9Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
10She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
11When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they disbelieved.
12After these things he was revealed in another form to two of them as they walked, on their way into the country.
13They went away and told it to the rest. They didn’t believe them, either.
14Afterward he was revealed to the eleven themselves as they sat at the table; and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they didn’t believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to the whole creation.
16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.
17These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new languages;
18they will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will in no way hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19So then the Lord, after he had spoken to them, was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
20They went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.
Romans 5.1-10 (Epistle)
1Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;
2through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance;
4and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
5and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a good person someone would even dare to die.
8But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him.
10For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we will be saved by his life.
Matthew 6.22-33 (Gospel)
22“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.
23But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon.
25Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they?
27“Which of you by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?
28Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin,
29yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.
30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?
31“Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’
32For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
Commemorations
Martyr Leontius and Companions
An honored Roman commander in Tripoli of Phoenicia, he was described as being ‘of great physical stature, powerful, strong and bold in battle’. When it was learned that he was a Christian and had given grain to the poor from the imperial storehouse, the governor Hadrian, a great persecutor of Christians, sent Hypatius, a military commander, and Theodoulus, a soldier, along with some others to arrest him. On the way Hypatius fell gravely ill with a fever, and the company had to delay its mission. One night an angel of the Lord appeared to Hypatius and said, ‘If you desire to be healed, you and your soldiers must cry to heaven three times: “O God of Leontius, help me!”’. Hypatius told his comrades of his vision, and when they all cried out as instructed Hypatius was instantly healed. Hypatius and Theodoulos then went on ahead of the other soldiers and found Leontius. Leontius received them hospitably and offered them refreshment. As they rested in his house, he proclaimed his faith in Christ and their hearts began to burn within them. While Leontius was still speaking, a bright cloud descended upon the two soldiers and shed dew on them while Leontius said ‘In the name of the All-holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.’ Thus were they baptized by the Holy Spirit Himself.
When the cruel Hadrian discovered this, he had the two soldiers beaten fiercely, then beheaded; he then subjected Leontius to the cruelest tortures, under which he finally died, unwavering in his faith. This was during the reign of Vespasian.