The synaxis of the glorious and all-praiseworthy Twelve Apostles of Christ appears to be an ancient Feast. The church honors each of the Twelve Apostles on separate dates throughout the year, and has established general commemoration for all of them on the day after the commemoration of the glorious and and first-ranked among the apostles Peter and Paul. The holy God-crowned Emperor Constantine the Great built a church in Constantinople in honor of the Twelve Apostles. There are instructions for this Feast which date from the fourth century.

 

Troparion

Your preaching has spread over the whole earth, because you have received the Spirit in flaming tongues. You burned down the lies of idolatry, and you have caught the straying people with the net of faith. The heavens declare your glory for this, and the firmament proclaims your works. We join them in a song to your memory: Through the prayers of your twelve apostles, save us, O God.

 

Kontakion

Christ our Rock has exalted the foundation stone of faith, the chosen twelve from the disciples and Paul. As we observe their memory with faith, let us praise the One who glorifies them. 

 

Readings for the Feast

Epistle

1st Corinthians 4: 9-16

  Brothers and sisters: As I see it, God has put us apostles at the end of the line, like men doomed to die in the arena. We have become like a spectacle to the universe, to angels and men alike. We are fools on Christ’s account. Ah, but in Christ you are wise! We are the weak ones, you the strong! They honor you, while they sneer at us! Up to this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, poorly clad, roughly treated, wandering about homeless. We work hard at manual labor. When we are insulted we respond with a blessing. Persecution comes our way; we bear it patiently. We are slandered, and we try conciliation. We have become the world’s refuse, the scum of all; that is the present state of affairs. 

I am writing you this way not to shame you but to admonish you as my beloved children. Granted you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you have only one father. It was I who begot you in Christ Jesus through my preachings of the gospel. I beg you, be imitators of me. 

 

Gospel

Mark 3: 13-19

At that time Jesus went up the mountain and summoned the men he himself had decided on, who came to join him. He named twelve as his companions whom he would send to preach the good news; they were likewise to have authority to expel demons. He appointed the Twelve as follows: Simon to whom he gave the name Peter; James and John the sons of Zebedee (he gave these two names Boanerges, or “sons of thunder”); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus, Simon of the Zealot party, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 

 

Readings for the day

Epistle

Romans 16: 1-16

Brothers and sisters: I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deaconess of the church of Cenchreae. Please welcome her in the Lord, as saints should. If she needs help in anything, give it to her, for she herself has been of help to many, including myself.

Give greetings to Prisca and Aquila; they were my fellow workers in the service of Christ Jesus and even risked their lives for the sake of mine. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Remember me also to the congregation that meets in their house. Greetings to my beloved Epaenetus; he is the first offering that Asia made to Christ. My greetings to Mary, who has worked hard for you, and to Andronicus and Junias, my kinsman and fellow prisoners; they were outstanding apostles, and they were in Christ even before I was. Greetings to Ampliatus who is dear to me in the Lord; to Urbanus, our fellow worker in service of Christ; and to my beloved Stachys. Greetings to Apelles, who proved himself in Christ’s service, and to all who belong to the household of Aristobulus. Greetings to my kinsman Herodion and to the members of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Greetings too, to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard for the Lord; and also to dear Persis, who has labored long in the Lord’s service. Greetings to Rufus, a chosen servant of the Lord, and to his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. Greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them; to Philologus and Julia, to Nereus and his sister, to Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send you greetings.

 

Gospel

Matthew 13: 3-9

The Lord addressed the people at length in parables, speaking in this fashion: “One day a farmer went out sowing. Part of what he sowed landed on a footpath, where birds came and ate it up. Part of it fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprouted at once since the soil had no depth, but when the sun rose and scorched it, it began to wither for the lack of roots. Again, part of the seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked it. Part of it, finally, landed on good soil and yielded grain a hundred – or sixty – or thirtyfold. Let everyone heed what he hears!”

