April 11, 2021

Events of the day

• Fourth Sunday of Great Lent. St John Climacus

  Commemoration

Fasting

Fast day · Great Lent

Great Lent, Saturday and Sunday: food with oil and wine.

• Meat: not allowed
• Dairy & eggs: not allowed
• Fish: not allowed
• Oil: allowed
• Wine: allowed

Food rules are reference church information. Agree your personal measure of fasting with a priest; consult a doctor if you are ill.

Readings of the day

• 11th Matins Gospel

  John 21:15–25

  Show the text

  ¹⁵So when they had eaten their breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

  ¹⁶He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”

  ¹⁷He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

  ¹⁸Most certainly I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you don’t want to go.”

  ¹⁹Now he said this, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. When he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

  ²⁰Then Peter, turning around, saw a disciple following. This was the disciple whom Jesus loved, the one who had also leaned on Jesus’ breast at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”

  ²¹Peter seeing him, said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”

  ²²Jesus said to him, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.”

  ²³This saying therefore went out among the brothers, that this disciple wouldn’t die. Yet Jesus didn’t say to him that he wouldn’t die, but, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you?”

  ²⁴This is the disciple who testifies about these things, and wrote these things. We know that his witness is true.

  ²⁵There are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they would all be written, I suppose that even the world itself wouldn’t have room for the books that would be written.

• Epistle

  Hebrews 6:13–20

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  ¹³For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself,

  ¹⁴saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”

  ¹⁵Thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

  ¹⁶For men indeed swear by a greater one, and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation.

  ¹⁷In this way God, being determined to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath,

  ¹⁸that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us.

  ¹⁹This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil;

  ²⁰where as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

• Epistle · St John

  Ephesians 5:8–19

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  ⁸For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,

  ⁹for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth,

  ¹⁰proving what is well pleasing to the Lord.

  ¹¹Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even reprove them.

  ¹²For it is a shame even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

  ¹³But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that reveals is light.

  ¹⁴Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

  ¹⁵Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise,

  ¹⁶redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

  ¹⁷Therefore don’t be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

  ¹⁸Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

  ¹⁹speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

• Gospel

  Mark 9:17–31

  Show the text

  ¹⁷One of the multitude answered, “Teacher, I brought to you my son, who has a mute spirit;

  ¹⁸and wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and wastes away. I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they weren’t able.”

  ¹⁹He answered him, “Unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me.”

  ²⁰They brought him to him, and when he saw him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground, wallowing and foaming at the mouth.

  ²¹He asked his father, “How long has it been since this has come to him?” He said, “From childhood.

  ²²Often it has cast him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.”

  ²³Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

  ²⁴Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, “I believe. Help my unbelief!”

  ²⁵When Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!”

  ²⁶After crying out and convulsing him greatly, it came out of him. The boy became like one dead, so much that most of them said, “He is dead.”

  ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up; and he arose.

  ²⁸When he had come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?”

  ²⁹He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing, except by prayer and fasting.”

  ³⁰They went out from there, and passed through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know it.

  ³¹For he was teaching his disciples, and said to them, “The Son of Man is being handed over to the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, on the third day he will rise again.”

• Gospel · St John

  Matthew 4:25–5:12

Source: Orthocal: lectionary data — Slavic tradition, New Calendar (OCA practice). Text: World English Bible.

Saints and icons

• Prayer of the day: Prayer of St Ephrem the Syrian