The Holy Martyr Conon (249-251)
Great Fast Day 11. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
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Proverbs 6:3-20
Today’s reading actually begins halfway through an admonition: Proverbs 6:1-5 advises not to offer one’s own property as a guarantee for a neighbour’s debt. At first, this appears in stark contrast with the generosity that we should show to those in need, especially considering Christ’s generosity to us. However, being the guarantor of another’s debt is dangerous: anyone whose property is collateral for a loan risks having that property confiscated, and in ancient Israel, that might include being enslaved until the loan was repaid. Considering how much Proverbs emphasizes concern for neighbours, warnings against risking one’s own livelihood and freedom to help another are good advice about going too far in charity.
But this guidance also has a deeper spiritual meaning. Saint Seraphim of Sarov once said, “Acquire the Spirit of peace, and thousands around you will be saved.” Our greatest treasure is not material wealth or even physical freedom, but the salvation and peace we have received in Jesus Christ. If we aren’t prudent, we can put that at risk. Later in today’s reading, we find a description of a “scoundrel” whose crooked speech and perverted mind lead to destruction: the implicit message is to avoid close contact with such a person. We may desperately want these people, especially if they are close friends or family members. We can help, by prayer and fasting, by sharing the gospel, and by setting a good example. But we must protect our own salvation: we cannot share what we don’t have ourselves.