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

 

Simon, son of Jonah and brother of Andrew, was first among the disciples to confess that Jesus was Christ, the son of the living God. It was by Jesus that he was called Peter. Paul, Apostle of the gentiles, preached Christ crucified to the Jews and the Greeks. Both announced the Gospel of Jesus Christ in faith and love in the city of Rome and died martyrs under the emperor Nero. Peter, as the tradition goes, was nailed to a cross with his head downward and was buried in the Vatican next to the Triumphal Way. Paul received his punishment from the sword and was interred at the Ostian Way. Their triumph, equal in honor and veneration, is celebrated by the whole world on this day.

 

Troparion

Leaders of the apostles, teachers of the world, intercede with the Lord of All to grant peace to the world and abundant mercy to our souls.

 

Kontakion

Lord, You have received your steadfast and inspired preachers, the foremost of your apostles, into the enjoyment of Your good gifts and repose. You preferred their sufferings and death above any sacrifice. For You alone know the secrets of the heart. 

 

Readings for the Feast

Epistle

2nd Corinthians 11:21b – 12:9

Brothers and sisters: What anyone else dares to claim–I speak with absolute foolishness now–I, too, will dare. Are they Hebrews? So am I! Are they Israelites? So am I! Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I! Are they ministers of Christ? Now I am really talking like a fool–I am more; with my many more labors and imprisonments, with far worse beatings and frequent brushes with death. Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes less one; three times I was beaten with rods; I was stoned once, shipwrecked three times; I passed a day and a night on the sea. I traveled continually, endangered by floods, robbers, my own people, [and] the Gentiles; imperiled in the city, in the desert, at sea, by false brothers; enduring labor, hardship, many sleepless nights; in hunger and thirst and frequent fastings, in cold and nakedness. Leaving other sufferings unmentioned, there is that daily tension pressing on me, my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak that I am not affected by it? Who is scandalized that I am not aflame with indignation? If I must boast, I will make a point of my weakness. The God and father of the Lord Jesus knows–blessed be he forever–that I do not lie. In Damascus the ethnarch of King Aretas was keeping close watch on the city in order to arrest me, but I was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

I must go on boasting, however useless it may be, and speak of visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who, fourteen years ago, whether he was in or outside his body I cannot say, only God can say–a man who was snatched up to the third heaven. I know that this man–whether in or outside his body I do not know, God knows–was snatched up to Paradise to hear words which cannot be uttered, words which no man may speak. About this man I will boast; but I will do no boasting about myself unless it be about my weaknesses. And even if I were to boast it would not be folly in me because I would only be telling the truth.

But I refrain, lest anyone think more of me than what he sees in me or hears from my lips. As to the extraordinary revelations, in order that I might not become conceited I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to beat me and keep me from getting proud. Three times I begged the Lord that this might leave me. He said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for in weakness instead, that the power of Christ may rest upon you.

 

Gospel

Matthew 16: 13-19

When Jesus came to the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples this question: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptizer, other Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “And you,” Jesus said to them, “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!” Jesus replied, “Blest are you Simon son of Jonah! No mere man has revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. I for my part declare to you, you are ‘Rock,’ and on this rock I will build my church, and the jaws of death shall not prevail against it. I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you declare loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Readings for the day

Epistle 

Romans 15: 17-29

Brothers and sisters: This means I can take glory in Christ Jesus for the work I have done for God. I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has done through me to win the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed, with mighty signs and marvels, by the power of God’s Spirit. As a result, I have completed preaching the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyria. It has been a point of honor with me never to preach in places where Christ’s name was already known, for I did not want to build on a foundation laid by another but rather to fulfill the words of Scripture, “They who received no word of him will see him, and they who have never heard will understand.” 

That is why I have so often been hindered from visiting you. Now I have no more work to do in these regions, and I continue to cherish the desire to visit you which I have had for many years. As soon as I can set out for Spain, I hope to see you in passing; I trust that you will send me on my journey only after I have had the joy of being with you for a little while. Just now I am leaving for Jerusalem to bring assistance to the saints. Macedonia and Achaia have kindly decided to make a contribution for those in need among the saints in Jerusalem. They did so of their own accord, yet they are also under obligation. For if the Gentiles have shared in the spiritual blessings of the Jews, they ought to contribute to their temporal needs in return. When I have finished my task and have safely handed over this contribution to them, I shall set out for Spain, passing through your midst on the way. I am certain that when I do visit you, I shall come with Christ’s full blessing. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 12:46 – 13:3

At that time while Jesus was still addressing the crowds his mother and his brothers appeared outside to speak with him. Someone said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing out there and they wish to speak to you.” Jesus said to the one who had told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then, extending his hand toward his disciples, he said, “There are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is brother and sister and mother to me.”‘

That same day, on leaving the house, Jesus sat down by the lakeshore. Such great crowds gathered around him that he went and took his seat in a boat while the crowd stood along the shore. He addressed them at length in parables. 

