2 nd Sunday of Matthew

2 nd Sunday of Matthew Κυριακή Β Ματθαίου 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. Presiding Priest: Fr. Nicholas Dassouras 18 Ιουνίου 2017 18 June 2017

Ήχος α Εωθινόν Β Tone: Plagal 1 st Morning Gospel: 2 nd Τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἑορτάζομεν την μνήμη τοῦ Ἁγίου Μάρτυρος Λεοντίου καὶ τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ, Ὑπατίου καὶ Θεοδούλου & τοῦ Ἁγίου Μάρτυρος Αἰθερίου. On this day we commemorate the Ηoly Martyrs Leontiοs of Greece, and Hypatios and Theodoulos, who witnessed with him in Phoenicia and the Holy Martyr Aetherios. ΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΙΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΒΔΟΜΑΔΟΣ - WORSHIP SERVICES Σάββατο 24 Ιουνίου 8:00 π.μ.: Όρθρος & Θ. Λειτουργία διά την Εορτήν των Γενεθλίων του Τιμίου Προδρόμου Saturday, June 24 th - 8:00 a.m.: Orthros & D. Liturgy for the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist

ΝΕΑ ΤΗΣ ΗΜΕΡΑΣ / NEWS OF THE DAY Σαραντισμός της Αμαλίας Κεμεντζίδου και του υιού της Βασιλείου & της Παρθένας Τσιαρτσιανίδου και του υιού της Ευσταθίου Fortieth Day Blessing (Churching) for Amalia Kementzidis and her son Basil & of Parthena Tsiartsianidis and her son Eustace

Αναστάσιμον Ἀπολυτίκιον Ἦχος α Τοῦ λίθου σφραγισθέντος ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, καὶ στρατιωτῶν φυλασσόντων τὸ ἄχραντόν σου σῶμα, ἀνέστης τριήμερος Σωτήρ, δωρούμενος τῷ κόσμῳ τὴν ζωήν. Διὰ τοῦτο αἱ Δυνάμεις τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐβόων σοι Ζωοδότα Δόξα τῇ ἀναστάσει σου Χριστέ, δόξα τῇ Βασιλείᾳ σου, δόξα τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ σου, μόνε Φιλάνθρωπε. Απολυτίκιον Αγίου Γεωργίου, Hχος 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, Ήχος β Προστασία τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀκαταίσχυντε, μεσιτεία πρὸς τὸν Ποιητὴν ἀμετάθετε. Μὴ παρίδῃς ἁμαρτωλῶν δεήσεων φωνάς, ἀλλὰ πρόφθασον, ὡς ἀγαθή, εἰς τὴν βοήθειαν ἡμῶν, τῶν πιστῶς κραυγαζόντων σοι Τάχυνον εἰς πρεσβείαν, καὶ σπεῦσον εἰς ἱκεσίαν, ἡ προστατεύουσα ἀεί, Θεοτόκε, τῶν τιμώντων σε.

Αpolytikion of Resurrection, First Tone Though the tomb was sealed by a stone and soldiers guarded your pure body, yet you arose on the third day, giving life to the world. Therefore, O Giver of life, the heavenly powers praise you: Glory to your resurrection, O Christ! Glory to your kingdom! Glory to your plan of redemption, O only loving God. 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, Tone Second O Protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame, mediation unto the creator most constant: O despise not the voices of those who have sinned; but be quick, O good one, to come unto our aid, who in faith cry unto thee: Hasten to intercession and speed thou to make supplication, O thou who dost ever protect, O Theotokos, them that honor thee.

