The holy martyr Ignatius the God-bearer was a bishop and a disciple of St. John the Apostle. He ruled the Church of Antioch second after St. Peter. He was condemned to the beasts under the Emperor Trajan, and was sent to Rome and there he was crowned in martyrdom in the year 107. On his trip, while under guard and experiencing their ferocity as if of leopards, he wrote seven letters to various Churches, by which he beseeched his brothers to serve God in unity with the bishops and not to keep him from being sacrificed as a victim for Christ.
You followed the apostles’ way of life and succeeded to their throne, you ascended to the vision of contemplation through your deeds, O God-bearer, facing savage beasts, fire, and sword for the sake of the Word of truth, and made the course of truth straight even at the price of your own blood. O priest-martyr Ignatius, pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
The light-bearing day of your radiant ascetic fight proclaims beforehand to all the One who was born in a cave. For thirsting lovingly to delight in Him, you hastened to be devoured by wild beasts. For this you were called God-bearer, O All-Wise Ignatius.
Ephesians 1: 16-23
Brothers and sisters: I have never stopped thanking God for you and recommending you in my prayers. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, grant you a spirit of wisdom and insight to know him clearly. May he enlighten your innermost vision that you may know the great hope to which he has called you, the wealth of his glorious heritage to be distributed among the members of the church, and the immeasurable scope of his power in us who believe. It is like the strength he showed in raising Christ from the dead and seating him at his right hand in heaven, high above every principality, power, virtue, and domination, and every name that can be given in this age or in the age to come. He has put all things under Christ’s feet and has made him, this exalted, head of the church, which is his body: the fullness of him who fills the universe in all its parts.
Luke 14: 1-11
At that time Jesus came on a sabbath to eat a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees, and the Pharisees observed him closely. Directly in front of him was a man who suffered from dropsy. Jesus asked the lawyers and the Pharisees, “ is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?” At this they kept silent. Jesus took the man, healed him, and sent him on his way. Then he addressed himself to them: “ if one of you has a son or an ox, and he falls into a pit, will he not immediately rescue him on the sabbath day?” This they could not answer.
Jesus went on to address a parable to the guest, noticing how they were trying to get the places of honor at the table: “When you are invited by someone to a wedding party, do not sit in the place of honor in case some greater dignitary has been invited. Then the host might come and say to you, ‘Make room for this man,’ and you would have to proceed shamefacedly to the lowest place. What you should do when you have been invited, is go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host approaches you he will say, ‘My friend, come up higher.’ This will win you the esteem of your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humble himself shall be exalted.”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Friday, December 19 –