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

 

The transfer of the relics of the holy martyrs, unmercinaries and Wonderworkers Cyrus and John from the city of Konopa, near Alexandria (where they suffered in the year 311) to the nearby village of Manuphin, took place in the year 412. This Egyptian village prompted fear in everyone since in a former time there was a pagan temple inhabited by evil spirits. Patriarch Theophilus (385-412) wanted to cleanse this place of demons, but he died. His wish was fulfilled by his successor, the holy Patriarch Cyril (412-444). As he prayed fervently, the patriarch had a vision of an angel of the Lord who commanded him to move the venerable relics of Saints Cyrus and John to Manuphin. His Holiness Patriarch Cyril did the angel’s bidding and built a church at Manuphin in the name of the holy martyrs.

 

Troparion

O Christ God, through the wonders of your holy martyrs, You have given us an invincible rampart. By their prayers disperse the council of unbelievers; strengthen the rule of your kingdom, for You alone are good and the Lover of Humankind.

 

Kontakion

After receiving the divine gift of healing, O holy ones, you ceaselessly work wonders in the world and invisibly remove all our sufferings by the art of your hands. O Cyrus, filled with God’s wisdom, and O glorious John, you are truly divine healers. 

 

Epistle

Romans 15: 7-16

Brothers and sisters: Accept one another, then, as Christ accepted you, for the glory of God. Yes, I affirm that Christ became the servant of the Jews because of God’s faithfulness in fulfilling the promises to the patriarchs, whereas the Gentiles glorify God because of his mercy. As Scripture has it, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles and I will sing to your name.” Again, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” And, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles and sing his glory, all you peoples.” Once more, Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will appear, he who will rise up to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles will find hope.” So may God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that through the power of the Holy Spirit you may have hope in abundance. 

I am convinced, my brothers, that you are filled with goodness, that you have complete knowledge, and that you are able to give advice to one another. Yet I have written to you rather boldly in parts of this letter by way of reminder. I take this liberty because God has given me the grace to be a minister of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles, with the priestly duty of preaching the gospel of God so that the Gentiles may be offered up as a pleasing sacrifice, consecrated by the Holy Spirit. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 12: 38-45

At that time some of the scribes and Pharisees spoke up, saying, “Teacher, we want to see you work some signs.” Jesus answered: “An evil and unfaithful age is eager for a sign! No sign will be given it but that of the prophet Jonah. Just as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man spend three days and three nights in the bowels of the earth. At the judgment, the citizens of Nineveh will rise with the present generation and be the ones to condemn it. At the preaching of Jonah they reformed their lives; but you have a greater than Jonah here. At the judgment, the queen of the South will rise with the present generation and be the one to condemn it. She came from the farthest corner of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; but you have a greater than Solomon here.

“When the unclean spirit departs from a man, it roams through arid wastes searching for a place of rest and finding none. Then it says, ‘I will go back where I came from,’ and returns to find the dwelling unoccupied, though swept and tidied now. Off it goes again to bring back with it this time seven spirits more evil than itself. They move in and settle there. Thus the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. And that is how it will be with this evil generation.”

