Reflection on the Eighth Sunday of Matthew (St. Theophan the Recluse)

 

Eighth Sunday of Matthew

Matthew 14:14-22

By St. Theophan the Recluse

 

Before the miraculous feeding of the five thousand people, the disciples of the Lord wanted the people to be sent away; but the Lord said to them: "They need not depart; you give them something to eat." 

 

Let us learn this word, and each time the enemy suggests to us to refuse someone who asks for something, let us say from the person of the Lord: "They need not depart; you give them something to eat"—and let us give whatever we find at hand. 

 

Showing Hospitality to Christ (A Cypriot Folk Tale)

Once there was a woman. One day on her property she met Jesus Christ. She greeted Him, she did a prostration before Him, kissed His hand and said:

"I am waiting for you to come to my house tomorrow. I will prepare. You will come?"

"I will come."

Second Homily on Meatfare Sunday and the Last Judgment (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

 

By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin

"I was sick and you visited Me" (Matthew 25:36).

At the Last Judgment, our Lord Jesus Christ will say to those standing at His right hand: "Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

Who are these fortunate ones whom Jesus Christ will invite with such love to the Kingdom of Heaven? There will be many of them, and among them there will be those who visit the sick. Yes, listeners, because we visit the sick, Jesus Christ will receive us into the Kingdom of Heaven.

First Homily on Meatfare Sunday and the Last Judgment (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin

"Then he will also say to those on the left side: Depart from Me, you cursed, into eternal fire" (Matt. 25:41).

This is what Jesus Christ at His Last Judgment will say to the people standing on the left hand: "Depart from Me, you cursed, into eternal fire. For I was hungry, and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger, and you did not receive Me; I was naked, and you did not clothe Me; I was sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me." Then they will answer Him: "Lord! When did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and not serve you?" Then He will say to them in answer: "Truly I say to you, because you did not do this to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me." This is what Jesus Christ will say, and they will go into eternal torment (see Matt. 25:41-46).

Saint Peter the Publican as a Model for our Lives

St. Peter the Tax Collector (Feast Day - January 20)

 

 By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Peter the Publican lived during the reign of Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. He was responsible for collecting taxes in Africa, and in various ways he managed to get rich at the expense of others. He was greedy, hard-hearted and ruthless. Once a poor man visited him and asked for mercy and he expelled him abruptly. The poor man, however, would not leave and stood his ground still begging. Then, full of indignation and anger, Peter snatched a hot loaf of bread, which his servant happened to be carrying from the oven at that moment, and threw it with force, like a stone, at the poor man to injure him. He, however, took it, thanked him and left. After a few days, Peter became seriously ill and felt that he was facing a judgment seat, where he was asked to give a defense for what he had done in his life. He saw a scale and on its left side were gathered wild people with a dark face, where they placed his evil deeds. On the right side of the scale he saw white-clad men with bright faces trying to find something good he had done, to place it on the right side of the scale. They did not find anything, however, except that bread which he threw against the poor man. When Peter saw these things, he was moved with compassion, and came to himself, and as soon as he was healed, he distributed all his belongings to the poor, even the clothes he wore, and he dressed himself in the garments of the poor. After this act he saw Christ in his dream wearing the clothes which he gave to the poor. This led him to even sell himself as a slave and the money he received he gave to the poor.

Parable of the Destitute Child

Parable of the Destitute Child

 

On the street, a man saw a naked child.
He was hungry and shivered from the cold.

The man got angry and turned to God:
"Why do you allow this? Why are you not doing anything?"

In response, he heard:
"I did do something: I sent you ...."

 

 

Homily on the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Metropolitan Dionysios of Servia)

 

By Metropolitan Dionysios of Servia and Kozani

(Delivered on September 14, 1965)

‘Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus’. This ‘lawyer’ [i.e. a student of the Law of the Old Testament, rather than an advocate in a court] approached Jesus Christ, supposedly to ask what he should do to inherit eternal life, but in fact out of a desire to provoke Him. The lawyer was an educated man of his time who studied and interpreted the Law and it was his aim to trap Jesus into a discussion. Instead he received a much-needed lesson. Jesus got him to understand that it’s one thing to be well-educated and play at being clever and quite another to be a good and useful human being. Wisdom isn’t a matter of knowing who your neighbor is, but knowing what you should do for that person. Everybody knows and says lots of things, but very few do what they should. This is why we see in this parable the lawyer asking one thing and Christ answering another. The lawyer asks: ‘Who is my neighbor?’, and Christ answers: ‘Go and do likewise’. The lawyer asks who’s supposed to be his neighbor and Christ sends him off to demonstrate his love to every person. Because each and every person is our neighbor. Christ doesn’t tell him that every person’s his neighbor, but what he should do for every person, who is his neighbor. And this is what we Christians need to do on every occasion: not to know a lot and be wise, but to have love and to do what we should.

