St. John Chyrostom wrote of the holy priest-martyr Babylas, “this great and wonderful man–if one can call him a man.” He was archbishop of Antioch in the time of the evil emperor Numerian. St. Babylas forbade the emperor entrance into the church because he was an idolator. In response, the emperor threw him into prison, and had students of his tortured in front of him in an attempt to have Babylas apostatize. St. Babylas encouraged them to stand firm and, after they were martyred, he joined them as a victim of the sword in the year 283.
The holy prophet Moses, was chosen by God to free his people who were oppressed in Egypt and to lead them to the promised land. God revealed himself to Moses on Mount Sinai saying, “I am who I am,” and gave the law which would direct the life of the chosen people. The servant of God died in the fullness of years on Mount Nebo, in the land of Moab near the promised land.
You shared in the apostles’ way of life and succeeded to their throne, divinely inspired bishop. You found access to contemplation in the active life. Therefore, you rightly taught the word of truth and struggled for the faith to the shedding of your blood. O Priest-Martyr Babylas, pray to Christ our God to save our souls.
O prophet Moses, you reached the summit of virtues. By this you came to see the glory of God. You received the tablets of the grace-giving Law and became the crown of the prophets and a mystery of piety; for you carried grace deep within you.
O glorious Babylas, the Church praises you. Today you are revered as a preacher of holiness and the fortitude of martyrs. Since you have become a favorite of the Lord, beg Christ to keep us in perfect peace; for we praise and glorify you, O martyr.
Because their prophecy is fulfilled among us, Moses, Aaron, and the choir of prophets rejoice. The cross is triumphant today because by it You saved us. By the prayers of these holy men, save us, O Christ our God.
2 Corinthians 10: 7-18
Brothers and sisters: You view things superficially. If anyone is convinced that he belongs to Christ, let him reflect on this: he may belong to Christ but just as much do we. If I find I must make a few further claims about the power the Lord has given us for your upbuilding and not for your destruction, this will not embarrass me in the least. At the same time, I do not wish to intimidate you with my letters. His letters, they say, are severe and forceful, but when he is here in person he is unimpressive and his word makes no great impact. Well, let such people give this some thought, that what we are by word, in the letters during our absence, that we mean to be in action when we are present.
We are not so bold, of course, as to classify or compare ourselves with certain people who recommend themselves. Since people like that are their own appraisers, comparing themselves with one another, they only demonstrate their ignorance. When we make claims we will not go over the mark but will stay within the bounds the God of moderation has set for us – leading us to you. We are not overreaching ourselves, as we should be doing if we had not bothered to come to you. But indeed we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. We do not boast immoderately of the work of others; we hope that as your faith grows our influence may also grow among you and overflow. Following the rule laid down for us, we hope to preach the gospel even beyond your borders without having to boast of work already done by another in his allotted territory. [As I said to you previously], “Let him who would boast, boast in the Lord.” It is not the man who recommends himself who is approved but the man whom the Lord recommends.
Mark 3: 28-35
The Lord said to his disciples: “I give you my word, every sin will be forgiven mankind and all the blasphemies men utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He carries the guilt of his sin without end.” He spoke thus because they had said, “He is possessed by an unclean spirit.”
His mother and his brothers arrived, and as they stood outside they sent word to him to come out. The crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.” He said in reply, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And gazing around him at those seated in the circle he continued, “These are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to me.”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Wednesday, September 3 –
