Welcome to the Daily Orthodox Scriptures, 2021. I am Fr. Alexis, and we are reading through the Scriptures each day of the year, using the Orthodox Study Bible. Today is Day 304 of our readings, and it’s October 31. So today we will be reading from Isaiah 60; Psalm 102:13-22; Proverbs 22:1-5; and 2 Timothy 4.

The hymn “Shine, shine, O New Jerusalem…” that we sing at Pascha is inspired by a portion of Isaiah that we will read today. Now to the readings; let’s begin.

“Shine, shine, O Jerusalem, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Behold, darkness and gloom shall cover the earth upon the nations, but the Lord will shine on you; and his glory shall be seen upon you. Kings shall come to your light, and the Gentiles to your brightness. Lift up your eyes all around, and see your children gathered together. Behold, all your sons come from afar, and your daughters shall be lifted upon their shoulders. Then you will see, fear and be amazed in your heart, because the wealth of the sea and of nations and peoples shall change their course and turn to you. Herds of camels shall come to you, and the camels of Midian and Ephah shall cover you. All those from Sheba shall come bearing gold, and they shall bring frankincense and proclaim the good news of the Lord’s salvation. All the sheep of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, and the rams of Nebaioth shall come to you. They shall offer acceptable sacrifices upon my altar, and my house of prayer shall be glorified.

“Who are these who fly like clouds and like doves with young? The coastlands waited for me, and the ships of Tarshish among the first, to bring your children from afar, and silver and gold with them for the sake of the Lord’s name, and because the Holy One of Israel is glorified. Foreigners shall build your walls, and their kings shall defend you; for I struck you because of my wrath, and I loved you because of my mercy. Your gates shall be opened continually, and they shall not be shut day or night, to bring you the power of the Gentiles, and their kings leading them. For the nations and their kings who will not serve you shall perish, and those nations will be utterly desolate. The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, with the cypress, the pine, and the cedar together, to glorify my holy place. The sons of those who humbled and provoked you shall go to you in fear, and you shall be called City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

“Because you were forsaken and hated, and there was no one to help you, therefore I will make you an eternal joy, the gladness of generations to generations. You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles and eat the wealth of kings. You shall know I am the Lord who saves you and the God of Israel who delivers you. Instead of bronze, I will bring you gold, and instead of iron, I will bring you silver, and instead of wood, I will bring you bronze, and instead of stones, iron. I will establish your rulers in peace and your bishops in righteousness. Unrighteousness shall no longer be heard in your land, neither destruction nor distress within your boundaries, but your walls shall be called Salvation, and your gates Sculptured Work. The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor shall the rising of the moon shine on you at night, but the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and God, your glory. For your sun shall no longer set, nor shall your moon be eclipsed, for the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be fulfilled. Also your people shall all be righteous, and they shall inherit the land forever, guarding what they planted, the works of their hands, for glory. The few in number shall become thousands, and the lesser shall become a great nation. I the Lord will gather them together at the appointed time.”

As a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear him,
For he knows how he formed us;
He remembers we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass,
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes;
For the wind passes through it, and it shall not remain;
And it shall no longer know its place.
But the mercy of the Lord is from age to age upon those who fear him,
And his righteousness upon children’s children,
To such as keep his covenant
And remember his commandments, to do them.
The Lord prepared his throne in heaven,
And his Kingdom rules over all.
Bless the Lord, all you his angels,
Mighty in strength, who do his word,
So as to hear the voice of his words.
Bless the Lord, all you his hosts,
His ministers who do his will;
Bless the Lord, all his works,
In all places of his dominion;
Bless the Lord, O my soul.

A good name is to be chosen more than much wealth,
And good grace more than silver and gold.
The rich man and the poor man meet with one another,
But the Lord made both.
An astute man, seeing an evil man severely punished, is himself instructed,
But those passing by without discernment suffer loss.
The fear of the Lord and riches and glory and life
Are the offspring of wisdom.
Thorns and snares are in the ways of the crooked,
But he who guards his own soul will keep away from them.

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. And Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come—and the books, especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them.

But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen!

Greet Priscilla and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick. Do your utmost to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren. The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.

Paul’s final words are sobering, partly because we see this man entering the ending phase of his earthly life. He says, “I am already being poured out as a drink-offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.” He knows his days are numbered. He’s always known that and always was very courageous in the face of persecution, but it seems more final this time. And I think of this great hero of the Church, him thinking about his last days and how he continues to encourage Timothy by letting Timothy know the faith he has in God’s grace, even at this difficult time.

But there’s another part that is sobering to me as well. He says, “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica.” Who’s Demas? Well, at the end of the closing of his letter to the Colossians, Paul said, “Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you.” Paul was imprisoned in Rome twice. The first time was described at the end of the book of Acts. Several letters were written while he was there, including Colossians. Demas was with Paul then, and, from that letter to the Colossians, we see that Demas was a fellow Christian worker. He’s also mentioned at the close of Paul’s letter to Philemon, which was written about the same time. We’ll get to that short letter in about four days.

Now Paul has been imprisoned a second time, and this time the imprisonment is more dire. And Demas has not only left, but forsaken Paul, “having loved this present world,” as Paul said. So what does that mean? Well, maybe it means that Demas feared prison himself and decided to leave the mission he was on, or maybe it means that Demas got entangled in worldly, secular matters and decided to leave life as a missionary and his work with Paul. Either way, we see that there were some, even in the New Testament, that were followers of Christ, and in the inner circle with the apostles, teaching the good news about the resurrection, and then decided to quit.

It can happen. It has happened. It does happen. And for that reason, we must not think of ourselves as beyond that possibility, thinking of ourselves as greater or stronger than we are. We should never think that, “Well, maybe Demas could do that, but I couldn’t!” This is not a helpful way of thinking. Rather, with humility and with repentance, we must admit that we actually are not very strong, that we need Christ to give us strength, that without his continuous grace we would fall and never get up. Each day we need to recommit ourselves to Christ, several times a day. We are not beyond falling. No one is. Stay humble. Do not judge others. Show compassion. And find your daily strength in Christ.

I’m Fr. Alexis, and remember: Christ is in our midst!