Weekly Diocesan Bulletin - Sunday, January 3, 2016
Nativity Fast
31st Sunday after Pentecost: The Holy God-bearing Fathers; The Holy Virgin-martyr Juliana; Saint Peter of the Kievan Caves; Serbian Father’s Day
RESURRECTIONAL TROPARION - TONE SIX:
The angelic powers were at Your tomb; and the guards became as dead men; and Mary stood by Your grave, seeking Your most pure Body. You captured hell, not being tempted by it. You came to the Virgin, granting life. O Lord who rose from the dead: Glory to You!
TROPARION TO THE HOLY FATHERS - TONE TWO:
Great are the accomplishments of faith, for the three holy youths rejoiced in the fountain of flames as though in the waters of rest; and the Prophet Daniel appeared a shepherd to the lions as though they were sheep. Through their prayers, O Christ God, save our souls.
PREFEAST OF THE NATIVITY TROPARION - TONE FOUR:
Bethlehem be ready; Eden stay opened for all; Ephrata adorn yourself, for the Tree of Life has blossomed forth from the Virgin in the cave. Her womb has become a spiritual paradise wherein the divine Fruit was planted; and if we eat of it, we shall live and not die like Adam. Christ is coming forth to restore the likeness that had been lost of old.
RESURRECTIONAL KONTAKION - TONE SIX:
When Christ God, the Giver of Life, raised all of the dead from the valleys of misery with His mighty hand, He bestowed resurrection on the human race. He is the Savior of all, the Resurrection, the Life, and God of all.
KONTAKION TO THE HOLY FATHERS - TONE ONE:
Rejoice, O Bethlehem! Prepare yourself, O Ephratha! The Lamb is on her way to give birth to the Chief Shepherd she carries in her womb. The God-bearing forefathers will rejoice, beholding Him, and together with the shepherds, they will glorify the Virgin nursing Him.
PREFEAST OF THE NATIVITY KONTAKION - TONE THREE:
Today, the Virgin is on her way to the cave where she will give birth, in a manner beyond comprehension, to the Word who is without beginning. Rejoice therefore, universe, when you hear it announced; with the angels and the shepherds, glorify the eternal God who chose to appear as a newborn infant!
EPISTLE READING
The Prokimenon in the 4th Tone:
Blessed are You, O Lord, God of our fathers; and praised and glorified is Your name forever.
The Holy God-bearing Fathers: Hebrews 11: 9, 10; 17-23; 32-40 Brethren, by faith Abraham dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked 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, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, 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 mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
The Alleluia Verses:
O God, with our ears we have heard, for our fathers have told us. For You have saved us from those who afflict us, and those who hate us You have put to shame.
GOSPEL READING
The Holy God-bearing Fathers: Matthew 1: 1-25
A book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah and Abijah begot Asa. Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. And Jacob begot 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, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated: “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.
From The Prologue
For December 21/January 3 by St. Nikolai Velimirovic:
The Prophet Malachi
Chronologically, Malachi was the last of the prophets. He was born after the return of the Hebrews from the Babylonian Captivity in 538 b.c. He was unusually handsome in countenance. According to tradition, the people called him an angel, perhaps because of his external beauty or because of his spiritual purity, or even perhaps because of his association with an angel of God. On many occasions he spoke face to face with an angel. When this occurred, others heard the angel’s voice, but they were not worthy to see the face of the angel. The young Malachi prophesied that which the angel proclaimed. He cried out against ungrateful Israel and against the lawless priests. Five hundred years before Christ, Malachi clearly prophesied the coming and the mission of John the Baptist (Malachi 3:1). But he is chiefly the prophet of the day of the Dread Judgment. He reposed in the Lord while still young. Following him, there were no more prophets in Israel until John the Baptist.
The Holy Martyr Gordius
Gordius was born in Caesarea of Cappadocia. He was an officer in the Roman army during the reign of Emperor Licinius. When a terrible persecution of the Christians broke out, Gordius left the army and his rank and withdrew to the wilderness of Sinai. Alone on Mount Horeb, Gordius spent his time in prayer and contemplation of the mysteries of heaven and earth. He especially pondered the vanity and worthlessness of all that men strive and fight for on earth, and finally came to the desire to die and enter into the eternal and incorruptible life. With this desire he descended into the town at the time of certain pagan races and games. Gordius presented himself to the governor of that town, declaring that he was a Christian. In vain did the governor try, through flatteries and threats, to dissuade him from the Faith. Gordius remained unwavering and firm as a diamond, saying: “Is it not sheer folly to purchase, with this short-lived life, a life of eternal torment and spiritual death?” Being condemned to death, he joyfully hurried to the scaffold and, along the way, spoke to the executioners of the glorious and sweet teachings of Christ. With the name of Christ on his lips, Gordius offered his young body to the sword and his righteous soul to God, in the year 320.
