Our Venerable Father Euthymius the Younger, the Holy Venerable-Martyr Lucian, Priest of Great Antioch (312)
1 Corinthians 15:58-16:3; Luke 5:17-26
Read 1 Corinthians 15:58-16:3
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Brothers and sisters, we can survive any what if we have a good enough why.
St. Paul today exhorts the Christians in Corinth, encouraging them to remain steadfast and immovable in their faith, and to continue bravely doing the work of the Lord. He encourages them chiefly with the reminder that their work is not in vain. We all know how our hearts can go out of the work that we perceive as needless, pointless, or unfruitful. Sometimes with the Lord’s work in the vineyard we might not recognize the fruit or see tangible progress.
Yet we are reminded today that any work that we offer to the Lord, out of love, and with the correct intention, is never wasted. Let us continue to do the Lord’s work, “putting our backs into it” but more importantly “keeping our hearts in it” knowing that it is received and used by the Him whether we recognize it in the moment or not.
St. John Chrysostom writes:
We ought not merely to labour in the Lord but to do so abundantly, to overflowing. The labour of man after his expulsion from paradise was punishment for his transgressions, but this labour is the basis for the rewards which are to come. (Homilies on the Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians, 42.5)