[Readingsandsaints] Readings and saints

Mon Apr 2 05:00:36 CDT 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Mon Apr 2 2007

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Matthew 21:18-43  (Bridegroom Matins Gospel)
18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.
19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing
on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever
again." Immediately the fig tree withered away.
20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the
fig tree wither away so soon?"
21 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if
you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to
the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be
cast into the sea,' it will be done.
22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.
23 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders
of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what
authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this
authority?"
24 But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one
thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what
authority I do these things:
25 The baptism of John-where was it from? From heaven or from men? And
they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He
will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'
26 But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count
John as a prophet.
27 So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know." And He said to
them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
28 But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first
and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.'
29 He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it
and went.
30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and
said, 'I go, sir,' but he did not go.
31 Which of the two did the will of his father? They said to Him, "The
first." Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax
collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.
32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not
believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you
saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.
33 Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a
vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a
tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.
34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the
vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.
35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and
stoned another.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did
likewise to them.
37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will
respect my son.'
38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves,
'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'
39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to
those vinedressers?
41 They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and
lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the
fruits in their seasons."
42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The
stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the LORD's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'?
43 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you
and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.
Scripture Reading 1 of 5

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Ezekiel 1:1-20  (6th Hour)
1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on
the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River
Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
2 On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King
Jehoiachins captivity,
3 the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son
of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the
hand of the Lord was upon him there.
4 Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north,
a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was
all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber,
out of the midst of the fire.
5 Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And
this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.
6 Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings.
7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the
soles of calves feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished
bronze.
8 The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and
each of the four had faces and wings.
9 Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when
they went, but each one went straight forward.
10 As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man;
each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the
four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had
the face of an eagle.
11 Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of
each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies.
12 And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit
wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.
13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was
like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back
and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of
the fire went lightning.
14 And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a
flash of lightning.
15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the
earth beside each living creature with its four faces.
16 The appearance of the wheels and their workings was like the color
of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their
workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
17 When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they
did not turn aside when they went.
18 As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their
rims were full of eyes, all around the four of them.
19 When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and
when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels
were lifted up.
20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the
spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, for the
spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
Scripture Reading 2 of 5

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Exodus 1:1-20  (Vespers, 1st Reading)
1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt;
each man and his household came with Jacob:
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5 All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons (for
Joseph was in Egypt already).
6 And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation.
7 But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly,
multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with
them.
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
9 And he said to his people, Look, the people of the children of
Israel are more and mightier than we;
10 come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it
happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight
against us, and so go up out of the land.
11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their
burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and
grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel.
13 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor.
14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondagein mortar, in
brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in
which they made them serve was with rigor.
15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the
name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah;
16 and he said, When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew
women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall
kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt
commanded them, but saved the male children alive.
18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, Why
have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?
19 And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not
like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the
midwives come to them.
20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people
multiplied and grew very mighty.
Scripture Reading 3 of 5

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Job 1:1-12  (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man
was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.
2 And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.
3 Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand
camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a
very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the
people of the East.
4 And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his
appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat
and drink with them.
5 So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job
would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning
and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job
said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their
hearts." Thus Job did continually.
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.
7 And the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? So Satan
answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro on the earth, and
from walking back and forth on it.
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job,
that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man,
one who fears God and shuns evil?
9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, Does Job fear God for nothing?
10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and
around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his
hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he
will surely curse You to Your face!
12 And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your
power; only do not lay a hand on his person. So Satan went out from
the presence of the Lord.
Scripture Reading 4 of 5

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Matthew 24:3-35  (Gospel)
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him
privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will
be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives
you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will
deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not
troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not
yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various
places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you
will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will
hate one another.
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow
cold.
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as
a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
15 Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of
by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let
him understand),
16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of
his house.
18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing
babies in those days!
20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been
since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall
be.
22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but
for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.
23 Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!'
do not believe it.
24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs
and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not
go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west,
so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered
together.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be
darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall
from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all
the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and
they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end
of heaven to the other.
32 Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has
already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is
near.
33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near-at
the doors!
34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away
till all these things take place.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass
away.
Scripture Reading 5 of 5

