“He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon...” (John 1:39)
Saint Ephrem the Syrian offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:
“The statement “We have found the Messiah” affirms that the report about him was circulating and came from the time of the Magi; it was renewed by John who had baptized him, and by the witness of the Spirit. Then he was again left alone in his fast of forty days. For that reason, the souls of the chosen ones were filled with a desire for a report concerning him. They were indeed his instruments, as he said, “You were chosen by me before the world.” He chose Galileans, a people without education, whom the prophets proclaimed as “dwellers in darkness,” for they had seen the light, so that he could bring reproach on those who were learned in the law. “For he chose the foolish of the world, so that through them he might put the wise to shame.”” (Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron, 4)
Collect
Almighty ever-living God,
who govern all things,
both in heaven and on earth,
mercifully hear the pleading
of your people
and bestow your peace on our times.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
who govern all things,
both in heaven and on earth,
mercifully hear the pleading
of your people
and bestow your peace on our times.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen
