Day 30 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baounah, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Thirtieth Day of the Blessed Month of Baounah
Nativity of St.John, the Baptist
On this day, the church celebrates the nativity of St. John the Baptist. He whom none born of women was greater. He who kneeled to the Lord Christ while he was still in his mother's womb, and was worthy to lay his hand upon the head of the Son of God during Baptism. The Holy Bible said about him: "Now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. Now so it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. And his mother answered and said, 'No; he shall be called John.' But they said to her, 'There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.' So they made signs to his father; what he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, 'His name is John.' And they all marveled. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. He prophesied about his son, saying. 'you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.'" (Luke 1:57-76)
When he was two years old, the wise men (Magi) came, Herod killed the children, some divulged about this child and the soldiers searched for him to kill him. Zechariah took the child and brought him to the sanctuary, laid him on the altar and told the soldiers, "I have received him from this place". The angel of the Lord caught up the child and brought him to the desert of Ziphana, so the soldiers became enraged and they killed his father Zechariah. For this reason the Lord had said to the Jews: "That on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar." (Matthew 23:35) So the child John grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts more than twenty years living an angelic life, till the day of his manifestation to Israel. (Luke 1:80) And John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. (Matthew 3:4) He lived in the wilderness persevering in prayers and asceticism, until the Lord ordered him, to fulfill the prophesies, to preach to the people about the coming of the Savior of the World. For he was sent from God, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. (John 1:6-8)
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being high priests, the Word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD, make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; and the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' " (Luke 3:1-6) In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 3:1-2) Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. (Matthew 3:5-6) While the people were waiting, and thinking in their hearts about John if he was the Christ, John answered, saying to them all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire." (Luke 3:16-17)
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him. Then Jesus, when He had been baptized, came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:13-17) (Luke 3:20-22) Then John's disciples came to him and said, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified; behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!" John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.' He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:26-36)
But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:7-10) (Luke 3:7-9) When Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, against all the Laws, St. John the Baptist came to him. He admonished him for his transgression and all the evil things that he was doing. So Herod ordered, according to the instigation of Herodias the adulterer, to seize John, chain him and imprison him in the fortress called Macronda. John remained in this jail for a year, without Herod being able to slay him. His disciples visited their teacher, frequently and courageously, in prison. As he did not neglect his duties toward them, proving to them that Jesus was the expected Christ. When the news of the wonders that our Savior did noised everywhere, John wanted his disciples to be eye witnesses to the wonders of Christ, to be confirmed in their faith in him. While he was in prison, John sent two of his disciples to Christ, who said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind receive their sight and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." (Matthew 11:2-6)
As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.' Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying: 'We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; we mourned to you, And you did not lament.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children." (Matthew 11:7-19) The Lord Christ, to Whom is the Glory, also said about John the Baptist: "He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light." (John 5:35) Herodias desired to get rid of John the Baptist, so she executed her scheme during the celebration of Herod's birthday.
When Herod's birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter." And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him at the table, he commanded it to be given to her. So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart. (Matthew 14:2-13) The joy of the people celebrating Herod's birthday turned into sorrow. As of the head, it flew up from their hands and was crying out saying: "It is not right for you to take your brother's wife." The martyrdom of St. John took place at the end of the thirty-first or at the beginning of the thirty-second year of the Christ. The life of this Saint was like that of the angels in purity. He was filled with the Holy Spirit while he was in his mother's womb, and was martyred for his witnessing to the truth.
May his prayers be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 52 : 8 - 9
Chapter 52
| 8 | But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. |
| 9 | I will praise You forever, Because You have done it; And in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good. |
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Vespers Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Luke the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Luke 7 : 28 - 35
Chapter 7
| 28 | For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." |
| 29 | And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. |
| 30 | But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. |
| 31 | And the Lord said, "To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? |
| 32 | They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: "We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.' |
| 33 | For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, "He has a demon.' |
| 34 | The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' |
| 35 | But wisdom is justified by all her children." |
And Glory be to God forever.
Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 92 : 10,14,15
Chapter 92
| 10 | But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil. |
| 14 | They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, |
| 15 | To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. |
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Matins Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 11 : 11 - 19
Chapter 11
| 11 | "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. |
| 12 | And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. |
| 13 | For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. |
| 14 | And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. |
| 15 | He who has ears to hear, let him hear! |
| 16 | "But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, |
| 17 | and saying: "We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.' |
| 18 | For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He has a demon.' |
| 19 | The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children." |
And Glory be to God forever.
Liturgy Gospel
Paulines Epistle
Paul, the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, appointed to the Gospel of God.