Αποστολικόν Ανάγνωσμα: Eκ της προς Ρωμαίους επιστολής του Αποστόλου Παύλου 2:10-16 Ἀδελφοί, δόξα δὲ καὶ τιμὴ καὶ εἰρήνη παντὶ τῷ ἐργαζομένῳ τὸ ἀγαθόν, Ιουδαίῳ τε πρῶτον καὶ Ελληνι οὐ γάρ ἐστι προσωποληψία παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ. Ὅσοι γὰρ ἀνόμως ἥμαρτον, ἀνόμως καὶ ἀπολοῦνται καὶ ὅσοι ἐν νόμῳ ἥμαρτον, διὰ νόμου κριθήσονται. Οὐ γὰρ οἱ ἀκροαταὶ τοῦ νόμου δίκαιοι παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ, ἀλλ οἱ ποιηταὶ τοῦ νόμου δικαιωθήσονται. Ὅταν γὰρ ἔθνη τὰ μὴ νόμον ἔχοντα φύσει τὰ τοῦ νόμου ποιῇ, οὗτοι νόμον μὴ ἔχοντες ἑαυτοῖς εἰσι νόμος, οἵτινες ἐνδείκνυνται τὸ ἔργον τοῦ νόμου γραπτὸν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν, συμμαρτυρούσης αὐτῶν τῆς συνειδήσεως καὶ μεταξὺ ἀλλήλων τῶν λογισμῶν κατηγορούντων ἢ καὶ ἀπολογουμένων ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὅτε κρινεῖ ὁ Θεὸς τὰ κρυπτὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιόν μου διὰ Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ.

The Reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 2:10-16 BRETHREN, glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

Ευαγγελικόν Ανάγνωσμα: Eκ του κατά Ματθαίον 4:18-23 Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, περιπατῶν δὲ παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας εἶδεν δύο ἀδελφούς, Σίμωνα τὸν λεγόμενον Πέτρον καὶ Ανδρέαν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, βάλλοντας ἀμφίβληστρον εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν ἦσαν γὰρ ἁλιεῖς. Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς, Δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου, καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων. Οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ. Καὶ προβὰς ἐκεῖθεν εἶδεν ἄλλους δύο ἀδελφούς, Ιάκωβον τὸν τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου καὶ Ιωάννην τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ μετὰ Ζεβεδαίου τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν καταρτίζοντας τὰ δίκτυα αὐτῶν καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτούς. Οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὸ πλοῖον καὶ τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ. Καὶ περιῆγεν ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ Γαλιλαίᾳ, διδάσκων ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς αὐτῶν καὶ κηρύσσων τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς βασιλείας καὶ θεραπεύων πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ πᾶσαν μαλακίαν ἐν τῷ λαῷ.

The Reading is from Matthew 4:18-23 At that time, as Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left their boat and their father, and followed him. And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.

Αποστολικό Ανάγνωσμα: Eκ της προς Ρωμαίους επιστολής του Αποστόλου Παύλου 2:10-16 Αδελφοί, αντίθετα, δόξα, τιμή και ειρήνη προσμένουν όποιον κάνει το καλό, πρώτα τον Ιουδαίο αλλά και τον εθνικό γιατί ο Θεός δεν κάνει διακρίσεις. Έτσι, λοιπόν, όσοι αμάρτησαν χωρίς να ξέρουν το νόμο του Θεού, θα καταδικαστούν όχι με κριτήριο το νόμο. Κι από την άλλη, όσοι αμάρτησαν γνωρίζοντας το νόμο, θα δικαστούν με κριτήριο το νόμο. Γιατί στο θεϊκό δικαστήριο δεν δικαιώνονται όσοι άκουσαν απλώς το νόμο αλλά μόνο όσοι τήρησαν το νόμο. Όσο για τα άλλα έθνη, που δε γνωρίζουν το νόμο, πολλές φορές κάνουν από μόνοι τους αυτό που απαιτεί ο νόμος. Αυτό δείχνει πως, αν και δεν τους δόθηκε ο νόμος, μέσα τους υπάρχει νόμος. Η διαγωγή τους φανερώνει πως οι εντολές του νόμου είναι γραμμένες στις καρδιές τους και σ αυτό συμφωνεί και η συνείδησή τους, που η φωνή της τους τύπτει ή τους επαινεί, ανάλογα με τη διαγωγή τους. Όλα αυτά θα γίνουν την ημέρα που ο Θεός θα κρίνει δια του Ιησού Χριστού τις κρυφές σκέψεις των ανθρώπων, όπως λέει το ευαγγέλιό μου.