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

 

Our venerable father Sampson the Hospitaller was the son of rich and illustrious Roman parents. In his youth he received an excellent education. He studied the medical arts and doctored the sick without charge. After the death of his parents, St. Sampson generously distributed alms and set his slaves free, preparing himself to go into the wilderness. With this intent in mind he soon journeyed from Rome to the East. But the Lord directed him into a different path, that of service to neighbor, and so St. Sampson came to Constantinople. Settling into a small house, the saint began to take in homeless wanderers, the poor and the sick, and he attended to them. The Lord blessed the efforts of St. Sampson and endowed him with the power of wonderworking. He healed the sick not only through being a skilled physician but also as a bearer of the grace of God. News of St. Sampson spread abroad. The patriarch heard of his great virtue and ordained him to the holy priesthood. It was revealed to the grievously ill Emperor Justinian (527-565), that he could receive healing only through St. Sampson. While praying, the saint put his hand on the afflicted area and Justinian was healed. In gratitude, the emperor wanted to reward his healer with silver and gold, but the saint refused and instead asked Justinian to build a home for the poor and the sick. The emperor readily fulfilled his request. St. Sampson devoted the rest of his life to serving his neighbor. 

 

Troparion

By your patience you reaped your reward, O venerable Father. Your prayers were without end as was your love and solicitude for the poor. Pray to Christ for our salvation, O blessed and merciful Sampson. 

 

Kontakion

You come quickly bearing heaven’s cures like some skillful doctor, O wise Sampson. We have assembled together with songs and chants, desiring to glorify Christ who works these marvels through you. 

 

Epistle

Romans 14: 9-18

Brothers and sisters: Christ died and came to life again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But you, how can you sit in judgment on your brother? Or you, how can you look down on your brother? We shall all have to appear before the judgment seat of God. It is written, “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me and every tongue shall give praise to God.”

Everyone of us will have to give an account of himself before God. Therefore we must no longer pass judgment on one another. Instead you should resolve to put no stumbling block or hindrance in your brother’s way. I know with certainty on the authority of the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; it is only when a man thinks something unclean that it becomes so for him. If, then, your brother feels remorse for the food he has eaten, you have ceased to follow the rule of love. You must not let the food you eat bring to ruin him for whom Christ died; neither may you allow your privilege to become an occasion for blasphemy. The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking, but of justice, peace, and the joy that is given by the Holy Spirit. Whoever serves Christ in this way pleases God and wins the esteem of men. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 12: 14-16, 22-30

At that time the Pharisees began to plot against Jesus to find a way to destroy him. Jesus was aware of this, and so he withdrew from that place.

Many people followed him and he cured them all, though he sternly ordered them not to make public what he had done. 

Then a possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus. Jesus cured the man so that he could speak and see. All in the crowd were astonished. “Might this not be David’s son?” they asked. When the Pharisees heard this, they charged, “This man can expel demons only with the help of Beelzebub, the prince of demons.” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them; “A kingdom torn by strife is headed for a downfall. A town or household split into factions cannot last for long. If Satan is expelling Satan, he must be torn by dissension. How, then, can his dominion last? If I expel demons with Beelzebub’s help, by whose help do your people expel them? Let them be the ones who judge you. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I expel demons, then the reign of God has overtaken you. How can anyone enter a strong man’s house and make off with his property unless he first ties him securely? Only then can he rob his house. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

 

Our venerable father David of Thessalonica pursued asceticism at the monastery of the Holy Martyrs Theodore and Mercurius. Inspired by the example of the holy stylites, he lived in an almond tree in constant prayer, keeping strict fast, and enduring heat and cold. He remained there for three years until an angel told him to come down. St. David received from God the gift of wonderworking, and he healed many from sickness. The holy ascetic gave spiritual counsel to all who came to him. Having attained passionlessness, he was like an angel in the flesh, and he was able to take hot coals into his hands without harm. He died in the year 540.

 

Troparion

Drowning out the noises of the world with hymns, you took up your abode in a tree in the midst of an orchard, O father. In your heart you left the world, and you ascended into heaven by your good works. There you have taken up your abode with the angels. O David, look down on us who keep your memory.

 

Kontakion

You were like a perpetually blossoming orchard, continually bearing fruit of the good works. You were like a bird with a beautiful song, O David. Within your heart, you found the tree of life in the Lord, even more surely than on the fields of paradise. You tended it carefully and nourished it with grace. Always pray for us, O blessed David. 

 

Epistle

Romans 12: 4-5, 15-21

Brothers and sisters: Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all the members have the same function, so too we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually one of another. 

