[Readingsandsaints] Readings and saints

Wed Apr 25 05:00:39 CDT 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Wed Apr 25 2007

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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James 1:1-12  (Vespers, 1st Reading)
1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the
twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all
liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is
like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the
Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,
10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field
he will pass away.
11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers
the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So
the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been
approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has
promised to those who love Him.
Scripture Reading 1 of 6

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James 1:13-27  (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God
cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires
and enticed.
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin,
when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes
down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or
shadow of turning.
18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we
might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow
to speak, slow to wrath;
20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and
receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your
souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a
man observing his natural face in a mirror;
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what
kind of man he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in
it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one
will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his
tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to
visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself
unspotted from the world.
Scripture Reading 2 of 6

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James 2:1-13  (Vespers, 3rd Reading)
1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lord of glory, with partiality.
2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings,
in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy
clothes,
3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to
him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You
stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool,"
4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges
with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this
world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised
to those who love Him?
6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you
and drag you into the courts?
7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You
shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well;
9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the
law as transgressors.
10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point,
he is guilty of all.
11 For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not
murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you
have become a transgressor of the law.
12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of
liberty.
13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.
Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Scripture Reading 3 of 6

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Luke 10:1-15  (Matins, Gospel)
1 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent
them two by two before His face into every city and place where He
Himself was about to go.
2 Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers
are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers
into His harvest.
3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.
4 Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one
along the road.
5 But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.'
6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not,
it will return to you.
7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as
they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from
house to house.
8 Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as
are set before you.
9 And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has
come near to you.'
10 But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out
into its streets and say,
11 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against
you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near
you.'
12 But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for
Sodom than for that city.
13 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty
works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they
would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14 But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment
than for you.
15 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down
to Hades.
Scripture Reading 4 of 6

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1 Peter 5:6-14  (St. Mark)
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He
may exalt you in due time,
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings
are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by
Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish,
strengthen, and settle you.
11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
12 By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written
to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace
of God in which you stand.
13 She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so
does Mark my son.
14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in
Christ Jesus. Amen.
Scripture Reading 5 of 6

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Mark 6:7-13  (St. Mark)
7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two
by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.
8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff-no
bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts-
9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.
10 Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay
there till you depart from that place.
11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from
there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.
Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and
Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that cit
12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.
13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were
sick, and healed them.
Scripture Reading 6 of 6

