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Sunday of the Forefathers of Christ
Two Sundays before the Feast of the Nativity of the
Lord, the Church commemorates Christ's Forefathers according to the flesh, both those that came before the giving of the Law
to Moses and those that lived after the giving of the Law. Special commemoration is made of the Patriarch Abraham, to
whom the promise was first given, when God said to him, "In
thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed"
[Genesis 22.18].
The Church chants of Noah, Sampson, Barak, Jephthah, Nathan, Eleazar, Josiah, Job,
Samuel, David and his son Solomon, Elijah and all the Prophets, including Daniel and the Three Holy Youths. We chant
also of the holy women Hannah, Judith, Deborah, Hulda, Jael, Esther and Sarah.
We chant, in a word,
of all the righteous of the Old Covenant times, men and women, Hebrews and non-Hebrews, who found life in God and so, as the
Epistle of the day proclaims and the Church believes, "Will appear with him in glory" when "Christ who is our
life appears" [Colossians 3.4]
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The following readings below are for Sunday, December
15, 2019:
Today's Epistle reading [Colossians 3.4-11]
When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death therefore
what is earthly in you; immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and coveteousness, which is idolatry. On account
of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you once walked, when you lived in them. But now put them all away:
anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off
the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its
creator. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but
Christ is all, and in all.
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The Gospel reading for today
[Luke 14.16-24]:
But he said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet, and invited
many; and at the time of the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come; for all is now ready.'
But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it;
I pray you, have me excused.' And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; I pray you,
have me excused.' And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' So the servant came
and reported this to his master. Then the householder in anger said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and
lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.' And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded
has been done, and still there is room.' And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges, and
compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste
my banquet'."
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