[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Sun Feb 24 05:00:31 CST 2008

Scripture Readings and Saints for Sun Feb 24 2008

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Composite 8  - Isaiah 40, 41, 45, 48, 54 (Vespers, 1st Reading)
Thus saith the Lord: "Comfort, comfort My people," says God. "Speak to
the heart of Jerusalem, you Priests, comfort her, for her humiliation
is increased, her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the
Lord's hand double for her sins. The voice of one crying in the
wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight the paths of
our God.'
"Go up to a high mountain, you who are proclaiming glad tidings to
Zion, lift up your voice with strength, O herald of good tidings to
Jerusalem. Lift it up, fear not! I the Lord God, I have heard the poor
of Israel and will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the
mountains, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the
deserts pools of water, and the thirsty landsprings of water. Let the
heavens rejoice from above, and let the clouds rain down
righteousness; let the earth bring forth, and let it sprout forth
mercy and cause righteousness to shine forth also.
"Declare this with a shout of joy, and let this be known, proclaim it
to the end of the earth. Say, 'The Lord hath redeemed His servant
Jacob!' And if they thirst, he shall lead them through the desert, He
shall bring forth water for them out of the rock. Rejoice, O barren
one who did not bear; break forth _into singing_ and cry loud, you who
have not been in travail! For more are the children of the desolate
one than of her who has a husband."
Scripture Reading 1 of 8

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Composite 9  - Malachi 3, 4 (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
_Thus saith the Lord Almighty:_ "Behold, I send My messenger before
Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before thee, and the Lord whom you
seek, shall come into His temple. But who can endure the day of His
coming? For he is coming like fire of a furnace and like the fuller's
herb; and he shall cleanse, refining and purifying, as it were, silver
and gold. And he comes to you with judgment, and will be a swift
witness against the evil ones and against adulterers, and against
those who swear falsely by My name, against those who withhold the
hireling's wages, against those who oppress widows and beat orphans,
against those who avoid judgment in favor of strangers, and against
those who do not fear him," says the Lord Almighty.
"For I am the Lord your God, and I change not; and you, the sons of
Jacob, have turned aside from the law and have not kept it. Return to
Me, therefore, and I will return to you," says the Lord Almighty. "And
all nations shall call you blessed, and they shall understand that I
am the Lord, who distinguishes between the righteous and between the
transgressors on that day, in which I shall act to spare those who
love me.
"Know, therefore, and remember the Law of Moses, My servant, as I
commanded you at Horeb, the statues and ordinances for all Israel. And
behold, I will send to you Elijah the Tishbite before the great and
glorious day of the Lord comes, who shall turn the heart of a father
to his son, and the heart of a man to his neighbor, lest I come
quickly and smite the earth," _saith the Lord Almighty, God, the One
of Israel._
Scripture Reading 2 of 8

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Composite 3  - Wisdom of Solomon 4, 5 (Vespers, 3rd Reading)
The righteous man, though he die early, will be at rest. The righteous
man who has died will judge the ungodly who are living. For they will
see the end of the righteous, and will not understand what was said
about him; for the Lord will cast down the ungodly speechless to the
ground and shake them from the foundations; they shall become desolate
to the end; they will be in sorrows, and their memory will perish. For
they will come with fear at the thought of their sins, and their
iniquities shall stand against them to convict them.
Then the righteous man will stand with great boldness before those who
have afflicted him, and those who have made of no account his labors.
Having seen it, they shall be troubled with much fear and they will be
amazed at his most-glorious salvation. They will say within themselves
in repentance, in anguish of spirit they will groan and say: "This was
he whom we had sometimes in derision and a proverb of reproach - we
fools! We accounted his life as madness, and his end to be without
honor. How is he numbered among the sons of God? And why is his lot
among the Saints?
"Therefore, we have erred from the way of truth, and the light of
righteousness did not illumine us, nor did the sun shine on us. We
took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction, and we
walked impassible pathways, but the way of the Lord we have not
known."
Scripture Reading 3 of 8

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Luke 24:36-53  (6th Matins Gospel)
36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of
them, and said to them, "Peace to you."
37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen
a spirit.
38 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise
in your hearts?
39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and
see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.
40 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said
to them, "Have you any food here?"
42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.
43 And He took it and ate in their presence.
44 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you
while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which
were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms
concerning Me."
45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the
Scriptures.
46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was
necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third
day,
47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His
name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 And you are witnesses of these things.
49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the
city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.
50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands
and blessed them.
51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from
them and carried up into heaven.
52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.
Scripture Reading 4 of 8

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1 Corinthians 6:12-20  (Epistle)
12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All
things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of
any.
13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will
destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality
but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His
power.
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I
then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot?
Certainly not!
16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body
with her? For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh."
17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the
body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body
and in your spirit, which are God's.
Scripture Reading 5 of 8

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2 Corinthians 4:6-15   (Epistle, Forerunner)
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who
has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of
the power may be of God and not of us.
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that
the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that
the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is
written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and
therefore speak,
14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up
with Jesus, and will present us with you.
15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread
through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of
God.
Scripture Reading 6 of 8

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Luke 15:11-32  (Gospel)
11 Then He said: "A certain man had two sons.
12 And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the
portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his
livelihood.
13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together,
journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with
prodigal living.
14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that
land, and he began to be in want.
15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and
he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the
swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's
hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with
hunger!
18 'I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I
have sinned against heaven and before you,
19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one
of your hired servants. '
20 And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great
way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on
his neck and kissed him.
21 And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and
in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22 But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and
put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
23 'And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be
merry;
24 'for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is
found.' And they began to be merry.
25 Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to
the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has
received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'
28 But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out
and pleaded with him.
29 So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have
been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time;
and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with
my friends.
30 'But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your
livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'
31 And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I
have is yours.
32 'It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your
brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' "
Scripture Reading 7 of 8

