August 1, to the Martyrs Maccabees.

The Gospel of Matthew, conceived 39

The Lord said to His disciples: "Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who saves his life will lose it; but he who loses his life for my sake shall save it. He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me; whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive the reward of a prophet; and whoever receives the righteous in the name of the righteous will receive the reward of the righteous. And whosoever shall give one of these little ones only a cup of cold water to drink, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, shall not lose his reward. And when Jesus had finished teaching his twelve disciples, he went from there to teach and preach in their cities.

Matthew 10:37–11:1

Saturday of the 7th week.

Saturday before the Exaltation.

The Gospel of Matthew, conceived 40

In those days, John, having heard in prison about the works of Christ, sent two of his disciples to say to Him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we waiting for another?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor preach the gospel; and blessed is he who shall not be offended in me. And when they had gone, Jesus began to speak to the people about John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see?" Is it a reed shaken by the wind? Did you go to see the same thing? Is it a man clothed in soft garments? Those who wear soft garments are in the royal palaces. What did you go to see? Prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. For he is the one of whom it is written, Behold, I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Of those born of women there has not arisen greater than John the Baptist; but the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist to this day the kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away, for all the prophets and the law prophesied before John. And if you want to receive, he is Elijah, who must come. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!

Matthew 11:2-15

Monday of the 4th week.

The finding of the head of John the Baptist, at the Liturgy.

The Gospel of Matthew, conceived 41

The Lord said, "To whom shall I liken this generation?" He is like children who sit in the street and, addressing their comrades, say: we played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; We sang sad songs to you, and you did not weep. For John came, neither eating nor drinking; And they say, 'A demon is in him.' The Son of Man has come, eating and drinking; And they say, Behold a man who loves to eat and drink wine, a friend of publicans and sinners. And wisdom is justified by her children. Then He began to reproach the cities in which His strength was most manifested, because they did not repent.

Matthew 11:16-20