Third Sunday after Pentecost, Octoechos Tone 2; The Synaxis of the Holy, Glorious and All-Praiseworthy Twelve Apostles
Read
Romans 5:1-10; 1 Corinthians 4:9-16
Matthew 6:22-33; Mark 3:13-19
The Lord will take care of our every need, every day. The only worry that we ought to have, therefore, is first seeking His kingdom. It is our first duty. One of my favourite authors has penned the following on this duty.
The Duty of the Moment
by Catherine Doherty
All through my childhood and early youth I was indoctrinated with the fact that the duty of the moment was the duty of God.
When I was fairly little I thought God was right by my side, embroidering or whatever. Later, I still believed that the duty of the moment was the duty God gave me. God speaks to us, then, in the duty of every moment.
As this duty of the moment is the will of the Father, we must give our whole self to that. When we do so, we can be certain that we are living in the truth, and hence in love, and hence in Christ.
Doing the duty of the moment means focusing our whole person—heart, soul, body, emotions, intellect, memory, imagination— on the job at hand.
The duty of the moment done for God is glamorous, exciting, wondrous—if only we can see it for what it truly is! But we are human. And it takes a long time, my dearly beloved ones, to see reality through God’s eyes. Unless we pray exceedingly hard, it takes a long time. But—with prayer—we see an entirely different world about us! Cleaning the house becomes a joy. Washing dishes becomes an exciting challenge. Careful, repetitious tasks take on new meaning. Whatever your tasks are, they take on new meaning.
Excerpted from Grace in Every Season, (2001), January 17, pp. 32-33, available from MH Publications