Bible Readings:
Epistle: Titus 2:11-14.3:4-7
Gospel: St. Matthew 3:13-17
Liturgical Services:
Christ is baptized! He comes up out of the water, and with Him He carries up the world. He sees the heavens opened that Adam had closed against himself and his posterity. The Spirit bears witness to His divinity, for He hastens toward His like. And a voice sounds from heaven, for it is from heaven that He has come down to those whom this testimony is given, and He is the Savior of our souls. ~Vesper Service
The Mother of God:
O most pure Bride, a blessed Mother, the wonders of your birthgiving surpass all understanding. Through you, we have obtained salvation in all things; and, as is right, we rejoice before you as our benefactor, bearing as a gift a song of thanksgiving. ~Orthros Service
Scripture Verse:
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:11,12).
Meditation: Bring Back the Light through Repentance
For the early Christians, the rising and setting of the sun each day became a propitious time for prayer. Sunrise (light) and sunset (darkness) were daily reminders of Jesus, the light of the world, Who dispels the darkness of sin and death.
How great the darkness in our world today. The darkness of sin. The darkness of sex reduced to lust. The darkness of evil. The darkness of pornography. The darkness of despair. The darkness of lies in high places and low. A darkness that threatens to envelop all of us.
What can we do about this darkness?
Sin must go if light is to remain. That is why Jesus connects the darkness of sin with the light of repentance when He says in the Gospel lesson that is read on the Sunday after Epiphany, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light…. From that time Jesus began to preach. ‘Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand'” (Matt. 4:16-17).
It is repentance that brings back the light—God’s light of love, joy, hope, and peace.
PRAYER
The Lord God Most merciful have compassion
on thee,
The Lord Jesus Christ bestow on thee every
good desire.
The Lord Almighty deliver thee from every
calamity.
The Lord teach thee,
The Lord give thee understanding.
The Lord cleanse thee.
The Lord fill thee with spiritual joy.
The Lord be the Defender of thy soul and
body.
The Lord as compassionate and man-befriending,
give unto thee forgiveness of sins.
The Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on thee in
the day of judgment, and bless thee all
the days of thy life.
~ Presbytera Emily Harakas & Fr. Anthony Coniaris, DAILY MEDITATIONS and Prayers for the CHRISTMAS ADVENT Fast and Epiphany: Living the Days of Advent and Epiphany according to the Orthodox Church Calendar