Saint Tabitha the Merciful as a Model for our Lives

St. Tabitha the Merciful (Feast Day - October 25)

 

By Protopresbyter George Papavarnavas

Saint Tabitha was from Joppa and lived during Apostolic times. What we know from her life is what the evangelist Luke mentions in the ninth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, where he emphasizes that "she was full of good works and almsgiving". The name Tabitha is Syrian and in Greek it is Dorcas which is interpreted as "gazelle". She was a weaver and made tunics and garments, which she gave to poor people, widows and orphans. And while she was working hard, she suddenly fell ill and died. Her death, of course, caused deep pain, especially to those who experienced her beneficial presence and offering. And while they were all ready for her funeral, the faithful were informed that the Apostle Peter, as part of his apostolic journey for the preaching of the gospel, was in Lydda, which was near Joppa.

When Archimandrite Pavel Gruzdev Was Taught a Lesson in Humility

The famous elder and confessor, Archimandrite Pavel Gruzdev (+ 1996), told the following story about himself.

Once he, already old and half-blind, went to a big city with a Metropolitan in order to serve with him.

The Metropolitan gave Father Pavel money for the return journey, and they parted. There was time before the arrival of the train, so Father Pavel decided to have lunch.

He entered a cafe, and the girl behind the counter said to him:

"Old man, you better leave, you are poorly dressed."

Commemoration of the Appearance of Christ to Saint Martin of Tours

On February 13, the Russian Orthodox Church commemorates the appearance of Christ to Saint Martin of Tours.

From childhood, Saint Martin was known for his compassionate heart and great pity for the poor. When he was twenty-two years old, even before he was baptized, he began to give away all his possessions to those in need, and soon he was left with just one set of clothes and a knife.

Saint Martin, like many young men, had to serve in the army for several years. One day, while serving in Gaul, when the weather was very harsh and unusually cold, he met a man at the city gates of Amiens, almost naked, and begging for alms. Martin saw that people just walked past the man without taking any notice. Since Martin had already given away everything he owned, he had only his cloak and his uniform. No one else would help the beggar, so Martin felt that it was his responsibility to do something for him.

Recalling the Savior's words: "If anyone wishes to judge you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak as well" (Matthew 5:40), Martin drew his sword and cut his cloak in two. Giving half to the beggar, he wrapped himself in the other half. Seeing him in the torn cloak, those standing by began to laugh at his strange appearance. Others, who had more sense, regretted the fact that they had done nothing for the man, although they could have clothed the beggar without uncovering themselves as Saint Martin did.

That night, in his sleep, Martin saw Christ wearing half of his cloak, which he had given the beggar. The Lord told him to look at Him and to notice that it was the same garment. Then the Savior said to the Angels who surrounded Him, "Martin is still just a catechumen, but he has clothed me in this garment."

Saint Martin did not become puffed up with pride because of this vision. Instead, he saw this as a sign of God's goodness, which confirmed Christ's words: "Truly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40).

Because Saint Martin gave alms throughout his life, he was rewarded with the gift of working miracles, after being baptized at the age of eighteen. Let us follow his example so that we might be granted a small corner of Paradise.

The part of the claok kept by himself became the famous relic preserved in the oratory of the Merovingian kings of the Franks at the Marmoutier Abbey near Tours. During the Middle Ages, the supposed relic of Saint Martin's miraculous cloak (cappa Sancti Martini) was carried by the king even into battle, and used as a holy relic upon which oaths were sworn. The cloak is first attested to in the royal treasury in 679, when it was conserved at the palatium of Luzarches, a royal villa that was later ceded to the monks of Saint-Denis by Charlemagne, in 798/99. The structure in which the half-cloak was preserved was referred to as cappella (‘little cloak’), a term that came to be used widely for buildings that served to keep relics and from which the modern word ‘chapel’ is derived.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
In signs and in miracles you were renowned throughout Gaul. By grace and adoption you are a light for the world, O Martin, blessed of God. Almsgiving and compassion filled your life with their splendors, teaching and wise counsel were your riches and treasures, which you dispense freely to those who honor you.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
As a devoted man of God, you proclaimed His mysteries, and as a seer of the Trinity, you shed your blessings on the Occident. By your prayers and entreaties, O adornment of Tours and glory of all the Church, preserve us, O Saint Martin, and save all who praise your memory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portrait of a Philanthropist (Elder Ambrose of Lazaris)

Without my asking, Elder Ambrose (Lazaris) told me at one point: "Stavros, your mother is in Paradise."

I was shocked. It had been fifteen days since I slept. To learn from this life that my mother is up there - I was sure, almost sure, about my mother. My mother was an ascetic in her life. Always smiling.