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same attitude toward all. Put away ambitious thoughts and associate with those who are lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never repay injury with injury. See that your conduct is honorable in the eyes of all. If possible, live peacefully with everyone. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves; leave that to God’s wrath, for it is written: “‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” But “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; by doing this you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.  

 

Gospel

Matthew 12: 9-13

At that time Jesus went into their synagogue. A man with a shriveled hand happened to be there, and they put this request to Jesus, hoping to bring an accusation against him: “Is it lawful to work a cure on the sabbath?” Jesus said in response: “Suppose one you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath. Will he not take hold of it and pull it out? Well, think how much more precious a human being is than a sheep. Clearly, good deeds may be performed on the sabbath.” To the man he said: “Stretch out your hand.” The man did so, and the hand was perfectly restored; it became as sound as the other. 

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

 

The virgin martyr Febronia suffered during the reign of Diocletian (284-305). She was raised at a monastery in the city of Sivapolis in Assyria. The head of the women’s monastery was the abbess Bryaena, the aunt of St. Febronia. Being concerned about her niece’s salvation, Bryaena assigned Febronia a stricter form of life than the other nuns. According to their monastic rule, on Fridays the sisters put aside their other duties and spent the whole day in prayer and the reading of Holy Scripture. The abbess usually assigned the reading to St. Febronia. News of her pious life spread throughout the city. The illustrious young widow Hieria, a pagan, began to visit her, and under the influence of her guidance and prayer Hieria accepted holy Baptism, bringing her parents and kinsfolk to the Christian Faith.

 

Troparion

O Jesus, your lamb Febronia cries out to You with great love: O my Bridegroom, I long for You in great pain. I am crucified with You, and in baptism I am buried with You. I suffer for your sake in order to reign with You. I die for you in order to live in You. Accept me as an immaculate victim since I am immolated for your love. Through her intercession, O merciful One, save our souls.  

 

Kontakion

The martyr Febronia spoke these words: It was not hard for me to follow You, my beloved Lord, for the sweetness of your love filled my soul with yearning, and the beauty of your mercy drew me to drink your chalice that You might admit me to the marriage feast in heaven along with the wise virgins, where I might sing to you. Therefore, O martyr, we celebrate your martyrdom and beseech you: Pray that the door to the feast remains open to us. 

 

Epistle

Romans 6: 18-23

Brothers and sisters: Freed from your sin, you became slaves of justice. (I use the following example from human affairs because of your weak human nature.) Just as formerly you enslaved your bodies to impurity and licentiousness for their degradation, make them now the servants of justice for their sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you had freedom from justice. What benefit did you then enjoy? Things you are now ashamed of, all of them tending toward death. But now that you are freed from sin and have become slaves of God, your benefit is sanctification as you tend toward eternal life. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 8: 5-13

At that time as Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him with this request: “Sir, my serving boy is at home in bed paralyzed, suffering painfully.” Jesus said to the centurion, “I will come and cure him.” “Sir,” the centurion said in reply, “I am not worthy to have you under my roof. Just give an order and my boy will get better. I am a man under authority myself and I have troops assigned to me. If I give one man the order, ‘Dismissed,’ off he goes. If I say to another, ‘Come here,’ he comes. If I tell my slave, ‘Do this,’ he does it.” Jesus showed amazement on hearing this and remarked to his followers, “I assure you, I have never found this much faith in Israel. Mark what I say! Many will come from the east and the west and will find a place at the banquet in the kingdom of God with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, while the natural heirs of the kingdom will be driven out into the dark. Wailing will be heard there, and the grinding of teeth.” To the centurion Jesus said, “Go home. It shall be done because you trusted.” That very moment the boy got better. 

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

 

The Gospel (Luke 1:5) relates that the righteous parents of St. John the Baptist, the priest Zechariah and Elizabeth, lived in the ancient city of Hebron. They reached old age without having children, since Elizabeth was barren. Once, St. Zechariah was serving in the Temple of Jerusalem when he saw the Archangel Gabriel. The angel predicted that St. Zechariah would father a son, who would announce the Savior, the Messiah, awaited by the Old Testament Church. St. Elizabeth came to be with child, and fearing derision at being pregnant so late in life, she kept it secret for five months. Then her relative, the Virgin Mary, came to share her own joy. Elizabeth, “filled with the Holy Spirit,” was the first to greet the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God. St. John leapt in his mother’s womb at the visit of the Most Holy Virgin Mary and the Son of God incarnate within her. Soon St. Elizabeth gave birth to a son. On the eighth day, in accordance with the Law of Moses, he was circumcised and was called John. 