Ευαγγελικό Ανάγνωσμα: Eκ του κατά Ματθαίον 4:18-23 Εκείνο τον καιρό, καθώς ο Ιησούς περπατούσε στην όχθη της λίμνης της Γαλιλαίας, είδε δύο αδέρφια, το Σίμωνα, που τον έλεγαν και Πέτρο, και τον αδερφό του τον Ανδρέα, να ρίχνουν τα δίχτυα στη λίμνη, γιατί ήταν ψαράδες. «Ακολουθήστε με», τους λέει, «και θα σας κάνω ψαράδες ανθρώπων». Κι αυτοί αμέσως άφησαν τα δίχτυα και τον ακολούθησαν. Προχωρώντας πιο πέρα από κει, είδε δύο άλλους αδερφούς, τον Ιάκωβο, γιο του Ζεβεδαίου, και τον αδερφό του τον Ιωάννη. Βρίσκονταν στο ψαροκάικο μαζί με τον πατέρα τους το Ζεβεδαίο και τακτοποιούσαν τα δίχτυα τους. Τους κάλεσε, κι αυτοί άφησαν αμέσως το καΐκι και τον πατέρα τους και τον ακολούθησαν. Ο Ιησούς περιόδευε όλη τη Γαλιλαία. Δίδασκε στις συναγωγές τους, κήρυττε το χαρμόσυνο μήνυμα για τον ερχομό της βασιλείας του Θεού, και γιάτρευε τους ανθρώπους από κάθε ασθένεια και κάθε αδυναμία.

Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men In today s Gospel, after John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus chose Galilee as the base for his teaching, preaching and healing mission. That choice fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah (9:1-2). Matthew's account of the call of the disciples is very brief. Jesus called two pairs of brothers Andrew and Peter, and Zebedee s sons, James and John. He invited them to become his disciples, and they responded immediately, leaving their nets, their boats, and their father to follow Jesus. Usually rabbinical students sought out their teachers and attached themselves to them. However, Jesus, as rabbi, took the initiative and called what were probably less than ideal candidates to be his students. The disciples were simple working people with no great background. In Cicero's ranking of occupations (De Off

1.150-51), owners of cultivated land appear first and fishermen last. What Jesus needed, then, were ordinary folk who would give Him themselves. What Christ needs today is not our ability, but our availability. What Jesus taught His disciples was not a course of study, but a way of life to follow. Hence, He offered these men the opportunity to observe him from close, at hand, on a daily basis. Given the relatively small size of Lower Galilee and close proximity of the Galilean places named in the Gospel, there is no need to assume that those who followed Jesus never returned home again. In the ancient world, fishing was a metaphor for two distinct activities: judgment and teaching. Fishing for people meant bringing them to justice by dragging them out of their hiding places and setting them before the judge. Fishing as teaching people meant leading them from ignorance to wisdom. Both cases involved a radical change of environment, a break with a former way of life and an entrance upon a new way of life. We are the fish dragged out of the water in the nets to die so that God may give us a resurrection, a new life, a new family, a

new future, all under God's control, all within the Kingdom of Heaven, which has come near in Jesus. "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people." For Matthew, Jesus' teaching was of much greater significance than His miracles. Indeed, His teaching took precedence even over preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. Jesus taught in their synagogues. There was only one Temple, located in Jerusalem, but every village of any size had a synagogue where people gathered to worship and to learn. Teaching was at the heart of synagogue life. The service consisted of prayers, readings from the Scriptures, and an address. The ruler of the synagogue could invite any qualified man to give the address. The synagogue, then, was the natural place for Jesus to begin His teaching ministry. The last two verses (24-25), of this chapter, emphasize Jesus' healing ministry and the effect it had on people. Great crowds came from near and far to follow Jesus. The activities of Jesus are summarized in the last verse of our text: teaching, preaching, and healing -- perhaps in simpler terms: words and deeds. Our words and deeds need to be addressed, not just to Church people or to our parishioners, but to all with whom we have contact. Life Messages: 1) We need to appreciate our call to be Christ s disciples: Every one of us is called by God, both individually and collectively. The mission of preaching, teaching and