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Great and Holy Monday
Holy Week: A Liturgical Explanation for the Days of Holy Week
3. MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY: THE END These three days, which the
Church calls Great and Holy have within the liturgical development of
the Holy Week a very definite purpose. They place all its celebrations
in the perspective of End ; they remind us of the eschatological
meaning of Pascha. So often Holy Week is considered one of the
"beautiful traditions" or "customs," a self-evident "part" of our
calendar. We take it for granted and enjoy it as a cherished annual
event which we have "observed" since childhood, we admire the beauty
of its services, the pageantry of its rites and, last but not least,
we like the fuss about the paschal table. And then, when all this is
done we resume our normal life. But do we understand that when the
world rejected its Savior, when "Jesus began to be sorrowful and very
heavy... and his soul was exceedingly sorrowful even unto death," when
He died on the Cross, "normal life" came to its end and is no longer
possible. For there were "normal" men who shouted "Crucify Him [" who
spat at Him and nailed Him to the Cross. And they hated and killed Him
precisely because He was troubling their normal life. It was indeed a
perfectly "normal" world which preferred darkness and death to light
and life.... By the death of Jesus the "normal" world, and "normal"
life were irrevocably condemned. Or rather they revealed their true
and abnormal inability to receive the Light, the terrible power of
evil in them. "Now is the Judgment of this world" (John 12:31). The
Pascha of Jesus signified its end to "this world" and it has been at
its end since then. This end can last for hundreds of centuries this
does not alter the nature of time in which we live as the "last time."
"The fashion of this world passeth away..." (I Cor. 7:31).
Pascha means passover, passage. The feast of Passover was for the Jews
the annual commemoration of their whole history as salvation, and of
salvation as passage from the slavery of Egypt into freedom, from
exile into the promised land. It was also the anticipation of the
ultimate passage - into the Kingdom of God. And Christ was the
fulfillment of Pascha. He performed the ultimate passage: from death
into life, from this "old world" into the new world into the new time
of the Kingdom. And he opened the possibility of this passage to us.
Living in "this world" we can already be "not of this world," i.e. be
free from slavery to death and sin, partakers of the "world to come."
But for this we must also perform our own passage, we must condemn the
old Adam in us, we must put on Christ in the baptismal death and have
our true life hidden in God with Christ, in the "world to come...."
And thus Easter is not an annual commemoration, solemn and beautiful,
of a past event. It is this Event itself shown, given to us, as always
efficient, always revealing our world, our time, our life as being at
their end, and announcing the Beginning of the new life.... And the
function of the three first days of Holy Week is precisely to
challenge us with this ultimate meaning of Pascha and to prepare us to
the understanding and acceptance of it.
1. This eschatological (which means ultimate, decisive, final)
challenge is revealed, first, in the common troparion of these days:
Troparion - Tone 8 Behold the Bridegroom comes at midnight, And
blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching, And again unworthy
is the servant whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my
soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, Lest you be given up to death
and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom. But rouse yourself crying:
Holy, Holy, Holy, are You, O our God! Through the Theotokos have mercy
on us!
Midnight is the moment when the old day comes to its end and a new day
begins. It is thus the symbol of the time in which we live as
Christians. For, on the one hand, the Church is still in this world,
sharing in its weaknesses and tragedies. Yet, on the other hand, her
true being is not of this world, for she is the Bride of Christ and
her mission is to announce and to reveal the coming of the Kingdom and
of the new day. Her life is a perpetual watching and expectation, a
vigil pointed at the dawn of this new day. But we know how strong is
still our attachment to the "old day," to the world with its passions
and sins. We know how deeply we still belong to "this world." We have
seen the light, 'We know Christ, we have heard about the peace and joy
of the new life in Him, and yet the world holds us in its slavery.
This weakness, this constant betrayal of Christ, this incapacity to
give the totality of our love to the only true object of love are
wonderfully expressed in the exapostilarion of these three days:
"Thy Bridal Chamber I see adorned, O my Savior And I have no wedding
garment that I may enter, O Giver of life, enlighten the vesture of my
soul And save me."
2. The same theme develops further in the Gospel readings of these
days. First of all, the entire text of the four Gospels (up to John
13: 31) is read at the Hours (1, 3, 6 and 9th). This recapitulation
shows that the Cross is the climax of the whole life and ministry of
Jesus, the Key to their proper understanding. Everything in the Gospel
