Melkite Readings of the Day

Melkite Readings of the Day Tuesday, 16 March 2010.

16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +1000

Tuesday, 16 March 2010. Commemoration of the Holy Martyr Sabinos the Egyptian.

Readings of Vespers -- 2010-03-16.

16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +1000

Genesis 13:12-18
Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the people of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord. The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Raise your eyes now, and look from the place where you are, northwards and southwards and eastwards and westwards; for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring for ever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Rise up, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.’ So Abram moved his tent, and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron; and there he built an altar to the Lord. (NRSV)
Proverbs 14:27-15:4
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, so that one may avoid the snares of death. The glory of a king is a multitude of people; without people a prince is ruined. Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but one who has a hasty temper exalts folly. A tranquil mind gives life to the flesh, but passion makes the bones rot. Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honour him. The wicked are overthrown by their evildoing, but the righteous find a refuge in their integrity. Wisdom is at home in the mind of one who has understanding, but it is not known in the heart of fools. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. A servant who deals wisely has the king’s favour, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully. A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise dispenses knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. (NRSV)

Epistle of the Divine Liturgy -- 2010-03-16.

16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +1000

Psalms 64:10,1 (Tone 7)
Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him. Let all the upright in heart glory.
Stichon: Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from the dread enemy. (NRSV)

Ephesians 4:14-17 (of the season)
Brothers and sisters, we must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. (NRSV)
Psalms 92:12,13 (Tone 2)
The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Stichon: They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. (NRSV)

Gospel of the Divine Liturgy -- 2010-03-16.

16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +1000

Isaiah 40:18-31
To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol?—A workman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts for it silver chains. As a gift one chooses mulberry wood—wood that will not rot—then seeks out a skilled artisan to set up an image that will not topple. Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God’? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (NRSV)

Synaxarion of the Day (story of the feast or commemoration) -- 2010-03-16.

16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +1000

Saint Sabinos was a native of Egypt. Under the threat of persecution he had left his home, parents, riches, and all the goods of the world in order to hide with some other Christians outside of the city in a small retreat. The idolaters arrested many Christians, but they particularly looked for Sabinos and were grieved not being able to find him. A beggar, who had gone in search of food close by the Saint, presented himself and said to them: "What will you give me if I deliver Sabinos to you?" They gave him two coins, followed him, and were able to seize the Saint in his hiding place. They bound him and led him to the President, who asked him: "Why did you despise the order of the Emperors and great gods and adore an unknown God?" The Saint answered: "I rather announce a God that you yourself must confess." Then after many tortures the Saint was thrown into the river where he was drowned.

Further information -- 2010-03-16.

16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +1000

Class of Feast: 5
Tone of Week: 8
Fasting today: We neither eat nor drink from midnight to noon. We refrain from eating meat and meat products.
If, however, you follow the traditional fasting discipline: Fasting today: Fast and Strict abstinence -- Refrain from eating until noon, strict abstinence (xerophagy) thereafter.