The Holy Martyrs Photius and Anicetas. Post-feast of the Transfiguration.
Dormition Fast.
1 Corinthians 15:29-38; Matthew 21:23-27.
Read Matthew 21:23-27
The chief priests and elders were trying to trap Jesus in His words to find a reason to accuse Him. Jesus had to be wise and careful when He spoke with them. When they asked Him by what authority He teaches and ministers, He told them He would answer them if they could answer whether John the Baptist’s baptisms were “from heaven or from men” (Mt. 21:25). They would not answer Jesus’s question, and so Jesus did not answer theirs.
Just as Jesus was persecuted and put to death for His ministry, we His disciples will also experience persecution and maybe even death. Jesus instructs His disciples to “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” because of the persecution they will face (Mt. 10:16). We do not need to be anxious about what we will say when we are delivered up because the Holy Spirit will speak through us in that moment (Mt. 10:20). As disciples of Christ, we need to deny ourselves, take up our cross every day, and follow after Christ. We not only need to be willing to die for Christ, but we need to do what perhaps is harder: we need to be willing to live for Him. Although we will experience suffering and persecution in this life, we are promised God’s help. Jesus did not abandon us but has sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and help us. Let us pray for the Gift of the Holy Spirit and that we may have wisdom and innocence as we witness our faith to the world.