Seeking Just Our Own

Presbytera Candace Schefe sent me this quote from John Chrysostom:

We cannot be saved by seeking just our own individual salvation; we need to look first to the good of others. In warfare, the soldier who takes to flight to save his own skin brings disaster on himself as well as on the others, whereas the good soldier who takes up arms on behalf of his comrades saves his own life along with theirs. Many of our brothers and sisters have fallen in this battle, wounded and covered with blood, with no one to care for them. There is no one to look after them, no layman, no priest, no comrade, no friend, no brother, because we are all of us seeking our own individual salvation, and thereby spoiling our chance of attaining it.
Psalms for the 17th Day: Psalms 86~89This morning, the psalms appointed for the seventeenth day really spoke my prayer. Here is one of them…

Listen to me, Yahweh, and answer me,
poor and needy as I am;
keep my soul: I am Your devoted one,
save Your servant who relies on You.

You are my God, take pity on me, Lord,
I invoke you all day long;
give your servant reason to rejoice,
for to You, Lord, I left my soul.

Lord, You are good and forgiving,
most loving to all who invoke You;
Yahweh, hear my prayer,
listen to me as I plead.

Lord, in trouble I invoke You,
and You answer my prayer;
there is no god to compare with You,
no achievement to compare with Yours.

All the pagans will come and adore You, Lord,
all will glorify Your name,
since You alone are great, You perform marvels,
You God, You alone.

Yahweh, teach me Your way,
how to walk beside You faithfully,
make me single-hearted in fearing Your name.
Psalm 86:1-11 Jerusalem Bible


Later, this evening, we went to vespers at Saint Nicholas of Myra church. Today, as it turns out, was the commemoration of holy Prophet Obadiah, and his entire prophecy was sung by the cantor, followed by a lengthy, utterly quiet pause. It made us feel we were in a Quaker meeting house. Brock noticed, and remembering it with me afterwards cited the verse, "… there was silence in heaven for about half an hour" (Revelation 8:1). Somehow the quality of the silence after the singing of Obadiah's prophecy had this effect on us both. How could there not be silence after hearing these momentous words?

Yes, as you have drunk on My holy mountain,
so will all the nations drink unsparingly;
they will drink, and drink deep,
and will be as if they had never been.

But on Mount Zion there will be some who have escaped
—it shall become a holy place—
and the House of Jacob will despoil
its own despoilers.

The House of Jacob shall be a fire,
the House of Joseph a flame,
the House of Esau stubble.
They will set it alight and burn it up,
and no member of the House of Esau shall survive.
Yahweh has spoken.

Men from the Negebwill occupy the Mount of Esau,
men from the lowlands
the country of the Philistines;
they will occupy the land of Ephraim
and the land of Samaria,
and Benjamin
will occupy Gilead.

The exiles from this army, the sons of Israel,
will occupy Canaan as far as Zarephath;
and the exiles from Jerusalem now in Sepharad
will occupy the towns of the Negeb.

Victorious, they will climb Mount Zion
to judge the Mount of Esau,
and the sovereignty shall belong to Yahweh.Obadiah 16~21 Jerusalem Bible
This prophecy made me think of the current restoration of Israel in the land which is not, as many churchables think, an accident of history, but the fulfillment of prophecy, specifically of prophecies like that of holy Prophet Obadiah.

This was a very good day.
Thank you, Lord.