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Daily Readings
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Sunday, 6th April 2014 --- 28 Baramhat 1730
Readings for Sunday of sixth week of Great Lent
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 17 : 3,5
Chapter 17
| 3 | You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
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| 5 | Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip.
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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.
Vespers 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 13 : 22 - 35
Chapter 13
| 22 | And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.
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| 23 | Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them,
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| 24 | "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
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| 25 | When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, "Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, "I do not know you, where you are from,'
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| 26 | then you will begin to say, "We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'
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| 27 | But He will say, "I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'
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| 28 | There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
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| 29 | They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
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| 30 | And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."
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| 31 | On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."
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| 32 | And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, "Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'
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| 33 | Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.
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| 34 | "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!
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| 35 | See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!"'
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 26 : 2 - 3
Chapter 26
| 2 | Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart.
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| 3 | For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth.
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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 Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 23 : 1 - 39
Chapter 23
| 1 | Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples,
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| 2 | saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
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| 3 | Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
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| 4 | For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
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| 5 | But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.
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| 6 | They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,
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| 7 | greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, "Rabbi, Rabbi.'
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| 8 | But you, do not be called "Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.
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| 9 | Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
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| 10 | And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.
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| 11 | But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
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| 12 | And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
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| 13 | "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
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| 14 | Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
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| 15 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
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| 16 | "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, "Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'
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| 17 | Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
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| 18 | And, "Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'
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| 19 | Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
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| 20 | Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.
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| 21 | He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.
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| 22 | And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
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| 23 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
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| 24 | Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
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| 25 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
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| 26 | Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
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| 27 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
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| 28 | Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
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| 29 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
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| 30 | and say, "If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'
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| 31 | "Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
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| 32 | Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.
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| 33 | Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
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| 34 | Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,
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| 35 | that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
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| 36 | Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
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| 37 | "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
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| 38 | See! Your house is left to you desolate;
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| 39 | for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!"'
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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 Colossians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Colossians 3 : 5 - 17
Chapter 3
| 5 | Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
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| 6 | Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
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| 7 | in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
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| 8 | But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
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| 9 | Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
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| 10 | and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
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| 11 | where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
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| 12 | Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
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| 13 | bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
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| 14 | But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
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| 15 | And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
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| 16 | Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
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| 17 | And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
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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 5 : 13 - 21
Chapter 5
| 13 | These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
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| 14 | Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
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| 15 | And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
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| 16 | If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.
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| 17 | All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.
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| 18 | We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
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| 19 | We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
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| 20 | And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
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| 21 | Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
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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 : 27 - 37
Chapter 27
| 27 | Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land.
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| 28 | And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms.
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| 29 | Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come.
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| 30 | And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow,
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| 31 | Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved."
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| 32 | Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off.
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| 33 | And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, "Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing.
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| 34 | Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you."
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| 35 | And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat.
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| 36 | Then they were all encouraged, and also took food themselves.
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| 37 | And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship.
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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 28 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baramhat, 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-Eighth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramhat
Departure of the righteous Emperor Constantine
the Great
On this day of the year 53 A.M. (337 A.D.) the righteous
Emperor Constantine the great departed. His father's name was Constantius
I Chlorus which means (Green), and his mother's name was Helena. Constantius
reigned over Byzantium, Maximianus reigned over Rome, and Diocletian reigned
over Antioch and Egypt. Constantius was pagan, but he was honorable, loved
to do good, compassionate and merciful. He went to the city of El-Ruha
(Urfa - Gr. Edessa) and there he saw Helena, liked her and he married her.
She was a Christian, and she conceived Constantine. Constantius left her
in El-Ruha and returned to Byzantium. She brought forth Constantine and
raised him up very piously, taught him every kind of learning, sowed in
his heart mercy and compassion for the Christians, but she did not dare
to have him baptized. Constantine grew up, and he was a bold and skilful
horseman. He went to his father who rejoiced in him when he saw that he
was full of wisdom, knowledge, and he was a skilful horseman. After his
father's death he received the kingdom and he reigned with justice and
integrity, and stopped all unfair practices. All the people were subject
to him and they loved him and his righteous judgement spread throughout
the Empire. The nobles of Rome sent asking him to come and save them from
the injustice of Maximianus. Constantine marched with his army toward Rome
to save them.