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Matthew 11:2-15  (Gospel, Forerunner)
2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent
two of his disciples
3 and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for
another?"
4 Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which
you hear and see:
5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the
deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel
preached to them.
6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.
7 As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning
John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken
by the wind?
8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments?
Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and
more than a prophet.
10 For this is he of whom it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger
before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.'
11 Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not
risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of
heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.
15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Scripture Reading 8 of 8

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Sunday of the Prodigal Son
The Sunday after the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee is the
Sunday of the Prodigal Son. This parable of God's forgiveness calls us
to come to ourselves" as did the prodigal son, to see ourselves as
being "in a far country" far from the Father's house, and to make the
journey of return to God. We are given every assurance by the Master
that our heavenly Father will receive us with joy and gladness. We
must only "arise and go," confessing our self-inflicted and sinful
separation from that "home" where we truly belong (Luke 15:11-24).
After the Polyeleion at Matins, we first hear the lenten hymn "By the
Waters of Babylon." It will be sung for the next two Sundays before
Lent begins, and it serves to reinforce the theme of exile in today's
Gospel.
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First and second finding of the Honorable Head of the Holy
Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, John
After the Beheading of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John
(August 29), his body was buried by disciples in the Samarian city of
Sebaste, and his venerable head was hidden by Herodias in an unclean
place. St Joanna (June 27), the wife of King Herod's steward Chuza
(Luke 8:3), secretly took the holy head and placed it into a vessel
and buried it on the Mount of Olives in one of Herod's properties.
After many years, this property passed into the possession of a
government official who became a monk with the name of Innocent. He
built a church and a cell there. When they started to dig the
foundation, the vessel with the venerable head of John the Baptist was
uncovered. Innocent recognized its great holiness from the signs of
grace emanating from it. Thus occurred the First Finding of the Head.
Innocent preserved it with great piety, but fearful that the holy
relic might be abused by unbelievers, before his own death he again
hid it in that same place, where it was found. Upon his death the
church fell into ruin and was destroyed.
During the days of St Constantine the Great (May 21), when
Christianity began to flourish, the holy Forerunner appeared twice to
two monks journeying to Jerusalem on pilgrimage to the holy places,
and he revealed the location of his venerable head.
The monks uncovered the holy relic and, placing it into a sack of
camel-hair, they proceeded homewards. Along the way they encountered
an unnamed potter and gave him the precious burden to carry. Not
knowing what he was carrying, the potter continued on his way. But the
holy Forerunner appeared to him and ordered him to flee from the
careless and lazy monks, with what he held in his hands. The potter
concealed himself from the monks and at home he preserved the
venerable head with reverence. Before his death he placed it in a
water jug and gave it to his sister.
>From that time the venerable head was successively preserved by devout
Christians, until the priest Eustathius (infected with the Arian
heresy) came into possession of it. He beguiled a multitude of the
infirm who had been healed by the holy head, ascribing their cures to
the fact that it was in the possession of an Arian. When his blasphemy
was uncovered, he was compelled to flee. After he buried the holy
relic in a cave, near Emesa, the heretic intended to return later and
use it for disseminating falsehood. God, however, did not permit this.
Pious monks settled in the cave, and then a monastery arose at this
place. In the year 452 St John the Baptist appeared to Archimandrite
Marcellus of this monastery, and indicated where his head was hidden.
This became celebrated as the Second Finding. The holy relic was
transferred to Emesa, and later to Constantinople.
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Venerable Erasmus of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Erasmus of the Kiev Caves St Simon, Bishop of Vladimir (May 10),
wrote about him to his friend St Polycarp (July 24): "At the Caves was
Erasmus the black-robed. He acquired a legacy of fame because he used
everything he possessed for the adornment of the monastery church. He
donated many icons, which even now may be seen over the altar.
The saint experienced great temptations after he had given away his
wealth. The Evil One began to suggest to him that he should have given
the money to the poor, rather than spend it on the beautification of
the church. St Erasmus did not understand such thoughts, so he fell
into despondency and began to live in a careless manner. Because of
his former virtue the gracious and merciful God saved him. He sent him
a grievous illness, and the monk lay near death.
In this sickness Erasmus lay for seven days, unable to see or speak,
and hardly breathing. On the eighth day the brethren came to him and,
seeing the difficulty of his approaching death, said,"Woe to the soul
of this brother, for he lived in idleness and in sin. Now his soul
beholds something and tarries, not having the strenght to leave the
body."
Erasmus suddenly got up, as though he had not been ill, and said to
the monks, "Fathers and brethren! It is true that I am a sinner, and
have not repented, as you said. Today, however, our monastic fathers
Anthony and Theodosius have appeared to me, and said: 'We have prayed
for you, and the Lord has given you time for repentance.' Then I saw
the All-Pure Mother of God with Christ in Her arms, and She said to
me, 'Erasmus, since you adorned My Church with icons, I will also
adorn you and exalt you in the Kingdom of my Son! Arise, repent, take
the angelic schema, and on the third day you will be taken from this
life.'
Having said this, Erasmus began to confess his sins before all without
shame, then went to church and was clothed in the schema, and on the
third day he died." St Erasmus was buried in the Near Caves. His
memory is also celebrated on September 28 and on the second Sunday of
Great Lent.
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