[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

[Daily Orthodox Readings and Saints]

Scripture Readings and Saints for Tue Dec 25 2007

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Matthew 1:18-25  (Matins Gospel)
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary
was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with
child of the Holy Spirit.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make
her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not
be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived
in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS,
for He will save His people from their sins.
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they
shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, "God with us."
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord
commanded him and took to him his wife,
25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.
And he called His name JESUS.
Scripture Reading 1 of 3


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Galatians 4:4-7
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the
adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son
into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"
7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an
heir of God through Christ.
Scripture Reading 2 of 3


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Matthew 2:1-12
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod
the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have
seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem
with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the
people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written
by the prophet:
6 But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among
the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will
shepherd My people Israel.' "
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined
from them what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for
the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me,
that I may come and worship Him also."
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which
they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood
over where the young Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child
with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they
had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return
to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
Scripture Reading 3 of 3



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------ SAINTS/FEASTS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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The Nativity of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, was born of the Most
Holy Virgin Mary in the city of Bethlehem during the reign of the
emperor Augustus (Octavian). Caesar Augustus decreed that a universal
census be made throughout his Empire, which then also included
Palestinian Israel. The Jews were accustomed to be counted in the city
from where their family came. The Most Holy Virgin and the Righteous
Joseph, since they were descended from the house and lineage of King
David, had to go to Bethlehem to be counted and taxed.
In Bethlehem they found no room at any of the city's inns. Thus, the
God-Man, the Savior of the world, was born in a cave that was used as
a stable.
"I behold a strange and most glorious mystery," the Church sings with
awe, "Heaven, a Cave; the Virgin the Throne of the Cherubim; the
Manger a room, in which Christ, the God Whom nothing can contain is
laid." (Irmos of the 9th Ode of the Nativity Canon).
Having given birth to the divine Infant without travail, the Most Holy
Virgin "wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger"
(Luke 2:7). In the stillness of midnight (Wisdom of Solomon 18:14-15),
the proclamation of the birth of the Savior of the world was heard by
three shepherds watching their flocks by night.
An angel of the Lord (St Cyprian says this was Gabriel) came before
them and said: "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11).
The humble shepherds were the first to offer worship to Him Who
condescended to assume the form of a humble servant for the salvation
of mankind. Besides the glad tidings to the Bethlehem shepherds, the
Nativity of Christ was revealed to the Magi by a wondrous star. St
John Chrysostom and St Theophylactus, commenting on St Matthew's
Gospel, say that this was no ordinary star. Rather, it was "a divine
and angelic power that appeared in the form of a star." St Demetrius
of Rostov says it was a "manifestation of divine energy" (Narrative of
the Adoration of the Magi). Entering the house where the Infant lay,
the Magi "fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened
their treasures, they presented Him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and
myrrh" (Mt. 2:11).
The present Feast, commemorating the Nativity in the flesh of our Lord
Jesus Christ, was established by the Church. Its origin goes back to
the time of the Apostles. In the Apostolic Constitutions (Section 3,
13) it says, "Brethren, observe the feastdays; and first of all the
Birth of Christ, which you are to celebrate on the twenty-fifth day of
the ninth month." In another place it also says, "Celebrate the day of
the Nativity of Christ, on which unseen grace is given man by the
birth of the Word of God from the Virgin Mary for the salvation of the
world."
In the second century St Clement of Alexandria also indicates that the
day of the Nativity of Christ is December 25. In the third century St
Hippolytus of Rome mentions the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, and
appoints the Gospel readings for this day from the opening chapters of
St Matthew.
In 302, during the persecution of Christians by Maximian, 20,000
Christians of Nicomedia (December 28) were burned in church on the
very Feast of the Nativity of Christ. In that same century, after the
persecution when the Church had received freedom of religion and had
become the official religion in the Roman Empire, we find the Feast of
the Nativity of Christ observed throughout the entire Church. There is
evidence of this in the works of St Ephraim the Syrian, St Basil the
Great, St Gregory the Theologian, St Gregory of Nyssa, St Ambrose of
Milan, St John Chrysostom and other Fathers of the Church of the
fourth century.
St John Chrysostom, in a sermon which he gave in the year 385, points
out that the Feast of the Nativity of Christ is ancient, and indeed
very ancient. In this same century, at the Cave of Bethlehem, made
famous by the Birth of Jesus Christ, the empress St Helen built a
