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Daily Readings
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Tuesday, 3rd March 2015 --- 24 Amshir 1731
Readings for Tuesday of third week of Great Lent
Matins
Proverbs 2 : 1 - 15 Isaiah 10 : 12 - 20 Joshua 7 : 1 - 26
Proverbs 2 : 1 - 15
Chapter 2
| 1 | My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you,
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| 2 | So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;
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| 3 | Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding,
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| 4 | If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;
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| 5 | Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God.
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| 6 | For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
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| 7 | He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
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| 8 | He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.
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| 9 | Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path.
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| 10 | When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
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| 11 | Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you,
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| 12 | To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things,
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| 13 | From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;
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| 14 | Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
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| 15 | Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;
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Isaiah 10 : 12 - 20
Chapter 10
| 12 | Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks."
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| 13 | For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man.
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| 14 | My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep."
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| 15 | Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!
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| 16 | Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire.
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| 17 | So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day.
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| 18 | And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away.
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| 19 | Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number That a child may write them.
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| 20 | And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
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Joshua 7 : 1 - 26
Chapter 7
| 1 | But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel.
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| 2 | Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, "Go up and spy out the country." So the men went up and spied out Ai.
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| 3 | And they returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few."
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| 4 | So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai.
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| 5 | And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
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| 6 | Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
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| 7 | And Joshua said, "Alas, Lord GOD, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all--to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!
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| 8 | O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies?
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| 9 | For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?"
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| 10 | So the LORD said to Joshua: "Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?
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| 11 | Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff.
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| 12 | Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.
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| 13 | Get up, sanctify the people, and say, "Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: "There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you."
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| 14 | In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man.
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| 15 | Then it shall be that he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel."'
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| 16 | So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken.
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| 17 | He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken.
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| 18 | Then he brought his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
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| 19 | Now Joshua said to Achan, "My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me."
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| 20 | And Achan answered Joshua and said, "Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done:
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| 21 | When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it."
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| 22 | So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it.
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| 23 | And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.
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| 24 | Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor.
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| 25 | And Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day." So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.
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| 26 | Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day.
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Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 32 : 10 - 10
Chapter 32
| 10 | Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him.
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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Matins Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Luke the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Luke 12 : 54 - 59
Chapter 12
| 54 | Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, "A shower is coming'; and so it is.
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| 55 | And when you see the south wind blow, you say, "There will be hot weather'; and there is.
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| 56 | Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?
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| 57 | "Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?
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| 58 | When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.
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| 59 | I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Liturgy Gospel
Paulines Epistle
Paul, the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, appointed to the Gospel of God.
A reading from the Epistle of our teacher Paul to the Romans .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Romans 4 : 1 - 8
Chapter 4
| 1 | What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?
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| 2 | For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
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| 3 | For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
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| 4 | Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
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| 5 | But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
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| 6 | just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
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| 7 | "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;
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| 8 | Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin."
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The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
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Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. John .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 John 2 : 1 - 11
Chapter 2
| 1 | My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
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| 2 | And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
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| 3 | Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
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| 4 | He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
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| 5 | But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
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| 6 | He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
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| 7 | Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.
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| 8 | Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
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| 9 | He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.
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| 10 | He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
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| 11 | But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
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Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The world passes away, and its desires; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Amen.
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Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.
Acts 27 : 9 - 12
Chapter 27
| 9 | Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them,
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| 10 | saying, "Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives."
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| 11 | Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul.
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| 12 | And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there.
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The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
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Synaxarium
Day 24 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Amshir, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Departure of St.Agapetus the Bishop
On this day St. Agapetus (Agapius),
the bishop, departed. He was born of Christian parents during the time
of the infidel emperors Diocletian and Maximianus. His parents brought
him up in a Christian upbringing, and he was ordained a deacon. Then, he
went to one of the monasteries and served the elders therein. He learned
from them worship and asceticism and was accustomed to fasting and prayer.
His food was legumes to break the fast. He grew in his ascetic life and
in every virtue, and God wrought through him many miracles, among which
were the following: He healed a girl from a debilitating sickness which
had stricken her for a long time, and doctors had failed to cure her. He
also prayed once and God destroyed a beast which was devouring people.
By his prayers, God granted healing to many sick people. The news of his
asceticism, righteousness and the power of his prayer spread everywhere.
When Lucinus the governor heard about St. Agapius, he brought him by force
and appointed him a soldier in his army. This did not prevent St. Agapius
from continuing in his ascetic life and his worship and he rather increased
in virtue. Shortly after, God perished Diocletian and the God-loving emperor
Constantine took over the empire after him. St. Agapius desired to gain
his freedom and to return to his monastery, and God answered him.
Emperor Constantine had a servant
who was very dear to him for the good qualities he had. The servant was
stricken with an evil spirit which tormented him. Some friends of the Emperor
advised him to ask Agapius, the soldier, to pray for his servant to be
healed. The Emperor was surprised to know that one among his soldiers had
the gift of healing. The Emperor sent for St.Agapius who prayed upon the
servant, made the sign of the holy cross over him, and God healed him.
The Emperor rejoiced and wanted to reward him. St. Agapius refused to accept
any reward except to be granted his release from military service to go
back to the place of his worship. The Emperor granted him what he wanted.
The saint returned to where he was before and he lived a solitary life.
After a while, he was ordained a priest. After the departure of the bishop
of his town, the people asked for this saint from the abbot of the monastery,
and he gave him his permission to leave. St. Agapius was ordained bishop
and shepherded the flock of Christ with the best of care. He was granted
the gift of prophecy and performing miracles. He rebuked the sinners for
what they had done in secret. He rebuked the priests for forsaking teaching
and instructing their flocks. His biography @included more than one hundred
miracles that he had performed, and he departed at a good old age.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Timothy and St.Matthias
On this day also is the
commemoration of the martyrdom of St. Timothy of Gaza, and St.Matthias
of the City of Koos (Quoce).
May Their prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
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Divine Psalm
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet, and the Good King.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 32 : 2 - 3
Chapter 32
| 2 | Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.
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| 3 | When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long.
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Hallelujah.
Divine Gospel
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
John 8 : 31 - 39
Chapter 8
| 31 | Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
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| 32 | And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
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| 33 | They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, "You will be made free'?"
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| 34 | Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
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| 35 | And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.
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| 36 | Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
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| 37 | "I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.
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| 38 | I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."
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| 39 | They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page