SAINT ANDREW THE APOSTLE November 30 A Reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans (10:8b-18) But what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” The Word of the Lord Psalm 19:1-6 The heavens declare the glory of God. 1 The heavens declare the glory of God, * and the firmament shows his handiwork. 2 One day tells its tale to another, * and one night imparts knowledge to another. The heavens declare the glory of God. 3 Although they have no words or language, * and their voices are not heard, 4 Their sound has gone out into all lands, * and their message to the ends of the world. The heavens declare the glory of God. 5 In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun; * it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber; it rejoices like a champion to run its course. 6 It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens and runs about to the end of it again; * nothing is hidden from its burning heat. The heavens declare the glory of God. The Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Matthew (4:18-22) As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. The Gospel of the Lord Most biographical notes on this Apostle begin “Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother,” and he is so described in the Gospels. Identifying Andrew as Peter’s brother makes it easy to know who he is, but it also makes it easy to overlook the fact of Andrew’s special gift to the company of Christ. The Gospel according to John tells how Andrew, a disciple of John the Baptist, was one of two disciples who followed Jesus after John had pointed him out, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). Andrew and the other disciple went with Jesus and stayed with him, and Andrew’s first act afterward was to find his brother and bring him to Jesus. We might call Andrew the first missionary in the company of disciples. Though Andrew was not a part of the inner circle of disciples (Peter, James, and John), he is always named in the list of disciples, and appears prominently in several incidents. Andrew and Peter were fishermen, and Matthew’s Gospel records Jesus’ calling them from their occupation, and their immediate response to his call. Andrew was the disciple who brought the boy with the loaves and fishes to Jesus for the feeding of the multitude. We hear little of Andrew as a prominent leader, and he seems always to be in the shadow of Peter. Eusebius, the Church historian, records his going to Scythia, but there is no reliable information about the end of his life. Tradition has it that he was fastened to an X-shaped cross and suffered death at the hands of angry pagans. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. St. John of Damascus December 4 A Reading from the first Letter of Paul to the Corinthians (15:12-20) Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. The Word of the Lord Psalm 29 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. 1 Ascribe to the LORD, you gods, * ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his Name; * worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. 3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; * the LORD is upon the mighty waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice; * the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. 5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedar trees; * the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon; 6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, * and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. 7 The voice of the LORD splits the flames of fire; the voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; * the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 8 The voice of the LORD makes the oak trees writhe * and strips the forests bare. 9 And in the temple of the LORD * all are crying, “Glory!” Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. 10 The LORD sits enthroned above the flood; * the LORD sits enthroned as King for evermore. 11 The LORD shall give strength to his people; * the LORD shall give his people the blessing of peace. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to John (5:24-27) Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life. Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.” The Gospel of the Lord John of Damascus was the son of a Christian tax collector for the Mohammedan Caliph of Damascus. At an early age, he succeeded his father in this office. In about 715, he entered the monastery of St. Sabas near Jerusalem. There he devoted himself to an ascetic life and to the study of the Fathers. In the same year that John was ordained priest, 726, the Byzantine Emperor Leo the Isaurian published his first edict against the Holy Images, which signaled the formal outbreak of the iconoclastic controversy. The edict forbade the veneration of sacred images, or icons, and ordered their destruction. In 729-730, John wrote three “Apologies (or Treatises) against the Iconoclasts and in Defense of the Holy Images.” He argued that such pictures were not idols, for they represented neither false gods nor even the true God in his divine nature; but only saints, or our Lord as man. He further distinguished betweenthe respect, or veneration (proskynesis), that is properly paid to created beings, and the worship (latreia), that is properly given only to God. The iconoclast case rested, in part, upon the Monophysite heresy, which held that Christ had only one nature, and since that nature was divine, it would be improper to represent him by material substances such as wood and paint. The Monophysite heresy was condemned by the Council of Chalcedon in 451.