Mar. 22 – 4th Sunday of the Great Lent Tone 8

Venerable John Listvychnyk (movable holiday on the 4th Sunday of the Great Lent). The Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste: Cyrion (or Quirio), Candidus, Domnus, Hesychius and others (320). Urpasianus of Nicomedia (295). Righteous Caesarius, brother of St. Gregory the Theologian (369). St. Tarasius of Liconium.

Heb. 6:13-20; Mk. 9:17-31;
Heb. 12:1-10; Mt. 20:1-16;

Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.

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Resurrectional Tropar, Tone 8

You descended from on High, Merciful One. You accepted the three day burial to free us from our passions. Lord, our Life and Resurrection. Glory to You.

Tropar of our church, Tone 4

Prophet and Forerunner of the coming of Christ,/ we who honor you with love can find no manner of praising you worthily./ For the barrenness of one who bore you / and the silence of your father have been ended by your being born of divine grace / and you have proclaimed to the world / the Incarnation of the Son of God.

Tropar to 40 martyrs, Tone 1

Let us honor those noble soldiers of the Master of all, / for they were united by their faith as they passed through fire and water; / and being enlisted by Christ, they entered into divine refreshment. / Now those pious warriors stand and intercede with Christ God for those who cry out: / "Glory to Him Who strengthened you. / Glory to Him Who crowned you. / Glory to Him Who made you wondrous, O Forty Martyrs."

Resurrectional Kondak, Tone 8

By rising from the tomb, You raised up the dead. Adam is risen and Eve exults in Your Resurrection. The entire world celebrates Your rising from the dead, Greatly Merciful One.

Kondak of our church, Tone 3

She who was previously barren / now bears the Forerunner of Christ / who is the fulfillment of every prophecy. / For the prophets proclaimed beforehand / that having laid hands on Him in the Jordan, / he would be manifest as Prophet, / Preacher / and Forerunner of the Word of God.

Glory …
Kondak to 40 martyrs, Tone 1

Leaving all earthly armies, / you cleaved to the Master in Heaven, O Forty prize-winners of the Lord; / for passing through fire and water, O blessed Martyrs, / as is meet, you received glory from Heaven, and a multitude of crowns.

Now and Ever…
Theotokion, Tone 6

Protection of Christians not put to shame,/ unwavering Mediation before the Creator;/ despise not the prayer of sinners,/ but because you are good, quickly come to help us who call on you in faith./ Be swift to intercede and make haste to supplicate, Birth-Giver of God,/ who always protects those who honor you.

Prokimens

Priest: Let us be attentive! Peace be with you all!

Reader: And with your spirit!

Deacon: Wisdom!

Reader: The Prokimen in Tone 8: Pray and give glory to the Lord our God.

Choir: (repeats the prokimen)

Reader: Vs: In Judah God is known; His Name is great in Israel.

Choir: (repeats the prokimen)

Reader: The Second Prokimen in Tone 5: You, O Lord, shall protect us and preserve us from this generation forever.

Choir: You, O Lord, shall protect us and preserve us from this generation forever.

Epistles

Deacon: Wisdom!

Reader: The reading is from the Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews.

Deacon: Let us be attentive.

Reader: Brethren, when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Deacon: Wisdom!

Reader: The reading is from the Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews.

Deacon: Let us be attentive.

Reader: Brethren, 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, 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. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives." If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

Priest: Peace be with you.

Reader: And with your spirit. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Alleluia Verses

Verse: Come let us rejoice in the Lord. Let us shout with jubilation to God our Savior.

Verse: Let us come before His Face with thanksgiving; with psalms let us shout in jubilation to Him.

Verse: Shout to God, all the earth; sing now to His name.

Instead of "It is right in truth"

All of creation rejoices in you, Lady, Full of Grace, the assembly of angels and the human race, Sanctified Temple and Spiritual Paradise, the Glory of Virgins, from whom God was incarnate and became a Child – our God before the ages. He made your body into a throne, and your womb more spacious than the heavens. All of creation rejoices in You, Lady Full of Grace. Glory to you!

