31st
Sunday After Pentecost / The
Sunday after Nativity / The Kinsmen of the Lord
Beatitude
Verses: Octoechos: 4; Feast: 4, from Ode
5; Kinsmen: 4, from Ode 6
1. Remember me when Thou comest in Thy kingdom,
O God my Savior, and save me,
for Thou alone lovest mankind.
2. By a tree was Adam
deceived; yet again by the Tree of the Cross was the thief saved,
who cried out: Remember me in Thy kingdom, O Lord!
3. O Bestower of life, Who
hadst broken down the gates and portals of hades, Thou hast
saved all who cry out to Thee, O Savior: Glory to Thine
arising!
4. O Thou Who by Thy burial hast made death
captive, and by Thy resurrection hast
filled all with joy: remember me, in that Thou art
compassionate.
5. Submitting to be recorded among Thy servants at the command
of Cæsar, Thou hast
freed us slaves from the enemy and sin, O
Christ; and having abased Thyself for us, Thou
hast made our clay divine through Thy union and sharing
therein.
6. Behold, the Virgin hath
conceived in her womb, as was foretold of old, and hath given
birth to God made man, yet remaineth
virgin. O sinners who for her sake have
been
reconciled with God, let us faithful hymn her as
the true Theotokos.
7. By His coming in the
flesh the Master hath again cut down the cruel enmity directed
against us, that He might destroy the
soul-destroying ruler, uniting the world with the
immaterial beings, making the Begetter accessible
to creation.
8. The people who of old
were benighted have finally seen the light of the radiance of the
Most High; and the Son bringeth the nations to the Father as an
inheritance, bestowing
ineffable grace where sin once flourished
exceedingly.
9. Awe-struck, the heavenly hosts stood before
the cave, and unable to keep silent,
hymned Thy most pure nativity, chanting: Glory in the highest to the newborn
God!
10. Upon Thy throne hast Thou sat, as Thou didst
swear unto the prophet David, O
Master,
Who camest forth from the fruit of his loins; and unto
James didst Thou commit
the
throne of the Church, O Christ.
11. David the king is shown to be a wondrous
prophet and forefather of the incarnation
of
God; and James, the disciple of Jesus, is shown forth as the first bishop.
12. We beseech thee, O Virgin Theotokos: in
behalf of thy servants entreat thou Him
Who was incarnate of thee, for we know thee to be our sole intercessor.
Troparia & Kontakia Tone 6. Angelic hosts were above Thy tomb, /
and they that guarded Thee became as
dead. /
And Mary stood by the grave seeking Thine immaculate body. /
Thou didst despoil hades and wast
not tempted by it. /
Thou didst meet the Virgin and didst grant us
life. //
O Thou Who didst rise from the dead, O Lord,
glory be to Thee.
Tone 4: Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, /
hath shined upon the world the
light of knowledge; /
for thereby, they that
worshipped the stars /
were taught by a star /
to worship Thee, the Sun of
Righteousness, /
and to know Thee, the Dayspring
from on high. //
O Lord, glory be to Thee.
Tone 2: O Joseph, proclaim the wonders
to David the father of our Divine Lord. /
Thou hast seen a Virgin
conceive; /
thou hast given glory with the
shepherds; /
thou hast worshipped with the
Magi; /
and thou hast been warned by an
angel. //
Implore Christ our God to
save our souls.
Glory… Tone 3: Today divine David is filled
with gladness, /
and together with James, Joseph
doth offer praise; /
for they rejoice at receiving a
crown as kinsmen of Christ, /
and they praise Him who is
ineffably born on earth and they cry: //
O Compassionate One, save
them that honor Thee.
Both now…
Tone 3: Today the Virgin giveth
birth to Him Who is transcendent in essence; /
and the earth offereth a cave
to Him Who is unapproachable. /
Angels with shepherds give
glory; /
with a star the Magi do journey;
//
for our sake a young Child is
born, Who is pre-eternal God.
The Epistle
Reader: The Prokimenon in
the 6th Tone: Save, O Lord, Thy
people and bless Thine
inheritance.
Choir: Save, O Lord, Thy people
and bless Thine inheritance.
Reader: Unto Thee, O Lord,
Will I cry; O my God, be not silent unto me.
Choir: Save, O Lord, Thy
people and bless Thine inheritance.
Reader: In the 4th Tone: Wondrous is
God in His saints, the God of
Choir: Wondrous is God in His saints, the God of
Israel.
Reader: The
[Galatians 1:11-19 (§200); 1 Timothy 1:15-17 (§280 ctr)]
Reader: Alleluia in the 6th
Tone: He that dwelleth in the help of the Most High shall
abide in the shelter of the
God of heaven.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia!
Reader: He shall say unto
the Lord: Thou art my helper and my refuge.
He is my God,
and I will hope in Him.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: In the
4th Tone: Remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [Matthew 2:13-23 (§4); Luke 18:35-43 (§93)]
Instead of “It is truly meet…” we chant the Irmos of
the 9th Ode of the
Second Canon of the feast, First Tone:
Refrain: Magnify, O my soul, her who is more honorable and
more glorious
than the hosts on high, the most
pure Virgin Theotokos.
Irmos: Better would it be for us to keep silence in
fear, for it is without peril;
and it is difficult, O Virgin,
to weave complex hymns harmoniously with love.
But grant
us, O Mother, the strength to
fulfill our intent.
Or according to the current
practice of some, the following Irmos is used (with the same
refrain, and in the same tone):
A strange and most wonderful mystery do I see: the
cave is heaven; the Virgin
the throne of the cherubim; the
manger a room, in which Christ, the God whom nothing
can contain, is laid. Him do we praise and magnify.
Communion Verse:
Praise the Lord in the
heavens, praise Him in the highest!
Rejoice in the Lord, O ye
righteous; praise is
meet for the upright.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!