21For, behold, the Lord is bringing wrath from his holy place upon the dwellers on the earth: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall not cover her slain.
1In that day God shall bring his holy and great and strong sword upon the dragon, even the serpent that flees, upon the dragon, the crooked serpent: he shall destroy the dragon.
2In that day there shall be a fair vineyard, and a desire to commence a song concerning it.
3I am a strong city, a city in a siege: in vain shall I water it; for it shall be taken by night, and by day the wall shall fall.
4There is no woman that has not taken hold of it; who will set me to watch stubble in the field? because of this enemy I have set her aside; therefore on this account the Lord has done all that he appointed.
5I am burnt up; they that dwell in her shall cry, Let us make peace with him, let us make peace,
6they that are coming are the children of Jacob. Israel shall bud and blossom, and the world shall be filled with his fruit.
7Shall he himself be thus struck, even as he struck? and as he killed, shall he be thus slain?
8Fighting and reproaching he will dismiss them; did you not meditate with a harsh spirit, to kill them with a wrathful spirit?
9Therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be taken away; and this is his blessing, when I shall have taken away his sin; when they shall have broken to pieces all the stones of the altars as fine dust, and their trees shall not remain, and their idols shall be cut off, as a thicket afar off.
Genesis 9.18-10.1 (Vespers)
18Now the sons of Noe which came out of the ark, were Sem, Cham, Japheth. And Cham was father of Chanaan.
19These three are the sons of Noe, of these were men scattered over all the earth.
20And Noe began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard.
21And he drank of the wine, and was drunk, and was naked in his house.
22And Cham the father of Chanaan saw the nakedness of his father, and he went out and told his two brothers without.
23And Sem and Japheth having taken a garment, put it on both their backs and went backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their face was backward, and they saw not the nakedness of their father.
24And Noe recovered from the wine, and knew all that his younger son had done to him.
25And he said, Cursed be the servant Chanaan, a slave shall he be to his brethren.
26And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Sem, and Chanaan shall be his bond-servant.
27May God make room for Japheth, and let him dwell in the habitations of Sem, and let Chanaan be his servant.
28And Noe lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
29And all the days of Noe were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.
1Now these are the generations of the sons of Noe, Sem, Cham, Japheth; and sons were born to them after the flood.
Proverbs 12.23-13.9 (LXX) (Vespers)
23An understanding man is a throne of wisdom; but the heart of fools shall meet with curses.
24The hand of chosen men shall easily obtain rule; but the deceitful shall be for a prey.
25A terrible word troubles the heart of a righteous man; but a good message rejoices him.
26A just arbitrator shall be his own friend; but mischief shall pursue sinners; and the way of ungodly men shall lead them astray.
27A deceitful man shall catch no game; but a blameless man is a precious possession.
28In the ways of righteousness is life; but the ways of those that remember injuries lead to death.
1A wise son is obedient to his father: but a disobedient son will be destroyed.
2A good man shall eat of the fruits of righteousness: but the lives of transgressors shall perish before their time.
3He that keeps his own mouth keeps his own life: but he that is hasty with his lips shall bring terror upon himself.
4Every slothful man desires, but the hands of the active are diligent.
5A righteous man hates an unjust word: but an ungodly man is ashamed, and will have no confidence.
7There are some who, having nothing, enrich themselves: and there are some who bring themselves down in the midst of much wealth.
8A man's own wealth is the ransom of his life: but the poor endures not threatening.
9The righteous always have light: but the light of the ungodly is quenched. Crafty souls go astray in sins: but just men pity, and are merciful.
Hebrews 2.11-18
(Epistle, Theotokos)
11For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers,
12saying, “I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the congregation I will sing your praise.”
13Again, “I will put my trust in him.” Again, “Behold, here I am with the children whom God has given me.”
14Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
16For most certainly, he doesn’t give help to angels, but he gives help to the offspring of Abraham.
17Therefore he was obligated in all things to be made like his brothers, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.
18For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
Luke 1.24-38
(Gospel, Theotokos)
24After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying,
25“Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.”
26Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”
29But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be.
30The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’
32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
35The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
36Behold, Elizabeth your relative also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
37For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”
38Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Commemorations
Leavetaking of Annunciation
Each of the Great Feasts of the Church is followed by a commemoration of some holy one who figures in the events of the Feast. So, today we commemorate the Holy Archangel Gabriel, who brought the glad news of the conception of Christ to Mary, the Theotokos. The Prologue gives the following teaching:
“The herald of the incarnation of the Son of God, he is one of the seven great angels who stand before the throne of God. He revealed to Zacharias the birth of the Forerunner, and said of himself: ‘I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God’ (Lk. 1:19). His name, Gabriel, signifies ‘man of God’. Speaking about the Annunciation, the holy Fathers comment that an angel with such a name was sent to signify who He was, and of what nature He was, who would be born of the most pure Virgin. He would be the Man of God, the Man-God, the strong and mighty God. Others have found that it was this same Gabriel who announced the conception of the Virgin Mary to Joachim and Anna, and that it was he who taught Moses in the wilderness to write the Book of Genesis. The holy Fathers consider that Gabriel belongs to the foremost and highest order of the heavenly powers, the seraphim, since the seraphim stand closest to God. And so he is one of the seven seraphim closest to God. The names of these seven are: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selathiel, Jegudiel and Barachiel. Some would add Jeremiel to this number. Each has his own particular service, but all are equal in honour. Why did God not send Michael? For the reason that Michael’s service is the suppression of the enemies of God’s truth, while Gabriel’s is the annunciation of the salvation of the human race.”
Synaxis of Archangel Gabriel
On this day all the many visitations and miracles of the holy Archangel, recorded in Holy Scripture and ever since, are commemorated. This feast duplicates the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel that is celebrated on March 26, the day after Annunciation; it is thought that it was added to the calendar here some time in the ninth century, so that it could be celebrated more festively outside of Great Lent.