Hieromartyr Theodore Romzha, Bishop of Mukachevo (Polyeleos); The Holy Wonderworkers and Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian (Saints with six stichera).
Passing into Eternal Life of the Servant of God Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, 1944. Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-13, 24-28. Luke 12:2-12.
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:9-13, 24-28
Perhaps the best-known and most often-quoted scripture passage is John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The first two verses of today’s reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians are similar to this famous verse and are very powerful and important to remember: “Brethren, God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him” (1 Thess. 5:9-10).
God did not appoint us to wrath. We were not created to be the recipients of God’s anger or to hold anger towards others. Rather, we were created to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. We were not created to perish but to live in eternal communion with God. Like a good Father, God simply desires to love us and to be with us. Paul writes that “whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with [Christ]” (verse 10). Our entire lives, awake or asleep, conscious or unconscious, should be oriented towards achieving this perpetual communion with God.
Paul calls upon the Thessalonians to continue comforting and edifying one another, and he even indicates the existence of church hierarchy among them by urging them “to recognize those who labour among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake” (verses 12-13). Of course, all of us are sinners, and we will find sinners in all vocations. If we find it hard to get along with some clergy members, it is important to remember that we are all human. In spite of the human weaknesses and failings of individual Christians, we should recognize that we are united by a common goal and the love of Christ and should want to help one another be fruitful in ministry.