For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Day 11 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Amshir, 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 Eleventh Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Martyrdom of St.Fabian (Fabrianus), Pope of Rome
On this day, St. Fabian, Pope of Rome, was martyred. This father was a righteous scholar. He was ordained Pope for the city of Rome, so he taught his people and guided them in the way of Christian perfection. Decius, the head of the army, killed Emperor Philip, and replaced him as emperor. Decius incited a severe persecution against the Christians, and many were martyred. This infidel built a huge temple in the middle of the city of Ephesus, and erected in it idols, where he offered sacrifices to them. He then ordered to behead everyone who refused to sacrifice to these gods. When Decius knew that St. Fabian was against the worship of idols and that he was teaching the faithful to be steadfast in their faith, he brought him to Ephesus. Decius commanded St.Fabian to sacrifice to the idols. St. Fabian did not yield to him and ridiculed his idols. The Emperor punished him with many tortures for a long time and at the end, he beheaded him with the sword. St. Fabian thus received the crown of martyrdom. This pope stayed on the throne for 12 years, the major part of which was tranquil and peaceful.
May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 17 : 1 - 2
Chapter 17
| 1 | Hear a just cause, O LORD, Attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips. |
| 2 | Let my vindication come from Your presence; Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright. |
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 Luke the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Luke 17 : 3 - 6
Chapter 17
| 3 | Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. |
| 4 | And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, "I repent,' you shall forgive him." |
| 5 | And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." |
| 6 | So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, "Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. |
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 119 : 49,52
Chapter 119
| 49 | Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope. |
| 52 | I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD, And have comforted myself. |
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 Mark the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Mark 13 : 33 - 37
Chapter 13
| 33 | Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. |
| 34 | It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. |
| 35 | Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming--in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning-- |
| 36 | lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. |
| 37 | And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!" |
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 6 : 14 - 7 : 16
Chapter 6
| 14 | Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? |
| 15 | And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? |
| 16 | And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people." |
| 17 | Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you." |
| 18 | "I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty." |
Chapter 7
| 1 | Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. |
| 2 | Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one. |
| 3 | I do not say this to condemn; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. |
| 4 | Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. |
| 5 | For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. |
| 6 | Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, |
| 7 | and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. |
| 8 | For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. |
| 9 | Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. |
| 10 | For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. |
| 11 | For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. |
| 12 | Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you. |
| 13 | Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort. And we rejoiced exceedingly more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. |
| 14 | For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true. |
| 15 | And his affections are greater for you as he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. |
| 16 | Therefore I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. Peter .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 Peter 1 : 1 - 12
Chapter 1
| 1 | Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, |
| 2 | elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. |
| 3 | Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, |
| 4 | to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, |
| 5 | who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. |
| 6 | In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, |
| 7 | that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, |
| 8 | whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, |
| 9 | receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls. |
| 10 | Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, |
| 11 | searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. |
| 12 | To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into. |
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 21 : 1 - 14
Chapter 21
| 1 | Now it came to pass, that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course we came to Cos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. |
| 2 | And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. |
| 3 | When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo. |
| 4 | And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. |
| 5 | When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed. |
| 6 | When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home. |
| 7 | And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. |
| 8 | On the next day we who were Paul's companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. |
| 9 | Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. |
| 10 | And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. |
| 11 | When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, "So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles."' |
| 12 | Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. |
| 13 | Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." |
| 14 | So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, "The will of the Lord be done." |
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 95 : 1 - 2
Chapter 95
| 1 | Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. |
| 2 | Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. |
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 13 : 1 - 5
Chapter 13
| 1 | There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. |
| 2 | And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? |
| 3 | I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. |
| 4 | Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? |
| 5 | I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." |
And Glory be to God forever.
Today, as you read this second excerpt from Howard Thurman’s book Jesus and the Disinherited, hold an open heart and mind. In other words, read with a contemplative stance. The meditation ends with a question that I’ll hope you’ll sit with—as Thurman and his companion did for five hours—and not rush to a pat, tidy answer.
I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times that I have heard a sermon on the meaning of religion, of Christianity, to the man who stands with his back against the wall . . . the poor, the disinherited, the dispossessed. What does our religion say to them? The issue is . . . what religion offers to meet their own needs. The search for an answer to this question is perhaps the most important religious quest of modern life.
In the fall of 1935 I was serving as chairman of a delegation sent on a pilgrimage of friendship from the students of America to the students of India, Burma, and Ceylon. [On this trip Thurman also met and visited with Gandhi.] It was at a meeting in Ceylon that the whole crucial issue was pointed up to me in a way that I can never forget. . . . I was invited by the principal to have coffee. . . .
He said to me, “What are you doing over here? I know what the newspapers say . . . but that is not my question. What are you doing over here? This is what I mean.
“More than three hundred years ago your forefathers were taken from the western coast of Africa as slaves. The people who dealt in the slave traffic were Christians. One of your famous Christian hymn writers, Sir John Newton, made his money from the sale of slaves to the New World. He is the man who wrote ‘How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds’ and ‘Amazing Grace’—there may be others, but these are the only ones I know. The name of one of the famous British slave vessels was ‘Jesus.’
“The men who bought the slaves were Christians. Christian ministers, quoting the Christian apostle Paul, gave the sanction of religion to the system of slavery. Some seventy years or more ago you were freed by a man [Abraham Lincoln] who was not a professing Christian, but was rather the spearhead of certain political, social, and economic forces, the significance of which he himself did not understand. During all the period since then you have lived in a Christian nation in which you are segregated, lynched, and burned. Even in the church, I understand, there is segregation. One of my students who went to your country sent me a clipping telling about a Christian church in which the regular Sunday worship was interrupted so that many could join a mob against one of your fellows. When he had been caught and done to death, they came back to resume their worship of their Christian God.
“I am a Hindu. I do not understand. Here you are in my country, staying deep within the Christian faith and tradition. I do not wish to seem rude to you. But, sir, I think you are a traitor to all the darker peoples of the earth. I am wondering what you, an intelligent man, can say in defense of your position?”
References:
A note on language from Thurman’s editors: “We realize that inclusive language is noticeably absent in Howard Thurman’s writings. As gifted and prophetic as he was, Howard Thurman was also a product of his times, and inclusive language was not a part of the social consciousness. Regardless of language, the substance of Howard Thurman’s work is inclusive. His life and theology were inclusive, and if he were writing today his language would more accurately reflect this worldview.” [1] While his masculine words might suggest that Thurman didn’t consider other perspectives, he did see many women in his life (for example, his mentor Mary McLeod Bethune and his wife Sue Bailey Thurman) as peers and leaders. We must grant this same sympathy to all those who write with sincerity in previous times and various cultures.