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Third Sunday after Pentecost
The Gospels for the last two Sundays have
shown us that, in order to follow Jesus, earthly preoccupations must be abandoned.
We may ask: “How then shall we live?”
The Gospel for this third Sunday after Pentecost puts us on guard against this anxiety.
Jesus tells us that we must unify our inner life: “But seek
first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be yours as well.”
The Epistle reading today begins with the phrase:
“Therefore, since we are justified by faith…..” This
justification must always make itself known through a patient and active charity.
This fifth Sunday of Pascha commemorates the woman of
Samaria - whose name according to Church
tradition is Photini (“the enlightened one”) -
with whom Again, the theme is the ‘living water’ and the recognition of Jesus
as God’s Messiah. We are reminded of our new
life in him, of our own drinking of the “living water,” of our own worship of God in the Christian messianic age
“in Spirit and in Truth” [John 4.23-25]. We see as well that salvation is offered to all, Jews and Gentiles, men and women, saints and sinners.
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The following readings below are for Sunday, June
13, 2021:
Today's Epistle reading [Romans 5.1-10]:
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the
glory of God. More
than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's
love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man--though
perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood,
much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled,
shall we be saved by his life.
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The Gospel reading for today [Matthew 6.22-33]:
"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole
body will be full of light; but
if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the
darkness! "No one
can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and mammon. "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor
about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither
sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can
add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor
spin; yet I tell you, even
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into
the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or'What shall we drink?' or 'What
shall we wear?' For
the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things shall be yours as well.
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