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Daily Readings
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Sunday, 8th January 2017 --- 30 Kiahk 1733
Readings for Sunday, 8th January 2017 --- 30 Kiahk 1733
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 72 : 1 - 2
Chapter 72
| 1 | Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king's Son.
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| 2 | He will judge Your people with righteousness, And Your poor with justice.
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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 Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 12 : 15 - 33
Chapter 12
| 15 | But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.
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| 16 | Yet He warned them not to make Him known,
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| 17 | that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
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| 18 | "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
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| 19 | He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
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| 20 | A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory;
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| 21 | And in His name Gentiles will trust."
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| 22 | Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.
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| 23 | And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
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| 24 | Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."
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| 25 | But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
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| 26 | If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
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| 27 | And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
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| 28 | But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
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| 29 | Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
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| 30 | He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
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| 31 | "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
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| 32 | Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
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| 33 | "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.
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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 72 : 11,19
Chapter 72
| 11 | Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him.
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| 19 | And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.
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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 22 : 41 - 46
Chapter 22
| 41 | While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
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| 42 | saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David."
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| 43 | He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him "Lord,' saying:
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| 44 | "The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?
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| 45 | If David then calls Him "Lord,' how is He his Son?"
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| 46 | And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.
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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 Galatians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Galatians 4 : 19 - 5 : 1
Chapter 4
| 19 | My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,
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| 20 | I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.
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| 21 | Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?
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| 22 | For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.
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| 23 | But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise,
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| 24 | which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar--
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| 25 | for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children--
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| 26 | but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
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| 27 | For it is written: "Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband."
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| 28 | Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
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| 29 | But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.
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| 30 | Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman."
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| 31 | So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
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Chapter 5
| 1 | Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
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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 4 : 15 - 5 : 4
Chapter 4
| 15 | Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
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| 16 | And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
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| 17 | Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
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| 18 | There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
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| 19 | We love Him because He first loved us.
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| 20 | If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
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| 21 | And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
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Chapter 5
| 1 | Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.
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| 2 | By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.
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| 3 | For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
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| 4 | For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.
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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 13 : 36 - 43
Chapter 13
| 36 | "For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;
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| 37 | but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.
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| 38 | Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;
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| 39 | and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
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| 40 | Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:
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| 41 | "Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you."'
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| 42 | So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
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| 43 | Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
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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 30 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Kiahk, 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 Thirtieth Day of the Blessed Month of Kiahk
Departure of St.John, Archpriest of Scetis
On this day, St. John (Youannis), the archpriest
(Heagomen) of Shiheet (Scetis) departed. When he was ordained archpriest
for the monastery of St. Macarius, the whole wilderness was illumined by
him and he became a father to many of the saints. Among those saints were
Anba Gawarga and Anba Abraam, the two great stars, and Anba Mina, bishop
of Tamai "Tamuz", and Anba Zacharias and many others, through whom many
souls were saved. Because of his holiness and his great piety, when he
was administering Holy Communion to the people, he was able to recognize
those who were sinners and those who were righteous. Several times he saw
Christ and the angels surrounding Him upon the altar. He once saw one of
the priests, who was of bad reputation, coming to the church and the evil
spirits surrounding him. When the priest arrived at the door of the church,
the angel of the Lord came out from the sanctuary (Hekal) with a fiery
sword in his hand and dismissed the unclean spirits. The priest entered
the church and put on the service clothes and administered the liturgy
and gave the Holy Communion to the people. After he was finished, he took
off the service clothes and went out of the church, the evil spirits returned
to him. This was what St. John said to his brethren the monks, to make
them aware that there was no difference between a sinful and an unsinful
priest in ministering the church sacraments. For it is for the sake of
the people that the bread and the wine are transubstantiated to the Body
and the Blood of Christ.
He told them a parable, "As the picture of the emperor
is imprinted on his seal that is made from iron or gold, and the seal is
one, also the priesthood is one with the sinner and the righteous, and
the Lord rewards everyone according to his deeds." This saint suffered
many tribulations. The "Berbers" took him captive to their country. He
stayed there for many years, during which he was tortured. He met St. Samuel,
the abbot of the monastery of Qualamon, during his captivity. By the grace
of God, he returned to his monastery. When he knew in a vision the day
of his departure, he called the brethren and commanded them to keep the
Commandments of the Lord, and to walk in the pathway of the saintly fathers,
to share with them the good portion and the inheritance of the kingdom
of heaven. Shortly after, he became ill and he saw a crowd of saints were
coming to take his spirit, and he gave up the spirit in the hand of the
Lord. His brethren carried him to the church and because of their strong
love for him and their firm belief in his holiness, they kept a portion
of his burial clothes which was a source of healing for many
sicknesses. This father lived for 90 years.
May His 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 72 : 17
Chapter 72
| 17 | His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed.
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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 1 : 1 - 13
Chapter 1
| 1 | In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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| 2 | He was in the beginning with God.
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| 3 | All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
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| 4 | In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
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| 5 | And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
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| 6 | There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
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| 7 | This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
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| 8 | He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
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| 9 | That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
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| 10 | He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
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| 11 | He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
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| 12 | But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
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| 13 | who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page