As a minister, I am privileged to be present at many of the most important events in people's lives. Good or bad, to be there at the crossroads of life is a sacred trust. In those moments that are hardest, dying and death, verses like this one fill my heart with strength and remind me why I answered a call to serve in waters way above my head. God's promise here is a great reminder that what he began when he redeemed his people out of Egypt, he would also complete by bringing them into the Promised Land. Now, we can hear a more powerful promise behind these words. We can find it even more reasonable to trust them. God did what he said for Israel. Since he did for them, can't we say with confidence, "I know you will guide us to your holy dwelling?"
Day 27 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Tute, 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-Seventh Day of the Blessed Month of Tute
Martyrdom of St.Eustathius and his Two Sons
On this day was the martyrdom of St.Eustathius and his two sons. He was one of the ministers of the Roman Empire. At the beginning of his life, he did not know God, but he used to give alms and charity in abundance, and the Lord did not wish that his toil should be in vain. While he was in the desert hunting wild animals, there appeared to him the figure of a crossbetween the horns of a stag, and it reached up to heaven. He chased the stag in the mountains to hunt it, and the Lord spoke to him and told him about his new name which is Eustathius, for he had been called Ephlokidus before. The Lord ordered him to be baptized in the Name of the Lord Christ and told him that poverty should come upon him speedily. When he heard that he descended from the mountain and went to the bishop of the city who baptized him and his wfe and his sons, and he changed his name to Eustathius as the Lord had ordered him. Straightaway he lost all that he had as slaves, hand-maidens, cattle and money.
Then he took his wife and his sons, and went forth from the city of Rome and embarked on a ship. And as he could not pay the fare, they took his wife instead. He took his two sons and came to a river, he crossed over to the other side with one of them and returned to get the other, but he did not find him because a lion had taken him, then he went back to get the first but he did not find him either because a wolf had ceased him. He felt deep sorrow because of the loss of his wife and his two sons. St. Eustathius stayed for a period of time working as a guard in the garden until the Emperor of Rome died and another reigned instead who sent messengers to search for that saint. One of the messengers happened to enter the garden which the saint guarded. The two men recognized each other and St. Eustathius was taken back to the Emperor. teh Emperor honored him and returned to his former position. It happened in that time that war broke out and they recruited two men from every city to the army. The two sons of the saint were saved from the lion and the wolf by the Divine Will and were brought up in the same city. They remained for a long time not knowing each other. Then the Divine Will arranged that both would be recruited from that city. On one day while they were on their way, they reached a garden and sat there talking together. They then discovered that they were brothers.
As to their mother, the owner of the ship who had kept her in payment of the fare was a barbarian, but God protected her from him. And she stayed in a garden which by the Divine Will was the same garden as that her two sons had gathered in, and she was close by her sons while they were talking and she recognized them. The two sons were assigned to guard the treasury of their father who did not recognize them. When the Lord wished to gather this blessed family together, the wife entered the place where her husband was, and they recognized each other and rejoiced for reuniting unexpectedly. Then she told him that she hads met their sons in the garden. While she was telling him so, the two sons joined them and she cried joyfully, "There are our two sons!" They embraced each other in tears of joy, and they praised God who fulfilled what he had promised and they lived in joy and peace.
