Day 13 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 Thirteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Martyrdom of St.Sergius of Atripe and His Father, Mother, Sister, and Many Others with Them
On this day, St. Sergius, his father, his mother, his sister and many others with them, were martyred. This saint was born in the city of Atripe to a righteous father whose name was Theodore, and a faithful mother whose name was Mary. When he was 20 years old, St. Sergius desired to die for the Name of the Lord Christ. He presented himself to Cyprianus (Cyprian), the governor, and confessed his faith in the Lord Christ. The governor commanded him to be tortured with different kinds of tortures and to cast him in prison. At night he saw in a vision as if he was in heaven, and he saw the mansions of the saints. His soul was greatly comforted, and the Lord Christ healed him from his afflictions. A priest by the name of Mansoon heard about the labors of St. Sergius. Fr. Mansoon came with two deacons to Atripe and confessed the Name of the Lord Christ before the governor. The governor beat them with great cruelty. A multitude of people watched the tortures, and moved with compassion toward the priest, who could not do anything but to look at them, preach and command them to be steadfast in their faith in the Lord Christ. He prayed and blessed them and they all confessed the Orthodox faith. After they had been tortured, they were all beheaded, and received the crown of life. However, the Governor tortured the priest with fire, but the Lord saved him. The Governor sent him to Alexandria where he received his crown of martyrdom.
As for St. Sergius, Governor Cyprianus brought him and tortured him with excruciating tortures but the Lord healed, strengthened and comforted him. They brought an idol and ordered him to worship it. He kicked the idol with his foot and it fell and broke. Cyprianus believed instantly and said, "The god that cannot save itself, cannot save others." The captain of the soldiers "Ohios" continued to torture St. Sergius, and ordered to skin him and to rub his wounds with salt and vinegar, but the Lord gave him strength and grace. His mother and his sister came to visit him and saw him in this condition, they wept bitterly, until his sister died from her extreme grief, but God raised her up by the prayers of the saint. St. Julius of Agfahs came, wrote the biography of St. Sergius, and promised him that he would take care of his body and his burial. The captain "Ohios" ordered that St. Sergius be tortured by pressing his body through the pressing wheel (Hinbazeen), that his nails be pulled out, that he be placed over an iron bed, with a fire under it, and that torches of fire be placed in his ears. The Lord strengthened him through all of this and healed him. When "Ohios" the captain was tired of torturing him, he decided to behead him.
St. Sergius called his mother and sister to bid them farewell. They came with the rest of his family and when they saw him tied up with the bridle of a horse that was dragging him to the place of his martyrdom, they protested to the Governor for his extreme cruelty. He ordered to behead them all and they all received the crown of life and the eternal bliss. There was a young boy among the crowd whose eyes were opened by the Lord and he saw the souls of the saints who were martyred carried by the angels, ascending to heaven. He cried with a loud voice saying, "O My Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me." His parents were afraid that the governor would hear him and destroy them because of him. When they could not calm him down, they put their hands upon his mouth to prevent him from screaming, asking the help of the Lord Christ, until he gave up his pure soul at the hand of the Lord.
May Their prayers be with us all. Amen.
Departure of St.Timothy the Third, the Thirty-Second Pope of Alexandria
On this day also of the year 528 A.D., the holy father Abba Timothy III, 32nd Pope of Alexandria, departed. His enthronement on the apostolic throne was in 511 A.D. He suffered many hardships because he was steadfast in the Orthodox faith. In his days, St. Severus, Patriarch of Antioch, came to Egypt escaping persecution. The two saints traveled together to Egyptian cities and monasteries confirming the people in the Orthodox faith. Because he did not agree with Emperor Marcion with regard to the canons of the Council of Chalcedon, he was exiled. On the day of his exile, the faithful opposed the enforcement of the order of his exile, and many of them were killed, about two hundred thousand, by the order of the Emperor. The saint departed in exile together with St. Severus of Antioch, after he had been on the apostolic throne for 17 years.
