Hieromartyr Zenobius and His Sister Zenobia; Holy Apostle Cleopas; St Joseph I, Patriarch of Constantinople (1283)

For you remember, brothers, our labor and travail; for working night and day, that we might not burden any of you, we preached to you the Good News of God. ¹⁰You are witnesses with God how holy, righteously, and blamelessly we behaved ourselves toward you who believe. ¹¹As you know, we exhorted, comforted, and implored every one of you, as a father does his own children, ¹²to the end that you should walk worthily of God, who calls you into his own Kingdom and glory.

¹³For this cause we also thank God without ceasing that when you received from us the word of the message of God, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, God’s word, which also works in you who believe. ¹⁴For you, brothers, became imitators of the assemblies of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus; for you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews

He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the multitudes marveled. ¹⁵But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.” ¹⁶Others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against itself falls. ¹⁸If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹But if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰But if I by God’s finger cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come to you.

²¹“When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe. ²²But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he takes from him his whole armor in which he trusted, and divides his plunder.

²³“He who is not with me is against me. He who doesn’t gather with me scatters.