Holy Great-Martyr and Healer Panteleimon (286-305). Our Holy Father Clement the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Okhrid (910).
Polyeleos Feast.
2 Timothy 2:1-10. John 15:17-16:2.
Read 2 Timothy 2:1-10
St. Paul in our epistle today is explaining to the Roman Christians the interaction between God’s justice and Grace. God’s justice is matched by an abundance of mercy. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened in that he continued to resist the Lord. Once liberated from Egypt the Hebrew people still worshiped the Golden Calf. The Lord’s response to this, after Moses made the people drink the ground-down gold, is merciful correction. He does not abandon us when we fall, despite what our sins deserve, but His justice and mercy are oriented toward our conversion and return to Him.
One of the best ways to continually remember God’s mercy and justice is to pray the Jesus Prayer regularly. When we constantly pray for the Lord to “have mercy on me a sinner” it is within this context of mercy, not of punishment that we continue to draw our hearts and minds to Him.