Sunday, February 7, 2016
Liturgical Season: 
III The Season of Great Fast
Special Significance: 
Kothine Sunday (Miracle of changing water into wine)
I Sunday of the Great Fast
Catholicos Day

Jn 10:22-30

Feast of the Dedication. 22The feast of the Dedication* was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter.l 23* And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. 24So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?* If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”m 25Jesus answered them, “I told you* and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.n 26But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.o 27My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.p 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,* and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.q 30* The Father and I are one.”r

Gn 3:1-13

Expulsion from Eden. 1Now the snake was the most cunning* of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden’?” 2The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3a it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.’” 4But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die!b 5God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know* good and evil.” 6The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.c 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

8When they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day,* the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.d 9The LORD God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you? 10He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.” 11Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat? 12The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” 13The LORD God then asked the woman: What is this you have done? The woman answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate it.”e

Sir 2:1-11

1My child, when you come to serve the Lord,*

prepare yourself for trials.a

2Be sincere of heart and steadfast,

and do not be impetuous in time of adversity.

3Cling to him, do not leave him,

that you may prosper in your last days.

4Accept whatever happens to you;

in periods of humiliation be patient.

5For in fire gold is tested,

and the chosen, in the crucible of humiliation.b

6Trust in God, and he will help you;

make your ways straight and hope in him.

7You that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy,

do not stray lest you fall.

8You that fear the Lord, trust in him,

and your reward will not be lost.

9You that fear the Lord, hope for good things,

for lasting joy and mercy.

10Consider the generations long past and see:

has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed?

Has anyone persevered in his fear and been forsaken?

has anyone called upon him and been ignored?c

11For the Lord is compassionate and merciful;

forgives sins and saves in time of trouble.

Ps 1:1-6

1Blessed is the man who does not walk

in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the way* of sinners,

nor sit in company with scoffers.a

2Rather, the law of the LORD* is his joy;

and on his law he meditates day and night.b

3He is like a treec

planted near streams of water,

that yields its fruit in season;

Its leaves never wither;

whatever he does prospers.

4But not so are the wicked,* not so!

They are like chaff driven by the wind.d

5Therefore the wicked will not arise at the judgment,

nor will sinners in the assembly of the just.

6Because the LORD knows the way of the just,e

but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

Is 58:1-14

1Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,

lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;

Proclaim to my people their transgression,

to the house of Jacob their sins.a

2They seek me day after day,

and desire to know my ways,

Like a nation that has done what is just

and not abandoned the judgment of their God;

They ask of me just judgments,

they desire to draw near to God.

3“Why do we fast, but you do not see it?

afflict ourselves, but you take no note?”

See, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,

and drive all your laborers.b

4See, you fast only to quarrel and fight

and to strike with a wicked fist!

Do not fast as you do today

to make your voice heard on high!

5Is this the manner of fasting I would choose,

a day to afflict oneself?

To bow one’s head like a reed,

and lie upon sackcloth and ashes?

Is this what you call a fast,

a day acceptable to the LORD?c

6Is this not, rather, the fast that I choose:

releasing those bound unjustly,

untying the thongs of the yoke;

Setting free the oppressed,

breaking off every yoke?d

7Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry,

bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house;

Clothing the naked when you see them,

and not turning your back on your own flesh?e

8Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,

and your wound shall quickly be healed;

Your vindication shall go before you,

and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

9Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,

you shall cry for help, and he will say: “Here I am!”

If you remove the yoke from among you,

the accusing finger, and malicious speech;f

10If you lavish your food on the hungry

and satisfy the afflicted;

Then your light shall rise in the darkness,

and your gloom shall become like midday;

11Then the LORD will guide you always

and satisfy your thirst in parched places,

will give strength to your bones

And you shall be like a watered garden,

like a flowing spring whose waters never fail.g

12Your people shall rebuild the ancient ruins;

the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;

“Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you,

“Restorer of ruined dwellings.”h

13If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,

from following your own pursuits on my holy day;

If you call the sabbath a delight,

the LORD’s holy day glorious;

If you glorify it by not following your ways,

seeking your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs—

14Then you shall delight in the LORD,

and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;

I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,

for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.i

1 Jn 4:13-21

13* This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. 14Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. 15Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. 16We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. 17In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world.i 18There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. 19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God* whom he has not seen.j 21This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.k

Rom 12:16-21

16Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation.n 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil; be concerned for what is noble in the sight of all.o 18If possible, on your part, live at peace with all.p 19Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”q 20Rather, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.”r 21Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.

Jn 2:1-11

The Wedding at Cana. 1* On the third day there was a wedding* in Cana* in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.a 2Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. 3When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4* [And] Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.”b 5His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”c 6* Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings,d each holding twenty to thirty gallons. 7Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. 8Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.”* So they took it. 9And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom 10and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.” 11Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs* in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.e