Readings for Wednesday 3 July 2024
26 Baunah 1740
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 105 : 14 - 15
| 14 | He permitted no one to do them wrong; Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, |
| 15 | Saying, "Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm." |
Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, unto Him be the glory forever, Amen.
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to our teacher Saint Luke the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Luke 11 : 37 - 51
| 37 | And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. |
| 38 | When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner. |
| 39 | Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. |
| 40 | Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? |
| 41 | But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you. |
| 42 | "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. |
| 43 | Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. |
| 44 | Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them." |
| 45 | Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also." |
| 46 | And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. |
| 47 | Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. |
| 48 | In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. |
| 49 | Therefore the wisdom of God also said, "I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' |
| 50 | that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, |
| 51 | from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation. |
Glory be to God forever.
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Matins Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 105 : 26,27,45
| 26 | He sent Moses His servant, And Aaron whom He had chosen. |
| 27 | They performed His signs among them, And wonders in the land of Ham. |
| 45 | That they might observe His statutes And keep His laws. Praise the LORD! |
Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, unto Him be the glory forever, Amen.
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to our teacher Saint Matthew the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Matthew 17 : 1 - 9
| 1 | Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; |
| 2 | and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. |
| 3 | And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. |
| 4 | Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." |
| 5 | While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" |
| 6 | And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. |
| 7 | But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." |
| 8 | When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. |
| 9 | Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead." |
Glory be to God forever.
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Divine Liturgy
Pauline Epistle
Paul, the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, appointed to the Gospel of God. A reading from the Epistle of our teacher Paul to the Hebrews.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
Hebrews 11 : 17 - 27
| 17 | By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, |
| 18 | of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," |
| 19 | concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. |
| 20 | By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. |
| 21 | By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. |
| 22 | By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones. |
| 23 | By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's command. |
| 24 | By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, |
| 25 | choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, |
| 26 | esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. |
| 27 | By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.
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Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. Peter . May his blessings be upon us. Amen.
2 Peter 1:19-21 2 Peter 2:1-8
| 19 | And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; |
| 20 | knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, |
| 21 | for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. |
| 1 | But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. |
| 2 | And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. |
| 3 | By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. |
| 4 | For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; |
| 5 | and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; |
| 6 | and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; |
| 7 | and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked |
| 8 | (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)-- |
Do not love the world or the things in the world. The world passes away, and its desires; but he who does the will of God abides forever. Amen.
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Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us. Amen.
Acts 15 : 21 - 29
| 21 | For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath." |
| 22 | Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. |
| 23 | They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. |
| 24 | Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, "You must be circumcised and keep the law"--to whom we gave no such commandment-- |
| 25 | it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, |
| 26 | men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 27 | We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. |
| 28 | For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: |
| 29 | that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God. Amen.
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Synaxarium
Day 26 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baunah.
May God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins are forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers. Amen.
The Twenty-Sixth Day of the Blessed Month of Baunah
Departure of the Great Prophet Joshua
Son of Nun
On this day, of the year 2570
of the world, the great prophet Joshua Son of Nun, departed. He was born,
in the year 2460 of the world, in Egypt (Fifty three years before the deliverance
of the people of Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh). He was a disciple
and servant to Moses. Moses, after leading the people of Israel out of
Egypt with the might of the Divine arm and the extraordinary wonders, brought
them to the nearby mount of Sinai. He went up the mount taking with him
Joshua, his minister, to receive the commandments. During the war of Israel
against Am-a-lek, Joshua was the leader of the soldiers. When Moses chose
twelve men to spy out the promised land, one from each tribe, Joshua was
one of them. He completed this mission with honesty. He and Caleb alone
brought forth the true and accurate information about the promised land.
Therefore they alone entered this land without the people of Israel that
came out of the land of Egypt. Because they had murmured and doubted in
the sincerity of the promises of God, God swore in His anger that they
would not enter to His rest. Their children that they begot after their
deliverance from Egypt, entered this land along with Joshua and Caleb.
After the death of the great prophet
Moses in the year 2553 of the world, the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of
Nun saying: "Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this
Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them;
the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread
upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this
Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of
the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall
be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days
of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave
you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people
you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers
to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe
to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do
not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper
wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth,
but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do
according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way
prosperous, and then you will have good success."
(Joshua 1:1-8) Joshua's
heart was strengthened and he sent out two men to spy out the land secretly.
So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged
there. The woman hid them; and they swore to spare her and all her household.
Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was
on the city wall.
(Joshua 2:1-15) Then Joshua opened (i.e. conquered) Jericho
after he had gone around its walls several times and when they shouted
with a great shout the great walls of the city fell down. The people went
up into the city and killed both man and beast. The two men that had spied
out the country, went into Rahab's house and brought her, her father, her
mother, her brethren, and all that she had, out of the camp. Joshua spared
their lives as the two spies promised her for she had spared their lives,
and hid them. Then they burnt the city, and all that was therein. The gold,
and the silver and vessels of brass and iron, were taken to the treasury
of the house of the Lord.
The Lord was with this righteous
man, so he opened many cities, killed many kings, and the nations feared
him. Because of the great fear, the inhabitants of Gibeon worked craftily,
and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their
donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their
feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision
was dry and moldy. And they went to Joshua, and said to him, "We have come
from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us." But the men
of Israel said to them, "Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make
a covenant with you?" They said to them, "From a very far country your
servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have
heard of His fame ... this bread of ours we took hot for our provision
from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it
is dry and moldy ... and these our garments and our sandals have become
old because of the very long journey." Joshua made peace with them, and
made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation
swore to them. Three days later, after they had made a covenant with them,
they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. Joshua called
for them, and he spoke to them, saying, "Why have you deceived us, saying,
'We are very far from you,' when you dwell near us? Now therefore, you
are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves." Joshua made
them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the house
of the LORD.
(Joshua 9:3-27) Joshua fought with the five Amorite kings,
hence the hand of the Lord had helped him by casting down great stones
from heaven upon them. The children of Israel fought them before the city
of Gibeon, and he made the sun stand still until the five kings and their
soldiers were destroyed. Joshua divided the land according to the command
of God among the children of Israel. He gave the priests cities to dwell
in, and land for their cattle. He set apart five cities of refuge wherein
all those who had committed a murder unintentionally might dwell. When
he completed about one hundred ten years and reached a good old age, he
gathered together the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges and their
officers, and commanded them to keep the commandment of the Law and not
to deviate from worshipping God, then departed in peace.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Consecration of the Church of Archangel
Gabriel
On this day also, is the
commemoration of the consecration of a church in the name of the honorable
angel Gabriel the announcer, on the Naklon mount, in El-Fayyoum.
May his intercession be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
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Divine Liturgy Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 99 : 6 - 7
| 6 | Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called upon His name; They called upon the LORD, and He answered them. |
| 7 | He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them. |
Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, unto Him be the glory forever, Amen.
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to our teacher Saint Matthew the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Matthew 23 : 14 - 36
| 14 | Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. |
| 15 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. |
| 16 | "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, "Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.' |
| 17 | Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? |
| 18 | And, "Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.' |
| 19 | Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? |
| 20 | Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. |
| 21 | He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. |
| 22 | And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. |
| 23 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. |
| 24 | Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! |
| 25 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. |
| 26 | Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. |
| 27 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. |
| 28 | Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. |
| 29 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, |
| 30 | and say, "If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.' |
| 31 | "Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. |
| 32 | Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt. |
| 33 | Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? |
| 34 | Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, |
| 35 | that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. |
| 36 | Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. |
Glory be to God forever.
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