Monday After Epiphany – Bautha of the Virgins

Monday After Epiphany – Bautha of the Virgins

 

Isaiah 63:17-64:12

¹⁷ O Lord, why do you make us err from your ways

and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?

Return for the sake of your servants,

the tribes of your heritage.

¹⁸ Your holy people possessed your sanctuary a little while;

our adversaries have trodden it down.

¹⁹ We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,

like those who are not called by your name.

Prayer for Mercy

64 O that you would tear the heavens and come down,

that the mountains might quake at your presence—

²  as when fire kindles brushwood

and the fire causes water to boil—

to make your name known to your adversaries,

and that the nations might tremble at your presence!

³ When you did terrible things which we looked not for,

you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.

⁴ From of old no one has heard

or perceived by the ear,

no eye has seen a God besides you,

who works for those who wait for him.

⁵ You meet him that joyfully works righteousness,

those that remember you in your ways.

Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;

in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?

⁶ We have all become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

We all fade like a leaf,

and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

⁷ There is no one that calls upon your name,

that bestirs himself to take hold of you;

for you have hidden your face from us,

and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquities.

⁸ Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;

we are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

⁹ Be not exceedingly angry, O Lord,

and remember not iniquity for ever.

Behold, consider, we are all your people.

¹⁰ Your holy cities have become a wilderness,

Zion has become a wilderness,

Jerusalem a desolation.

¹¹ Our holy and beautiful house,

where our fathers praised you,

has been burned by fire,

and all our pleasant places have become ruins.

¹² Will you restrain yourself at these things, O Lord?

Will you keep silent, and afflict us sorely?

 

Habakkuk 3:1-19

Habakkuk’s Prayer

3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.

² O Lord, I have heard the report of you,

and your work, O Lord, I fear.

In the midst of the years renew it;

in the midst of the years make it known;

in wrath remember mercy.

³ God came from Teman,

and the Holy One from Mount Paran.

His glory covered the heavens,

and the earth was full of his praise.

⁴ His brightness was like the light,

rays flashed from his hand;

and there he veiled his power.

⁵ Before him went pestilence,

and plague followed close behind.

⁶ He stood and measured the earth;

he looked and shook the nations;

Then the eternal mountains were scattered,

the everlasting hills sank low.

His ways were as of old.

⁷ I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;

the curtains of the land of Midian trembled.

⁸ Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?

Was your anger against the rivers,

or your indignation against the sea,

when you rode upon your horses,

upon your chariot of victory?

⁹ You stripped the sheath from your bow,

and put the arrows to the string.

You split the earth with rivers.

¹⁰ The mountains saw you, and writhed;

the raging waters swept on;

the deep gave forth its voice,

it lifted its hands on high.

¹¹ The sun and moon stood still in their habitation

at the light of your arrows as they sped,

at the flash of your glittering spear.

¹² You bestrode the earth in fury,

you trampled the nations in anger.

¹³ You went forth for the salvation of your people,

for the salvation of your anointed.

You crushed the head of the wicked,

laying him bare from thigh to neck.

¹⁴ You pierced with your shafts the head of his warriors,

who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,

rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.

¹⁵ You trampled the sea with your horses,

the surging of mighty waters.

¹⁶ I hear, and my body trembles,

my lips quiver at the sound;

rottenness enters into my bones,

my steps totter beneath me.

I will quietly wait for the day of trouble

to come upon people who invade us.

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail

and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no herd in the stalls,

¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

¹⁹ God, the Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like deer’s feet,

he makes me tread upon my high places.

 

1Timothy 2:1-3:10

Instructions concerning Prayer

2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, ² for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. ³ This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony to which was given at the proper time. ⁷ For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; ⁹ also that women should adorn themselves modestly and sensibly in seemly apparel, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire ¹⁰ but by good deeds, as befits women who profess religion. ¹¹ Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness. ¹² I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent. ¹³ For Adam was formed first, then Eve; ¹⁴ and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. ¹⁵ Yet woman will be saved through bearing children, if she continues in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.

Qualifications of Bishops

3 The saying is sure: If any one aspires to the office of bishop, he desires a noble task. ² Now a bishop must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, an apt teacher, ³ no drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and no lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way; ⁵ for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for God’s Church? ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil; ⁷ moreover he must be well thought of by outsiders, or he may fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Qualifications of Deacons

8 Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for gain; ⁹ they must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ And let them also be tested first; then if they prove themselves blameless let them serve as deacons.

 

Matthew 18:23-35

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; ²⁵ and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. ³² Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me; ³³ and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”