During the war he saw in the heaven, in the middle
of the day, a Cross made of stars, and on it was written in Greek words
which being interpreted as "With this you shall conquer." The light of
the Cross was more shinning than the sun, and he shewed it to his ministers
and the nobles of his kingdom. They read what was written, marvelled and
they did not know for what reason that cross had appeared. That night the
angel of the Lord appeared to him in a vision and told him: "Make a sign
for yourself like that sign which you had seen, and with it you shall conquer
your enemies." The next morning, he prepared a large flag with the sign
of the cross on it, and made the sign of the cross on all the armaments.
He engaged with Maximianus in a battle and fought. Constantine overcame
Maximianus who withdrew with his army, and while crossing the bridge over
the Tiber river, the bridge broke and he and most of his men perished.
Constantine entered Rome and its people welcomed him with joy and gladness,
and its learned men praised the Honorable Cross and called it the Savior
of their city. Then they celebrated for the Cross seven days and Constantine
became the Emperor of the East and the West. When Constantine established
himself in Rome, he and most of his soldiers were baptized by the Pope
of Rome, in the eleventh year of his reign, which is the fourth year after
the appearance of the Honorable Cross. He sent throughout the kingdom and
commanded to set free all those who were imprisoned for the sake of faith,
and that they should not work during the Passion week as the Apostles commanded.
Then he sent his mother Helena to Jerusalem where
she discovered the Holy Cross of Our Lord Christ. In the seventeenth year
of his reign the Holy Council of the Three Hundred and Eighteen bishops
assembled at Nicea in the year 325 A.D. which arranged the affairs of the
Christians and put down the cannons of the church. He rebuilt the city
of Byzantium and called it after his name "Constantinia" and he brought
to it many of the bodies of the apostles and holy martyrs. He departed in the city of Nicomedia, they laid him in a gold sarcophagus,
carried him and brought him to Constantinia. The Patriarch, bishops, priests,
and all the people received him with prayers, psalms, and spiritual hymns,
and laid him in the sanctuary of the holy apostles. All the days of his
life were seventy five years.
To Our God is the glory, might, and dominion and may His mercy and
grace be upon us forever. Amen.
Departure of Pope Peter (Petros) VII,
the One Hundred and Ninth Patriarch
On this day also of the year 1568 A.M. (April 5th.,
year 1852 A.D. the holy father Pope Peter (Petros) VII, the 109th. Pope
of Alexandria, departed. This father was born in the village of Gawli -
Manfalout, and his name was Mankarius. He forsake the world since his young
age, and the Divine grace led him to the monastery of the great St. Antonios
where he became a monk. He immersed in worship, asceticism and purity as
he occupied himself by reading the ecclesiastic books and learned the theological
and liturgical subjects. He was ordained priest for the monastery, he surpassed
his fellows in the practice of virtues and performing the religious duties,
and was called Fr. Marcurius. Then he was promoted to archpriest (Hegumen)
for his asceticism, zeal, and the purity of his heart. When his news reached
Pope Marcus (Mark) VIII, he called him. A group of the Ethiopians had come,
delegated from the king of Ethiopia asking for a Metropolitan instead of
Anba Yousab their predecessor one who had departed. The Pope searched for
an honorable, learned and just man, and he found these virtues in the Archpriest
Marcurius, so he chose him to be a Metropolitan for Ethiopia. During the
ordination, instead he ordained him a bishop without a parish and called
him Theophilus and ordained Anba Macarius II a Metropolitan for the kingdom
of Ethiopia in the year 1808 A.D.
After ordaining Anba Theophilus a bishop at large
the Pope kept him with him in the patriarchate to help him in managing
the church business and the affairs of the Coptic people. When Pope Marcus
VIII departed on the 13th. day of Kiahk year 526 A.M. (December 21st.,
year 1809), the bishops were present in Cairo met with the notables of
the people and unanimously agreed to chose Anba Theophilus to be his successor.
They ordained him Patriarch in St. Mark church in El-Azbakiah three days
after the departure of Pope Marcus, on sunday the 16th. of Kiahk, year
1526 A.M. (December 24th., year 1809), and they called him Peter VIII and
he was known by Petros El-Gawly. He was a gentle, meek, wise, greatly intelligent,
outstandingly smart father with a nobel policy in caring for the people.
