Thursday 23rd January 2025
Hieromartyr Clement, bishop of Ancyra
Today we commemorate:
Martyr Agathangelus (312).
St. Paulinus the Merciful, bishop of Nola (431).
St. Eusebius the Recluse of Mt Coryphe near Antioch (5th C).
St. Mausimas the Syrian (4th C).
St. Salamanes the Hesychast of the Euphrates (390).
Commemoration of the Holy Fathers of the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680-681).
St. Dionysius of Olympus (1540)
British Isles and Ireland:
St. Colman of Lismore (c.702).
Holy Martyr Maimbod (c.880).
Philippians 3:20-4:3; Mark 2:23-3:5
Readings in bold type are those appointed by the Typikon for use at the Liturgy
Epistle
Philippians 3:20-4:3
Our citizenship is in the heavens, and from there we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our humble body so that it becomes conformed to the body of his glory by the working of his power that brings everything under his authority. Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters for whom I yearn, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord, beloved. I beg Euodia, and I beg Syntyche, to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I am asking you too, Syzygus, to come to the aid of these women. They laboured alongside me in the Gospel, with Clement as well, and my other fellow workers whose names are in the book of life.
Gospel
Mark 2:23-3:5
On the Sabbath Jesus was passing through the cornfields, and as they went along his disciples began to pluck ears of grain. The Pharisees said to him, ‘Do you see that? Why are they doing on the Sabbath what is not permitted?’ And he asked them, ‘Have you never read what David did, and those with him, when he was in need and hungry? He entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the High Priest and ate the shewbread that only the priests are permitted to eat, and even gave it to those with him.’ He told them, ‘The Sabbath was made for human beings, not human beings for the Sabbath. The Son of Man is therefore Lord even of the Sabbath.’ He went back again into the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They were watching whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stand out in the middle.’ He then asked them, ‘On the Sabbath is it right to do good or to do evil? To save a life or to kill?’ But they were saying nothing. He looked around angrily at them, grieved at the hardness of their hearts, and he told the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored as healthy as the other.