March 13, 1980 Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lenten Fast
Commemorations
Ven. John Cassian
Scripture Readings
Isaiah 28.14-22
(6th Hour)
14Therefore hear you⌃ the word of the Lord, you⌃ afflicted men, and you⌃ princes of this people that is in Jerusalem.
15Because you⌃ have said, We have made a covenant with Hades, and agreements with death; if the rushing storm should pass, it shall not come upon us: we have made falsehood our hope, and by falsehood shall we be protected:
16Therefore thus says the Lord, even the Lord, Behold, I lay for the foundations of Sion a costly stone, a choice, a corner-stone, a precious stone, for its foundations; and he that believes on him shall by no means be ashamed.
17And I will cause judgment to be for hope, and my compassion shall be for just measures, and you⌃ that trust vainly in falsehood shall fall: for the storm shall by no means pass by you,
18except it also take away your covenant of death, and your trust in Hades shall by no means stand: if the rushing storm should come upon you, you⌃ shall be beaten down by it.
19Whenever it shall pass by, it shall take you; morning by morning it shall pass by in the day, and in the night there shall be an evil hope. Learn to hear,
20you⌃ that are distressed; we can’t fight, but we are ourselves too weak for you to be gathered.
21The Lord shall rise up as a mountain of ungodly men, and shall be in the valley of Gabaon; he shall perform his works with wrath, even a work of bitterness, and his wrath shall deal strangely, and his destruction shall be strange.
22Therefore do not you⌃ rejoice, neither let your bands be made strong; for I have heard of works finished and cut short by the Lord of hosts, which he will execute upon all the earth.
Genesis 10.32-11.9 (Vespers)
32These are the tribes of the sons of Noe, according to their generations, according to their nations: of them were the islands of the Gentiles scattered over the earth after the flood.
1And all the earth was one lip, and there was one language to all.
2And it came to pass as they moved from the east, they found a plain in the land of Senaar, and they lived there.
3And a man said to his neighbor, Come, let us make bricks and bake them with fire. And the brick was to them for stone, and their mortar was bitumen.
4And they said, Come, let us build to ourselves a city and tower, whose top shall be to heaven, and let us make to ourselves a name, before we are scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth.
5And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men built.
6And the Lord said, Behold, there is one race, and one lip of all, and they have begun to do this, and now nothing shall fail from them of all that they may have undertaken to do.
7Come, and having gone down let us there confound their tongue, that they may not understand each the voice of his neighbor.
8And the Lord scattered them thence over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city and the tower.
9On this account its name was called Confusion, because there the Lord confounded the languages of all the earth, and thence the Lord scattered them upon the face of all the earth.
Proverbs 13.19-14.6 (Vespers)
19The desires of the godly gladden the soul, but the works of the ungodly are far from knowledge.
20If you walk with wise men you shall be wise: but he that walks with fools shall be known.
21Evil shall pursue sinners; but good shall overtake the righteous.
22A good man shall inherit children's children; and the wealth of ungodly men is laid up for the just.
23The righteous shall spend many years in wealth: but the unrighteous shall perish suddenly.
24He that spares the rod hates his son: but he that loves, carefully chastens him.
25A just man eats and satisfies his soul: but the souls of the ungodly are in lack.
1Wise women build houses: but a foolish one digs hers down with her hands.
2He that walks uprightly fears the Lord; but he that is perverse in his ways shall be dishonored.
3Out of the mouth of fools comes a rod of pride; but the lips of the wise preserve them.
4Where no oxen are, the cribs are clean; but where there is abundant produce, the strength of the ox is apparent.
5A faithful witness does not lie; but an unjust witness kindles falsehoods.
6You shall seek wisdom with bad men, and shall not find it; but discretion is easily available with the prudent.
1 John 2.18-3.10
(Epistle, St John)
18Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour.
19They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us.
20You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
21I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
22Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
23Whoever denies the Son doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.
24Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father.
25This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life.
26These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray.
27As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.
28Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
29If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
1See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.
2Beloved, now we are children of God. It is not yet revealed what we will be; but we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him just as he is.
3Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure.
4Everyone who sins also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness.
5You know that he was revealed to take away our sins, and no sin is in him.
6Whoever remains in him doesn’t sin. Whoever sins hasn’t seen him and doesn’t know him.
7Little children, let no one lead you astray. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil.
9Whoever is born of God doesn’t commit sin, because his seed remains in him, and he can’t sin, because he is born of God.
10In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn’t do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn’t love his brother.
Mark 11.1-11
(Gospel, St John)
1When they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples
2and said to them, “Go your way into the village that is opposite you. Immediately as you enter into it, you will find a young donkey tied, on which no one has sat. Untie him and bring him.
3If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs him;’ and immediately he will send him back here.”
4They went away, and found a young donkey tied at the door outside in the open street, and they untied him.
5Some of those who stood there asked them, “What are you doing, untying the young donkey?”
6They said to them just as Jesus had said, and they let them go.
7They brought the young donkey to Jesus and threw their garments on it, and Jesus sat on it.
8Many spread their garments on the way, and others were cutting down branches from the trees and spreading them on the road.
9Those who went in front and those who followed cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
10Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
11Jesus entered into the temple in Jerusalem. When he had looked around at everything, it being now evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.