Epistle Reading: Acts 16:16-34
Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave
girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters
much profit by fortune-telling.
This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These
men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of
salvation."
And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed,
turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ
to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.
But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone,
they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the
authorities.
And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, "These men,
being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city;
"and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being
Romans, to receive or observe."
Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the
magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with
rods.
And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them
into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.
Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner
prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns
to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations
of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and
everyone's chains were loosed.
And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing
the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and
was about to kill himself.
But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no
harm, for we are all here."
Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling
before Paul and Silas.
And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be
saved?"
So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will
be saved, you and your household."
Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who
were in his house.
And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their
stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.
Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food
before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
Gospel Reading: John 9:1-38
Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.
And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this
man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but
that the works of God should be revealed in him.
"I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the
night is coming when no one can work.
"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made
clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the
clay.
And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is
translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that
he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?"
Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him." He said, "
I am he."
Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"
He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and
anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I
went and washed, and I received sight."
Then they said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know."
They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees.
Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his
eyes.
Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his
sight. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."
Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God,
because He does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a
sinner do such miracles?" And there was a division among them.
They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him
because He opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."
But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been
blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had
received his sight.
And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was
born blind? How then does he now see?"
His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our
son, and that he was born blind;
"but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened
his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself."
His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for
the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he
would be put out of the synagogue.
Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "
Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner."
He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not
know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see."
Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you? How did He
open your eyes?"
He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?"
Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we
are Moses' disciples.
"We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do
not know where He is from."
The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous
thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He has opened my eyes!
"Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is
a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.
"Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone
opened the eyes of one who was born blind.
"If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."
They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in
sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found
him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"
He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in
Him?"
And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who
is talking with you."
Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him.
Saints and Feasts
4th Monday after Pascha; Theodore the Sanctified; Holy Martyr Peter of Blachernae; Nicholas the Mystic, Patriarch of Constantinople; New Martyr Nicholas of Metsovos (1617); Alexandros, Archbishop of Jerusalem; Brendan the Navigator