The Holy Martyr Polyeuctus. Post-feast of Theophany.
Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat.
James 2:1-13; Mark 10:23-32.
Read Mark 10:23-32
The incentive to put our trust in our riches is a great temptation that we are to avoid. Having wealth is not the problem, but being attached to those riches is the danger that we are to be wary of. It is also true that it is very difficult to avoid being taken over by this temptation. Putting our complete trust in God alone is something that is not easily accomplished. When we examine the many little ways in which we assume our salvation is secure, we realize how difficult it is to be saved and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We often rationalize that because we do this good deed or give away this amount of money that we have done enough to get into heaven. The truth of the matter is that whenever we start to believe that we have done something good, we have to be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that God will automatically save us. Our salvation is actually dependent upon what God has done and not what we have done. So let us try to not worry about what we have to do to be saved but let us focus on thanking God for what He has done and will do to save us.