Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries, 869, 885

The Collect:

Rite I:
Almighty and everlasting God, who by the power of the Holy Spirit didst move thy servants Cyril and Methodius to bring the light of the Gospel to a hostile and divided people: Overcome, we pray thee, by the love of Christ, all bitterness and contention among us, and make us one united family under the banner of the Prince of Peace; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Rite II:
Almighty and everlasting God, who by the power of the Holy Spirit moved your servants Cyril and Methodius to bring the light of the Gospel to a hostile and divided people: Overcome all bitterness and strife among us by the love of Christ, and make us one united family under the banner of the Prince of Peace; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 

⁷ Again, I saw vanity under the sun: ⁸ the case of solitary individuals, without sons or brothers; yet there is no end to all their toil, and their eyes are never satisfied with riches. ‘For whom am I toiling’, they ask, ‘and depriving myself of pleasure?’ This also is vanity and an unhappy business.

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. ¹⁰ For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. ¹¹ Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? ¹² And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Psalm: Psalm 29 

¹ Ascribe to the Lord, you gods, *
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
² Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his Name; *
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
³ The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
the God of glory thunders; *
the Lord is upon the mighty waters.
⁴ The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice; *
the voice of the Lord is a voice of splendor.
⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; *
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;
⁶ He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, *
and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.
⁷ The voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire;
the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; *
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
⁸ The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe *
and strips the forests bare.
⁹ And in the temple of the Lord *
all are crying, “Glory!”
¹⁰ The Lord sits enthroned above the flood; *
the Lord sits enthroned as King for evermore.
¹¹ The Lord shall give strength to his people; *
the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

Second Lesson: Philippians 1:15–26

¹⁵Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. ¹⁶These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defence of the gospel; ¹⁷the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. ¹⁸What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, ¹⁹for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will result in my deliverance. ²⁰It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. ²²If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer. ²³I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; ²⁴but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. ²⁵Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, ²⁶so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.

Gospel: Mark 16:15-20

¹⁵And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. ¹⁶The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’

¹⁹ So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.

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