He devoted himself to studying, reading and learning the ecclesiastic subjects
and the holy books. He wrote a valuable text to defend the church and its
teachings, and he provided the patriarchal library with valuable and rare
texts. His era was a peaceful time in the land, so the church had a complete
serenity and total freedom in worship, and the churches were renovated
in Upper and Lower Egypt.
During his Papacy the Chair of El-Nuba and Sudan
returned to the Chair of Alexandria after separation for five hundred years.
The governor of Egypt Muhammad Ali Basha conquered Sudan and took over
its land and consolidated it to the land of Egypt. Many of the people of
Sudan returned to the Christian faith and many of the christian government
employees and army men lived in Sudan. They built churches, then they asked
Pope Petros to send them a bishop to shepherd the Christian people in these
countries. He ordained for them a bishop who was nominated by the people
of Sudan from among the monks called Damianus. This bishop departed during
the days of Pope Petros so he ordained for them another. This Pope, during
his papacy, ordained twenty five bishops for the different parishes of
Egypt and Nuba, and he ordained two Metropolitans For Ethiopia, the first
was Anba Kyrellos IV in the year 1820, and the second in the year 1833
A.D. God had performed many wonders through the hands of Pope Peter VII
the most famous of them is the incident of the Nile Inundation. One year
the flood of the Nile was not enough to water people, land and animals.
The masses were worried about famine, inflation and high prices if the
land could not be cultivated. They went to the Governor of Egypt asking
to order the clergy to pray and supplicate God almighty that He might bless
the water of the Nile and increase the flood water to be able to water
the land to bring forth a plenteous crop and to avoid a famine that might
befall the people. Pope Peter VII called the bishops and the clergy and
went with them to the banks of the river where he celebrated the Divine
Liturgy and after the service he washed the Holy Service utensils with
water from the river, then he threw the water and the blessed Kourbana
(Blessed Bread) in the river. The waves of the river roared, the water
was disturbed and flooded, the deacons in haste removed all the elements
used in the celebration, fearing of drowning. This incident glorified the
Patriarch position before the Basha the Governor who made him close to
him, and honor the men of his nation, and increased their authority and
grace.
From these remarkable wonders also was the incident
of the Holy Sepulcher light in Jerusalem. After prince Ibrahim Basha, Mohammed
Ali Basha's son, had conquered Jerusalem and Syria year 1832 A.D., he invited
Pope Peter VII to visit Jerusalem and attend to the service of the appearance
of the light on Bright Saturday from the Sepulcher of the Lord Christ in
Jerusalem as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchs did every year. The Pope accepted
the invitation, and when he arrived, he was received with honor and reverence and he entered Jerusalem
with a great procession and a splendid celebration, in which the governor,
the rulers and the heads of the different Christian denominations participated.
He realized with his wisdom that if he minister alone in the Holy sepulcher
that would cause animosity between the Copts and the Greeks. The Pope asked
the Basha to relieve him from this service, but he asked him to participate
with the Greek Patriarch on the condition that he will be their third,
for he doubted the authenticity of the light. On Bright Saturday the church
of the holy sepulcher was crowded with the worshipers, the Basha ordered
the people to evacuate the church to the spacious outer courtyard. When
the time to start the service came the two Patriarchs and the Basha entered
the Holy Sepulcher to pray the customary prayers. In the specific time,
the light burst out of the Sepulcher in a way that terrified the Basha,
who became in a daze and confusion, and the Pope attended to him until
he recovered. The people outside in the courtyard were not deprived from
the blessing of the light since one of the pillars of the western gate
of the church split and the light appeared to them from the pillar.
This incident increased the reverence and respect
of the Pope before the Basha. His holiness the Pope made many repairs and
renovations in the church of Resurrection. During the days of this Pope,
Mohammed Ali Basha wanted to join the Coptic church with the church of
Rome because of the efforts of one of his catholic army generals, in return
of the services of the French scientists and army leaders who offered the
Governor to organize the Egyptian government. The Governor (Basha) called
the master Ghali and his son Basilius and presented the subject to them,
and they replied saying that this merge would cause revolt and unrest among the Coptic people so to avoid shedding of blood and to
encourage the topic of unity, his family and himself would join the Catholic
church, on a condition that they would not be forced to change their rituals
or Eastern custom. The Basha accepted that solution and accordingly they
declared their joining the Catholic faith, and only few followed them,
nevertheless they all continued to worship in Coptic churches. During his
time, the monk Daoud (David) excelled among the monks of St. Antonios monastery,
and was promoted to be the head of the monastery. The fruits of his effort
became obvious, in organizing the monastery and improving the condition
of the monks. Pope Peter chose him for his intelligence and good management
and sent him to Ethiopia in an official church duty which he
took care of it well, and his return to Egypt was after the departure
of Pope Peter.
