hut in a garden of cucumbers,
As a besieged city.
⁹ Unless the LORD of hosts
Had left to us a very small remnant,
We would have become like Sodom,
We would have been made like Gomorrah.
¹⁰ Hear the word of the LORD,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the law of our God,
You people of Gomorrah:
¹¹ “ To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?”
Says the LORD.

“ I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle.
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
Or of lambs or goats.
¹² “ When you come to appear before Me,
Who has required this from your hand,
To trample My courts?
¹³ Bring no more futile sacrifices;
Incense is an abomination to Me.
The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
¹⁴ Your New Moons and your appointed feasts
My soul hates;
They are a trouble to Me,
I am weary of bearing them.
¹⁵ When you spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Even though you make many prayers,
I will not hear.
Your hands are full of blood.
¹⁶ “ Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
Cease to do evil,
¹⁷ Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke the oppressor;^[a]
Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.
¹⁸ “ Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD,

“ Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
²⁰ But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword”;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Genesis 1:1-13

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was^[a] on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
³ Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
⁶ Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” ⁷ Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. ⁸ And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
⁹ Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. ¹⁰ And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. ¹² And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ So the evening and the morning were the third day.

Proverbs 1:1-20

¹ The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
² To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
³ To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
⁴ To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—
⁵ A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
⁶ To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸ My son, hear the instruction of your father,
And do not forsake the law of your mother;
⁹ For they will be a graceful ornament on your head,
And chains about your neck.
¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.
¹¹ If they say, “Come with us,
Let us lie in wait to shed blood;
Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;
¹² Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,^[a]
And whole, like those who go down to the Pit;
¹³ We shall find all kinds of precious possessions,
We shall fill our houses with spoil;
¹⁴ Cast in your lot among us,
Let us all have one purse”—
¹⁵ My son, do not walk in the way with them,
Keep your foot from their path;
¹⁶ For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.
¹⁷ Surely, in vain the net is spread
In the sight of any bird;
¹⁸ But they lie in wait for their own blood,
They lurk secretly for their own lives.
¹⁹ So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;
It takes away the life of its owners.

²⁰ Wisdom calls aloud outside;
She raises her voice in the open squares.

The reading of Proverbs during the Great Fast encourages you ‘to fear the Lord’ as the first step toward wisdom, which you may learn in Christ. After all, being a child of the household of God, you already are a servant of Holy Wisdom Himself – our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ.

When the words of Proverbs prompt you to “Hear…the instruction of thy father, and reject not the rules of thy mother” (vs. 8), receive this at several levels of understanding. First, recall the godly voices of your grandparents and parents to the extent they reared you in what the Faith teaches. Second, listen to the preaching, teaching, and counsel of your Pastors. And finally, read the words of the Holy Fathers who form the two-thousand year, living stream of Holy Tradition that brings us the riches of Orthodoxy, and heed them. This includes all the Holy Gerondas, the Staretz, the Elders, and the Abbas speaking, writing, and praying for you even today. May God grant you the grace of attentive listening for salvation! Our Mother, the Church, serves a lavish feast of words for life, not to confine, constrict, or inhibit you except from unruly passions and the insidious, worldly, exhortations of “ungodly men” (vss. 10-14).

- from Dynamis

Today we commemorate St. Simeon of Serbia

1 Kingdoms (1 Samuel) 13:1-18

¹ Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,^{[a] 2} Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent.
³ And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” ⁴ Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal.
⁵ Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty^[b] thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven. ⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. ⁷ And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.
As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. ⁸ Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.
¹¹ And Samuel said, “What have you done?”
Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, ¹² then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”
¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”
¹⁵ Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin.^[c] And Saul numbered the people present with him, about six hundred men.
¹⁶ Saul, Jonathan his son, and the people present with them remained in Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines encamped in Michmash. ¹⁷ Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned onto the road to Ophrah, to the land of Shual, ¹⁸ another company turned to the road to Beth Horon, and another company turned to the road of the border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

You must be faithful to God and he will be faithful to you.  Do what God commands and you’ll be alright.

1 John 2:7-17

⁷ Brethren,^[a] I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.^{[b] 8} Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
⁹ He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. ¹⁰ He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹ But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

¹² I write to you, little children,
Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
¹³ I write to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
Because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you, little children,
Because you have known the Father.
¹⁴ I have written to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
And you have overcome the wicked one.

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

“These verses (12-14) are a poem of comfort and encouragement. John addresses three stages of Christian growth (1) Little children are the newly converted, who see clearly that their sins are forgiven and who know the Father. (2) Fathers, are the mature in understanding who know Christ. (3) Young men are those who war against the devil, who are strong and who have the word of God living in them.”

Mark 14:3-9

³ And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. ⁴ But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? ⁵ For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.
⁶ But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. ⁷ For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. ⁸ She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. ⁹ Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

“Knowledge of religious things is good, but devotion to Christ is more important. Here a woman who knows less about religion than her critics expresses her deep love and devotion to Christ, devotion He accepts with gratitude.”

“Often we do not fully understand the implications of what we do for Christ. This woman was expressing her love for Jesus; she may or may not have known that she was anointing the body of Jesus for burial.”

Romans 8: part 3

26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us^[b] with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

“The Holy Spirit not only brings us strength, He empowers us in our weaknesses, especially helping us to pray. Prayer in the spirit, also called prayer without words, is the highest form of prayer. The Fathers identify three stages: (1) saying te words of the prayers; (2) saying the words with meaning and full concentration; (3) praying without words, when one is so filled with the Holy Spirit and so in union with God that words are inadequate.”

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

This is a section that I used to champion as very Calvinistic.  However, since relinquishing my Reformed doctrine, I have yet to quite figure out how to explain these verses in an Orthodox mindset without completely contextualizing everything that goes behind predestination.  There is absolutely no way that I can believe in predestination or total depravity in the same sense as I once did having now understood (at least partly) and by trying to see everything through the light of Trinitarian theology.  In my opinion, the best way to understand anything in Christianity is to start from the Trinity… if you start there, you might not get lost so often.

Anyways, I will quote the commentary for these verses: “For those who love God, the Scriptures and experience bear witness: all things work together for good. Setbacks and difficulties there will be, but God turns them into “loight affliction.” This passage is read on the Feasts of teh Martyrs, for being conformed to the image of His Son includes conformity to christ’s death out of His love for the Father. God foreknows all things, but He does not predetermine all. For God is free and man is free. Gof freely offers salvation to all, and man freely responds to it. All are called, but all do not respond. Those who refuse to love God are not forced to change; God compels no one. “God does not will evil to be done, nor does He force virtue” (St. John of Damascus). Based on His foreknowledge, God assures or predestines that those who choose to lvoe and obey Him will be fulfilled, being conformed to the image of His Son. The model for the creation of man is the Son incarnate, and the eternal goal of man is conformity to the incarnate Son. Thus, everything the Only Begotten Son is by nature we bec ome by the grace of the Incarnation. In relation to the Father, the Son is the Only Begotten, but in relation to us He is the firstborn of many brethren.”

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:

“ For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”^[c]

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Love of God is greater than anything we could possibly imagine. In my past theological intrigues I don’t think I ever realized how much rests on the love of God.  I stressed his wrath, his anger, his righteousness and forgot the love and mercy, forgiveness, and grace of God.  God does not rejoice in the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live!