19When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle and said to them, “Peace be to you.”
20When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord.
21Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”
22When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit!
23If you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.”
24But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, wasn’t with them when Jesus came.
25The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26After eight days, again his disciples were inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being locked, and stood in the middle, and said, “Peace be to you.”
27Then he said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.”
28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
30Therefore Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book;
31but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
Ephesians 4.7-13
(Epistle, Sunday after Theophany)
7But to each one of us, the grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8Therefore he says, “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to people.”
9Now this, “He ascended”, what is it but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.
11He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers;
12for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ,
13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
Acts 19.1-8
(Epistle, Forerunner)
1While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus and found certain disciples.
2He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They said to him, “No, we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3He said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
4Paul said, “John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Christ Jesus.”
5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke with other languages and prophesied.
7They were about twelve men in all.
8He entered into the synagogue and spoke boldly for a period of three months, reasoning and persuading about the things concerning God’s Kingdom.
Matthew 4.12-17
(Gospel, Sunday after Theophany)
12Now when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee.
13Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
15“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,
16the people who sat in darkness saw a great light; to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned.”
17From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
John 1.29-34
(Gospel, Forerunner)
29The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
30This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.’
31I didn’t know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water, that he would be revealed to Israel.”
32John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him.
33I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending and remaining on him is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
34I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Commemorations
The Synaxis of the Venerable and Illustrious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John.
On the day after a great Feast we usually honor the servant of the Mystery; today we honor him who baptized the Lord: the blessed Forerunner, “greatest of the Prophets, most noble of those born of women, voice of the Word, herald of Grace, swallow presaging the spiritual spring, torch and beacon of the divine Light, spiritual dawn announcing the Sun of Righteousness, and as terrestrial angel and celestial man, stationed at the border of heaven and earth, uniting the Old and the New Testaments” (Synaxarion).
New Martyr Athanasius of Attalia (1700)
A native of Attalia, he lived in Smyrna. Once he unguardedly spoke the opening words of the Muslim confession of faith, “There is no god but God.” Hearing this, some Turks immediately surrounded him and took him to the court, claiming that he had embraced Islam. This he vehemently denied, assuring them that he was a Christian and that the words he had spoken would be unremarkable to any Christian. He was thrown into prison as an apostate and, after a sham trial, beheaded. His body was thrown to the dogs, but the usually voracious animals refused to touch his body, and it was removed by some pious Christians and given honorable burial.
Our Venerable Father Cedd, Bishop of Essex and Abbot of Lastingham (664)
He and his brother Chad (Mar. 2) were from an English family, educated under Saint Aidan (Aug. 31) of Lindisfarne. Both brothers entered monastic life at Lindisfarne and later became bishops. Cedd travelled as an evangelist among the people of Essex, where Saint Finan (Feb. 17) consecrated him to be their first bishop. He founded two monasteries in Essex, one of whose churches still stands; he built yet another monastery at Lastingham in Yorkshire, where he lived until his repose. He spoke both Irish and Anglo-Saxon, and served as a translator for the Irish at the Synod of Whitby in 664. He reposed at Lastingham not long after the Synod.