healing which Jesus began in Galilee is now the responsibility of the Church. Be we monk, priest, married or single lay person, male or female, we are all called, and in this call, we become what God wants us to be. Our response to the call begins with our Baptism. 2) God sends us to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom: "Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people." [Mt. 4:23] Equally today, the Word of God, the promoting of the Good News of the Kingdom of Heaven, heals all kinds of ills. The Word of God transforms hearts so that victims may forgive those who have harmed them, those who have physically abused them and those who have psychologically abused them. Like Peter, James and John, we are asked by Jesus to take on the work of discipleship; we are asked to leave our fishing nets -- our own needs and wants -- to follow the example of love and servanthood given to us by Jesus; we are asked to

rebuild our lives, homes and cities in the justice and peace that Jesus proclaims. Jesus came preaching that "the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." What was there about that kingdom that got these fishermen so excited? And why are we not just as excited? It reminds me of a woman who read somewhere that dogs were healthier if fed a tablespoon of cod liver oil each day. So each day she followed the same routine: she chased her dog until she caught it, wrestled it down, and managed to force the fishy remedy down the dog's throat. One day, in the middle of this grueling medical effort, the bottle was kicked over. With a sigh, she loosed her grip on the dog so she could wipe up the mess. To her surprise the dog trotted over to the puddle and began lapping up what had been spilled. The dog loved cod liver oil. It was just the owner's method of application the dog objected to. Sometimes, I think something like that has happened to the Good News of the Kingdom of God. It has been so poorly presented to us that we have never been captured by its attractiveness and its power. (Source: Homilies of Fr. Antony Kadavil)

One of the best known and beloved psalms is Psalm 23, the Shepherd Psalm. There we learn that the Lord is our shepherd. And since He is our shepherd, we will not want. We will not suffer want because the Lord, our shepherd, will lead us to green pastures and beside still waters. In other words, the Lord, our shepherd, will provide for all that we need in both body and soul. Yet, we live as though this is not the case. We live as though we actually suffer from want, that the Lord, our shepherd, will not provide for all that we need. And thus, we live as though the Lord is not our shepherd. And that means that we live as though we are not the Lord's sheep. How do we do this? We do it when we put anything else before Him and His provision for us. When we think that going to work is more

important than receiving the gifts that He won for us on the cross, a violation of the First and Third Commandments. We do it when we fail to give generously of the first fruits of what the Lord has provided for us because we think we don't know what the future will bring, even though He has promised that He will lead us to green pastures and still waters. We do it when we think that the Lord is only in the business of helping those who will help themselves, we do this because we have a mind set on earthly, temporal things and not on heavenly, eternal things. We do this because we have stopped hearing the call of our shepherd, which comes through His Word. The Word of God is how our shepherd calls us to himself. Through that Word, the Holy Spirit gathers and enlightens us with His gifts. Through that Word, we are kept holy and nourished in the one true faith, the faith that follows our Shepherd wherever He leads us. He promises to lead you to your true home, to the land flowing with milk and honey, to a better country, not of this world, but a heavenly one. And so, here's the good news: The Lord is your shepherd still, even, and especially, for wayward sheep. For Jesus seeks and saves those who are lost. He finds the lost sheep and carries them back to the fold. He is the shepherd that lays down his life for His sheep. The Lord is your shepherd. Let us live then as His sheep.

SAVE THE DATE! Plan to attend! New event of our Community Time for fellowship Free! No charge for anything! SEPTEMBER 16 CHURCH PICNIC Event Description Heading Have you heard about our church picnic? A new event in the life of our Community; a time for fellowship together. Be sure to check it out on Saturday, September 16 at the Church grounds from 2:30-6:30 pm! SAINT GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 238 West Rocks Road Norwalk, CT 06851 203-849-0611 www.stgeorgect.org Fr.Nick@stgeorgect.org

Immediately they left their nets And followed him.