Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. If we are to sincerely flatter God by being like him, imitation may be the most costly form of flattery as well. You see, love for God is never something that occurs just in our minds or our hearts. Love is something we do for another — it is action. John said in 1 John 4 that we must love in both our deeds and our words. Love means to give ourselves up — what we want, our rights, our desires — to honor God and serve others. This is a kind of love that can change the world, or a marriage, or a family.
Day 29 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Kiahk, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Twenty-Ninth Day of the Blessed Month of Kiahk
Feast of the Glorified Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Christmas)
On this day, of the year 5501 of the world, as calculated by our glorious church, we celebrate the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate God in the Flesh from the virgin St. Mary. Through the Divine plan of God and His foreknowledge, Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a general census in all the Roman Empire. For that reason, Joseph rose, and the virgin with him, and went from the city of Nazareth to "Bethlehem" to be counted in the census there because he was from the tribe of Judah, from the house of David. Bethlehem was the city of David. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the Virgin gave birth to her first born child and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and put him in a manger, for they did not have a place for them in the inn. Now there were, in the same country, shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: you will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger." Suddenly there was, with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." And they came with haste and found the Babe, Mary, Joseph, and Salomi. The place was shining with light. Now when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this child. Then they worshipped the child and they returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen. (Luke 2:1-20) On this day, the prophecies about the birth of the Lord from a chaste virgin had been fulfilled. Isaiah the prophet said, "Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call His Name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14) Ezekiel the prophet also said about this wonderful mystery, "And the Lord said to me, 'This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it, therefore it shall be shut."' (Ezekiel 44:2) About this child, Daniel the prophet said, "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and the Kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14)
Jeremiah the prophet said, "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will raise to David a Branch of Righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgement and righteousness in the earth. In His days, Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His Name by which He will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness." (Jeremiah 23:5-6)We must therefore now direct our minds toward the manger of Bethlehem, where the Son of God was lying in it in the flesh at the time of His birth, contemplating in silence and reverence worthy of the mystery of the incarnation of God, and His birth in a manger for our salvation. Knowing that He teaches us through this mystery to despise the world and all the vain things in it, and that He urges us to be humble and to love our neighbor seeking his own good, and that we should live in virtue and holiness according to the Christian ethics; not ignoring the great dignity that has been granted to us by this Divine Incarnation. Since we have kept this fast before the Advent, and have arrived at this glorious feast, we should receive it with purity and every good thing. We should extend our hand to comfort the weak, to help the poor, and to be instruments of peace and reconciliation among the people, taking our Lord Who has made an eternal peace by His Incarnation as our example. We should ask God in supplications to have compassion upon us and to forgive our sins, and to bless our gatherings, and to keep the life of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, to keep his pontificate for many years with the joy, peace and the safety of the church, and the advancement of his people in virtue. May God grant us many returns of this feast, filled with the blessings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Who came for our salvation.
To Him be the Glory and Honor forever. Amen.
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 72 : 1 - 2
Chapter 72
| 1 | Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king's Son. |
| 2 | He will judge Your people with righteousness, And Your poor with justice. |
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Vespers Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 12 : 15 - 33
Chapter 12
| 15 | But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. |
| 16 | Yet He warned them not to make Him known, |
| 17 | that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: |
| 18 | "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. |
| 19 | He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. |
| 20 | A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; |
| 21 | And in His name Gentiles will trust." |
| 22 | Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. |
| 23 | And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" |
| 24 | Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." |
| 25 | But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. |
| 26 | If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? |
| 27 | And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. |
| 28 | But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. |
| 29 | Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. |
| 30 | He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. |
| 31 | "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. |
| 32 | Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. |
| 33 | "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. |
And Glory be to God forever.
Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 72 : 11,19
Chapter 72
| 11 | Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him. |
| 19 | And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen. |
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Matins Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 22 : 41 - 46
Chapter 22
| 41 | While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, |
| 42 | saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David." |
| 43 | He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him "Lord,' saying: |
| 44 | "The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'? |
| 45 | If David then calls Him "Lord,' how is He his Son?" |
| 46 | And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore. |
And Glory be to God forever.
Liturgy Gospel
Paulines 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 Galatians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Galatians 4 : 19 - 5 : 1
Chapter 4
| 19 | My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, |
| 20 | I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you. |
| 21 | Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? |
| 22 | For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. |
| 23 | But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, |
| 24 | which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar-- |
| 25 | for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children-- |
| 26 | but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. |
| 27 | For it is written: "Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband." |
| 28 | Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. |
| 29 | But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. |
| 30 | Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." |
| 31 | So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free. |
Chapter 5
| 1 | Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. John .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 John 4 : 15 - 5 : 4
Chapter 4
| 15 | Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. |
| 16 | And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. |
| 17 | Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. |
| 18 | There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. |
| 19 | We love Him because He first loved us. |
| 20 | If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? |
| 21 | And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. |
Chapter 5
| 1 | Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. |
| 2 | By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. |
| 3 | For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. |
| 4 | For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. |
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.
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.
Acts 13 : 36 - 43
Chapter 13
| 36 | "For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; |
| 37 | but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. |
| 38 | Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; |
| 39 | and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. |
| 40 | Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you: |
| 41 | "Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you."' |
| 42 | So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. |
| 43 | Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
Divine Psalm
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet, and the Good King.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 72 : 17
Chapter 72
| 17 | His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed. |
Hallelujah.
Divine Gospel
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
John 1 : 1 - 13
Chapter 1
| 1 | In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. |
| 2 | He was in the beginning with God. |
| 3 | All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. |
| 4 | In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. |
| 5 | And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. |
| 6 | There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. |
| 7 | This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. |
| 8 | He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. |
| 9 | That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. |
| 10 | He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. |
| 11 | He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. |
| 12 | But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: |
| 13 | who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. |
And Glory be to God forever.