1The memory of a just man is praised, and the Lord’s blessing is upon his head. Blessed is one who has found wisdom; a mortal who knows understanding. To import her is better than treasures of gold and silver. She is more valuable than precious stones; nothing of value equals her worth. Justice proceeds from her mouth; she bears law and mercy on her tongue. Therefore, my children, listen to me, for I speak weighty things. And blessed is the one who keeps my ways. For my goings out are the goings out of life, and favour is prepared from the Lord. Therefore I exhort you, and utter my voice to the children of humankind. Because I, Wisdom, have prepared counsel, knowledge and understanding. I have called on them. Counsel and sureness are mine; prudence is mine, strength is mine. I love those who are my friends, while those who seek me will find grace. You innocent, then, understand cunning; you untaught, take it to heart. Listen to me, for I will speak weighty things, and I will open right things from my lips. Because my throat will meditate truth; lying lips are abominable before me. All the words of my mouth are with justice, there is nothing crooked in them nor twisted. They are all straight for those who understand, and right for those who find knowledge. For I teach you what is true, that your hope may be in the Lord and that you may be filled with spirit.
Proverbs 10.31-11.12 (Vespers)
31The mouth of the righteous drops wisdom: but the tongue of the unjust shall perish.
32The lips of just men drop grace: but the mouth of the ungodly is perverse.
1False balances are an abomination before the Lord: but a just weight is acceptable to him.
2Wherever pride enters, there will be also disgrace: but the mouth of the lowly meditates wisdom.
3When a just man dies he leaves regret: but the destruction of the ungodly is speedy, and causes joy.
4Possessions will not profit in a day of wrath, but righteousness will deliver from death.
5Righteousness traces out blameless paths: but ungodliness encounters unjust dealing.
6The righteousness of upright men delivers them: but transgressors are caught in their own destruction.
7At the death of a just man his hope does not perish: but the boast of the ungodly perishes.
8A righteous man escapes from a snare, and the ungodly man is delivered up in his place.
9In the mouth of ungodly men is a snare to citizens: but the understanding of righteous men is prosperous.
10In the prosperity of righteous men a city prospers: but by the mouth of ungodly men it is overthrown.
11At the blessing of the upright a city shall be exalted.
12A man void of understanding sneers at his fellow citizens: but a sensible man is quiet.
Wisdom of Solomon 4.7-15 (Vespers)
7But though the righteous be prevented with death, yet shall he be in rest.
8For honorable age is not that which stands in length of time, nor that is measured by number of years.
9But wisdom is the gray hair to men, and an unspotted life is old age.
10He pleased God, and was beloved of him: so that living among sinners he was translated.
11Yes speedily was he taken away, lest that wickedness should alter his understanding, or deceit decieve his soul.
12For the bewitching of naughtiness does obscure things that are honest; and the wandering of concupiscence does undermine the simple mind.
13He, being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time:
14For his soul pleased the Lord: therefore hasted he to take him away from among the wicked.
15This the people saw, and understood it not, neither laid they up this in their minds, That his grace and mercy is with his saints, and that he has respect to his chosen.
John 10.9-16
(Matins Gospel)
9I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out and will find pasture.
10The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.
13The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care for the sheep.
14I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own;
15even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.
16I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.
2 Corinthians 8.16-9.5 (Epistle)
16But thanks be to God, who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus.
17For he indeed accepted our exhortation, but being himself very earnest, he went out to you of his own accord.
18We have sent together with him the brother whose praise in the Good News is known throughout all the assemblies.
19Not only so, but he was also appointed by the assemblies to travel with us in this grace, which is served by us to the glory of the Lord himself, and to show our readiness.
20We are avoiding this, that any man should blame us concerning this abundance which is administered by us.
21Having regard for honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
22We have sent with them our brother whom we have many times proved earnest in many things, but now much more earnest, by reason of the great confidence which he has in you.
23As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for you. As for our brothers, they are the apostles of the assemblies, the glory of Christ.
24Therefore show the proof of your love to them before the assemblies, and of our boasting on your behalf.
1It is indeed unnecessary for me to write to you concerning the service to the saints,
2for I know your readiness, of which I boast on your behalf to those of Macedonia, that Achaia has been prepared for the past year. Your zeal has stirred up very many of them.
