Our Venerable Father Simeon, the Fool for Christ (c. 580), and His Ascetical Companion John (527-65); Prophet Ezekiel
1 Corinthians 10:5-12; Matthew 16:6-12
Read 1 Corinthians 10:5-12
Consider the following for a second: how often have you, personally, seen a mistake made by your brother or sister in Christ and thought to yourself or said to someone else “How could they have made that mistake? I would never make a mistake like that.” None of us desires that our brother or sister make a mistake or err in some way, however, when it happens, the temptation to criticize is often too great and overtakes our thoughts and leads to vocal criticism.
Now consider St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians in today’s reading: “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (10:11-12).
Brothers and sisters, all of us need to be in full control of our thoughts and our words lest we, having criticized or mocked our brother or sister, fall into the same mistake or error.