Twenty-Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Грешник · Post by **Грешник** » Mon 22 December 2003 6:23 pm

MATINS (VII)

John 20:1-10

 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

For Sunday before the Nativity
Sunday of the Holy Fathers

VESPERS

Genesis 14:14-20

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 And Abram having heard that Lot his nephew had been taken captive, numbered his own home-born [servants] three hundred and eighteen, and pursued after them to Dan. And he came up on them by night, he and his servants, and he smote them and pursued them as far as Choba, which is on the left of Damascus. And he recovered all the cavalry of Sodom, and he recovered Lot his nephew, and all his possessions, and the women and the people. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after he returned from the slaughter of Chodollogomor, and the kings with him, to the valley of Saby; this was the plain of the kings. And Melchisedec king of Salem brought forth loaves and wine, and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed Abram, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, who made heaven and earth, and blessed be the most high God who delivered thine enemies into thy power. And Abram gave him the tithe of all.

Deuteronomy 1:8-11, 15-17

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 Behold, [God] has delivered the land before you; go in and inherit the land, which I sware to your fathers, Abraam, and Isaac, and Jacob, to give it to them and to their seed after them. And I spoke to you at that time, saying, I shall not be able by myself to bear you. The Lord your God has multiplied you, and, behold, ye are to-day as the stars of heaven for multitude. The Lord God of your fathers add to you a thousand-fold more than you are, and bless you as he has spoken to you. So I took of you wise and understanding and prudent men, and I set them to rule over you as rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, and rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens, and officers to your judges. And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear [causes] between your brethren, and judge rightly between a man and [his] brother, and the stranger that is with him. Thou shalt not have respect to persons in judgment, thou shalt judge small and great equally; thou shalt not shrink from before the person of a man, for the judgment is God’s; and whatsoever matter shall be too hard for you, ye shall bring it to me, and I will hear it.

Deuteronomy 10:14-21

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 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord thy God, the earth and all things that are in it. Only the Lord chose your fathers to love them, and he chose out their seed after them, [even] you, beyond all nations, as at this day. Therefore ye shall circumcise the hardness of your heart, and ye shall not harden your neck. For the Lord your God, he [is] God of gods, and the Lord of lords, the great, and strong, and terrible God, who does not accept persons, nor will he by any means accept a bribe: executing judgment for the stranger and orphan and widow, and he loves the stranger to give him food and raiment. And ye shall love the stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt cleave to him, and shalt swear by his name. He [is] thy boast, and he [is] thy God, who has wrought in the midst of thee these great and glorious things, which thine eyes have seen.

LITURGY

Hebrews 11:9-10, 17-23, 32-40

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 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Matthew 1:1-25

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 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

尼古拉前执事 · Mon 22 December 2003 6:25 pm

29th Sunday after Pentecost - The Healing of the Ten Lepers
Luke 17:12-19
From The Explanation of the Gospel of St. Luke
by Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Ochrid and Bulgaria