Saint Genevieve
Genevieve is the patroness of the city of Paris. Through fasting, prayer and almsgiving she was made worthy of the Kingdom of God, and she reposed on January 3, 512, in the eighty-ninth year of her life.
HYMN OF PRAISE: The Holy Prophet Malachi
Malachi proclaims what the angel tells him:
“The day, the day, oh, the day is coming! The day which like an oven will blaze.
Who will endure it? Who will survive it?
Who, with their righteousness, will stand before the Judge?
All non-believers will be like dry stubble,
Food for the hungry fire. Weeping, sighing and shrieking!
The fire overflows and moves like a river.
Here, what can the tongue of a sinner say?
O My priests, you who do not render Me praise,
Why do your tongues not sing the glory of the Lord?
Everywhere among the people, you have become despised,
Since you scorn My judgment, Law and miracles.
I, the Lord, am speaking—the Lord of hosts.
Oh, the judgment is severe upon those odious sorcerers!
When the fire pursues them, with smoke and a dreadful rumble,
Then the hand of the Lord will not caress anymore.
Repent, O people, while days remain to you,
Return to Me and I will return to you.
I the Lord am speaking, the Lord of hosts,
Return to Me and I will return to you.”
Malachi proclaims what the angel tells him:
“The day, the day, oh, the day is coming! The day which like an oven will blaze.”
REFLECTION
God permits humiliation and ruin to befall a proud man when he thinks that his strength is secured forever. When the pernicious Roman eparch Tarquinius beheaded Blessed Timothy, he summoned St. Sylvester and threatened him with death if he did not reveal the whereabouts of Timothy’s inheritance and, in addition, immediately offer sacrifice to the idols. Without fear or trembling, this clairvoyant saint responded to the eparch with the words of the Gospel: “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee (Luke 12:20), and that which you boast you will bring to me (i.e., death) will occur to you.” The proud eparch shackled Sylvester in chains and threw him into a dungeon, intending to kill him shortly. Having done this, the eparch sat down to eat lunch, but a fish bone became caught in his throat. From noon to midnight, the physicians struggled to save his life, but all in vain. At midnight, Tarquinius gave up his proud soul in the greatest torments. And so the prophecy of St. Sylvester was fulfilled, as also were the Biblical words: Pride goes before disaster (Proverbs 16:18).
CONTEMPLATION
Contemplate the guardian angel:
1. How he stands at my right side upholding me in everything, until I depart from the Law of God;
2. How I have offended him on numerous occasions and how I have driven him away from me by transgressing the Law of God.
HOMILY on how the Kingdom of God is gained with the heart and not with the tongue
Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 7:21).
Brethren, one does not gain the Kingdom of God with the tongue, but with the heart. The heart is the treasury of those riches by which the Kingdom is purchased—the heart, and not the tongue! If the treasury is filled with the riches of God (i.e., strong faith, good hope, ardent love and good deeds), then the herald of those riches—the tongue—is faithful and pleasant. If the treasury is devoid of all those riches, then its herald is false and impudent. As the heart is, so are the words. As the heart is, so are the deeds. All, all depends on the heart. Hypocrisy is helpless before men and is even more helpless before God. If then I am a father, says the Lord through the Prophet Malachi, If then I am a father, where is the honor due to Me? And If I am a master, where is the reverence due to Me? (Malachi 1:6). That is: “I hear you call Me ‘Father,’ but I do not see you honoring Me with your heart. I hear you call Me ‘Master,’ but I do not see fear of Me in your hearts.” Our prayer, “Lord! Lord!” is beautiful and beneficial only when it emerges from a prayerful heart. The Lord Himself commanded that we pray unceasingly, not just with the tongue to be heard by men, but rather enclosed in the cell of the heart, so that the Lord can hear and see us. O Lord, majestic and wonderful, deliver us from hypocrisy and pour Thy fear into our hearts, so that our hearts may stand continually upright in prayer before Thee. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
Source: Western American Diocese