leads to this ultimate hour of Jesus and everything is to be
understood in its light. Then, each service has its special Gospel
lesson :
On Monday:
At Matins: Matthew 21: 18-43 - the story of the fig tree, the symbol
of the world created to bear spiritual fruits and failing in its
response to God.
At the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts: Matthew 24: 3-35: the great
eschatological discourse of Jesus. The signs and announcement of the
End. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass
away...."
"When the Lord was going to His voluntary Passion, He said to His
Apostles on the way: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, And the Son of Man
shall be delivered up As it is written of Him. Come, therefore, and
let us accompany Him, With minds purified from the pleasures of this
life, And let us be crucified and die with Him, That we may live with
Him, And that we may hear Him say to us: I go now, not to the earthly
Jerusalem to suffer, But unto My Father and your Father And My God and
your God, And I will gather you up into the heavenly Jerusalem, Into
the Kingdom of Heaven...." (Monday Matins)
by THE VERY REV. ALEXANDER SCHMEMANN
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Venerable Titus the Wonderworker
Saint Titus the Wonderworker displayed zeal for the monastic life from
his youth. He pursued asceticism in the ninth century at the Studion
monastery near Constantinople. By his deeds of fasting, purity of life
and mild disposition, St Titus gained the love of the brethren, and at
their request he was ordained priest.
Fervent of faith, the saint stood up for the Orthodox veneration of
icons during the Iconoclast persecution. Because of his virtuous life,
God granted him the gift of wonderworking. The saint was translated to
the Lord in his old age.
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Martyr Amphianus (Apphianus) of Lycia
The Holy Martyrs Amphianus and Edesius were brothers. They lived in
the city of Patara (province of Lycia) in the family of the pagan
governor. They went to the city of Beirut to study the pagan sciences.
There they became ardent followers of Christ.
The holy brothers left their pagan parents and went to Alexandrian
Caesarea, where they found an instructor, St Pamphilius (February 16),
and under his guidance they became accomplished in the spiritual life,
spending their time in prayer and the study of sacred books.
By decree of the emperor Maximian (305-313), a zealous pagan and cruel
persecutor of Christians, all the inhabitants of Caesarea were
required to offer public sacrifice. Many Christians, including Sts
Amphianus and Edesius, had to hide in order to avoid sacrificing to
idols.
When the city prefect of Caesarea was about to offer sacrifice to
idols, St Amphianus boldly went into the temple, took the prefect's
hand, and urged him to abandon his error and believe in Christ.
By order of the governor, soldiers seized St Amphianus, fiercely beat
him and then threw him in prison. Two days later they led him to
trial, where they beat him with iron rods and burned his body with
bundles of flax soaked in oil.
The brave youth, steadfastly confessing his faith in Christ, was then
thrown into the sea with a stone about his neck. Suddenly a storm
arose, and the waves carried the martyr's body to shore, where it was
buried by Christians.
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Martyr Edesius (Aidesius) of Lycia
The Holy Martyrs Edesius and Amphianus were brothers. They lived in
the city of Patara (province of Lycia) in the family of the pagan
governor. They went to the city of Beirut to study the pagan sciences.
There they became ardent followers of Christ.
The holy brothers left their pagan parents and went to Alexandrian
Caesarea, where they found an instructor, St Pamphilius (February 16),
and under his guidance they became accomplished in the spiritual life,
spending their time in prayer and the study of sacred books.
By decree of the emperor Maximian (305-313), a zealous pagan and cruel
persecutor of Christians, all the inhabitants of Caesarea were
required to offer public sacrifice. Many Christians, including Sts
Amphianus and Edesius, had to hide in order to avoid sacrificing to
idols.
Amphianus was arrested when he tried to prevent the city prefect of
Caesarea from offering sacrifice. He was tortured, then thrown into
the sea with a stone about his neck. Suddenly a storm arose, and the
waves carried the martyr's body to shore, where it was buried by
Christians. The martyr's brother, St Edesius, was tortured and sent to
the copper mines.
After a while they freed St Edesius and sent him to Alexandria. There
he boldly denounced the governor Hierokles for his extreme cruelty
towards Christians. St Edesius was tortured and then drowned.
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Martyr Polycarp of Alexandria
The Holy Martyr Polycarp suffered for his bold denunciation of the
emperor Maxmian (305-313) for spilling innocent Christian blood in the
city of Alexandria.
He openly confessed himself a Christian and went to voluntary torture.
After cruel sufferings, the martyr was beheaded.
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St George Matskevereli of Georgia
No information available at this time.
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