Thoughts on Today's Verse...
Death is the ultimate profanity in today's world. We don't like to think about it, much less talk about it. However, death is that one reality that will not leave us alone. We lose friends and family members to death. At one point in our lives, we too, will face this inevitability unless Jesus comes before our passing. So what is our assurance as we face the inescapable? Our Sheperd! He will walk us through, guiding and protecting and comforting us in our journey. And as Christians, this promise is only intensified because we know Jesus as our Good Shepherd, and he has taken the walk ahead of us to assure us that our walk through death's valley doesn't end in death, but in glory.
Day 6 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 Sixth Day of the Blessed Month of Tute
Departure of Isaiah the Prophet
On this day died the great Prophet Isaiah, the son of Amos, by the hand of Manasseh the King who sawed him with a wooden saw. This prophet prophesied in the days of the reign of five kings: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. He prophesied to Ahaz saying, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14) He prophesied that, "His name shall be called wonderful, counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace," (Isaiah 9:6), and the Lord will have mercy upon us by offering himself as, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with his stripes we are healed..., and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:5-6)
He prophesied to Hezekiah and encouraged him when Sanakren, the King of Persia besieged Jerusalem, and informed him that God would blot Sanakren out because of his blasphemy against Him. And that night God sent Michael the Archangel to the camp of Sanakren, and slew 185,000 of his soldiers (Isaish 37:36), and those who remained left the camp and fled. And when Hezekiah the king was sick, God commanded him by the tongue of this prophet to set his house in order for he was to die. And when Hezekiah prayed to God, He sent to him Isaiah the prophet who made known to him that God has added to his days fifteen years. And God showed him a sign so that he might realize the truth of his prophesy.
Isaiah prophesied concerning the blotting out of the children of Israel because of their love for sin and their keeping away from worshipping God, and he made manifest that only a few of them would be believers. God made rain to fall by reason of his prayer. On another occasion, when Isaiah himself was thirsty, God made the spring of water of Siloam flow. When he rebuked Manasseh because of his evil deeds and worshipping idols, Manasseh ordered to have him sawed. He prophesied for seventy years and he came 913 years before the coming of Christ.
May His prayers be with us all. Amen.
Martyrdom of Saint Baslantya
On this day also the holy Saint Baslantya was martyred in the days of Diocletian the infidel. When this pious Christian lady was only nine years old, she was arrested, her hands and feet were bound and she was cast into the fire, but she did not get burned because of the mighty power of God. At her prayers, God caused water to come down and she drank, and then she committed her soul to God.
May her prayers and blessings be with us all, and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
Readings for First Sunday of Tute
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 30 : 4,10
Chapter 30
| 4 | Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. |
| 10 | Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!" |
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 11 : 11 - 13
Chapter 11
| 11 | "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. |
| 12 | And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. |
| 13 | For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. |
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 31 : 1,19
Chapter 31
| 1 | In You, O LORD, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed; Deliver me in Your righteousness. |
| 19 | Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men! |
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 21 : 23 - 27
Chapter 21
| 23 | Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?" |
| 24 | But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: |
| 25 | The baptism of John--where was it from? From heaven or from men?" And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, "From heaven,' He will say to us, "Why then did you not believe him?' |
| 26 | But if we say, "From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet." |
| 27 | So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know." And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. |
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 Timothy .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
1 Timothy 1 : 12 - 19
Chapter 1
| 12 | And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, |
| 13 | although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. |
| 14 | And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. |
| 15 | This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. |
| 16 | However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. |
| 17 | Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. |
| 18 | This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, |
| 19 | having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. James .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
James 1 : 22 - 27
Chapter 1
| 22 | But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. |
| 23 | For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; |
| 24 | for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. |
| 25 | But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. |
| 26 | If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. |
| 27 | Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. |
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 : 25 - 33
Chapter 13
| 25 | And as John was finishing his course, he said, "Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.' |
| 26 | "Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent. |
| 27 | For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. |
| 28 | And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. |
| 29 | Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. |
| 30 | But God raised Him from the dead. |
| 31 | He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. |
| 32 | And we declare to you glad tidings--that promise which was made to the fathers. |
| 33 | God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.' |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
Synaxarium
Day 6 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 Sixth Day of the Blessed Month of Tute
Departure of Isaiah the Prophet
On this day died the great Prophet Isaiah, the son of Amos, by the hand of Manasseh the King who sawed him with a wooden saw. This prophet prophesied in the days of the reign of five kings: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. He prophesied to Ahaz saying, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14) He prophesied that, "His name shall be called wonderful, counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace," (Isaiah 9:6), and the Lord will have mercy upon us by offering himself as, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with his stripes we are healed..., and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:5-6)
He prophesied to Hezekiah and encouraged him when Sanakren, the King of Persia besieged Jerusalem, and informed him that God would blot Sanakren out because of his blasphemy against Him. And that night God sent Michael the Archangel to the camp of Sanakren, and slew 185,000 of his soldiers (Isaish 37:36), and those who remained left the camp and fled. And when Hezekiah the king was sick, God commanded him by the tongue of this prophet to set his house in order for he was to die. And when Hezekiah prayed to God, He sent to him Isaiah the prophet who made known to him that God has added to his days fifteen years. And God showed him a sign so that he might realize the truth of his prophesy.
Isaiah prophesied concerning the blotting out of the children of Israel because of their love for sin and their keeping away from worshipping God, and he made manifest that only a few of them would be believers. God made rain to fall by reason of his prayer. On another occasion, when Isaiah himself was thirsty, God made the spring of water of Siloam flow. When he rebuked Manasseh because of his evil deeds and worshipping idols, Manasseh ordered to have him sawed. He prophesied for seventy years and he came 913 years before the coming of Christ.
May His prayers be with us all. Amen.
Martyrdom of Saint Baslantya
On this day also the holy Saint Baslantya was martyred in the days of Diocletian the infidel. When this pious Christian lady was only nine years old, she was arrested, her hands and feet were bound and she was cast into the fire, but she did not get burned because of the mighty power of God. At her prayers, God caused water to come down and she drank, and then she committed her soul to God.
May her 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 31 : 26,19
Chapter 31
| 19 | Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men! |
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 : 28 - 36
Chapter 7
| 28 | For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." |
| 29 | And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. |
| 30 | But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. |
| 31 | And the Lord said, "To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? |
| 32 | They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: "We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.' |
| 33 | For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, "He has a demon.' |
| 34 | The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' |
| 35 | But wisdom is justified by all her children." |
| 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. |
And Glory be to God forever.
For as mary of this race as are delivered by God's grace are certainly delivered from the condemnation in which they are already held bound. Whence, even if none should be delivered, no one could justly blame the judgment of God. That, therefore, in comparison of those that perish few, but in their absolute number many, are delivered, is effected by grace, is effected freely: thanks must be given, because it is effected, so that no one may be lifted up as of his own deservings, but that every mouth may be stopped, Romans 3:19 and he that glories may glory in the Lord. Jeremiah 9:24