Tuesday August 14/27 ns 2024 • Holy Prophet Micah - Fast day; I Cor. 15:29-38; St. Matt. 21:23-27

HOLY PROPHET MICAH

Fast Day

Micah was of the tribe of Judah and from the village of Morasth for which he is called the "Morasthite." He was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Amos, Hosea and the Jewish kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Micah rebuked the vices of his people and rebuked the false prophets who prophesied "of wine and of strong drink" (Micah 2:11). He foretold the destruction of Samaria. He also foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, which will come because their leaders accept bribes, the priests teach for lucre and its prophets tell fortunes for money. "Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field and Jerusalem shall become as heaps" (Micah 3:12).

But, of all his prophecies, the most important prophecy is that of the Messiah, especially the place of His birth. He mentioned Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah, "Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2).

It is not known exactly whether this prophet was slain by the Jews or whether he died a peaceful death. "Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and spoke to all the people of Judah saying, Thus said the Lord of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field and Jerusalem shall become heaps and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? Did he not fear the Lord and besought the Lord and the Lord repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls" (Jeremiah 26:18-19). However, it is known that he was buried in his village and his relics were found, together with the relics of the Prophet Habakkuk, during the reign of Emperor Theodosius the Great according to a mysterious revelation, which Bishop Zevin of Eleutheropolis received.

1 Corinthians 15:29-38 KJV

29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?

31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:

38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

Saint Matthew 21:23-27 KJV

23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

WHY ANIMALS ATTACK HUMANS
based on Saint Symeon the New Theologian

God’s creation has a natural tendency to turn away from sinful distortion in an effort to eradicate evil. This is why animals often attack instinctively when they sense impurity within a person. Whilst in the presence of a pure soul, on the other hand, nature is often calm, helpful and tame towards people.

In this photograph, the beekeeper monk is shown garnering the produce

of a monastery’s hives without bodily protection.

from the Philokalia

Nikitas Stithatos

Disciple of St. Symeon

the New Theologian

Among the senses, sight and hearing possess a certain noetic quality and are more intelligent and masterful than the other three senses, taste, smell, and touch, which are mindless and gross and wait on the higher senses. For we first see and hear and then, through the agency of the mind, we lay hold of what is before us and smelling it, finally taste it. Thus taste, smell and touch are more animal-like or quite simply, baser and more slavish than sight and hearing.

The more gluttonous and brutish animals, both tame and wild, are especially afflicted by them, and day and night either fill themselves with food or indulge in copulation.  If you refer the activities of the outer senses back to their inner counterparts - exposing your sight to the intellect, the beholder of the light of Life, your hearing to the judgment of the soul, your taste to the discrimination of the intelligence, your sense of smell to the understanding of the intellect and relating your sense of touch to the watchfulness of the heart - you will lead an angelic life on earth, while being and appearing as a man among men,  you will also be an angel coexisting with angels and spiritually conscious in the same way as they are.