 

Troparion

Prophet and forerunner of the coming of Christ, although we honor you with love, we cannot give you worthy praise. Through your glorious and holy birth, your mother was freed from barrenness and your father from his loss of speech, and the incarnation of the Son of God is proclaimed to the world. 

 

Kontakion

Today, she who once was barren gives birth to Christ’s forerunner. He himself is the fulfillment of all prophecy; for in the Jordan, he imposed his hand upon the Word of God whom the prophets have foretold and was shown to be his prophet, herald and forerunner.

 

Readings for the feast

Epistle

Romans 13:11b – 14:4

Brothers and sisters: It is now the hour for you to wake from sleep, for our salvation is closer than when we first accepted the faith. The night is far spent; the day draws near. Let us cast off deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us live honorably as in daylight; not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarreling and jealousy. Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. 

Extend a kind of welcome to those who are weak in faith. Do not enter into disputes with them. A man of sound faith knows he can eat anything, while one who is weak in faith eats only vegetables. The man who will eat anything must not ridicule him who abstains from certain foods; the man who abstains must not sit in judgment on him who eats. After all, God himself has made him welcome. Who are you to pass judgment on another’s servant? His master alone can judge whether he stands or falls. And stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 

 

Gospel

Luke 1: 5-25, 57-68, 76-80

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly order of Abijah; his wife, Elizabeth, was a descendant of Aaron. Both were just in the eyes of God, blamelessly following all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. They were childless, for Elizabeth was sterile; moreover, both were advanced in years.

Once, when it was the turn of Zechariah’s class and he was fulfilling his functions as a priest before God, it fell to him by lot according to priestly usage to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. While the full assembly of people was praying outside at the incense hour, an angel of the Lord appeared to Him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was deeply disturbed upon seeing him, and overcome with fear. 

The angel said to him: “Do not be frightened, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth shall bear a son who you shall name John. Joy and gladness will be yours, many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He will never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. Many of the sons of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. God himself will go before him, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers and their children and the rebellious to the wisdom of the just, and to prepare for the Lord a people well-disposed.”

Zechariah said to the angel: “How am I to know this? I am an old man; my wife is too advanced in age.” The angel replied: “I am Gabriel, who stand in attendance before God. I was sent to speak to you and bring this good news. But now you will be mute–unable to speak–until the day these things take place, because you have not trusted my words. They will all come true in due season.” Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, wondering at his delay in the temple. When he finally came out he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision inside. He kept making signs to them, for he remained speechless.

Then, when his time of priestly service was over, he went home. Afterward, his wife Elizabeth conceived. She went into seclusion for five months, saying, “In these days the Lord is acting on my behalf; he has seen fit to remove my reproach among men.”

When Elizabeth’s time for delivery arrived, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives, upon hearing that the Lord has extended his mercy to her, rejoiced with her. When they assembled for the circumcision of the child on the eighth day, they intended to name him after his father Zechariah. At this his mother intervened, saying: “No, he is to be called John.” 

They pointed out to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then, using signs, they asked the father what he wished him to be called. He signaled for a writing tablet and wrote the words, “His name is John.” This astonished them all. At that moment his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 

Fear descended on all in the neighborhood; throughout the hill country of Judea these happenings began to be recounted to the last detail. All who heard stored these things up in their hearts, saying, “What will this child be?” and, “Was not the hand of the Lord upon him?”

Then Zechariah, his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, uttered the prophecy, “Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel because he has visited and ransomed his people. And you, O child, shall be called prophet of the Most High; for you shall go before the Lord and prepare straight paths for him, giving his people a knowledge of salvation in freedom from their sins. All this is the work of the kindness of our God; he, the Dayspring, shall visit us in his mercy to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

The child grew up and matured in spirit. He lived in the desert until the day when he made his public appearance in Israel. 