3But I have sent the brothers so that our boasting on your behalf may not be in vain in this respect, that, just as I said, you may be prepared,
4lest by any means, if anyone from Macedonia comes there with me and finds you unprepared, we (to say nothing of you) would be disappointed in this confident boasting.
5I thought it necessary therefore to entreat the brothers that they would go before to you and arrange ahead of time the generous gift that you promised before, that the same might be ready as a matter of generosity, and not of greediness.
Hebrews 7.26-8.2
(Epistle, St Tikhon)
26For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
27who doesn’t need, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. For he did this once for all, when he offered up himself.
28For the law appoints men as high priests who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son forever who has been perfected.
1Now in the things which we are saying, the main point is this: we have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
2a servant of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, not man.
Mark 3.13-19 (Gospel)
13He went up into the mountain and called to himself those whom he wanted, and they went to him.
14He appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach
15and to have authority to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:
16Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);
17James the son of Zebedee; and John, the brother of James, (whom he called Boanerges, which means, Sons of Thunder);
18Andrew; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James, the son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot;
19and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. Then he came into a house.
Matthew 5.14-19
(Gospel, St Tikhon)
14“You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden.
15Neither do you light a lamp and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house.
16Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
17“Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill.
18For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.
19Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least commandments and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Commemorations
St Tikhon of Zadonsk (1783)
He is one of the best-loved Saints of the Russian people. He was born into a very poor family in Novgorod province and received the baptismal name of Timothy. He went to seminary in Novgorod, where he excelled, later teaching Greek and other subjects. He was tonsured a monk at the age of thirty-four, receiving the monastic name of Tikhon. As his ascesis and wisdom became known, he quickly became eminent in the Church and in 1761 was made a bishop. In 1763 he was consecrated Bishop of Voronezh. After serving as bishop for about seven years, he retired to the monastery of Zadonsk, where he spent the remainder of his life. He devoted his “retirement” to prayer and the writing of books, producing a huge collection of writings that have earned him the name “the Russian Chrysostom.” He reposed in peace in 1783 at the age of fifty-nine. Many miracles were wrought by him after his death, and he was soon proclaimed a Saint by the people. When his body was exhumed in 1845 (over sixty years later) to make way for a new church in Zadonsk, his relics were found to be whole and incorrupt; even his vestments were free from decay. He was officially glorified in 1863; some three hundred thousand pilgrims attended his glorification.
St Maximos the Confessor (662)
He was from a noble family in Constantinople, and became the private secretary of the Emperor Heraclius and his grandson Constans. But when the Monothelite heresy (that Christ possesses one divine will, rather than a divine and a human will) took hold in the Imperial court, the Saint could not bear to be surrounded by this error and left the court for the Monastery at Chrysopolis, where in time he became the abbot. From the monastery he continued to speak and write in defense of Orthodox belief. The Emperor Constans ordered him either to accept Monothelite belief or to cease speaking against it, but St Maximos would do neither. For this, his tongue was torn out, his right hand was cut off, and he was sent into exile, where he reposed in 662. He is also commemorated on January 21; see that day for a slightly fuller account.
Holy Martyr Hippolytus of Rome and 18 Martyrs with him (258)
He was the pagan jailkeeper who guarded St Laurence (see August 10); seeing his prisoner’s holiness and the wonders wrought by him, Hippolytus was convinced of the truth of the Faith and became a Christian. When St Laurence baptized him, he was granted a vision of heaven and said ‘I see innocent souls in great joy.’ He took Laurence into his own home, and his entire household were baptized, nineteen in all.
When St Laurence was martyred, Hippolytus retrieved his body by night and buried it. He was detected and brought before the Emperor Valerian on the third day after Laurence’s death. Despite severe beatings he would not renounce his faith. The Emperor ordered that he be stripped and flayed but, standing naked before the emperor, Hippolytus said ‘You have not stripped me, but have begun to clothe me.’ Despite all torments, neither Hippolytus nor any of his household would deny Christ. All of his household were slain, one by one, before Hippolytus. Finally Hippolytus himself was bound behind a wild horse and dragged to death.
Our Holy Mother the Empress Irene (Xenia in Monasticism) (12th c.)
She was the pious wife of the Emperor John II Comnenus (reigned 1118-1143), but retired into monastic life. She founded the Monastery of the Pantokrator in Constantinople.