Dec 21, 2015
Scripture of the Day:
Isaiah
25:6-10 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+25%3A6-10)
Thought of the day: Christ the Victor over Death
Today
is celebrated as the feast day of St Thomas the Apostle to India. It is
believed that he was pierced with spear on Dec. 18th and bled for
three days and died on Dec. 21st. Why is it that we Christians
celebrate the day of death of someone as a feast day? It is because Christ
defeated death. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord we must keep
in the back of our minds that this was a person who was born to die. This truth
is taught to us in the Icon of the nativity.
Death
entered into the world as a result of sin. The Son of God became man in order
that by his life he might defeat death. At every point in the life of Christ we
see the victory that He gains over sin and the consequences of sin. The
ultimate victory is His victory over death through his resurrection. As it is
prophesied through Isaiah – “And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud
that is cast over all peoples, the sheet
that is spread over all nations; he will
swallow up death forever.” Christ was able to transform death from a dead end
to a doorway to eternal life. It is because of this that we celebrate the day
of a martyrdom as a feast day. For in this day the blessed martyr passed
through the doorway of death to eternal life. May the prayers of St Thomas be a
stronghold for us.
Song of the Day:
Icon of the Day:
Assurance
of St Thomas: https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/the-assurance-of-thomas-believing-not-doubting/
Quote of the day:
“Glory be to Him, Who never felt the need of our praising
Him; yet felt the need as being kind to us, and thirsted as loving us, and asks
us to give to Him, and longs to give to us. His fruit was mingled with us men,
that in Him we might come near to Him, Who condescended to us. By the Fruit of
His stem He grafted us into His Tree.”
— St. Ephrem the Syrian
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