 

Readings for the day

Epistle

Romans 6: 11-17

Brothers and sisters: You must consider yourself dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus. Do not, therefore, let sin rule your mortal body and make you obey its lusts; no more shall you offer the members of your body to sin as weapons for evil. Rather, offer yourselves to God as men who have come back from the dead to life, and your bodies to God as weapons for justice. Sin will no longer have power over you; you are now under grace, not under the law. 

What does all this lead to? Just because we are not under the law but under grace, are we free to sin? By no means! You must realize that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are the slaves of the one you obey, whether yours is the slavery of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to justice. Thanks be to God, though once you were slaves of sin, you sincerely obeyed that rule of teaching which was imparted to you. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 8: 14-23

At that time Jesus entered Peter’s house and found Peter’s mother-in-law in bed with a fever. He took her by the hand and the fever left her. She got up at once and began to wait on him. As evening drew on, they brought him many who were possessed. He expelled the spirits by a simple command and cured all who were afflicted thereby fulfilling what had been said through Isaiah the prophet: “It was our infirmities he bore, our sufferings he endured.”

Seeing the people crowd around him, Jesus gave orders to cross to the other shore. A scribe approached him and said, “Teacher, wherever you go I will come after you.” Jesus said to him, “The foxes have lairs, the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another, a disciple to him, “Lord, let me go and bury my father first.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.” Jesus got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

 

The holy martyr Agrippina was a Roman by birth. She did not wish to marry, and totally dedicated her life to God. During the time of persecution against Christians under the emperor Valerian (253-259), the saint went before the court and bravely confessed her faith in Christ, for which she was given over to torture. They beat the holy virgin with sticks so severely that they broke her bones. Afterwards, they put St. Agrippina in chains, but an angel freed her from her bonds. The holy confessor died from the tortures she endured. The Christians Bassa, Paula, and Agathonike secretly took the body of the holy martyr and transported it to Sicily, where many miracles were worked at her grave. In the 11th century the relics of the holy martyr Agrippina were transferred to Constantinople.

 

Troparion

You were overcome with love of the heavenly Lord and turned from the world and care of the flesh. You endured the afflictions imposed on you, saying: Receive me into your love, O Christ, King of ages, for I am being consumed for You. Make those who honor you happy in his mercy, O most praiseworthy martyr Agrippina. 

 

Kontakion

The radiant day of your shining virtues has arrived. On this day the Church of God honors you and calls all to cry out joyfully: Rejoice, O virgin and martyr, most honorable Agrippina. 

 

Epistle

Romans 11: 25-36

Brothers and sisters: I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery lest you be conceited: blindness has come upon part of Israel until the full number of Gentiles enter in, and then all Israel will be saved. As Scripture says: “Out of Zion will come the deliverer who shall remove all impiety from Jacob; and this is the covenant I will make with them when I take away their sins.” In respect to the gospel, the Jews are enemies of God for your sake; in respect to the election, they are beloved by him because of the patriarchs. God’s gift and his call are irrevocable. 

Just as you were once disobedient to God and now have received mercy through their disobedience, so they have become disobedient – since God wished to show you mercy – that they too may receive mercy. God has imprisoned all in disobedience that he might have mercy on all.

How deep are the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How inscrutable his judgments, how unsearchable his ways! For, [Scripture says:] who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has given him anything so as to deserve return? For from him and through him and for him all things are. To him be glory forever. Amen. 

 

Gospel

Matthew 12: 1-8

Once on the sabbath Jesus walked through the standing grain. His disciples felt hungry, so they began to pull off the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees spied this, they protested: “See here! Your disciples are doing what is not permitted on the sabbath.” Jesus replied: “Have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry, how he entered God’s house and ate the holy bread, a thing forbidden to him and his men to anyone other than priests? Have you not read in the law how the priests on temple duty can break the sabbath rest without incurring guilt? I assure you, there is something greater than the temple here. If you understood the meaning of the text, ‘It is mercy I desire and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned these innocent men. The Son of Man is indeed Lord of the sabbath.”

 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com