I Advent
Sunday November 18, 2018
I follow a 40 day Advent.
Today, Sunday, November 18, 2018 is the first Sunday in Advent for me using the
Western Calendar.
Readings;
Malachi 3: 1-6
1 Behold I send my angel, and he shall prepare the
way before my face. And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the
testament, whom you desire, shall come to his temple. Behold he comes, says the
Lord of hosts. 2 And who shall be able to think of the day of his
coming? and who shall stand to see him? for he is like a refining fire, and
like the fuller's herb: 3 And he shall sit refining and cleansing
the silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall refine them as
gold, and as silver, and they shall offer sacrifices to the Lord in justice. 4 And
the sacrifice of Juda and of Jerusalem shall please the Lord, as in the days of
old, and in the ancient years. 5 And I will come to you in
judgment, and will be a speedy witness against sorcerers, and adulterers, and
false swearers, and them that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widows,
and the fatherless: and oppress the stranger, and have not feared me, says the
Lord of hosts. 6 For I am the Lord, and I change not: and you the
sons of Jacob are not consumed.
James 5: 7-12, 19, 20
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming
of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth:
patiently bearing till he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be
you therefore also patient, and strengthen your hearts: for the coming of the
Lord is at hand. 9 Grudge not, brethren, one against another, that
you may not be judged. Behold the judge stands before the door. 10 Take,
my brethren, for an example of suffering evil, of labor and patience, the
prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we account
them blessed who have endured. You have heard of the patience of Job, and you
have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is merciful and compassionate.
12 But above all things, my
brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other
oath. But let your speech be, yea, yea: no, no: that you fall not under
judgment.
19 My brethren, if any of you err from the truth,
and one convert him: 20 He must know that he who causes a sinner to
be converted from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and
shall cover a multitude of sins.
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man who has not walked in the
counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair
of pestilence. 2 But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his
law he shall meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree
which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in
due season. And his leaf shall not fall off: and all whatsoever he shall do
shall prosper. 4 Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust,
which the wind drives from the face of the earth. 5 Therefore the
wicked shall not rise again in judgment: nor sinners in the council of the
just. 6 For the Lord knows the way of the just: and the way of the
wicked shall perish.
Hebrews 1
1 God, who, at sundry times and in divers manners,
spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, 2 In
these days has spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all
things, by whom also he made the world. 3 Who being the brightness
of his glory, and the figure of his substance, and upholding all things by the
word of his power, making purgation of sins, sits on the right hand of the
majesty on high. 4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he
has inherited a more excellent name than they. 5 For to which of
the angels has he said at any time, You are my Son, today have I begotten you?
And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? 6 And
again, when he brings in the first begotten into the world, he says: And let
all the angels of God adore him. 7 And to the angels indeed he says:
He that makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 8 But
to the Son: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of justice is
the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved justice, and hated
iniquity: therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness
above your fellows. 10 And: You in the beginning, O Lord, did found
the earth: and the works of your hands are the heavens. 11 They
shall perish, but you shall continue: and they shall all grow old as a garment.
12 And as a vesture shall you change them, and they shall be
changed: but you are the selfsame, and your years shall not fail. 13 But
to which of the angels said he at any time: Sit on my right hand, until I make your
enemies your footstool? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits,
sent to minister for them, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?
Gospel of St. John 1: 35-51
35 The next day again John stood, and two of his
disciples. 36 And beholding Jesus walking, he says: Behold the Lamb
of God. 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed
Jesus. 38 And Jesus turning, and seeing them following him, says to
them: What seek you? Who said to him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being
interpreted, Master,) where do you dwell? 39 He says to them: Come
and see. They came, and saw where he abode, and they stayed with him that day:
now it was about the tenth hour. 40 And Andrew, the brother of
Simon Peter, was one of the two who had heard of John, and followed him. 41 He
found first his brother Simon, and said to him: We have found the Messias,
which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42 And he brought him to
Jesus. And Jesus looking upon him, said: You are Simon the son of Jona: you shall
be called Cephas, which is interpreted Peter. 43 On the following
day, he would go forth into Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to
him: Follow me. 44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew
and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael, and said to him: We have
found him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus the son
of Joseph of Nazareth. 46 And Nathanael said to him: Can anything
of good come from Nazareth? Philip says to him: Come and see. 47 Jesus
saw Nathanael coming to him: and he said of him: Behold an Israelite indeed, in
whom there is no guile. 48 Nathanael says to him: Where do you know
me? Jesus answered, and said to him: Before that Philip called you, when you were
under the fig tree, I saw you. 49 Nathanael answered him, and said:
Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel. 50 Jesus
answered, and said to him: Because I said unto you, I saw you under the fig
tree, you believe: greater things than these shall you see. 51 And
he said to him: Amen, amen I say to you, you shall see the heaven opened, and
the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
Be
blessed and be a blessing, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Continue to praise and
worship Jesus the Christ and the Father through Him. Never cease to pray and
live according to the gospel. Allow the Holy Ghost to guide you. Love God with
all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all
of your strength; love your neighbor as yourself. You never know whose life you
will change because of this love of God in you.
The light has entered the
world and the times; are changing. If one does not have love for the soul
of mankind and the desire that all come to the truth than one does not have
Christ in them fully.
Little children, love one
another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing
else is needed. Through love and because of love we will follow all of the
commandments that we have been given. They are written on our hearts by the
hand of Almighty God. We simply need to see them within us and follow.
Remember; if we confess our
sins and repent, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all iniquity.
May the peace of our Lord
Jesus the Christ be with you throughout this day and the rest of your life. May
the Holy Spirit fill us all to overflowing so that everyone in whose path we
cross may receive a blessing from our Lord Jesus the Christ.
In Christ.
St. Michael’s Monastery and
the New Warrior Ministries Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW8XyPtkmtu6a1vVg6MEiNg/videos
Many Blessings!
+William