History will exalt the memory of Pope Peter (Petros),
because the Russian Caesar sent his delegates to offer putting the Coptic
Church under the protection of Caesar. The Pope refused the proposal graciously
by asking: "Does your Caesar live forever?" When the envoy answered that
he would die like all human beings, the Pope told him that he preferred
the protector of the church would be her true shepherd, the King that does
not die. The prince admired the Pope's faith and patriotism, and he left after taking the blessings from the Pope stating
that he is truly the good successor for the Eternal King, Christ the Savior.
When this Pope finished his course and completed his strife, he departed
in peace. They prayed over him in a great celebration on Paschal Monday,
participated in it all the heads of the Christian denominations in St.
Mark church in El-Azbakiah. He was buried beside his predecessor Pope Marcus,
and Anba Sarapamon bishop of El-Menofia in the eastern side of the great
cathedral in El-Azbakiah. He stayed on the Patriarchal Chair for 42 years,
3 month, and 12 days and the Chair remained vacant after him one year and
12 days.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Commemoration of Anba Sarapamon, known
as "The Veiled" Bishop of El-Monofia
On this day also is the commemoration of Anba Sarapamon,
known as "The Veiled" Bishop of El-Monofia. This blessed and great Saint
was contemporary of Pope Petros El-Gawly and one of his famous bishops.
God had granted him the gift to heal the sick, and to cast out evil spirits.
He was called Salib. When he was a young man, some evil women seized him
and accused him of murdering a young man they had killed in the market.
In the court, he lifted up his heart to God and with tears he asked the
help of St. Mary and other saints. He looked to the slain person and asked
him to confess before the judge who killed him. The slain person rose up
and told the judge about the murderesses. The judge was astonished and
set Salib free. Salib left the court and went immediately to St. Antonios
monastery to become a monk, and later on, the Pope chose him a Bishop for
El-Monofia. When Mohammed Ali Basha asked the Pope's help concerning his
daughter Zahra Hanem who was possessed by evil spirit, he sent Anba Sarapamon
who healed her by praying over her. Mohammed Ali offered him money, but
he refused saying that God's gifts are free. When the Governor insisted
he asked for supplies and clothes for the monks in the monasteries, and
to reinstate the Copts to their jobs in the government.
May his prayers be with us, and glory be to 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 143 : 7,1
Chapter 143
| 7 | Answer me speedily, O LORD; My spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, Lest I be like those who go down into the pit.
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| 1 | Hear my prayer, O LORD, Give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, And in Your righteousness.
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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 9 : 1 - 41
Chapter 9
| 1 | Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.
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| 2 | And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
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| 3 | Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
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| 4 | I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
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| 5 | As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
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| 6 | When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.
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| 7 | And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
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| 8 | Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?"
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| 9 | Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him." He said, "I am he."
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| 10 | Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"
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| 11 | He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, "Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight."
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| 12 | Then they said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know."
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| 13 | They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees.
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| 14 | Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.
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| 15 | Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."
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| 16 | Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them.
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| 17 | They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."
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| 18 | But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.
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| 19 | And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"
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| 20 | His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
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| 21 | but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself."
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| 22 | His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.
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| 23 | Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
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| 24 | So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner."
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| 25 | He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see."
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| 26 | Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?"
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| 27 | He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?"
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| 28 | Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.
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| 29 | We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."
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| 30 | The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!
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| 31 | Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.
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| 32 | Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.
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| 33 | If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."
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| 34 | They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out.
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| 35 | Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"
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| 36 | He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"
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| 37 | And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."
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| 38 | Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him.
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| 39 | And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."
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| 40 | Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"
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| 41 | Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, "We see.' Therefore your sin remains.
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And Glory be to God forever.
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