11-19. From this one may learn that nothing prevents a man from living in a manner pleasing to God, not even if he belongs to a despised race, if only he has a good will and disposition. For behold, ten lepers met Jesus as He was about to enter a certain city. They met Him outside the city, for those who were considered unclean were not permitted to go into the city. They stood afar off, as if ashamed of their supposed uncleanness, and did not dare to draw near, thinking that Jesus abhorred them as did the others. They lifted up their voicesand made supplication. By physical location they were standing afar off, but in their supplication they were near. For the Lord is nigh unto all that call upon Him in truth. [Ps. 144:19] And they did not make supplication to Him as to a mere man, but as to One greater than a man. For they called Him Master, meaning Lord, Protector, and Guardian, which is not far from thinking of Him as God. The Lord instructs them to show themselves to the priests. Initially the priests would examine men such as these to determine whether they were lepers or not. For there were certain signs by which the priests could recognize incurable leprosy. But in addition to this, if it should happen that someone who had been suffering from leprosy was healed, the priests would again examine him to verify the cure, in which event the gift commanded by the law would be offered. [Lev. 14] In this case, since these men were already confirmed lepers, why should they show themselves to the priests, unless indeed they were about to be cleansed? To command them to go the priests indicated nothing less than that they would be healed. This is why the Evangelist says that as they went, they were cleansed. Of the ten lepers, the nine who were Israelites showed themselves to be ungrateful, while it was the Samaritan, an accursed foreigner, as we said earlier, who returned to voice his gratitude. The Samaritans were Assyrians; therefore, let no Gentile despair, and let no one descended from holy forebears boast. This miracle also signifies the common salvation that came to the whole human race. For the ten lepers represent all of human nature--it was leprous with wickedness, carrying about with it the ugliness of sin, passing its life outside the heavenly city on account of its uncleanness, and standing afar off from God. But this very distance from God is itself a supplication. For when the Lover of mankind, Who wills that all should be saved and receive good things, sees someone who is not sharing in His goodness, then He is most quick to show mercy and to heal those who are so miserably afflicted. But He also healed the whole leprous nature of man, when, for every mans sake, He took flesh and tasted of death. Although the Jews had been cleansed of the uncleanness of their leprous sin, as far as it was the Lords part to do, they showed themselves ungrateful and did not return from the path of their vain foolishness to give glory to God Who saved them, that is, to believe in Him Who is God and Who endured the extremes of suffering. For this is the glory of God: His Flesh and His Cross. These Jews, then, did not confess the incarnate and crucified Lord of glory. But the foreign and accursed people of the Gentiles recognized the One Who makes clean, and they glorified Him by believing in Him. They believed that God loves man so much and is so powerful that He accepted the very depth of dishonor for our sake--this is His love of man--and having accepted it, He suffered no harm to His own nature--this is His power.

Julianna · Post by **Julianna** » Tue 6 January 2004 12:23 am

December 22/January 4, 2004

Beloved Clergy and Parishioners in the Lord, Grace and Peace be with you.

18-24. The Sunday Before the Nativity of Christ:

The Commemoration of the Holy Fathers.

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 328]. Brethren:

For Gk. usage, read Heb. 11:9, 10, 32-40; for Sl. usage, read Heb. 11:9, 10, 17-23, 32-40.
     11 9By faith Abraham sojourned in the land of the promise, as in a foreign land, having dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the joint-heirs of the same promise;10for he was waiting for the city which hath the foundations of which the artificer and maker is God....
Sl. usage adds Heb. 11:17-23, and then verses 32-40, but Gk. usage skips to Heb. 11:32-40.
     17By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who received the promises offered up his only-begotten son, 18as to whom it was said "for in Isaac thy seed shall be called [Gen. 21:12]," 19reckoning that God was able to raise even from the dead; from which also he received him for himself in a type. 20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning coming things. 21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and "did reverence upon the top of his staff [Gen. 47:31]." 22By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention concerning the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave command concerning his bones. 23By faith Moses, after he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because "they saw the little child was fair [cf. Ex. 2:2]," and th! ey were not afraid of the edict of the king....

Both Gk. and Sl. usages conclude with Heb. 11:32-40.
     32And what more shall I say? For the time will fail me narrating about Gideon and Barak and also Samson and Jephthae, and about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith struggled against kingdoms, wrought righteousness, attained to promises, stopped mouths of lions, 34quenched the power of fire, escaped the edges of the sword, were empowered out of weakness, became strong in battle, turned back encampments of aliens. 35Women received their dead by resurrection. And others were tortured, not accepting release, that they might attain a better resurrection. 36And others received trial of mockings and of scourgings, and, moreover, of bonds and of imprisonment. 37They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted; they died, murdered by the sword. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in need, affli! cted, ill-treated- 38of whom the world was not worthy. They were made to wander in deserts, and in mountains, and in caves, and in the holes of the earth. 39And these all, having been approved by testimony through faith, received not for themselves the promise,40God having foreseen some better thing concerning us, that they should not be made perfect without us.

