The Festival of St. Athanasius of Alexandria, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor
Posted on May 2, 2026 by under
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:5-14 (NKJV)
4:5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.
Devotion
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”
How could the mission of such ordinary men, bearing such a simple message, even survive, much less succeed? They had no sword, no prestige, no armed legions. They battled a fanatical and entrenched Jewish establishment and a worldwide enthroned paganism. And they went to war with nothing but the doctrine of the cross; an object of indignant horror, of unbounded scorn and ridicule.
But they also came with the mighty backing of God Himself, who promised that not even the “gates of hell” would prevail against His Church. And so, all the temples, all the gods and goddesses, even civilizations themselves, couldn’t outlast the Kingdom of God.
And so, what could it have been other than the “transcendent power of God,” which worked with them, in them, and through them. Yes, the vessels were earthen and fragile, but a divine treasure was inside. And by the riches of that treasure, their God-given mission triumphed.
Collect: O God, Who didst give Saint Athanasius as a faithful teacher of the saving truth in a time of great trial, grant to Thy people zeal for Thy Word and faithful teachers for Thy Church, that they may stand steadfast against all error; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for Jubilate Sunday
Almighty God, Who showest to them that be in error the light of Thy truth, to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness: Grant unto all them that are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s Religion that they may eschew those things that are contrary to their profession, and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