After that the Emperor died and another reigned who worshipped idols, and he summoned St. Eustathius and his wife and his sons. he ordered them to worship the idols but they refused so he ordered his men to torture them with fire, but they were not harmed. Then he commanded to cast them into a brazen cauldron and set fire under it and thus they delivered their souls into the hand of the Lord, and received the crowns of martyrdom from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
May their prayers and blessings be with us all, and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
Readings for Fourth Sunday of Tute
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 32 : 4 - 5
Chapter 32
| 4 | For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.Selah |
| 5 | I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.Selah |
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 9 : 18 - 26
Chapter 9
| 18 | While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live." |
| 19 | So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples. |
| 20 | And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. |
| 21 | For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well." |
| 22 | But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour. |
| 23 | When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, |
| 24 | He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him. |
| 25 | But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. |
| 26 | And the report of this went out into all that land. |
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 33 : 20 - 21
Chapter 33
| 20 | Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. |
| 21 | For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. |
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 15 : 21 - 28
Chapter 15
| 21 | Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. |
| 22 | And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed." |
| 23 | But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." |
| 24 | But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." |
| 25 | Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" |
| 26 | But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." |
| 27 | And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." |
| 28 | Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour. |
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 Corinthians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
2 Corinthians 1 : 1 - 14
Chapter 1
| 1 | Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia: |
| 2 | Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 3 | Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, |
| 4 | who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. |
| 5 | For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. |
| 6 | Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. |
| 7 | And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation. |
| 8 | For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. |
| 9 | Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, |
| 10 | who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, |
| 11 | you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many. |
| 12 | For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. |
| 13 | For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end |
| 14 | (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus. |
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 3 : 8 - 12
Chapter 3
| 8 | He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. |
| 9 | Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. |
| 10 | In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. |
| 11 | For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, |
| 12 | not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous. |
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 9 : 36 - 42
Chapter 9
| 36 | At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. |
| 37 | But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. |
| 38 | And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. |
| 39 | Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. |
| 40 | But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, arise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. |
| 41 | Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. |
| 42 | And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
Synaxarium
Day 22 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Tute, 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-Second Day of the Blessed Month of Tute
Martyrdom of Saints Kobtlas and Aksu, his Sister, and Tatos, his Friend.
On this day was the martyrdom of Saints Kobtlas and his sister, Aksu, the children of Sapor the King of Persia and Kobtlas' friend, Tatos. Safor was a worshipper of fire and of the sun. He inflicted many tortures on the believers, and no man throughout the country dared to mention the Name of Christ. His Son, Kobtlas, had a friend named Tatos who was a ruler over the country of Maydasayeen. Certain people laid an accusation against him that he was a Christian. The king sent a governor named Tumakher to find out the truth about what was said and if it was true, to torture him. When Kobtlas the son of the king, heard that, he too went to that country to his friend Tatos. When the governor arrived and found that he was a Christian, he ordered his men to cast him in a furnace. St.Tatos made the sign of the Cross over the fire and the fire died out. Kobtlas marvelled and asked him, "How did you learn this magic, O my brother?" He replied, "This is not magic, but it is through faith in the Lord Christ." Kobtlas asked, "If I believed, would I be able to do this?" Tatos answered him that with faith you can do more than this. Kobtlas, the son of the king, believed in the Lord Christ, then drew near the fire and made the sign of the Cross over it, and the fire backed a distance of twelve cubits. The governor sent to the king to inform him what had happened, and the king had them brought to him. He ordered his men to cut off the head of Tatos who thus received the crown of martyrdom. But his son, Kobtlas, was tortured by him in different ways. He delivered him to the warden to torture him. He cast them in prison and sent for his sister Aksu, so she might persuade him to return to his father's belief. Saint Kobtlas preached to her and turned her heart to the belief in the Lord Christ, then he sent her to a priest who baptized her secretly. She returned to her father saying it would be a good thing if he had what she and her brother had, for there is no other but Jesus Christ. The king became angry and commanded to torture her, and they did so, until she yielded up her soul in the hand of the Lord Christ.
Then they tied Kobtlas to the tails of horses and dragged him over the mountains until he yielded up his spirit and then they cut his body and they cast it out for the birds of heaven to consume it. When the soldiers departed, the Lord commanded saintly priests and deacons to bury Kobtlas, and they went secretly at night and took the holy body which was shining as snow. They hid it in a place until the end of the days of persecution.
May their intercession be for us all. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Julius El-Akfehas, the Writer of the Biography of Martyrs
On this day also was the martyrdom of St.Julius El-Akfehas, the writer of the biography of the martyrs. The Lord Christ set him up to care for the bodies of the holy martyrs, to shroud them and to send them to their homes. The Lord brought blindness into the hearts of the governors, and no one objected to him. They never forced him to worship idols. The Lord protected him to care for the martyrs. He used three hundred young men for this purpose. They wrote the biography of the holy martyrs and sent it to their homes. But Julius used to minister to the holy martyrs by himself and dress their wounds. The martyrs blessed him, saying, "You must shed your blood in the Name of our Lord Christ, so you can be counted among the martyrs."