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Apostle and Evangelist Mark
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, also known as John Mark (Acts
12:12), was one of the Seventy Apostles, and was also a nephew of St
Barnabas (June 11). He was born at Jerusalem. The house of his mother
Mary adjoined the Garden of Gethsemane. As Church Tradition relates,
on the night that Christ was betrayed he followed after Him, wrapped
only in a linen cloth. He was seized by soldiers, and fled away naked,
leaving the cloth behind (Mark 14:51-52). After the Ascension of the
Lord, the house of his mother Mary became a place where Christians
gathered, and a place of lodging for some of the Apostles (Acts
12:12).
St Mark was a very close companion of the Apostles Peter and Paul
(June 29) and Barnabas. St Mark was at Seleucia with Paul and
Barnabas, and from there he set off to the island of Cyprus, and he
traversed the whole of it from east to west. In the city of Paphos, St
Mark witnessed the blinding of the sorcerer Elymas by St Paul (Acts
13:6-12).
After working with the Apostle Paul, St Mark returned to Jerusalem,
and then went to Rome with the Apostle Peter. From there, he set out
for Egypt, where he established a local Church.
St Mark met St Paul in Antioch. From there he went with St Barnabas to
Cyprus, and then he went to Egypt again, where he and St Peter founded
many churches. Then he went to Babylon. From this city the Apostle
Peter sent an Epistle to the Christians of Asia Minor, in which he
calls St Mark his son (1 Pet 5:13).
When the Apostle Paul came to Rome in chains, St Mark was at Ephesus,
where St Timothy (January 4) was bishop. St Mark went with him to
Rome. There he also wrote his holy Gospel (ca. 62-63).
>From Rome St Mark traveled to Egypt. In Alexandria he started a
Christian school, which later produced such famous Fathers and
teachers of the Church as Clement of Alexandria, St Dionysius of
Alexandria (October 5), St Gregory Thaumatourgos (November 5), and
others. Zealous for Church services, St Mark composed a Liturgy for
the Christians of Alexandria.
St Mark preached the Gospel in the inner regions of Africa, and he was
in Libya at Nektopolis.
During these journeys, St Mark was inspired by the Holy Spirit to go
again to Alexandria and confront the pagans. There he visited the home
of Ananias, and healed his crippled hand. The dignitary happily took
him in, listened to his words, and received Baptism.
Following the example of Ananias, many of the inhabitants of that part
of the city where he lived were also baptized. This roused the enmity
of the pagans, and they wanted to kill St Mark. Having learned of
this, St Mark made Ananias a bishop, and the three Christians Malchos,
Sabinos, and Kerdinos were ordained presbyters to provide the church
with leadership after his death.
The pagans seized St Mark when he was serving the Liturgy. They beat
him, dragged him through the streets and threw him in prison. There St
Mark was granted a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who strengthened
him before his sufferings. On the following day, the angry crowd again
dragged the saint through the streets to the courtroom, but along the
way St Mark died saying, "Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend my
spirit."
The pagans wanted to burn the saint's body, but when they lit the
fire, everything grew dark, thunder crashed, and there was an
earthquake. The pagans fled in terror, and Christians took up the body
of St Mark and buried it in a stone crypt. This was on April 4, 63.
The Church celebrates his memory on April 25.
In the year 310, a church was built over the relics of St Mark. In
820, when the Moslem Arabs had established their rule in Egypt and
oppressed the Christian Church, the relics of St Mark were transferred
to Venice and placed in the church named for him.
In the ancient iconographic tradition, which adopted symbols for the
holy Evangelists borrowed from the vision of St John the Theologian
(Rev 4:7) and the prophecy of Ezekiel (Ez. 1:10), the holy Evangelist
Mark is represented by a lion, symbolizing the might and royal dignity
of Christ (Rev 5:5).
St Mark wrote his Gospel for Gentile Christians, emphasizing the words
and deeds of the Savior which reveal His divine Power. Many aspects of
his account can be explained by his closeness to St Peter. The ancient
writers say that the Gospel of Mark is a concise record of St Peter's
preaching.
One of the central theological themes in the Gospel of St Mark is the
power of God achieving what is humanly impossible. The Apostles
performed remarkable miracles with Christ (Mark 16:20) and the Holy
Spirit (Mark 13:11) working through them. His disciples were told to
go into the world and preach the Gospel to all creatures (Mark 13:10,
16:15), and that is what they did.
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Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora
Saint Sylvester of Obnora was a disciple and novice under St Sergius
of Radonezh (September 25 and July 5). After completing his obedience
at the Trinity monastery, St Sylvester received a blessing to live
alone in the wilderness.
In the deep forest at the River Obnora, flowing into the River
Kostroma, he set up a cross at his chosen spot and began his ascetical
labors. For a long time no one knew about the holy hermit. His cell
was discovered by a peasant who had lost his way. He told the
distraught hermit that people had seen bright rays, and a pillar of
cloud above his habitation. The monk shed tears of sorrow, because the
place of his solitude had been discovered. The pilgrim besought the
saint to tell about himself.
St Sylvester said that he had been living there a long time, and that
he ate tree bark and roots. At first he became weak without bread, and
fell on the ground from his weakness. Then an angel appeared to him in
the guise of a wondrous man and touched his hand. From that moment St
Sylvester did not experience any distress. Another time, the peasant
came back to the saint and brought him bread and flour for reserve
supply.
This one meeting was sufficient for the exploits of the hermit to
become known to many. Soon peasants began to come to him from the
surrounding settlements. St Sylvester allowed them to build cells near
his.
When the brethren had gathered, St Sylvester went to Moscow and
petitioned St Alexis (February 12) to bless the construction of a
temple in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. The hierarch gave him
an antimension (a cloth containing relics of martyrs, necessary for
celebrating the Divine Liturgy), and made him igumen of the monastery.
With the construction of the church the number of brethren quickly
grew, and the saint frequently withdrew for solitary prayer in the
dense forest. This spot received the name "Commanded Grove," since St
Sylvester commanded that no trees should be cut there. In this grove
he dug three wells, and a fourth on the side of a hill at the River
Obnora. When the saint returned from his solitude, a number of people
awaited him at the monastery, and each wanted to receive his blessing
and hear his advice.
The saint fell into a fatal illness, and the brethren, who were
distressed whenever he went into seclusion, were even more distressed
about his approaching death. "Do not grieve about this, my beloved
brethren," he said to console them, "for everything is according to
the will of God. Keep the commandments of the Lord and don't be afraid
to suffer misfortune in this life, so you may receive a reward in
Heaven. If I have found boldness before the Lord and my life is
pleasing to Him, then this holy place will not diminish after my
departure. Pray to the Lord God and His All-Pure Mother, that you may
be delivered from temptation." St Sylvester died on April 25, 1479 and
was buried on the right side of the wooden Resurrection church.
A record of the saint's miracles has been preserved from the year
1645, in which twenty-three miracles are described. The saint healed
twelve people from demonic possession and delirium, and six others
from eye afflictions.
An edifying miracle occurred in 1645. The hieromonk Job of the
monastery ordered peasants to cut down the forbidden forest grove for
firewood, and he was struck blind. After four weeks he acknowledged
his sin, repented and vowed not to act on his own will, but to follow
the advice of the brethren. The hieromonk served a Molieben in church,
after which he was brought to the reliquary of St Sylvester, and there
he regained his sight.
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Icon of the Mother of God of Constantinople
The Constantinople Icon of the Theotokos is locally venerated at
Moscow's Dormition church on Malaya Dimitrovka. This image is
different from the Constantinople Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos
celebrated on September 17, although it appears to be a copy of it.
The wonderworking Constantinople Icon appeared on April 25, 1071.
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