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 : 15,3
Chapter 17
| 15 | As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness. |
| 3 | You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. |
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 John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
John 5 : 39 - 47
Chapter 5
| 39 | You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. |
| 40 | But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. |
| 41 | "I do not receive honor from men. |
| 42 | But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. |
| 43 | I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. |
| 44 | How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? |
| 45 | Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you--Moses, in whom you trust. |
| 46 | For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. |
| 47 | But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?" |
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 89 : 52,49
Chapter 89
| 52 | Blessed be the LORD forevermore! Amen and Amen. |
| 49 | Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses, Which You swore to David in Your truth? |
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 John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
John 12 : 44 - 50
Chapter 12
| 44 | Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. |
| 45 | And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. |
| 46 | I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. |
| 47 | And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. |
| 48 | He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. |
| 49 | For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. |
| 50 | And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak." |
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 Hebrews .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Hebrews 3 : 1 - 4 : 2
Chapter 3
| 1 | Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, |
| 2 | who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. |
| 3 | For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. |
| 4 | For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. |
| 5 | And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, |
| 6 | but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. |
| 7 | Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice, |
| 8 | Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, |
| 9 | Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. |
| 10 | Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, "They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.' |
| 11 | So I swore in My wrath, "They shall not enter My rest."' |
| 12 | Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; |
| 13 | but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. |
| 14 | For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, |
| 15 | while it is said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." |
| 16 | For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? |
| 17 | Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? |
| 18 | And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? |
| 19 | So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. |
Chapter 4
| 1 | Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. |
| 2 | For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. Jude .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
Jude 1 : 14 - 25
Chapter 1
| 14 | Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, |
| 15 | to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." |
| 16 | These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. |
| 17 | But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: |
| 18 | how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. |
| 19 | These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. |
| 20 | But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, |
| 21 | keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. |
| 22 | And on some have compassion, making a distinction; |
| 23 | but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. |
| 24 | Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, |
| 25 | To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen. |
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 20 : 7 - 16
Chapter 20
| 7 | Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. |
| 8 | There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together. |
| 9 | And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. |
| 10 | But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, "Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him." |
| 11 | Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. |
| 12 | And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted. |
| 13 | Then we went ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, there intending to take Paul on board; for so he had given orders, intending himself to go on foot. |
| 14 | And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. |
| 15 | We sailed from there, and the next day came opposite Chios. The following day we arrived at Samos and stayed at Trogyllium. The next day we came to Miletus. |
| 16 | For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost. |
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 89 : 1,6
Chapter 89
| 1 | I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. |
| 6 | For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD? |
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 6 : 27 - 46
Chapter 6
| 27 | Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." |
| 28 | Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" |
| 29 | Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." |
| 30 | Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? |
| 31 | Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat."' |
| 32 | Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. |
| 33 | For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." |
| 34 | Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always." |
| 35 | And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. |
| 36 | But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. |
| 37 | All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. |
| 38 | For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. |
| 39 | This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. |
| 40 | And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." |
| 41 | The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." |
| 42 | And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, "I have come down from heaven'?" |
| 43 | Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. |
| 44 | No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. |
| 45 | It is written in the prophets, "And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. |
| 46 | Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. |
And Glory be to God forever.
Cynthia Bourgeault, one of our core faculty members and an Episcopal priest, has helped Christianity rediscover the powerful model of the “Law of Three.” This was originally developed by the Armenian-born spiritual teacher G. I. Gurdjieff (1866–1949) who saw it comprising what he called the “Laws of World Creation and World Maintenance.” Based on Trinity as flow and movement, this “law” describes the ways in which different elements work to create change and ongoing evolution. Today I’ll share a brief introduction from Cynthia’s work, but I invite you to read her full book The Holy Trinity and the Law of Three:
From a metaphysical standpoint, the Trinity is primarily about process. It encapsulates a paradigm of change and transformation based on an ancient metaphysical principle known as the Law of Three.
[The basic foundational principles are:]
- In every new arising there are three forces involved: affirming, denying, and reconciling.
- The interweaving of the three produces a fourth in a new dimension.
- Affirming, denying, and reconciling are not fixed points or permanent essence attributes, but can and do shift and must be discerned situationally. . . .
- Solutions to impasses or sticking points generally come by learning how to spot and mediate third force, which is present in every situation but generally hidden. . . .
Let’s consider a simple example. A seed, as Jesus said, “unless it falls into the ground and dies, remains a single seed.” [John 12:24] If this seed does fall into the ground, it enters a sacred transformative process. Seed, the first or “affirming” force, meets ground, the second or “denying” force (and at that, it has to be moist ground, water being its most critical first component). But even in this encounter, nothing will happen until sunlight, the third or “reconciling” force, enters the equation. Then among the three they generate a sprout, which is the actualization of the possibility latent in the seed—and a whole new “field” of possibility.
Actually, the entire Paschal Mystery can be seen to play itself out as a fairly straightforward configuration of the Law of Three. If you assign affirming as Jesus, the human teacher of the path of love; denying as the crucifixion and the forces of hatred driving it; and reconciling as the principle of self-emptying, or kenotic love willingly engaged, then the fourth or new arising, which is inescapably revealed through this weaving, is the Kingdom of Heaven, visibly manifest in the very midst of all the human cruelty and brokenness.
Reference:
Cynthia Bourgeault, The Holy Trinity and the Law of Three:Discovering the Radical Truth at the Heart of Christianity (Shambhala Publications, Inc.: 2013), 15, 16, 24-25, 74.