The readings of this day speak about the son of God, the True Vine, about the church, the branches of the vine, her being in Him and His fruit in her.

The readings begin from the book of Exodus and God’s warning to Pharaoh for the sake of His own people and the Lord’s concern for his vineyard and His revenge against any world power that tries to encroach without His permission on the members and branches of His Vine.

” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

For if you refuse to let them go, and still hold them,

behold, the hand of the Lord will be on your cattle And the Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” (Exodus 9)

In the book of Isaiah, God called for the branches of His Vine in ancient times in the descendants of Abraham, and God’s choice of the Jews from among the Gentiles is a holy dough for the Divine economy of incarnation in the fullness of time.

“But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.

You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:” (Isaiah 41)

In the book of Joel he shows the glory of His holy vineyard and the fruits of the church in the covenant of grace and at the same time examines and condemns the Gentiles for the abundance of evil.

“Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.

For their wickedness is great.”

And it will come to pass in that day That the mountains shall drip with new wine, The hills shall flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water; A fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord ” (Joel 3)

In the book of Job, it speaks of the wisdom of the son ; the Word and the fruits of his vine in us: the fear of the Lord, which is the most fruitful fruit that distinguishes the children of God from the children of the world.

“And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding. ” (Job 28)

In the book of Proverbs, Solomon compares the fruits of his Holy vine in the righteous with the deeds of the wicked.

“Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil.

For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.

But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.” (Proverbs 4)

 

And in the Matins Psalm, one of the means of instilling us in the vine is prayer and supplication.

“Give ear to my prayer, O God, And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.” (Psalms 55)

And in the Gospel of the Matins, small-Vine Christian family it was also said that the sacrament of marriage is based on the great sacrament between Christ and the church.[3] (Alexander Schmemann)

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,

and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.

Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mark 10)

And in Pauline Epistle, the vine, which depends on faith, is gathered from all nations.

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

(as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed–God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; (Romans 4)

And in the Catholic Epistle, our unity with the son the Vine.

“but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” ( 1 Peter 4)

 

But the judgment begins from the House of God, the Vine.

“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” ( 1 Peter 4)

And in Praxis,it is about the vine grafted from the Gentiles in the New Testament and the gift of God – the fullness of the Holy Spirit – freely poured out on all believers from the Gentiles.

“If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”

When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.” (Acts 11)

And in the psalm of the liturgy, the greatest thing that the son of God gave to His branches was their salvation from eternal destruction.

” For great is Your mercy toward me, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.”(Psalms 86)

And in the Gospel of the liturgy, it is about the long-suffering of the Father and the Son,the Vine on the branches which may bear fruit.

“Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’

But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.

And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down. ” (Luke 13)

 

The summary of the readings

The attention and care of the vine with branches and His protection of her from resisters. Exodus

God’s choice of the branches of His Vine from the descendants of Abraham in the Old Testament. The book of Isaiah

The condemnation of the wicked by the Gentiles. The book of Joel

The fruits of steadfastness in the vine are the fear of the Lord and the ways of righteousness. The book of Job and Proverbs of Solomon

The unity of the branches in the vine as an example of the unity of Christian marriage. The Matins gospel

The branches of the New Testament are based on faith in the Lord Jesus and not according to the law. Pauline Epistle

The unity of branches with the vine in passion and glory. Catholic Epistle

The branches of the New Testament are from the Gentiles and the fullness of the spirit in them. Praxis

The branches cry out to the Son ;The Vineyard, in order to fix it in Him and save it from eternal destruction. The Matins and liturgy psalms

The long suffering of the Father and the Son towards the branches so that they would bear fruit. The Gospel of the liturgy