Isaiah 40.18-31 (6th Hour)

18To whom have you⌃ compared the Lord? and with what likeness have you⌃ compared him? 19Has not the artificer made an image, or the goldsmith having melted gold, gilt it over, and made it a similitude? 20For the artificer chooses out a wood that will not rot, and will wisely enquire how he shall set up his image, and that so that it should not be moved. 21Will you⌃ not know? will you⌃ not hear? has it not been told you of old? Have you⌃ not known the foundations of the earth? 22It is he that comprehends the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants in it are as grasshoppers; he that set up the heaven as a chamber, and stretched it out as a tent to dwell in: 23he that appoints princes to rule as nothing, and has made the earth as nothing. 24For they shall not plant, neither shall they sow, neither shall their root be fixed in the ground: he has blown upon them, and they are withered, and a storm shall carry them away like sticks. 25Now then to whom have you⌃ compared me, that I may be exalted? says the Holy One. 26Lift up your eyes on high, and see, who has displayed all these things? even he that brings forth his host by number: he shall call them all by name by means of his great glory, and by the power of his might: nothing has escaped you. 27For say not you, O Jacob, and why have you spoken, Israel, saying, My way is hid from God, and my God has taken away my judgement, and has departed? 28And now, have you not known? have you not heard? the eternal God, the God that formed the ends of the earth, shall not hunger, nor be weary, and there is no searching of his understanding. 29He gives strength to the hungry, and sorrow to them that are not suffering. 30For the young men shall hunger, and the youths shall be weary, and the choice men shall be powerless: 31but they that wait on God shall renew their strength; they shall put forth new feathers like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not hunger.

Genesis 15.1-15 (Vespers)

1And after these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I shield you, your reward shall be very great. 2And Abram said, Master and Lord, what will you give me? whereas I am departing without a child, but the son of Masek my home-born female slave, this Eliezer of Damascus is my heir. 3And Abram said, I am grieved since you have given me no seed, but my home-born servant shall succeed me. 4And immediately there was a voice of the Lord to him, saying, This shall not be your heir; but he that shall come out of you shall be your heir. 5And he brought him out and said to him, Look up now to heaven, and count the stars, if you shall be able to number them fully, and he said, Thus shall your seed be. 6And Abram believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. 7And he said to him, I am God that brought you out of the land of the Chaldeans, so as to give you this land to inherit. 8And he said, Master and Lord, how shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9And he said to him, Take for me an heifer in her third year, and a she-goat in her third year, and a ram in his third year, and a dove and a pigeon. 10So he took to him all these, and divided them in the midst, and set them opposite to each other, but the birds he did not divide. 11And birds came down upon the bodies, even upon the divided parts of them, and Abram sat down by them. 12And about sunset a trance fell upon Abram, and behold! a great gloomy terror falls upon him. 13And it was said to Abram, You shall surely know that your seed shall be a sojourner in a land not their own, and they shall enslave them, and afflict them, and humble them four hundred years. 14And the nation whoever they shall serve I will judge; and after this, they shall come forth hither with much property. 15But you shall depart to your fathers in peace, nourished in a good old age.

Proverbs 15.7-19 (Vespers)

7The lips of the wise are bound by discretion: but the hearts of the foolish are not safe. 8The sacrifices of the ungodly are an abomination to the Lord; but the prayers of them that walk honestly are acceptable with him. 9The ways of an ungodly man are an abomination to the Lord; but he loves those that follow after righteousness. 10The instruction of the simple is known by them that pass by; but they that hate reproofs die disgracefully. 11Hell and destruction are manifest to the Lord; how shall not also be the hearts of men? 12An uninstructed person will not love those that reprove him; neither will he associate with the wise. 13When the heart rejoices the countenance is cheerful; but when it is in sorrow, the countenance is sad. 14An upright heart seeks discretion; but the mouth of the uninstructed will experience evils. 15The eyes of the wicked are always looking for evil things; but the good are always quiet. 16Better is a small portion with the fear of the Lord, than great treasures without the fear of the Lord. 17Better is an entertainment of herbs with friendliness and kindness, than a feast of calves, with enmity. 18A passionate man stirs up strife; but he that is slow to anger appeases even a rising one. A man slow to anger will extinguish quarrels; but an ungodly man rather stirs them up. 19The ways of sluggards are strewn with thorns; but those of the diligent are made smooth.

Martyrs Agathopedes, Theodulus and Their Companions

Agathopous was a deacon, very old, and Theodoulos a reader, very young, in the church in Thessalonica. During Diocletian’s persecution the two were summoned to trial. They went joyfully, holding one another by the hand and exclaiming to all, ‘We are Christians!’ After flattery, cajolery, threats, imprisonment and starvation had failed to make them deny Christ, they were condemned to death by drowning. They were bound and a large stone tied to their necks; as they were about to be thrown into the sea, Agathopous cried, ‘Behold, by a second baptism we are washed from our sins, and will go cleansed to Christ Jesus!’ Their drowned bodies were soon washed ashore, and Christians gave them honorable burial. Not long afterward, Theodoulos appeared to his brethren in the form of a shining angel and told them to give all his goods to the poor.

Our Holy Father Mark of Trache (ca. 400)

He is also called ‘Mark the Athenian’ because he was born in Athens. When his parents died, he pondered the transience of all earthly things, gave his goods to the poor, and embarked on a plank in the sea, asking God to lead him wherever He desired. By God’s providence, Mark was cast up on the shores of Libya, where he settled as a hermit on a mountain called Trache. (Some say it was in Ethiopia, but this seems less likely.) There he lived for ninety-five years, never seeing another human being.

Saint Serapion visited him before his death and recorded his life. Serapion asked Mark if there were any Christians whose faith was so great that they could say to a mountain ‘Get up and cast yourself into the sea,’ and it would be so. Immediately the mountain on which they stood began to move like a wave, but Mark raised his hand and stilled it.

On his deathbed, St Mark prayed for the salvation of all men and gave up his soul to God. Saint Serapion saw an angel carrying Mark’s soul, and a hand extended from heaven to receive it. Saint Mark was about 130 years old when he reposed.