The Sunday Before the Nativity of Christ:

The Commemoration of the Holy Fathers

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 1].
     1 1The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
     2Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren, 3and Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar, and Phares begat Esrom, and Esrom begat Aram, 4and Aram begat Aminadab, and Aminadab begat Naasson, and Naasson begat Salmon, 5and Salmon begat Booz of Rachab, and Booz begat Obed of Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse, 6and Jesse begat David the king. And David the king begat Solomon of her who had been the wife of Urias,7and Solomon begat Roboam, and Roboam begat Abia, and Abia begat Asa, 8and Asa begat Josaphat, and Josaphat begat Joram, and Joram begat Ozias, 9and Ozias begat Joatham, and Joatham begat Achaz, and Achaz begat Ezekias, 10and Ezekias begat Manasses, and Manasses begat Amon, and Amon begat Josias,11and Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, in the time of the deportation! to Babylon. 12And after the deportation to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel, and Salathiel begat Zorobabel, 13and Zorobabel begat Abiud, and Abiud begat Eliakeim, and Eliakeim begat Azor, 14and Azor begat Sadok, and Sadok begat Acheim, and Acheim begat Eliud, 15and Eliud begat Eleazar, and Eleazar begat Matthan, and Matthan begat Jacob, 16and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus Who is called Christ.
     17Then all the generations from Abraham until David are fourteen generations, and from David until the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.
     18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was thus: For His Mother, Mary, having been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, was found to be with child of theHoly Spirit. 19But Joseph her husband, being just, and yet not willing to make her an example, wished to divorce her secretly. 20And after he pondered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not become afraid to take to thee Mariam thy wife; for that which is in her was begotten of the Holy Spirit. 21"And she shall bring forth a Son and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. 22"Now all this came to pass, in order that it might be fulfilled that which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 23"'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, ! and they shall call His name Emmanuel [cf. Is. 7:14],'" which is, being interpreted, "God with us." 24And Joseph, having been awakened from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took to him his wife, 25and was not knowing her until she brought forth her Son, the firstborn; and he called His name Jesus.

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

We are now approaching the holy Nativity of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ. On this day, the Sunday before Nativity, we commemorate the Holy Fathers - all those righteous of the Old Testament who, by faith, triumphed. They are enumerated in the epistle we heard today. They overcame all temptations of the adversary by faith. By faith in what? By faith in the coming Messiah. Faith was so important in the Old Testament, and more so now in the New Covenant.

Even though all these righteous of the Old Testament lived by faith, yet St. Paul says, "39And these all, having been approved by testimony through faith, received not for themselves the promise, 40God having foreseen some better thing concerning us, that they should not be made perfect without us." Now the promises are given to us. We were blessed to witness (yes, witness) the Nativity of Christ, to hear His divine words and hear also the report of witnesses of His divine miracles. We are given the grace of God through Holy Baptism, and we are given the great blessing to partake of His body and blood in Holy Communion. This is an earthly symbol of the heavenly kingdom, participation and communion with God through grace. The gifts and promises to us are beyond description, and it is all because God loves us and gave Himself for us, as we heard in the Holy Gospel, "And she shall bring fort! h a Son and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins."

Isn't it profoundly true that when we sin, these sins become part of us so that we say "my sins"? But Christ came to save us from our sins, to separate ourselves from them so that they are not part of us anymore. But to participate in this grace, we must have faith in everything that the Church teaches. We cannot have our own opinion above that of the Church. We cannot interpret the Scriptures on our own authority if it is in conflict with the Church.

Behold how the Protestants view this verse we heard today. "24And Joseph, having been awakened from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took to him his wife, 25and was not knowing her until she brought forth her Son, the firstborn; and he called His name Jesus." Because they reject the idea that the mother of God is to be reverenced and supplicated on our behalf, they say that she was not ever-virgin, and to prove it, they interpret the scripture above as their proof. They say that Joseph knew her after the birth of Christ, and that she had more sons and daughters. But this is opposed to the Church's teaching and tradition, and therefore it is false. Saint John Chrysostom said: "He uses herein the word 'until,' not that thou shouldest suspect that afterwards he! did come to know her, but in order that thou mayest learn that before the birth the Virgin was wholly untouched. But on what account did he say the word 'until'? Because it is usual in Scripture ofttimes to do this, and to use this expression without reference to limited times....When discoursing also of God, Scripture says, 'From the ageuntil the age Thou art [Ps. 89(90):2],' not as fixing limits in this case....So then here likewise, it uses the word 'until,' to make certain what was before the birth; but as to what follows, it leaves thee to make the inference." [Hom. 5, Commentary on St. Matthew the Evangelist, P.G. 57:77 (col. 58).]

If one just looks at another verse in this same gospel reading, where the evangelist quotes the Prophet Isaias, "'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel [cf. Is. 7:14],'" which is, being interpreted, "God with us." Saint John of Damascus said: "While every virgin loses her virginity in bringing forth, she was a virgin before her delivery, a virgin in her delivery, and a virgin after she brought forth." ["Homily II on the Dormition,"P.G. 96, fol. 722, in Toal IV:444.]

