The holy Prophet Obadiah is the fourth of the Twelve Minor Prophets, and he lived during the 9th century B.C. He gave food and shelter to all the prophets of the Lord who were being hunted because of the queen’s quarrel with the Prophet Elias. He was part of the 3 detachments of soldiers sent to arrest Elias, but, through the prayers of the prophet, 2 of the detachments were consumed by heavenly fire. Obadiah and his detachment survived, he left military service, and received the gift of prophecy. The God-inspired work of the Prophet Obadiah is the fourth of the Books of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Bible, and contains predictions about the future salvation of the Gentiles (Vs. 15) and that the Savior would come forth from Sion (Vs. 17).
The holy martyr Barlaam lived in Antioch of Syria. During Diocletian’s persecution against Christians, the aged saint confessed himself a Christian. The judge, wanting to compel the saint to renounce Christ, ordered St. Barlaam be brought before a pagan altar. His right hand was placed over it, and a red-hot censer burning with incense was put into his hand. The torturer thought that a weak old man could not endure the pain and would drop it on the altar. In this way Barlaam would involuntarily be offering sacrifice to the idol. However, the saint held onto the censer until his hand fell off. After this, the holy martyr Barlaam surrendered his soul to the Lord in the year 304.
As we celebrate the memory of your prophet Obadiah, O Lord, we implore You to save our souls through his prayers.
Your martyr Barlaam, O Lord our God, in his struggle received an incorruptible crown from You. With Your strength, he brought down the tyrants and broke the cowardly valor of demons. Through his prayers, O Christ our God, save our souls.
Receiving clarity of mind from divine illumination, the great Obadiah saw the future through the Holy Spirit. We piously and wisely keep his memory today, and venerate him to find light for our hearts.
You were revealed as a powerful fortress, for you offered a holocaust of yourself to Christ as an acceptable incense offering. You received a crown of honor, O Barlaam. Always pray for us, O sufferer.
Ephesians 4: 1-6
Brothers and sisters: I plead with you, then, as a prisoner for the Lord, to live a life worthy of the calling you have received, with perfect humility, meekness, and patience, beating with one another lovingly. Make every effort to preserve the unity which has the Spirit as its origin and peace as its binding force. There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope given to all of you by your call. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all, and works through all, and is in all.
Luke 12: 16-21
The Lord told this parable: “There was a rich man who had a good harvest. ‘What shall I do?’ he asked himself. ‘I have no place to store my harvest. I know!’ he said. ‘I will pull down my grain bins and build larger ones. All my grains and my goods will go in there. Then I will say to myself: You have blessings in reserve for years to come. Relax! Eat heartily, drink well. Enjoy yourself.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life shall be required of you. To whom will all this piled-up wealth of yours go?’ That is the way it works with the man who grows rich for himself instead of growing rich in the sight of God. [Let him who hears this, heed it!]”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Saturday, November 18 –