Communion Hymns

The light of Your Countenance, O Lord, has been signed upon us. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Rejoice in the Lord, you Righteous. Praise befits the upright. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Апостол

Євр. 6:13-20

Браття, Бог, даючи обітницю Авраамові, як не міг ніким вищим клястися, клявся Самим Собою, кажучи: істинно благословляючи, благословлю тебе і, розмножуючи, розмножу тебе. І так Авраам, довготерпівши, одержав обіцяне. Люди клянуться вищим, і клятва на запевнення закінчує всяку суперечку їхню. Тому і Бог, бажаючи істотніше показати спадкоємцям обітниці незмінність Своєї волі, вжив як посередництво клятву, щоб у двох непохитних речах, в яких Бог не міг говорити неправду, тверде утішення мали ми, що прийшли взятися за подану надію, яка для душі є неначе якір безпечний і міцний, і входить аж до середини за завісу, куди предтечею за нас увійшов Ісус, зробившись Первосвященником навік за чином Мелхіседека.

Євр. 12:1-10

Браття, маючи довкола себе таку хмару свідків, скиньмо з себе всякий тягар і гріх, який нас обплутує, і з терпінням будемо проходити поприще, яке лежить перед нами, дивлячись на начальника і виконавця віри Ісуса, Котрий замість радості, яка Йому належала, витерпів хрест, зневаживши посоромлення, і сів праворуч престолу Божого. Подумайте про Того, Хто перетерпів таку над Собою наругу від грішників, щоб вам не знемогтися і не ослабнути душами вашими. Ви ще не до крові воїнствували, подвизаючись проти гріха, і забули утішання, яке пропонується вам, як синам: сину мій! не нехтуй покаранням Господнім, і не сумуй, коли Він викриває тебе, бо Господь, кого любить, того карає; б'є кожного сина, якого приймає (Притч. 3,11–12). Якщо ви терпите кару, то Бог поводиться з вами, як із синами. Бо хіба є який син, котрого б не наказував батько? Коли залишаєтесь без покарання, для всіх загального, то ви діти незаконні, а не сини. Притому, коли ми, будучи покарані плотськими батьками нашими, боялися їх, то чи не значно більше повинні покоритись Отцеві духів, щоб жити? Ті карали нас, як знали, на небагато днів; а Цей – на користь, щоб нам мати участь у святості Його.

Євангеліє - Gospel Reading

Від Марка  9:17-31

Один з народу сказав у відповідь: Учителю! я привів до Тебе мого сина, одержимого духом німим: де тільки нападе на нього, кидає його на землю, і він пускає піну, і скрегоче зубами своїми, і ціпеніє. Я казав учням Твоїм, щоб вигнали його, та вони не змогли. Відповідаючи йому, Ісус сказав: о, роде невірний! доки буду з вами? доки буду терпіти вас? Приведіть його до Мене.  І привели його до Нього. Як тільки біснуватий побачив Його, дух стряснув його; він упав на землю і валявся, пускаючи піну. Ісус запитав батька його: як давно це сталося з ним? Він сказав: з дитинства;  дуже часто дух кидав його у вогонь і у воду, щоб згубити його; але, якщо щось можеш, змилосердься над нами, допоможи нам. Ісус сказав йому: якщо хоч трохи можеш вірувати, все можливе віруючому. І відразу батько отрока викрикнув крізь сльози: вірую, Господи! допоможи моєму невір'ю.  Ісус, побачивши, що збігається народ, заборонив духові нечистому, сказавши йому: душе німий і глухий! Я тобі велю: вийди з нього і більше не входь у нього. І, скрикнувши та сильно стряснувши його, вийшов; і він став, наче мертвий, так що багато хто говорили, що він помер. Але Ісус, взявши його за руку, підняв його; і він встав. Коли Ісус увійшов у дім, учні спитали Його на самоті: чому ми не могли вигнати його? І сказав їм: цей рід не може вийти інакше, як від молитви і посту. Вийшовши звідти, проходили через Галілею, і Він не хотів, щоб хто довідався. Бо вчив учнів Своїх і говорив їм, що Сина Людського видано буде до рук людських і вб'ють Його, і, вбитий, Він на третій день воскресне.

Mt. 20:1-16

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle,a and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.' So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.' And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 'Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  'Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?' So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen."