Sunday After Theophany

Transcript

1 Sunday After Theophany Κυριακή μετά τα Φώτα Όρθρος Κυριακής στις 8:45 π.μ. και Θ. Λειτουργία στις 10:00 π.μ. Sunday Orthros at 8:45 a.m. and D. Liturgy at 10:00 a.m. Ήχος δ Εωθινόν Ζ Tone: 4 th Morning Gospel: 7 th Presiding Priest: Fr. Nicholas Dassouras 8 Ιανουαρίου January 2017

2 Την σημερινή Κυριακή εορτάζουμε την την μνήμη τοῦ Οσίου Πατρός ημών Γεωργίου του Χοζεβίτου, της Οσίας Μητρός ημών Δομνίκης και των εν Αγίοις Πατέρων ημών Αττικού και Κύρου, Πατριαρχών Κωνσταντινουπόλεως. This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Saint George the Hozevite, of our Holy Mother Domnica and of our Holy Fathers Atticus and Cyrus, Patriarchs of Constantinople.

3 ΝΕΑ ΤΗΣ ΗΜΕΡΑΣ/ NEWS OF THE DAY Κοπή Βασιλόπιτας Φιλοπτώχου Αδελφότητος Philoptohos Vasilopita Cutting

4 Αναστάσιμον Απολυτίκιον. Ἦχος δ. Τό φαιδρόν τής Αναστάσεως κήρυγμα εκ τού Αγγέλου μαθούσαι αι τού Κυρίου Μαθήτριαι, καί τήν προγονικήν απόφασιν απορρίψασαι, τοίς Αποστόλοις καυχώμεναι έλεγον, Εσκύλευται ο θάνατος, ηγέρθη Χριστός ο Θεός, δωρούμενος τώ κόσμω τό μέγα έλεος. Απολυτίκιον των Φώτων, Ήχος α. Ἐν Ἰορδάνῃ βαπτιζομένου σου Κύριε, ἡ τῆς Τριάδος ἐφανερώθη προσκύνησις, τοῦ γὰρ Γεννήτορος ἡ φωνὴ προσεμαρτύρει σοί, ἀγαπητὸν σὲ Υἱὸν ὀνομάζουσα, καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐν εἴδει περιστεράς, ἐβεβαίου τοῦ λόγου τὸ ἀσφαλές. Ὁ ἐπιφανεῖς Χριστὲ ὁ Θεός, καὶ τὸν κόσμον φωτίσας δόξα σοί. Απολυτίκιον Αγίου Γεωργίου, Ήχος δ. Ὡς τῶν αἰχμαλώτων ἐλευθερωτὴς καὶ τῶν πτωχῶν ὑπερασπιστής, ἀσθενούντων ἰατρός, βασιλέων ὑπέρμαχος, Τροπαιοφόρε Μεγαλομάρτυς Γεώργιε, πρεσβεῦε Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ, σωθῆναι τάς ψυχὰς ἠμῶν. Κοντάκιο των Φώτων, Ήχος δ Ἐπεφάνης σήμερον τῇ οἰκουμένῃ, καὶ τὸ φῶς σου Κύριε, ἐσημειώθη ἐφ ἡμᾶς, ἐν ἐπιγνώσει ὑμνοῦντας σε Ἦλθες ἐφάνης τὸ Φῶς τὸ ἀπρόσιτον.

5 Αpolytikion of Resurrection, Fourth Tone The women disciples of the Lord heard from the angel, the joyful news of the Resurrection and the repeal of the sentence imposed upon our forefathers. With pride they said to the Apostles, "Death is vanquished, Christ our God is risen bestowing upon the world His great mercy. Αpolytikion of the Theophany of Our Lord, Tone First Lord, when You were baptized in the Jordan, the veneration of the Trinity was revealed. For the voice of the Father gave witness to You, calling You Beloved, and the Spirit, in the guise of a dove, confirmed the certainty of His words. Αpolytikion for St. George, Tone Fourth As the one renowned for setting captives free, and for defending those in poverty, the physician of the sick and the champion of kings, do thou, o Victory-bearer and Great Martyr George, intercede to Christ our God for the salvation of our souls. Kontakion of Epiphany, Tone Fourth You appeared to the world today, and Your light, O Lord, has left its mark upon us. With fuller understanding we sing to You: "You came, You were made manifest, the unapproachable light." - Translation by Narthex Press

6 Αποστολικόν Ανάγνωσμα: Εκ της προς Εφεσίους Επιστολής του Αποστόλου Παύλου 4:7-13 Ἀδελφοί, ἑνὶ δὲ ἑκάστῳ ἡμῶν ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς δωρεᾶς τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Διὸ λέγει, Αναβὰς εἰς ὕψος ᾐχμαλώτευσεν αἰχμαλωσίαν, ἔδωκεν δόματα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. ( τὸ δὲ Ανέβη τί ἐστιν εἰ μὴ ὅτι καὶ κατέβη εἰς τὰ κατώτερα [μέρη] τῆς γῆς; ὁ καταβὰς αὐτός ἐστιν καὶ ὁ ἀναβὰς ὑπεράνω πάντων τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἵνα πληρώσῃ τὰ πάντα.) καὶ αὐτὸς ἔδωκεν τοὺς μὲν ἀποστόλους, τοὺς δὲ προφήτας, τοὺς δὲ εὐαγγελιστάς, τοὺς δὲ ποιμένας καὶ διδασκάλους, πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων εἰς ἔργον διακονίας, εἰς οἰκοδομὴν τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ.

7 The Reading is from from St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 4:7-13 BRETHREN, grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it is said, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." (in saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

8 Ευαγγελικόν Ανάγνωσμα: Eκ του κατά Ματθαίον 4:12-17 Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, ἀκούσας ὅτι Ιωάννης παρεδόθη ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν. Καὶ καταλιπὼν τὴν Ναζαρέτ ἐλθὼν κατῴκησεν εἰς Καφαρναοὺμ τὴν παραθαλασσίαν ἐν ὁρίοις Ζαβουλὼν καὶ Νεφθαλίμ ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ Ησαΐου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος, γῆ Ζαβουλὼν καὶ γῆ Νεφθαλίμ, ὁδὸν θαλάσσης, πέραν τοῦ Ιορδάνου, Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν,ὁ λαὸς ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότει φῶς εἶδεν μέγα, καὶ τοῖς καθημένοις ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου φῶς ἀνέτειλεν αὐτοῖς. Απὸ τότε ἤρξατο ὁ Ιησοῦς κηρύσσειν καὶ λέγειν, Μετανοεῖτε, ἤγγικεν γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.

9 The Gospel Reading is from Matthew 4:12-17 At that time, Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth He went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

10 On Repentance By C. S Lewis Now what was the sort of "hole" man had got himself into? He had tried to set up on his own, to behave as if he belonged to himself. In other words, fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor-- that is the only way out of a "hole." This process of surrender--this movement full speed astern--is what Christians call repentance. Now repentance is no fun at all. It is

11 something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means killing part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death. In fact, it needs a good man to repent. And here comes the catch. Only a bad person needs to repent: only a good person can repent perfectly. The worse you are the more you need it and the less you can do it. The only person who could do it perfectly would be a perfect person--and he would not need it. Remember, this repentance, this willing submission to humiliation and a kind of death, is not something God demands of you before He will take you back and which He could let you off if He chose: it is simply a description of what going back to Him is like. If you ask God to take you back without it, you are really asking Him to let you go back without going back. It cannot happen. Very well, then, we must go through with it. But the same badness which makes us need it, makes us unable to do it. Can we do it if God helps us? Yes, but what do we mean when we talk of God helping us? We mean God putting into us a bit of Himself, so to speak. He lends us a little of His reasoning powers and that is how we think: He puts a little of His love into us and that is how we love one another. When you teach a child writing, you hold its hand while it forms the letters: that is, it forms the letters because you are forming them. We love and reason because God loves and reasons and holds our hand while we do it. Now if we had not fallen, that would be all plain sailing. But unfortunately we now need God's help in order to do

12 something which God, in His own nature, never does at all- -to surrender, to suffer, to submit, to die. Nothing in God's nature corresponds to this process at all. So that the one road for which we now need God's leadership most of all is a road God, in His own nature, has never walked. God can share only what He has: this thing, in Hisown nature, He has not. But supposing God became a man--suppose our human nature which can suffer and die was amalgamated with God's nature in one person--then that person could help us. He could surrender His will, and suffer and die, because He was man; and He could do it perfectly because He was God. You and I can go through this process only if God does it in us; but God can do it only if He becomes man. Our attempts at this dying will succeed only if we men share in God dying, just as our thinking can succeed only because it is a drop our of the ocean of His intelligence: but we cannot share God's dying unless God does; and He cannot die except by being a man. That is the sense in which pay our debt, and suffers for us what He Himself need not suffer at all. Excerpt from Mere Christianity Ch. 4 Pg 59,60

13 How is the Kingdom αt Hand? Jesus Christ's message was that people should repent, believe the good news that He brought and put that message into action, changing their lives to reflect their belief and commitment. When Jesus came preaching the Kingdom of God, he said it was at hand and commanded us to repent and believe the good news about the Kingdom (Mark 1:14-15Mark 1:14-15; Matthew 4:17Matthew 4:17). The Greek word translated at hand is engizo. It means to draw near to something. It does not imply that something has actually come, rather that it is close. The Bible in Basic English, the New International Version and Today s English Version recognize this distinction, translating the phrase in Mark 1:15 Mark 1:15as the kingdom of God is near. Other translations, including the New Revised Standard Version, Modern King James Version and Green s Literal Translation, state

14 that this Kingdom draws near or has come near. They make it clear that the Kingdom of God has not arrived, but that it is near. What Jesus was saying had to do with the message of the Kingdom, as well as the availability of Himself as the King of that Kingdom. The Kingdom in that sense was very near to them, even though it would not arrive in the literal way God had revealed it to Daniel for quite some time. Jesus Christ was the personification of the message of the Kingdom. He was the Ruler, the King of the Kingdom. He was its representative, the One through whom humanity would be able to enter the Kingdom. His message was that people should repent, believe the good news that He brought and put that message into action, changing their lives to reflect their belief and commitment.

15 St. Seraphim of Sarov on Repentance "He who would be saved should ever have his heart disposed to repentance and broken, according to the Psalmist: A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit: a broken and humbled heart God will not despise (Ps. 50:17). In such brokenness of spirit a man can easily pass securely through the artful snares of the proud devil, whose whole care consists in agitating the human spirit, and in agitation sowing his tares, in accordance with the words of the Gospel: Lord, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this (Matt. 13:27-28). When, however, a man strives within himself to have his heart humble and his thought not agitated, but peaceful, then all the snares of the enemy are without effect; for where there is peace in one's thoughts, there resides the Lord God Himself - His place is in peace (Ps. 75:3). - 'Little Russian Philokalia'

16 Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."