James 1.1-12
(Vespers, St James)
1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings.
2Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations,
3knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed.
7For that man shouldn’t think that he will receive anything from the Lord.
8He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position;
10and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away.
11For the sun arises with the scorching wind and withers the grass; and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So the rich man will also fade away in his pursuits.
12Blessed is a person who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord promised to those who love him.
James 1.13-27
(Vespers, St James)
13Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.
14But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed.
15Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin. The sin, when it is full grown, produces death.
16Don’t be deceived, my beloved brothers.
17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation nor turning shadow.
18Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
19So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;
20for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God.
21Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.
23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror;
24for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.
26If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn’t bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is worthless.
27Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
James 2.1-13
(Vespers, St James)
1My brothers, don’t hold the faith of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with partiality.
2For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in,
3and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing and say, “Sit here in a good place;” and you tell the poor man, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool”
4haven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him?
6But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you and personally drag you before the courts?
7Don’t they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called?
8However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.
9But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors.
10For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
11For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
12So speak and so do as men who are to be judged by the law of freedom.
13For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
John 21.15-25
(Matins Gospel)
15So when they had eaten their breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
16He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
18Most certainly I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you don’t want to go.”
19Now he said this, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. When he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
20Then Peter, turning around, saw a disciple following. This was the disciple whom Jesus loved, the one who had also leaned on Jesus’ chest at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”
21Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”
22Jesus said to him, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.”
23This saying therefore went out among the brothers that this disciple wouldn’t die. Yet Jesus didn’t say to him that he wouldn’t die, but, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you?”
24This is the disciple who testifies about these things, and wrote these things. We know that his witness is true.
25There are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they would all be written, I suppose that even the world itself wouldn’t have room for the books that would be written.
Acts 8.40-9.19
(Epistle)
40But Philip was found at Azotus. Passing through, he preached the Good News to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.
1But Saul, still breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
2and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
3As he traveled, he got close to Damascus, and suddenly a light from the sky shone around him.
4He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5He said, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
6But rise up and enter into the city, then you will be told what you must do.”
7The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the sound, but seeing no one.
8Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one. They led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
9He was without sight for three days, and neither ate nor drank.
10Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!” He said, “Behold, it’s me, Lord.”
11The Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judah for one named Saul, a man of Tarsus. For behold, he is praying,
12and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him, that he might receive his sight.”
13But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he did to your saints at Jerusalem.
14Here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”
15But the Lord said to him, “Go your way, for he is my chosen vessel to bear my name before the nations and kings, and the children of Israel.
16For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
17Ananias departed and entered into the house. Laying his hands on him, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he received his sight. He arose and was baptized.
19He took food and was strengthened. Saul stayed several days with the disciples who were at Damascus.
Acts 12.1-11
(Epistle, St James)
1Now about that time, King Herod stretched out his hands to oppress some of the assembly.
2He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.
3When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This was during the days of unleavened bread.
4When he had arrested him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.
5Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him.
6The same night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards in front of the door kept the prison.
7And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Stand up quickly!” His chains fell off his hands.
8The angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” He did so. He said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.”
9And he went out and followed him. He didn’t know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he saw a vision.
10When they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
11When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.”
John 6.48-54
(Gospel)
48I am the bread of life.
49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died.
50This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die.
51I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves.
54He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Luke 5.1-11
(Gospel, St James)
1Now while the multitude pressed on him and heard the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret.
2He saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
3He entered into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
5Simon answered him, “Master, we worked all night and caught nothing; but at your word I will let down the net.”
6When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was breaking.
7They beckoned to their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them. They came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.
8But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.”
9For he was amazed, and all who were with him, at the catch of fish which they had caught;
10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be catching people alive.”
11When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything, and followed him.