Monday
1 Cor. 5:9-6; Matt. 13:54-58
The Nazarenes did not believe the word of the Lord, because when He lived among them, He had no attractive luster or outward dignity that might have commanded involuntary respect. "We know Who He is," they said; "there can't be anything extraordinary about Him." Their reaction, however, did not induce the Lord to assume an imposing appearance. He remained extremely simple in appearance. Later, the Apostles bore themselves the same way, as did all those who truly followed and emulated them. Why is this so? Because there is no man-made luster that could fully correspond to the light of life in Jesus Christ. Moreover, we recognize that it is better to relegate external appearance to the lowest value, so that it does not obstruct what is within. Let him who has eyes to see look directly at the latter, without arresting his attention upon the former. The Holy Apostle Paul expressed it is like this: We have this treasure in earthen vessels (II Cor. 4:7). If we could see the outward appearance of those persons whom we now never and call upon in prayer, we would not believe our eyes-they were so simple. But to this day, those who have come to know the life in Jesus Christ abandon what is outward and turn fully within. That is why the former falls away on its own, but the latter is raised up and grows. It often happens that no one even notices this inner brightness, not even the one who possesses it. The human eye is evil; it is not shown what is truly good, as long as it is capable of harming it.
-From St. Theophan the Recluse
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