Our Venerable Father Pimen; Blessed Venerable Woman-Martyrs Lavrentia Herasymiv and Olympia Bida.
Galatians 1:1-10; Mark 5:1-20.
Read Galatians 1:1-10
Read what Jesus has to say about parables taken from Mark 4:10-12:
At that time, when Jesus was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that ‘they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’”
Then read from Isaiah 6 where Jesus indirectly quotes and draws from it’s truth:
In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. The house was full of His glory.* Around Him stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” The lintel was lifted up by the voice of those who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said, “Woe is me, because I am pierced to the heart, for being a man and having unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips; for I saw the King, the Lord of hosts, with my eyes!” Then one of the seraphim was sent to me. He had a live coal in his hand, which he took with tongs from the altar.* He touched my mouth, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips. Your lawlessness is taken away, and your sin is cleansed.” I also heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people?” Then I said, “Behold, here am I, send me.” So He said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You shall hear indeed, but not understand; and you shall see indeed, but not perceive.’* For the heart of this people has become insensitive, and their ears hear with difficulty. They have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return, and I should heal them.”
The fact is that Jesus always speaks and communicates the heavenly mysteries to people who only know what they know by being only in time. He is God, right? Jesus also often/always encounter people who’s hearts are either opened or closed in varying degrees to accept that they can only know in a very small way what Jesus tries to communicate.
Now read today’s reading of St Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Can you see that he speaks very similarly as Jesus and encounters people as Jesus encountered them?
If the scriptures are to come alive for us as they did for the many of a humble faith, they will only come alive to the degree we acknowledge and accept that their meanings are given by Christ alone through faith, and through that faith, a deep authentic desire to know Jesus and a sincere will to do the work in order that we may be awake when He reveals Himself to us.
Go with God!