church, which her mighty son Constantine adorned after her death. In
the Codex of the emperor Theodosius from 438, and of the emperor
Justinian in 535, the universal celebration of the day of the Nativity
of Christ was decreed by law. Thus, Nicephorus Callistus, a writer of
the fourteenth century, says in his History that in the sixth century,
the emperor Justinian established the celebration of the Nativity of
Christ throughout all the world.
Patriarch Anatolius of Constantinople in the fifth century, Sophronius
and Andrew of Jerusalem in the seventh, Sts John of Damascus, Cosmas
of Maium and Patriarch Germanus of Constantinople in the eighth, the
Nun Cassiane in the ninth, and others whose names are unknown, wrote
many sacred hymns for the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, which are
still sung by the Church on this radiant festival.
During the first three centuries, in the Churches of Jerusalem,
Antioch, Alexandria and Cyprus, the Nativity of Christ was combined
together with the Feast of His Baptism on January 6, and called
"Theophany" ("Manifestation of God"). This was because of a belief
that Christ was baptized on anniversary of His birth, which may be
inferred from St John Chrysostom's sermon on the Nativity of Christ:
"it is not the day on which Christ was born which is called Theophany,
but rather that day on which He was baptized."
In support of such a view, it is possible to cite the words of the
Evangelist Luke who says that "Jesus began to be about thirty years of
age" (Luke 3:23) when He was baptized. The joint celebration of the
Nativity of Christ and His Theophany continued to the end of the
fourth century in certain Eastern Churches, and until the fifth or
sixth century in others.
The present order of services preserves the memory of the ancient
joint celebration of the Feasts of the Nativity of Christ and
Theophany. On the eve of both Feasts, there is a similar tradition
that one should fast until the stars appear. The order of divine
services on the eve of both feastdays and the feastdays themselves is
the same.
The Nativity of Christ has long been counted as one of the Twelve
Great Feasts. It is one of the greatest, most joyful and wondrous
events in the history of the world. The angel said to the shepherds,
"Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
Who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: you shall
find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Then
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts,
glorifying God and saying: Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth
peace, good will toward men." Those who heard these things were
astonished at what the shepherds told them concerning the Child. And
the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things
that they had heard and seen" (Luke 2:10-20).
Thus the Nativity of Christ, a most profound and extraordinary event,
was accompanied by the wondrous tidings proclaimed to the shepherds
and to the Magi. This is a cause of universal rejoicing for all
mankind, "for the Savior is Born!"
Concurring with the witness of the Gospel, the Fathers of the Church,
in their God-inspired writings, describe the Feast of the Nativity of
Christ as most profound, and joyous, serving as the basis and
foundation for all the other Feasts.
_Christ is Born! Glorify Him! _
See also: Discourse on the Nativity of Christ by Saint Gregory
Thaumatourgos, Bishop of Neocaesarea.
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The Adoration of the Magi
The Nativity of Christ was revealed to the Magi by a wondrous star. St
John Chrysostom and St Theophylactus, commenting on St Matthew's
Gospel, say that this was no ordinary star. Rather, it was "a divine
and angelic power that appeared in the form of a star." St Demetrius
of Rostov says it was a "manifestation of divine energy" (Narrative of
the Adoration of the Magi). Entering the house where the Infant lay,
the Magi "fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened
their treasures, they presented Him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and
myrrh" (Mt. 2:11).
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St Melchior of the Magi
The names of the three Wise Men (Magi) do not appear in the Gospels.
The tradition that there were three visitors from the east is very
ancient, but their names are only mentioned in the Middle Ages. The
tradition that one of them was a Negro dates from the fifteenth
century.
Bones reputed to be the relics of the three kings have been in the
cathedral at Cologne, Germany since 1164.
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St Gaspar of the Magi
The names of the three Wise Men (Magi) do not appear in the Gospels.
The tradition that there were three visitors from the east is very
ancient, but their names are only mentioned in the Middle Ages. The
tradition that one of them was a Negro dates from the fifteenth
century.
Bones reputed to be the relics of the three kings have been in the
cathedral at Cologne, Germany since 1164.
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St Balthasar of the Magi
The names of the three Wise Men (Magi) do not appear in the Gospels.
The tradition that there were three visitors from the east is very
ancient, but their names are only mentioned in the Middle Ages. The
tradition that one of them was a Negro dates from the fifteenth
century.
Bones reputed to be the relics of the three kings have been in the
cathedral at Cologne, Germany since 1164.
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Commemoration of the Shepherds in Bethlehem who were watching
their flocks, and went to see the Lord
In the stillness of midnight (Wisdom of Solomon 18:14-15), the
proclamation of the birth of the Savior of the world was heard by
three shepherds watching their flocks by night.
An angel of the Lord (St Cyprian says this was Gabriel) came before
them and said: "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11).
The humble shepherds were the first to offer worship to Him Who
condescended to assume the form of a humble servant for the salvation
of mankind.
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Monkmartyr Jonah and with him 50 Monks and 65 Laymen at St
Tryphon of Pechenga Monastery, by the Swedes
No information available at this time
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65 Laymen martyred with the Monkmartyr Jonah at St Tryphon of
Pechenga Monastery, by the Swedes
No information available at this time
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50 Monks martyred with the Monkmartyr Jonah at St Tryphon of
Pechenga Monastery, by the Swedes
No information available at this time
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