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Third Sunday of Pascha,
Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearers
Mode Two — Fourth Eothinon
The commemoration of the holy and Righteous Job the much-suffering.
No Fasting.
The Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles [§ 16].
6 1In those days, when the disciples were multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily ministration. 2And the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples, and said, “It is not pleasing to us to leave behind the word of God to serve tables. 3“Therefore, brethren, look out for seven men from among yourselves, whose character is approved by testimony, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint over this business; 4“but we will persevere in prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5And the saying was pleasing before the whole multitude. And they chose for themselves Stephen (a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit), and Philip, and Prochoros, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicholas (a proselyte of Antioch), 6whom they set before the apostles; and having prayed, they laid their hands on them. 7And the word of God kept on increasing, and the number of the disciples was being multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly, and great numbers of the priests were obedient to the faith.
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 69]. At that time:
15 43Joseph, a noble counselor, who was from Arimathea, and who himself also was waiting for the kingdom of God, came; and having become bold, he went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus for himself. 44And Pilate wondered if He were already dead; and having summoned the centurion, he questioned him if He died not long ago. 45And having come to know it from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 46And he bought a linen cloth, and took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen, and laid Him in a sepulcher which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the sepulcher. 47And Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of Joses were beholding where He was laid.
16 1And the sabbath having passed, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the Mother of Iakovos, and Salome bought aromatic spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2And very early in the morning on the first day of the week they came to the sepulcher, after the sun rose. 3And they were saying among themselves, “Who shall roll away the stone from the door of the sepulcher for us?” 4And they looked up and saw that the stone had been rolled away, for it was exceedingly great. 5And after they entered into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right, clothed in a white robe, and they were amazed. 6And he saith to them, “Cease being amazed. Ye are seeking Jesus the Nazarene Who hath been crucified. He was raised, He is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him. 7“But go and say to His disciples, and to Peter, that He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him, even as He told you.” 8And they went out and fled from the sepulcher. And trembling and ecstasy held them fast, and to no one did they say anything, for they were afraid.
The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 213]. Brethren:
5 22The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, 23meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24But they who are of the Christ crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also be walking by the Spirit. 26Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.
6 1Brethren, even if a man should be overtaken in some transgression, ye, the spiritual ones, be restoring such a one in the spirit of meekness, looking out for thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2Keep on bearing one another’s burdens, and thus fill up the law of the Christ.
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 43]. The Lord said to His disciples:
11 27“All things were delivered to Me by My Father. And no one doth fully know the Son, except the Father; nor doth anyone fully know the Father, except the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son is willing to reveal Him. 28“Come to Me, all ye who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29“Take up My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls. 30“For My yoke is good and My burden is light.”
May 19th — Civil Calendar May 6th — Church Calendar
1. Holy, Righteous and Long-suffering Job.
Job was a descendant of Esau the grandson of Abraham, and lived in Arabia about 2,000 years before Christ. His father’s name was Zareth and his mother’s Bosora; his full name was Jobab. He was an honourable and God-fearing man, and was very rich. But when he reached the age of seventy-nine, God permitted heavy temptation from Satan to fall on him, as is written in detail in the Book of Job. In one day, Job lost all his great possessions and his sons and daughters. Then a great sickness fell on him, from which his whole body was covered with sores from top to toe, and Job lay on a rubbish heap outside the town and scoured his boils with sherds of broken pottery. But Job did not complain of God, but patiently endured all his sufferings to the end. Therefore the Lord restored his health and gave him riches greater than he had had before, and there were born to him seven sons and three daughters; as many as he had had before. And Job lived for 248 years, glorifying and praising God. Job is regarded as the model of patient endurance of every suffering that God sends us, and is a type of the suffering Christ.
2. The Holy Martyr Barbarus.
Barbarus was a soldier in the time of Julian the Apostate. When the imperial commander Bacchus led the Roman army against the Franks, Barbarus was in that army, a secret Christian. In this battle there appeared a hero on the Frankish side, like the earlier Goliath, and he challenged the Romans to send one of their number out to single combat. The commander told Barbarus to go. Barbarus prayed in his heart to the living Lord, went out and conquered this giant. As a result, the Frankish army was confused and overcome. Then the commander made a great Triumph, and ordered that sacrifice be made to idols. But, at this sacrificing, he noticed that Barbarus was standing to one side. When he asked him why, Barbarus revealed that he was a Christian. The commander informed the Emperor, and the Emperor commanded that Barbarus be put to the harshest torture, which Barbarus endured with rare courage and composure. At the time of his martyrdom, many marvels were seen and many soldiers, seeing them, embraced the Christian faith. Among these was the commander Bacchus himself, with Callimachus and Dionysius. All three of them were beheaded for the name of Christ, and after them, Barbarus, in 362. Their souls went to the Kingdom of Christ the immortal King.
FOR CONSIDERATION
Abba Isaiah said of himself: ‘I see myself as a horse wandering without a rider. Whoever finds it sits thereon and trots on it whither he wishes. When the rider leaves the horse, a second takes it and does the same, then a third and so forth.’ This great ascetic, of whom all said with wonder that he had achieved perfection, said this of himself either out of humility or from the memory of the time of his imperfection. This saying is true in relation to every Christian who walks spiritually ungirt and unbridled. No sooner has one passion dismounted than another mounts. As soon as one has worn him out and left him in despair, another mounts him, with a diminished capacity to make him happy. Such a man has no rider to guide him in the right path without deviating either to right or left. The only friendly rider, to be welcomed with joy, is a holy and powerful Christian spirit.
Daily Scripture Readings taken from The Orthodox New Testament, translated and published by Holy Apostles Convent, Buena Vista, Colorado, copyright © 2000, used with permission, all rights reserved.
Daily Prologue Readings taken from The Prologue of Ochrid, by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic, translated by Mother Maria, published by Lazarica Press, Birmingham, England, copyright © 1985, all rights reserved.
