Sunday, January 17, 2016
Liturgical Season:
Special Significance:
II Sunday after Denho
Mar Antony of Egypt
Feast of Bishop Thomas Mar Anthonios
Jos 4:1-14
Memorial Stones. 1After the entire nation had completed the crossing of the Jordan, 2the LORD said to Joshua: Choose twelve mena from the people, one from each tribe, 3and command them, “Take up twelve stones from this spot in the Jordan riverbed where the priests have been standing.b Carry them over with you, and place them where you are to stay tonight.”
4Summoning the twelve men he had selected from among the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5Joshua said to them: “Go to the Jordan riverbed in front of the ark of the LORD, your God; lift to your shoulders one stone apiece, so that they will equal in number the tribes of the Israelites. 6In the future, these are to be a sign among you. When your children ask you,* ‘What do these stones mean to you?’c 7you shall answer them, ‘The waters of the Jordan ceased to flow before the ark of the covenant of the LORD when it crossed the Jordan.’d Thus these stones are to serve as a perpetual memorial to the Israelites.” 8The twelve Israelites did as Joshua had commanded: they took up twelve stones from the Jordan riverbed as the LORD had said to Joshua, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites. They carried them along to the camp site, and there they placed them. 9Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the Jordan riverbed on the spot where the priests stood who were carrying the ark of the covenant. They are there to this day.
10* The priests carrying the ark stood in the Jordan riverbed until everything had been done that the LORD had commanded Joshua to tell the people, just as Moses had commanded Joshua. The people crossed over quickly, 11and when all the people had completed the crossing, the ark of the LORD also crossed; and the priests were now in front of them. 12The Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh, armed, marched in the vanguard of the Israelites, as Moses had ordered. 13About forty thousand troops, equipped for battle, crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for war.
14That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel,e and so during his whole life they feared him as they had feared Moses.
Prv 10:1-12
1The Proverbs of Solomon:
A wise son gives his father joy,
but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.* a
2Ill-gotten treasures profit nothing,
but justice saves from death.* b
3The LORD does not let the just go hungry,
but the craving of the wicked he thwarts.*
4The slack hand impoverishes,
but the busy hand brings riches.c
5A son who gathers in summer is a credit;
a son who slumbers during harvest, a disgrace.
6Blessings are for the head of the just;
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.*
7The memory of the just serves as blessing,
but the name of the wicked will rot.*
8A wise heart accepts commands,
but a babbling fool will be overthrown.*
9Whoever walks honestly walks securely,
but one whose ways are crooked will fare badly.
10One who winks at a fault causes trouble,
but one who frankly reproves promotes peace.
11The mouth of the just is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
12Hatred stirs up disputes,
Is 61:1-4
1* The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
release to the prisoners,a
2To announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God;
To comfort all who mourn;b
3to place on those who mourn in Zion
a diadem instead of ashes,
To give them oil of gladness instead of mourning,
a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of justice,
the planting of the LORD to show his glory.
4They shall rebuild the ancient ruins,
the former wastes they shall raise up
And restore the desolate cities,
devastations of generation upon generation.c
Zep 3:9-13
9For then I will make pure
the speech of the peoples,
That they all may call upon the name of the LORD,
to serve him with one accord;
10From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
and as far as the recesses of the North,
they shall bring me offerings.
11On that day
You will not be ashamed
of all your deeds,
when you rebelled against me;
For then I will remove from your midst
the proud braggarts,
And you shall no longer exalt yourself
on my holy mountain.
12But I will leave as a remnant in your midst
a people humble and lowly,
Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD—f
13the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong
and speak no lies;
Nor shall there be found in their mouths
a deceitful tongue;
They shall pasture and lie down
with none to disturb them.g
1 Pt 1:13-25
Obedience. 13* Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind,* live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance* 15but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,i 16for it is written, “Be holy because I [am] holy.”j
Reverence. 17Now if you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one’s works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning,k 18realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or goldl 19but with the precious blood of Christm as of a spotless unblemished lamb.* 20He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you, 21who through him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Mutual Love.* 22Since you have purified yourselves by obedience to the truth for sincere mutual love, love one another intensely from a [pure] heart.n 23You have been born anew,o not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God,* 24for:
“All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the field;
the grass withers,
and the flower wilts;p
25but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
Rom 3:1-8
Answers to Objections. 1* What advantage is there then in being a Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2Much, in every respect. [For] in the first place, they were entrusted with the utterances of God.a 3What if some were unfaithful? Will their infidelity nullify the fidelity of God?b 4Of course not! God must be true, though every human being is a liar,* as it is written:
“That you may be justified in your words,
and conquer when you are judged.”c
5But if our wickedness provides proof of God’s righteousness, what can we say? Is God unjust, humanly speaking, to inflict his wrath?d 6Of course not! For how else is God to judge the world? 7But if God’s truth redounds to his glory through my falsehood, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8And why not say—as we are accused and as some claim we say—that we should do evil that good may come of it? Their penalty is what they deserve.e
Lk 4:16-22
The Rejection at Nazareth.* l 16He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom* into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read 17and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,*
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.m
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”
20Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. 21He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”* 22And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”n