When the reign of Diocletian the infidel came to an end, Constantine the righteous reigned. The Lord Christ wished to fulfill what the saints had prophesied about him to be counted among the martyrs. The Lord commanded him to go to Arkanius, the governor of Samanoud, and to confess the Lord Christ. He went there where the governor tortured him many times, but the Lord strengthened him. When the governor ordered to bring him to worship the idols, this saint prayed and the earth opened and swallowed up the seventy idols and the one hundred and forty priests who were serving them. When the governor beheld the destruction of his idols and their priests, he believed in the Lord Christ. The governor went with the Saint to the governor of Athribis who tortured Saint Julius with great severity, but the Lord Christ strengthened him.
One day there was to be a festival for the idols and they decorated the temple with ornaments and lamps and with palm branches. They closed the gates till the following day to start celebrating the festival. The saint asked the Lord to blot out their idols and the Lord sent his angel who but the heads of the idols and blackened their faces with ashes and burnt up all the palms, and all the idols in the temple. On the following morning when the people came dressed to celebrate the feast and saw what had happened to their gods, they recognized their weakness. The governor of Athribis and a large number of people believed in the Lord Christ. From there, the Saint went to the city of Towa and with him were the governor of Samanoud and the governor of Athribis, and they met with Iskandros its governor. First he refrained from torturing them, but later he ordered his men to cut off their heads. Julius and his two sons, Tadros and Yunias, his slaves, and the governors of Samanoud and Athribis and a great many people were martyred. They numbered fifteen hundred. They took his body with the bodies of his sons to Alexandria for it was there that they used to live.
May his prayers and blessings be with us all, and Glory be to God forever. 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 27 : 8 - 9
Chapter 27
| 8 | When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek." |
| 9 | Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. |
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.
Luke 7 : 36 - 50
Chapter 7
| 36 | Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat. |
| 37 | And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, |
| 38 | and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. |
| 39 | Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner." |
| 40 | And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." So he said, "Teacher, say it." |
| 41 | "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. |
| 42 | And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?" |
| 43 | Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged." |
| 44 | Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. |
| 45 | You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. |
| 46 | You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. |
| 47 | Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." |
| 48 | Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." |
| 49 | And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" |
| 50 | Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." |
And Glory be to God forever.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
At the sound of their voices the doorposts shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin blotted out.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
—Isaiah 6:1-8
A prophet is neither a fortune teller nor a foreteller. In the Christian context, we probably grew up hearing the phrase: “As was foretold by the prophets . . .” and we then filled in the blank. It was as if what we refer to as the Old Testament was written only to predict or foreshadow the New Testament. We assumed that everything was somehow a prophecy of our religion and of Jesus Christ. This is grossly unfair to our Jewish brothers and sisters as it undercuts both the biblical meaning and role of the prophet whose power and purpose was much more immediate and concrete than foretelling the New Testament.
Also, a prophet is not primarily a “prophet of doom” or a negative predictor. Looking through the writings of all the prophets, it is obvious that they prophesy marvelous futures just as much as those of doom. Yet, because of the aforementioned phrase, we erroneously tend to associate the term prophet with someone who is negative, oppositional, and angry.
If we’re going to talk about biblical prophets, we need a more accurate understanding. Our starting point is an amazing, positive experience of theophany—God appearing to humans—as we see in Isaiah 6, that fills hearts not with cynicism, sarcasm, negativity, or opposition, but with ecstasy that has to be shared. One experience of the Absolute is so absolutizing that it has the effect of relativizing everything else—including the temple, the priesthood, and sacred texts.
Consequently, the prophets’ most constant and consistent critics are those who self-identify as standard bearers of religious institutions. We see this in Jesus himself, who builds on his Jewish tradition. It’s ironic that although prophets come out of religion and religious experience, they find themselves attacked by religion itself. All too often, like Jesus, they are killed or exiled by the religious establishment.
Reference:
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Prophets Then, Prophets Now, disc 1 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2006), MP3 download.