The Holy Martyr Agapius and the Six Martyrs with Him (284-305)
Isaiah 9:9-10:4; Genesis 7:1-5; Proverbs 8:32-9:11
Great Fast Day 16. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
Read Proverbs 8:32-9:11
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
“The wise, when rebuked, will love you” (Pr. 9:8). How do you react when someone scolds you? Is your pride hurt? Or, do we take the scolding as an opportunity to learn something new, change the way we think, grow, and move forward? If we are wise, then we will learn to accept correction, no matter how uncomfortable it may make us and no matter who is offering it. Beyond merely accepting correction, we will love the one offering it! We will be grateful for the opportunity for growth that being scolded provides us.
This teaching is two-fold: not only should we strive to be wise and accept rebuke with stride, but we should be mindful of to whom we offer correction. “Whoever corrects a scoffer wins abuse; whoever rebukes the wicked gets hurt. A scoffer who is rebuked will only hate you” (Pr. 9:7-8).
There are times when we need to lovingly offer correction to others, but we need to be aware that not everybody will be ready or willing to receive that correction. We may suffer negative consequences for speaking the truth about a situation, and we need to be willing to accept that. However, we should exercise the virtue of prudence to avoid unnecessary squabbles with others that may challenge our ability to exercise charity towards them. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he instructs: “But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Tm. 2:23-26).
We need to continue to pray for humility, just as we do every time we pray the Prayer of St. Ephraim during the Great Fast. In order for us to be wise and receive correction from others, we need to be able to admit when we’re wrong and also admit that someone else might know something better than we do. “Give instruction to the wise, and they will become wiser still; teach the righteous and they will gain in learning” (Pr. 9:9). By exercising humility, we can be become more knowledgeable and also grow in virtue.