A reading from the Epistle of our teacher Paul to the Hebrews .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Hebrews 11 : 32 - 12 : 2
Chapter 11
| 32 | And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: |
| 33 | who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, |
| 34 | quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. |
| 35 | Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. |
| 36 | Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. |
| 37 | They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- |
| 38 | of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. |
| 39 | And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, |
| 40 | God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. |
Chapter 12
| 1 | Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, |
| 2 | looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. Peter .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 Peter 2 : 11 - 17
Chapter 2
| 11 | Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, |
| 12 | having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. |
| 13 | Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, |
| 14 | or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. |
| 15 | For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men-- |
| 16 | as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. |
| 17 | Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. |
Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The world passes away, and its desires; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Amen.
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.
Acts 7 : 8 - 22
Chapter 7
| 8 | Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs. |
| 9 | "And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him |
| 10 | and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. |
| 11 | Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. |
| 12 | But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. |
| 13 | And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to the Pharaoh. |
| 14 | Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. |
| 15 | So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers. |
| 16 | And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. |
| 17 | "But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt |
| 18 | till another king arose who did not know Joseph. |
| 19 | This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live. |
| 20 | At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father's house for three months. |
| 21 | But when he was set out, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. |
| 22 | And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds. |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
Divine Psalm
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet, and the Good King.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 92 : 12 - 13
Chapter 92
| 12 | The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. |
| 13 | Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God. |
Hallelujah.
Divine Gospel
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Luke 1 : 57 - 80
Chapter 1
| 57 | Now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. |
| 58 | When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. |
| 59 | So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. |
| 60 | His mother answered and said, "No; he shall be called John." |
| 61 | But they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name." |
| 62 | So they made signs to his father--what he would have him called. |
| 63 | And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John." So they all marveled. |
| 64 | Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. |
| 65 | Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. |
| 66 | And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, "What kind of child will this be?" And the hand of the Lord was with him. |
| 67 | Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: |
| 68 | "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, |
| 69 | And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, |
| 70 | As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, |
| 71 | That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, |
| 72 | To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, |
| 73 | The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: |
| 74 | To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, |
| 75 | In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. |
| 76 | "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, |
| 77 | To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, |
| 78 | Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; |
| 79 | To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace." |
| 80 | So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel. |
And Glory be to God forever.
Let me expand on our secular and limited definition of justice which for most Westerners is merely retributive justice. When people on the news say, “We want justice!” they normally mean that bad deeds should be punished or that they want vengeance. Our judicial, legal, and penal systems are almost entirely based on this idea of retributive justice. This much bad deserves this much punishment; this much good deserves this much reward. The rational, logical, tit for tat, quid pro quo system makes sense to most of us. It does appear to be holding civil society together at some level, and seems to be the best our dualistic world can do.
I certainly recognize there are many early passages in the Bible that present God as punitive and retributive, but we must stay with the text—and observe how we gradually let God “grow up.” God does not change as much as human knowledge of God evolves. A sole focus on divine retribution leads to an ego-satisfying and eventually unworkable image of God which situates us inside of a very unsafe and dangerous universe. Both Jesus and Paul observed the human tendency toward retribution and spoke strongly about the limitations of the law (see the Sermon on the Mount, Romans, and Galatians).
The biblical notion of justice, beginning in the Hebrew Scriptures with the Jewish prophets—especially Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea—is quite different. If we read carefully and honestly, we will see that God’s justice is actually restorative. In each case, after the prophet chastises the Israelites for their transgressions against YHWH, the prophet continues by saying, in effect, “And here’s what YHWH will do for you: God will now love you more than ever! God will love you into wholeness. God will pour upon you a gratuitous, unbelievable, unaccountable, irrefutable love that you will finally be unable to resist.”
God “punishes” us by loving us more! How else could divine love be supreme and victorious? Check out this theme for yourself: read such passages as Isaiah 29:13-24, Hosea 6:1-6, Ezekiel 16 (especially verses 59-63), and so many of the Psalms. God’s justice is fully successful when God can legitimate and validate human beings in their original and total identity! God wins by making sure we win—just as any loving human parent does. The little “time outs” and discipline along the way are simply to keep us awake and growing.
As Isaiah says of God, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8). Yet I am afraid we often pull God down into “our thoughts.” We naively and erroneously think fear, anger, intimidation, threat, and punishment are going to lead people to love. Show me where that has worked. We cannot lead people to the highest level of motivation by teaching them the lowest. God always and forever models the highest—love—and our task is always to “imitate God” (Ephesians 5:1).
Reference:
Adapted from Richard Rohr: Essential Teachings on Love, eds. Joelle Chase and Judy Traeger (Orbis Books: 2018), 77-79.