In the last thirty years of her life she never left her house.

She had seven children.

She treated her father-in-law, who reposed at the age of 94, as if he was her own father.

She was very merciful.

She would steal money from my father's pants and would secretly give it to the poor.

She hosted beggars at home almost every day and made a table for them. Then she would pack food for them in a bag.

She shined with joy.

Seventeen years after her death, we her children found out, by chance, that she was awarded by the Metropolis of Demitriados and Almyros for her philanthropic work when she was younger.

She was anxious to give hospitality to others and only by force would she sit at the table to eat herself.

We have a farm of fifteen acres. During the German occupation it was full of fruit trees. From the 100 chickens we had in those days, without reservation she would take fifty eggs a day and together with fruit she would distribute them to the poor. She would also constantly give to her relatives in Volos. It made her happy to give.

May the Lord grant her soul rest.

This is what I learned from Elder Ambrose. Let us not forget the souls. They ask for our help. 

 

Source: Translation by John Sanidopoulos.

Homily for the Eleventh Sunday of Matthew - Philanthropy and Hardheartedness (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Philanthropy and Hardheartedness

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos

(Eleventh Sunday of Matthew - 18:23-35)

Today's Gospel reading is the well-known Parable of the Myriad of Talents that Christ spoke. According to the parable, the ruler forgave his servant the myriad talents he owed him, but then this servant not only did not forgive his fellow servant the lowest amount of one hundred dinars, but he also seemed very cruel to him. This parable reveals the philanthropy of God towards us, but also the hardheartedness that we show to our fellow human beings. We are not moved at all by the love and philanthropy of God and we are cruel.

St. Symeon the New Theologian, Matthew 25, and a Critique of the Social Gospel

By St. Symeon the New Theologian

Catechetical Discourse 9

On Almsgiving

"As you did it to any one of the least, you have done it to Me" (Matt. 25:40). The Lord did not, as some imagine, say this merely of those who are stricken with poverty and destitute of bodily food. He said this no less of all of our other brethren who are wasting away, not through any famine of bread and water, but from the famine of the neglect of God's commandments and failure to obey them. To the extent that the soul is more valuable than the body (Matt. 6:25; Lk. 12:23), so much more is spiritual food necessary than bodily food. It is of this I think the Lord spoke when He said, "I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink" (Matt. 25:42), rather than of bodily food, which is subject to corruption; for He truly suffers thirst and hunger for the salvation of each one of us. Our salvation consists in abstaining from all sin; but apart from the practice of the virtues and the fulfilling of all the commandments it is impossible to achieve abstinence from all sin. It is by fulfilling His commandments that we usually "feed" our Master and God, the Lord of all; for our holy fathers tell us that just as the demons are fed by our evil deeds and so prevail against us, so, when we abstain from evil, they become weak through starvation and lose their vigor. So I think that He who became poor for the sake of our salvation is thus nourished by us, and suffers hunger when we neglect Him. Of this the lives of the saints can instruct and inform us.

Saint Juliana the Merciful of Lazarevo (+ 1604)

St. Juliana of Lazarevo (Feast Day - January 2)

By St. Dimitri of Rostov

During a moment of ardent supplication to God, the great Christian ascetic Macarius of Egypt heard a voice from heaven, saying: "Macarius! thus far thou hast not attained the spiritual level of two women who live in the town nearby!" The elder straightway took his staff in hand and went to seek out the righteous women of whom the voice from on high had spoken. After a lengthy search, he knocked on the door of a certain house in the town, and two women admitted him with kindness. Macarius said to them: "I have left the desert specifically to meet you, that I might acquaint myself with your works. Tell me of yourselves." "O man of God," the women answered, abashed, "can one expect anything God-pleasing from those who are continually occupied with domestic tasks and must need fulfill the responsibilities of marriage?" But the ascetic persisted, asking the women to disclose to him their manner of life. And they answered him, saying: "We are two sisters-in-law, the wives of brethren. For fifteen years we have lived together, and all throughout that time we have not spoken to each other a single word in vexation. We do not have children, but if the Lord will grant them, we will entreat Him to help us raise them in the faith and in piety. We treat our servants with kindness. Many times we have taken counsel one with another as to whether we ought to enter a community of nuns, but our husbands have declined to give us their permission. And seeing their love for us, we have resolved not to part with them, but to serve them with diligence. Yet to make our life a little like that of the holy desert-dwellers, we have set it in our hearts to avoid loud conversations, to remain at home as much as possible, to take care of the running of our household." To this the venerable Macarius said: "Truly God doth not look to see who is a virgin or who is married, who is a monastic or who is in the lay state, but only looketh for the inclination of the heart toward good deeds. This He accepteth, and in accordance therewith He sendeth the Holy Spirit down upon anyone who desireth to be saved. And the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, directeth the thoughts and will of such a one to the everlasting life of heaven."

