+
Sunday, December 24th 2006 +
Sunday before the Nativity of Christ (Known as the Sunday
of Genealogy)
& The Forfeast of the Nativity of Christ
Tone:
3 + Eothinion: 6
*******************************************************************************************************
+ In the
Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
“With uprightness of mind let us lift
up our voices in prayer, celebrating the coming of Christ into the world. For
He who is equal in honor with the Father and the Spirit has from love clothed
Himself with our humanity and makes ready to be born in a manger. The time of
our salvation is at hand! Be glad and rejoice, O Bethlehem, land of Judah!
Dance, O mountains and hills round about Judea! Christ comes to save those whom
he has fashioned. O Lord, glory to Thee!”
+ The
Epistle +
Verse: Blessed are Thou, O Lord, the God of our
Fathers.
For Thou are just in
all Thou has done.
The Reading is from
the Letter of St. Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews
(Chapter
11:9-10; 17:23, 32-40)
Brethern, by faith he 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. 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 foreigners.
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
Holy Gospel +
(Chapter 1:1-25)
The 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.
Meditation: The Ancestors of Christ
On
the Sunday before Christmas the Church commemorates the human ancestors of
Jesus, all those from Adam to Joseph who are part of the genealogy of Jesus
according to the Gospels. By drawing attention to Jesus’ genealogy, the
liturgical tradition creates in us a feeling of expectation for Christ’s birth
– the fulfillment of humanity’s hopes. Also, “the Church’s idea, this Sunday,
seems to be to bring the righteous who lived before Christ into the joy of the
Nativity ‘inviting them all by praises and divine songs to prepare for the
birth of Christ’” The human ancestry of Jesus shows that the Lord completely
identifies with the human race, with men and women of flesh and blood, failings
and all. He becomes part of us. That’s what Christmas is all about. St. John
Chrysostom says that Christ was not embarrassed by the “skeletons” hidden in
His ancestors’ closets. The conclusion of the genealogy is the beginning of a
new generation – the age of the Messiah – and you are part of it as a
Christian. The age of preparation and promise is over and a new age of fullness
and completion is now going on.
Welcome! His Grace Bishop ALEXANDER
We would like to extend a warm welcome to His
Grace Bishop ALEXANDER, who is presiding over the Divine Liturgy today. May the
dear Lord preserve his life and grant him many years.
* Announcements
& Activities *
“It is good to be Zealous in a Good Thing
Always…” (Galatians 4:18)
Ø
Every Saturday at 6:00 p.m. - Great Vespers
Ø
Feast of Holy Nativity (Christmas) on Monday, December 25th; Matins at
9:45 a.m. & Divine Liturgy of St. Basil at 11:00 a.m. Have a Blessed Feast
Day & Merry Christmas!
Ø
Saturday, December 30th, 2006: Great Vespers at
6:00 p.m. (as usual)
Ø
Sunday, December 31st, 2006: Sunday before Holy
Theophany; (Sunday Service as usual.)
Ø
Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ &
Feast of St. Basil the Great on Monday, January 1st,2007; Matins at
9:45 a.m. & Divine Liturgy of St. Basil at 11:00 a.m.
Ø
Feast of Holy Theophany
ü
December is the Month
of the Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch
Throughout December, members of the Order are
asked to volunteer as much as possible with collecting the donation trays,
reading the Epistles, serving at the Coffee Hours, etc. God bless you all!
ü
2007 Church Calendar
We have received the 2007 Church Calendar with
two selections of beautiful Icons for your homes and offices, please take a
copy from the Vestibule today, we are asking for a generous $5.00 donation. God bless you!
ü
Christmas Donation
Envelopes
Christmas Donation Envelopes on behalf of your
children and loved-ones are available at the Candle Stand in the Vestibule.
Please be generous and God bless you all!
ü
Fellowship of St. John
the Divine
Weekly Meeting every Tuesday from 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. SHARP!
Please be on time. A Bible Study/Religious Discussion will take place in
the Church School Building (1st Floor). Please give us your email
address if you are not receiving our weekly online newsletter & calendar.
ü Thank You! (Christmas Hampers)
The Fellowship of St. John the Divine would
like to thank all of you who helped put together the Christmas Hampers. Your
generosity helped prepare nine Christmas Hampers and bring blessings of the Nativity
Season to nine different families. Thank you to those who donated, to those who
shopped, to those who gift wrapped, to those who organized, to those who
delivered, and the list goes on…We are very grateful to you! Merry Christmas to
all and may God bless you and your families this upcoming new year!
ü
Teen SOYO
Weekly Meeting every Wednesday from 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m SHARP!
Please be on time. All members of the Teen SOYO are asked to
attend the weekly Teen Night Meetings in the Cathedral Hall downstairs no
matter what the topic or activities are! We have a mix of activities:
Sports, Games, Discussions, Bible Studies, etc. Please give us your email
address if you are not receiving our weekly online newsletter & calendar.
ü New Year’s
Eve Gala
Those who has tickets and have not confirmed
or paid yet, please see Khouriyee Helene today immediately following the Divine
Liturgy in the Cathedral Hall downstairs.
Keep
Christ in ‘Christ’mas
The reason for the Nativity or Christmas
season is obviously the celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. It
is a truly holy season, but not just another ‘holiday’, and not just a typical
‘season’. It is the birth of the One who saved the entire world from eternal
condemnation, and brought us everlasting life through His resurrection. If He
is so important, why do we forget about Him and become ashamed of Him and deny
Him during the season of His birth? Why should we be afraid of saying ‘Merry
Christmas’? Is December 25th still not called Christmas Day, even on
the civil calendar? Why do we listen and adhere to those who hate Christ and
His Church, and train ourselves to say to one another ‘Season’s Greetings’ or
‘Happy Holidays’? Why do we deny Him before others? As Orthodox Christians, we
have the duty of properly addressing the Feast of our Savior’s Nativity. We
might not be able to influence all the other Christians who have already
submitted to today’s ‘Anti-Christian’ society and removed Christ from their
feast, however, we can still defend our right to wish others a Merry Christmas
freely, and celebrate His Nativity freely, and not have to consider and worry about
being attacked. You can ask yourself this: Why is it only Christ that seems to
be a forbidden topic for people to celebrate? However, blasphemies are made
into comedies, and Christ is dragged through the mud and people pay a lot of
money to see it? And when other religions are celebrating their feast days, the
whole country has to be informed and reminded about political correctness and
respecting others. And if these other religions are just mentioned sometime in
a questionable way, all of a sudden the whole world is up in arms over nothing.
And who is it that is not defending Christ? ... Christians are not
defending Christ! Christ is not defended by violence, but by truly representing
Him on earth, living up to the name ‘Christian’, being a good example to others
and not being ashamed of Him. Make a difference this year to God, yourself, and
the world, and say “Merry Christmas!”; say “Christ is Born! Glorify Him!”; say
“Have a Blessed Feast of the Nativity!” When someone says to you ‘Happy
Holidays, reply: “Merry Christmas”! Remind them that it is your Feast too. Testify
the Truth of Christmas and do not hide Christ from the people. Have a Merry Christmas!
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in
this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be
ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the Holy Angels” (St. Mark 8:38)
“Celebrating with you
the birth of Christ our Lord,
and wishing that He
guides you and stands by you
in all that you do.
May the Nativity of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
bring you and your loved ones Peace, Joy
& Love.”
Merry Christmas &
Happy New Year!
Fr. Ghattas, Fr. Mark, Fr. Daniel
& Families