The Lives of the Saints
1. The Holy Prophet Ezekiel
The son of a priest, from the city of Sarir. Led into captivity in Babylon together with King Jeconiah and many other Israelites, Ezekiel, while living in captivity, prophesied for twenty-seven years. He was a contemporary of the Prophet Jeremiah. And while Jeremiah taught and prophesied in Jerusalem, Ezekiel taught and prophesied in Babylon. The prophecies of Jeremiah were made known in Babylon, and the prophecies of Ezekiel were made known in Jerusalem. And both of these holy men confirmed the prophecies of one another. And both were persecuted and tormented by the faithless Jewish people. Terrible and unheard-of visions did holy Ezekiel behold. By the River Chebar he saw the heavens opened, a cloud, and fire and brightness, and four living creatures like molten copper. One creature had the face of a man, the second the face of a lion, the third the face of a calf, and the fourth the face of an eagle. The face of a man signified the Lord incarnate as man, the face of a lion His Divinity, the face of a calf His sacrifice, and the face of an eagle His Resurrection and Ascension. On another occasion he was shown an image of the resurrection of the dead. Namely, the prophet saw a valley full of dry dead men's bones, and when the Spirit of God descended upon them, all the dead came to life and rose to their feet. He also beheld the most terrible destruction of Jerusalem, when the wrath of God cut down all save those who had previously been marked with the Greek sign called Tau, and that sign is like our letter T, which is in turn the sign of the cross. Jewish malice did not spare even this holy man. Embittered at him for his rebuking them, the Jews bound him to the tails of horses and tore him asunder. He was buried in the same tomb as Shem, the son of Noah.
2. The Venerable Simeon and John
Two young men who left home and kindred — Simeon his aged mother and John his young wife — received the monastic tonsure in the monastery of Saint Gerasimus from Abbot Nikon, and withdrew to the wilderness, where in the most severe ascetic struggles they spent many years. And by their many labors they mortified their bodies so that they were as two dry trees. One day Simeon said to John that by the command of God he must leave the wilderness and go among the people and there serve God. John gave him the following counsel: "Guard thy heart from everything thou shalt see in the world. Whatever thy hand may grasp, let not thy heart take hold of it. When thy mouth shall eat, let not thy heart take pleasure. When thy feet shall walk, let there be peace within thee. And whatever thou dost outwardly, let thy mind remain undisturbed. Pray to God for me, that God may not separate us one from the other in the life to come." Holy Simeon received the counsel of his companion, kissed him, and then left the wilderness and went among the people to teach them and convert them to the faith of Christ, feigning madness. He pretended to be a fool before people, but his heart was a temple of the Holy Spirit, and in that temple there was unceasing prayer. He possessed abundant grace from God, so that he perceived clearly all the secrets of people both near and far, and healed people of evil spirits and other ailments. Playing about the streets like a madman, he would approach people and whisper their sins in their ears, calling them to repentance. He even appeared to sinners in their sleep, reproaching them for their sins and calling them to repentance. Thus to a certain pagan actor named Balius, who publicly mocked the Christian holy things, Saint Simeon appeared in a dream, rebuked him, and threatened him, so that the actor repented and became a good Christian. A certain licentious young man had gone mad from fornication. Seeing him raving, Saint Simeon struck him on the cheek with his hand and said: "Commit not adultery!" At that moment the unclean demon departed from the youth, and the young man was restored to health.
“Whatever thy hand may grasp, let not thy heart take hold of it. When thy mouth shall eat, let not thy heart take pleasure.”
Hymn of Praise
The vision of Ezekiel, by the will of God:
Wide, so wide, an endless field,
Full, so full of dead men's bones,
And a voice from heaven came to holy Ezekiel:
Son of man, dost thou see those bones?
Once upon the earth they were living guests
At My table — I served them well,
But few among them repaid Me duly.
Shall these dead bones come to life?
The prophet trembled, gave himself to grief:
O Lord, O Lord, that Thou canst know,
If Thou dost command, they must arise.
Then there came a roaring, and a quaking, and a grinding,
The prophet beheld a wonder — the resurrection of the dead!
The bones arose, and bone joined unto bone,
Then flesh, then sinews — and skin stretched over them.
The awestruck prophet gazed upon that wonder
And with heart and soul gave glory unto God.
What the prophet of God discerned in spirit,
The risen Lord has clearly shown.
The dead shall rise when the Spirit so wills,
All in living bodies, as in garments new,
And the faithful shall then with Christ rejoice,
And in His kingdom reign forevermore.
Reflection
For the benefit of his neighbors, Saint Simeon left his only friend in the world and his quiet cell in the wilderness, and feigned madness. It is told of Lycurgus, the king of the Spartans, how he made a great sacrifice for the benefit of his fellow citizens. Namely, he issued strict laws, establishing an entirely new system of education for the youth and order in the state. And when he had issued those laws, he told his fellow citizens that he wished to go to Delphi, where there was a great sanctuary, but he asked that they all swear to him that they would faithfully keep his laws until his return. When all the citizens had taken the oath, Lycurgus left his country and never returned. It is a great sacrifice to leave one's homeland and voluntarily live in a foreign land for the benefit of one's neighbors. But how much greater is the sacrifice of voluntarily abandoning one's own mind and constantly pretending to be senseless before people! Is not senselessness the greatest foreign land that a man can know? And to live in that terrible foreign land for years upon years, and all of it — for the benefit of one's neighbors!
Contemplation
Contemplate the miraculous crossing of the Jordan by Israel (Joshua 3), namely:
1. How by the power of God, through Joshua, the waters of the Jordan parted, and the priests with the people crossed over;
2. How the priests with the Ark of the Covenant, while the people were crossing, stood on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, firm and steadfast;
3. How I too need not fear the flood of this world as long as in the center of my being, that is, in my heart, I hold firmly to the covenant of the Lord.
Homily
On false teachers
"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them" (2 Peter 2:1).
Man is at war in this world. The battle is unceasing and the enemies are many. Among the most dangerous enemies are the false teachers. Only if a man's mind is directed toward the living God will he be preserved from these dangerous foes. False teachers are either like blind men or like robbers: the former, because of their blindness, lead both themselves and others to destruction; the latter, because of hatred or envy, deliberately lead others astray, that they may deliver both their souls and bodies to the fire of hell. The Lord Himself prophesied: "Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many" (Matthew 24:11). The Apostle only confirms the words of his Lord. And the false prophets and false teachers shall sow the seed of destruction among the nations. These are the destructive heresies by which some shall deny the Lord Who redeemed mankind with His most pure blood. Many false teachers have already appeared, and many destructive heresies have been sown throughout the world like tares. If you know, brethren, those destructive heresies which the Holy Fathers condemned at the Councils, then you will be able to recognize the principal seeds of poison which the devil, through his servants, has sown in the field where the Savior sowed pure wheat. But whether you know them or whether you do not, direct your minds toward the Lord, fence yourselves with the sign of the cross, invoke the aid of the Most Holy Theotokos and the saints of God, and especially your guardian angel, and fear not. At the same time, always ask the Church, and she, having vast experience and victorious against all falsehoods, shall tell you what is the truth. For you are of yesterday, but the Church is from of old. Your understanding is less than the understanding of the Church.
O Lord Jesus, Thou art the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life. Permit not, O Lord, that we be led astray by false teachers and depart from Thee. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“False teachers are either like blind men or like robbers: the former lead both themselves and others to destruction; the latter deliberately lead others astray.”