The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew

November 16, 2014

Martyr Ephygenia of Ethiopia, Disciple of St Matthew; Fulvian, Prince of Ethiopia

Hymns of the Day

Troparion of the Ressurection – Tone 6

When Mary stood at Thy grave, looking for Thy sacred body, angelic powers shone above Thy revered tomb; and the soldiers who were to keep guard became as dead men. Thou led Hades captive and wast not tempted thereby. Thou didst meet the Virgin and didst give life to the world, O Thou, Who art risen from the dead, O Lord, glory to Thee.

Troparion of St. Matthew the Evangelist – Tone 3

O holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, intercede with the merciful God,
to grant our souls forgiveness of sins.

Troparion of St Joseph –  Tone 2

Proclaim, O Joseph to David, the ancestor of God, the amazing wonder,
for by the angel they were revealed unto thee. For thou hast seen a Virgin great with child, and thou gave glory with the shepherds and didst worship with the Magi. Wherefore, plead with Christ God to save our souls.

Kontakion of the Entrance of the Theotokos – Tone 4

The all-pure temple of the Savior, the most precious bridal chamber and Virgin, the treasure-house of the glory of God, today enters the Temple of the Lord, bringing with her the grace which is in the divine Spirit: whom also the angels of God do celebrate in song; for she is the heavenly tabernacle.

Koinonikon (Communion Hymn)

His proclamation hath gone out into all the earth; and his words to the ends of the universe. Alleluia.

Epistle – Corinthians 4:9-16

Brethren, God has exhibited us Apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the
world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now,
as the refuse of the world, the off-scouring of all things. I do not write this to you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children.
For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.
I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

Gospel – Matthew 9:9-13

At that time, as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and He said to him, “Follow Me.” And he rose and followed Him. And as He sat at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard it, He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means,
‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Obadiah the Prophet – November 19^th

The Holy Prophet Obadiah [or Abdia] is the fourth of the Twelve Minor Prophets, and he lived during the ninth century B.C. He was from the village of Betharam, near Sichem, and he served as steward of the impious Israelite King Ahab. In those days the whole of Israel had turned away from the true God and had begun to offer sacrifice
to Baal, but Obadiah faithfully served the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in secret. When Ahab’s wife, the impious and dissolute Jezebel, hunted down all the prophets of the Lord (because of her quarrel
with the Prophet Elias), Obadiah gave them shelter and food (3/1 Kgs 18:3 ff). Ahab’s successor King Okhoziah [Ahaziah] sent three detachments of soldiers to arrest the holy Prophet Elias (July 20). One of these detachments was headed by St Obadiah. Through the prayer of St Elias, two of the detachments were consumed by heavenly fire, but St Obadiah and his detachment were spared by the Lord 4/2 Kgs 1). From that moment St Obadiah resigned from military service and became a follower of the Prophet Elias. Afterwards, he himself received the gift of prophecy. The God-inspired work of St Obadiah is the fourth of the Books of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Bible, and contains predictions about the New Testament Church. The holy Prophet Obadiah was buried in Samaria.

oca.org

The Divine Scriptures do not tell us with any certainty when the Prophet Obadiah lived nor what was his homeland. Thus, some say that he is that Obadiah who was Ahab's steward, who, because of Jezebel's wrath, hid one hundred prophets in a cave and fed them
with bread and water (III Kings 18:4), and that he later became a disciple of Elias the Prophet about 903 B.C. But others surmise
from the words of the same prophetical book that he is somewhat
later than Joel (celebrated on Oct. 19). He is also called Obdiu, or Abdiu, or Obadiah; his name means "servant of God." His book of prophecy, which consists of only one chapter, is ranked fourth among the minor Prophets.

goarch.org