The Prophet says, "the virgin" shall be with child…. She is always called "virgin" by the Orthodox, and here, the protestants should note that the prophet and also the evangelist call her "the virgin". One is not called "the virgin" if she gave birth to many sons and daughters.

     "18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was thus: For His Mother, Mary, having been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, was found to be with child of theHoly Spirit." After the evangelist describes all the natural birth and the genealogy of Christ, then he describes the supernatural birth of Christ.0 Joseph was eighty years old when he took the Virgin Mary, who was approximately fourteen years old. He was old enough to be her grandfather, yet he was a perfect protection for a virgin who was to give birth, being a most honorable husband. Saint Bede the Venerable said: "Blessed Mary then had a husband who would be the most reliable witness of her integrity and the most faithful custodian of our Lord and Savior. This would prevent her from being condemned as guil! ty of defilement if she were to bear a son having no husband. He would also be there to afford the care which a home naturally demands." ["Homily I.3, In Advent," Homilies on the Gospels, Book One, 20, 21; CCL 122, 15.] Yes, and we know that his home had sons and daughters from his previous marriage to Salome, who had reposed. Joseph was a widower. One of his daughters was also named Salome after her mother, and she married Zebedee, and they gave birth to the two apostles, Iakovos and John theTheologian.

Church / Monastery News:

     This week we received the calendars for the upcoming year. They are, as before, wall calendars which show the fast and feast days, etc. We are preparing the covers/headers for these calendars as usual. If anybody would like to purchase them, the cost is $6.00 / calendar, plus 2.50 postage (std. mail) or 4.50 (priority). This price will just meet our costs.

     Work on the new building is proceeding. The painting of the walls and ceilings were completed last week. This past week we have been working on putting the tile on the floor. Everybody is lending a hand in this work, which is very long and tedious. So far we have finished laying two-thirds of the floor area. After all the tile is laid, we have to go back in and put grout in-between the cracks of the tile.

We are all very pleased that now this building, since it has been insulated, holds the heat amazingly well. When we step into the building from the outside cold, the warm slab warms a person's feet, and he feels very comfortable, even though the temperature of the whole house is set at 64 degrees.

This past week also the electrician installed the light fixtures, switches, and receptacles. They plan to finish this work this week.

After the floor is grouted, the plumber will come and install the bathroom fixtures, etc. This is all very exciting to the brotherhood because now we have a warm building to live and work in during the winter time.

Please pray for:

Our Vladika Metropolitan Valentine, Father Dionysios' daughter, Helen.

Calendar of Events for Upcoming Week:

Nativity is this Wednesday. This is one of the greatest feasts of our Saviour, and we wish all a blessed feast day and twelve days thereafter until Theophany. From the Nativity to the Theophany, there is absolutely no fasting, except for the day before Theophany, when fish, oil and wine are permitted.

Crumbs from the trapeza table:

From the Life of St. Sylvester of Rome, explaining why God became incarnate:

The Saint answered, "For God there is nothing which is impossible. But the devil had to be defeated by that which had been defeated by him. By him was defeated man; man born not according to the usual order of nature, not of the seed of man, but formed from the earth and, what is more, from pure and immaculate earth, as from a virgin, for it had not yet been cursed by God, had not yet been defiled by the blood of the murdered brother, neither the killing of animals, so that it had not yet become infected by corrupting bodies, nor defiled by any other sort of impure or obscene deeds. From such soil was flesh fashioned for our progenitor, and enlivened by the breath of God. But if the all-evil devil defeated this kind of man, it was also necessary for him to be defeated by this kind of man. And just such a man is our Lord Jesus Christ, born not according to the custom and laws of nature, but from the pure and holy virginal womb, similar ! to the way in which Adam was produced from the earth as yet uninfected by sin. And, just as Adam had been enlivened by the breath of God, so also This One was incarnate by the action of the Holy Spirit, overshadowing the most holy Virgin, and was perfect God and perfect man, in everything except sin, having two natures, divine and human, but in one Person. In this way, the human nature suffered for us, but the divine nature remained dispassionate."

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

In Christ,

+Bishop Gregory, and those with me.