Readings for Fri, March 17th

Friday of the fourth week of Great Lent


Matins

Prophecies

Deuteronomy 10:12-end ; - Deuteronomy 11:1-28

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good? Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it. The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.0


Isaiah 29:13-23

Therefore the Lord said:
        "In as much as these people draw near with their mouths
        And honor Me with their lips,
        But have removed their hearts far from Me,
        And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
        Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
        Among this people,
        A marvelous work and a wonder;
        For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
        And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden."
        Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD,
        And their works are in the dark;
        They say, "Who sees us?" and, "Who knows us?"
        Surely you have things turned around!
        Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
        For shall the thing made say of him who made it,
        "He did not make me"?
        Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,
        "He has no understanding"?

Is it not yet a very little while
        Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
        And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?
        In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book,
        And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
        The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD,
        And the poor among men shall rejoice
        In the Holy One of Israel.
        For the terrible one is brought to nothing,
        The scornful one is consumed,
        And all who watch for iniquity are cut off--
        Who make a man an offender by a word,
        And lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
        And turn aside the just by empty words.

Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
        "Jacob shall not now be ashamed,
        Nor shall his face now grow pale;
        But when he sees his children,
        The work of My hands, in his midst,
        They will hallow My name,
        And hallow the Holy One of Jacob,
        And fear the God of Israel.


Job 21:1-34
Then Job answered and said:
        "Listen carefully to my speech,
        And let this be your consolation.
        Bear with me that I may speak,
        And after I have spoken, keep mocking.
        "As for me, is my complaint against man?
        And if it were, why should I not be impatient?
        Look at me and be astonished;
        Put your hand over your mouth.
        Even when I remember I am terrified,
        And trembling takes hold of my flesh.
        Why do the wicked live and become old,
        Yes, become mighty in power?
        Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
        And their offspring before their eyes.
        Their houses are safe from fear,
        Neither is the rod of God upon them.
        Their bull breeds without failure;
        Their cow calves without miscarriage.
        They send forth their little ones like a flock,
        And their children dance.
        They sing to the tambourine and harp,
        And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
        They spend their days in wealth,
        And in a moment go down to the grave.
        Yet they say to God, "Depart from us,
        For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
        Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
        And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?'
        Indeed their prosperity is not in their hand;
        The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
        "How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
        How often does their destruction come upon them,
        The sorrows God distributes in His anger?
        They are like straw before the wind,
        And like chaff that a storm carries away.
        They say, "God lays up one's iniquity for his children';
        Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.
        Let his eyes see his destruction,
        And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
        For what does he care about his household after him,
        When the number of his months is cut in half?
        "Can anyone teach God knowledge,
        Since He judges those on high?
        One dies in his full strength,
        Being wholly at ease and secure;
        His pails are full of milk,
        And the marrow of his bones is moist.
        Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,
        Never having eaten with pleasure.
        They lie down alike in the dust,
        And worms cover them.
        "Look, I know your thoughts,
        And the schemes with which you would wrong me.
        For you say,
        "Where is the house of the prince?
        And where is the tent,
        The dwelling place of the wicked?'
        Have you not asked those who travel the road?
        And do you not know their signs?
        For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom;
        They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
        Who condemns his way to his face?
        And who repays him for what he has done?
        Yet he shall be brought to the grave,
        And a vigil kept over the tomb.
        The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him;
        Everyone shall follow him,
        As countless have gone before him.
        How then can you comfort me with empty words,
        Since falsehood remains in your answers?"


Daniel 14:1-42
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Psalm

From the psalms of our teacher David the prophet, may his blessings be with us Amen.

Psalm 28:6-7

Blessed be the LORD,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.

Gospel

Luke 4:31-37

Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!"

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.


Liturgy

Pauline Epistle

From the epistle of teacher St. Paul the apostle to the (...), may his blessings be with us Amen.

Hebrews 13:7-16

Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.

Catholic Epistle

The catholic epistle from the epistle of our teacher St. (...), may his blessings be with us Amen. My beloved.

1John 4:7-16

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 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.

Do not love the world nor 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 holy blessings be with us all. Amen.

Acts 22:17-24

"Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance and saw Him saying to me, "Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.' So I said, "Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.' Then He said to me, "Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles."'

And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!" Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him.



The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed in the holy Church of God. Amen.

Synaxarium

Stand up in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A chapter according to St. (...) may his blessing be with us all amen.

Psalm

From the psalms of our teacher David the prophet, may his blessings be with us Amen.

Psalm 28:2

Hear the voice of my supplications
        When I cry to You,
        When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.

Gospel

Matthew 15:21-31

Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 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."

But He answered her not a word.

And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us."

But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"

But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."

And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."

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.

Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.