Prophet Obadiah; Ven. Barlaam and Joasaph; Our Holy Father Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow (1867)

Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech, ¹³and not as Moses, who put a veil on his face so that the children of Israel wouldn’t look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away. ¹⁴But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains, because in Christ it passes away. ¹⁵But to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. ¹⁶But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. ¹⁸But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.

As they went on the way, a certain man said to him, “I want to follow you wherever you go, Lord.”

⁵⁸Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹He said to another, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰But Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and announce God’s Kingdom.”

⁶¹Another also said, “I want to follow you, Lord, but first allow me to say good-bye to those who are at my house.”

⁶²But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for God’s Kingdom.”