Directory:
Homily for Today
Lectionary
Liturgical Calendar
Ecclesia Gnostica
Return to
Gnosis Archive
The Second Sunday After Epiphany
Intent: Desire for Liberation
THE COLLECT
O great 'Call' who has awakened our soul from slumber; O Merciful One filled with mercy, the savior of those who are his own. We worship thee; we have called upon thee with an innocent voice, because we know that thou art the rescuer of souls. Stretch out thy right hand to us, and we shall leave all darkness behind us, and serve only thy Light, now and forevermore.
Amen.
THE LESSON
The lesson is taken from the Book of the Psalms of Light:
O Soul, thou art the sheep that has wandered in the desert; thy Father seeks thee, thy shepherd looks for thee. O despised noble, thy king searches after thee! Where are thy angel garments, thine unaging robes? Where are thy gay garlands, thy crowns that do not fall? Who has changed thy fair beauty, the fashion of thy kinsmen, the seal of thy fathers? Move thyself, O soul watching in the enduring chains, and remember the ascent into the joyful air, for a dangerous lure is the sweetness of this flesh, the body of darkness. Drink of the water of memory, throw away thy forgetfulness! The wounded one who desires healing, let him come to the physician! O soul, do not forget thy Self, nor faint, nor eat out thy heart! See, the ships are moored for thee, the boats are in the harbor; take thy burden aboard and sail away to thy true home.
THE GOSPEL
The gospel is taken from the Gospel according to St. Thomas:
Jesus said: The old man will not hesitate to ask a little child of seven days about the place of Life, and he will live. For many who are first shall become last, and they shall become a single one. Jesus said: Know what is in thy sight, and what is hidden from thee will be revealed to thee. For there is nothing hidden which will not be manifest. His disciples asked him, they said to him: Wouldst thou that we fast and how should we pray and should we give alms and what diet should we observe? Jesus said: Do not lie; and do not do what you hate, for all things are manifest before Heaven. For there is nothing hidden that shall not be revealed and there is nothing covered that shall remain without being uncovered.
A Homily for The Second Sunday After Epiphany
presented by the Most Reverend Stephan A. Hoeller, bishop of the Ecclesia Gnostic