The Fourth Sunday of the Blessed Month of Meshir

This Sunday is to end up the first six months of the Coptic year; in other words: – 

For the month of Thoout the Father has revealed His saving dispensation for all humankind. 

For Paope, the Son has manifested His perfect and unlimited authority. 

Then the month of Hathor has filled the lands of our hearts with springs of the Spirit. 

For the month of Koiahk, the Word has taken flesh. 

For Tobe He has revealed His salvation for all nations, receiving them through baptism. 

Afterwards, and for three Sundays of Meshir, we have seen His Eucharistic honor. 

Finally, here comes the fourth Sunday with the fullness of the time of God to humankind, for salvation and regeneration; that this fourth Sunday of Meshir is the new day; the time of salvation. 

(So this Day Readings may be the same as the conclusive texts read for the great lent and the holy Pascha ending with the death of Christ to whom be glory, His holy resurrection, and the revelation of the salvation of God to humanity. For one may marvel at mentioning baptism and rebirth through the Readings of this Day –on which we receive the power of the death and resurrection of Christ – through the Pauline Epistle, the Catholicon, Praxis, and also through the Liturgy Psalm… at how the Lord has prepared everything on the waters). 

[Note: as references, the unit entitled, “The Theme of Sunday Readings”, and the other one, “The Correlation Seen through the Readings of the Great Lent, Holy Pascha and Holy Pentecost” both include some more details.] 

Psalms

The Psalms reveal the depth of the Lord’s dispensation (Vesper), the fullness of His mercies (Morning), and the perfectness of His care and providence (Liturgy). 

The Vesper Psalm shows the joyfulness of the soul in the works of God, greatness of His work of salvation, profoundness of His thought and dispensation: 

“For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. O Lord, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep.” 

Then the Morning Psalm announces the fullness of the time of Divine mercies for all mankind: 

“The world and all its fullness, You have founded them. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.” 

Likewise comes the Liturgy Psalm to illustrate the perfect carefulness of God for all: 

“The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.” 

Liturgy Readings

The Readings reveal: the perfection of our salvation by Christ, through our inner riches (Pauline Epistle), the perfectness of His gifts given to us (Catholicon), and the exaltedness of His Divine power high above all worldly magic (Praxis). 

Now the Pauline Epistle talks about the church, integrated with the gifts of her members, testifying of Christ and in Him confirmed to the end: 

“That you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Then the Catholicon announces that we have now become the firstfruits of His creatures: 

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” 

Yet the Praxis puts a comparison between the sorcery of the world, giving nothing but self-glorification, and that great power of God, giving glory to the name of Jesus Christ: 

“But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great… And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.” 

Gospels

The Gospels tell about the signs of the new day and the new creature in Christ; those are: absolute forgiveness (Vesper), perfect healing (Morning), and an inclusive salvation for the whole family (Liturgy). 

The Vesper Gospel shows how forgiveness should be absolute among the children of God: 

“’If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.’” 

Then the Morning Gospel shows the perfection of cleanliness to mankind from the leprosy of sin, through the healing of the ten men: it is the sign of perfectness –in spite of the fact that the only one who gave thanks to the Lord was a foreigner: 

“Then as He entered a certain village, there met him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ So when He saw them, He said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed… So Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’ And He said to him, ‘Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.’” 

To end up comes the Liturgy Gospel with the Lord Jesus’ meeting with Zacchaeus, as a pattern of humanity, to whom the Lord has come just where they are, calling them by name, thus coming into our houses -which is so far beyond our imagination- revealing our salvation; it is He who seeks all those who were lost: 

“And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.’ So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully… And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’” 

So also there is a comparison between Simon, the sorcerer who did everything for gaining money (Praxis), and Zacchaeus, the tax collector who gave a half of his money when he had met with the Lord (Liturgy Gospel). 

Note the repetition of the word “day” through the Readings: – 

“’If your brother sins against you… seven times in a day’” (Vesper Gospel) – 

“Who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Pauline Epistle) – 

“‘Today salvation has come to this house’” (Liturgy Gospel). 

Here, the “Day” does not mean a definite time; but it is the day of salvation. It is that which is proclaimed by the church through the Eucharist: “This is the day that the Lord has made…” 

In the Vesper Gospel it signifies our earthly life; but in the Pauline Epistle it means the coming of the Lord; yet in the Liturgy Gospel, it is the revelation of salvation in person of our Lord Jesus Christ.