Synaxis of Saint Maria Skobtsova of Paris and Her Companions (+ 1945)

Saint Maria Skobtsova of Paris (Feast Day - July 20)

Elizaveta Pilenko, the future Mother Maria, was born in 1891 in Riga, Latvia, then part of the Russian Empire, and grew up in the south of Russia on the shore of the Black Sea. Her father was mayor of the town of Anapa, while on her mother's side, she was descended from the last governor of the Bastille, the Parisian prison destroyed during the French Revolution.

Her parents were devout Orthodox Christians whose faith helped shape their daughter's values, sensitivities and goals. As a child she once emptied her piggy bank in order to contribute to the painting of an icon that would be part of a new church in Anapa. At seven she asked her mother if she was old enough to become a nun, while a year later she sought permission to become a pilgrim who spends her life walking from shrine to shrine.

Saint Eulogios the Hospitable, Who Was a Stonecutter

St. Eulogios the Hospitable (Feast Day - April 27)

 

Verses

Eulogios the host of strangers,
You are hosted by Abraham the host of God.

In the Life of Abba Daniel of Scetis (June 7), we read the following of Eulogios the Stonecutter, who was known as Eulogios the Hospitable for his virtue of hospitality:

Abba Daniel, the priest of Scetis, was across from the Thebaid, having with him one of his disciples, and they left, sailing down the river. After setting sail, they came to a farm to which the old man had directed the sailors and the old man said, “We will stay here today.” His disciple began to grumble and say, “How long are we going to waste our time here? Let’s go on to Scetis.” The old man said, “No, we’ll stay here today.”

Saint Stephen, Who Organized a Home for the Elderly in Armatios (+ 614)

St. Stephen, Who Organized a Home for the Aged (Feast Day - February 27)

Verses

In old age Stephen presided over the passage of life,
In death he presides over the crowning with crowns.

Saint Stephen served as a courtier of the Emperor Maurice (582-602). After retiring from public service, he founded a hospice for the elderly (gerokomeion), which abutted on a hostel for strangers. It is noteworthy that this is the only home for the aged, out of twenty-seven that existed in Constantinople, which had been operating until the fall of Constantinople (last mention in 1446). It was located on the Golden Horn gulf in the vicinity of the Plateia Gate (today known as Un Kapanı Kapısi), in the Armatios district. Saint Stephen reposed in peace in the year 614.

Holy New Martyr Philothei of Athens (+ 1589)

St. Philothei of Athens (Feast Day - February 19)

Verses

A scion of Athens is Philothei,
Who put on the cross as armor against the enemy.

+++

When Philothei from things earthly was translated,
She ascended with joy to heavenly mansions.

This bright star of compassion arose in the dark days of the Turkish occupation to shed God’s mercy upon the oppressed people of Athens and to guide many endangered souls onto the path of righteousness.

Synaxarion of the Holy Martyr Zotikos the Feeder of Orphans

St. Zotikos the Feeder of Orphans (Feast Day - December 31)

Verses

Mules drag Zotikos running with leaps,
O earth you are the starting point, the track finishes in the heavens.

This Saint lived during the reign of Constantine the Great (306-337). He was born in Old Rome to an honorable and illustrious family, and was educated in every form of wisdom from a young age. Because he was astute and sensible, he was invited by Emperor Constantine the Great to move to Constantinople, and he was honored by him with the office of the magistrate. In the company of Saint Zotikos there also went other leaders from Rome to Constantinople, including the so-called magistrate of arms, Paulinus his nephew, Olymbrios, Beros, Severos, Marianos, Anthimos, Urbicius, Samson and Stoudios, whose names until today are commemorated on the public buildings they themselves erected.

Synaxarion of Saint Philaret the Merciful

St. Philaret the Merciful (Feast Day - December 1)

Verses

You who were adorned with every virtue have died,

Truly full of compassion you loved father.

Philaret lived during the reign of Emperors Constantine (780-797) and Irene (775-802), and was from the land of Paphlagonia, the son of George and Anna. Taking a lawful wife by marriage, he occupied himself as a farmer of the earth, and from this he brought in the necessities of life. Having become wealthy he distributed it as alms to the poor. Wherefore by the envy of the devil, the renowned one came to such a state of poverty, that like another Job, he was without even needed food. But God did not overlook him till the end so that he should be distressed with want. Rather He economized by His foreknowledge for Constantine, the son of Empress Irene, to take as a wife the granddaughter of Saint Philaret, whose name was Maria, for she was full of every form of beauty both in her soul and her body. He also economized for Saint Philaret to be honored with the office of consul. By this he became a very wealthy lord, which he distributed abundantly to the poor.