From The Greek Orthodox Arch-Diocese of America:
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Daily Scripture Readings and Lives of the Saints for Saturday, December 25, 2010
Readings for today:
Matthew 1:1-25
St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 4:4-7
Matthew 2:1-12
Feasts and Saints celebrated today:
The Nativity of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ
The Adoration of the Magi: Melchior, Gaspar, & Balthasar
The Commemoration of the Shepherds in Bethlehem who were watching their flocks and came to see the Lord
Orthros Gospel Reading
The reading is from Matthew 1:1-25
The book of the Genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son
of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob
the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez
and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the
father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father
of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father
of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the
father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon
the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah
the father of Asa, and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat
the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the
father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of
Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of
Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah
and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of
Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father
of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of
Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and
Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar
the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the
father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is
called Christ.
So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen
generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen
generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen
generations.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother
Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was
found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph,
being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce
her quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to
take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy
Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he
will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall
conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel"(which
means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of
the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she
had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
(C) 2010 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Epistle Reading
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 4:4-7
BRETHREN, when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of
woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so
that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God
has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba!
Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an
heir of God through Christ.
(C) 2010 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Gospel Reading
The reading is from Matthew 2:1-12
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod
the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying,
"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his
star in the East, and have come to worship him." When Herod the king
heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling
all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them
where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea;
for so it is written by the prophet: 'And you, O Bethlehem, in the
land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for
from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.'"
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them
what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying,
"Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him
bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." When they had
heard the king they went their way; and lo the star which they had seen
in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place
where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly
with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary
his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their
treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And
being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their
own country by another way.
(C) 2010 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
The Nativity of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ
Reading from the Synaxarion:
The incomprehensible and inexplicable Nativity of Christ came to pass
when Herod the Great was reigning in Judea; the latter was an
Ascalonite on his fathers's side and an Idumean on his mother's. He was in
every way foreign to the royal line of David; rather, he had received
his authority from the Roman emperors, and had ruled tyrannically
over the Jewish people for some thirty-three years. The tribe of
Judah, which had reigned of old, was deprived of its rights and stripped
of all rule and authority. Such was the condition of the Jews when
the awaited Messiah was born, and truly thus was fulfilled the
prophecy which the Patriarch Jacob had spoken 1,807 years before: "A ruler
shall not fail from Judah, nor a prince from his loins, until there
come the things stored up for him; and he is the expectation of the
nations" (Gen.49:10).
Thus, our Saviour was born in Bethlehem, a city of Judea, whither
Joseph had come from Nazareth of Galilee, taking Mary his betrothed, who
was great with child, that, according to the decree issued in those
days by the Emperor Augustus, they might be registered in the census
of those subject to Rome. Therefore, when the time came for the
Virgin to give birth, and since because of the great multitude there was
no place in the inn, the Virgin's circumstace constrained them to
enter a cave which was near Bethlehem. Having as shelter a stable of
irrational beasts, she gave birth there, and swaddled the Infant and laid
Him in the manger (Luke 2:1-7). From this, the tradition has come
down to us that when Christ was born He lay between two animals, an ox
and an ass, that the words of the Prophets might be fulfilled:
"Between two living creatures shalt Thou be known" (Abbacum 3:2), and "The
ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master's crib" (Esaias 1: 3).
But while the earth gave the new-born Saviour such a humble
reception, Heaven on high celebrated majestically His world-saving coming. A
wondrous star, shining with uncommon brightness and following a strange
course, led Magi from the East to Bethlehem to worship the new-born King.
Certain shepherds who were in the area of Bethlehem, who kept watch while
tending their sheep, were suddenly surrounded by an extraordinary light,
and they saw before them an Angel who proclaimed to them the good
tidings of the Lord's joyous Nativity. And straightway, together with
this Angel, they beheld and heard a whole host of the Heavenly Powers
praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
good will towards men" (Luke 2:8-14).
Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, hath shined the light of knowledge
upon the world; for thereby they that worshipped the stars were
instructed by a star to worship Thee, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know
Thee, the Dayspring from on high. O Lord, glory be to Thee.
Kontakion in the Third Tone
Today, the Virgin bears Him who is transcendent, and the earth presents
the cave to Him who is beyond reach. Angels, along with shepherds
glorify Him. The Magi make their way to Him by a star. For a new child
has been born for us, the God before all ages.
Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Kontakion courtesy of Narthex Press
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