+
Twenty-Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
and Sunday of the Forefathers
Tone: 4 + Eothinion:
7
+ In the
Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
“Of Thy Mystic Supper, O Son of God, accept me today as a communicant:
for I will not speak of Thy Mystery to Thine enemies, neither will I give Thee
a kiss as did Judas; but like the thief will I confess Thee: Remember me, O
Lord, when Thou cometh into Thy Kingdom. Amen”
+
The Epistle +
Verse: O Lord, how magnificent are Thy works.
Thou hast made
all things in wisdom. Bless the Lord, O my soul.
The
(Chapter
3:4-11)
Brethren, when Christ who is our life
appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death
your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil
desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath
of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once
walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these:
anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie
to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put
on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who
created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor
uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in
all.
+
The Holy Gospel +
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke
(Chapter 14:16-24)
The Lord spoke this parable: “A
certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at
supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now
ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to
him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to
have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am
going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have
married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So that servant came and reported
these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to
his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring
in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ And the servant
said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the
master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel
them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of
those men who were invited shall taste my supper, for many are called, but few
are chosen.’”
*
Announcements *
ü Upcoming Feast Days and Services
ü Thursday, December, 20 – Preparation of the Nativity in the flesh of
our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ and the commemoration of the Holy
Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer
ü Every Saturday – Great Vespers at
ü Every Sunday – Matins at
The Nativity of Christ 2007
Monday, December 24
“Paramon”
the
Great followed by the Christmas
Carols
Tuesday, December 25
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.
Sundays, all members are requested to wear their Cross today.
Epistle
ü 2008 Church Calendar
We have received the 2008 Church
Calendar with two 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 Teen SOYO
Weekly Meeting every Friday from
ü Fellowship of
Weekly Meeting every Tuesday from
ü
In order to restart and extend our
spiritual studies in
***********
Join us with family and friends
On
for a memorable
New Year’s Eve Gala!
At
Featuring
The Stevens & Kennedy Band
Accompanied
by
DJ Nick
Enjoy an elegant
atmosphere, and delicious dinner.
Cocktails at
Ticket
Price: Adult: $100.00, children 12 years and under $40.00 (Includes Child Care
Services), for more information please contact the Cathedral’s Office @
738-2222
the
Nicene Creed – Part 26
(Taken
from: Orthodox Faith - Volume 1 - Doctrine)
… Judgment … (1)
And He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead...
This Jesus
who was taken up from you into heaven, will come the same way as you saw him go
into heaven (Acts
These words
of the angels are addressed to the apostles at the ascension of the Lord.
Christ will come again in glory, "not to deal with sin, but to save those
who are eagerly waiting for him" (Heb
For the
Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the
archangels' call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in
Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up
in the cloud to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the
Lord (1 Thess 4:16-17, the Epistle reading of the
Orthodox funeral service).
The coming
of the Lord at the end of the ages will be the Day of Judgment, the Day of the
Lord foretold in the Old Testament and predicted by Jesus himself (e.g. Dan
7; Mt 24). The exact time of the end is not foretold, not even by Jesus, so
that men would always be prepared by constant vigil and good works.
The very presence of Christ as the Truth and the
Light is itself the judgment of the world. In this sense all men and the whole
world are already judged or, more accurately, already live in the full presence
of that reality -- Christ and his works -- by which they will be ultimately judged.
With Christ now revealed, there is no longer any excuse for ignorance and sin (Jn
At this point it is necessary to note that at the
final judgment there will be those "on the left hand" who will go
into "the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Mt
25:41; Rev 20). That this is the case is no fault of God's. It is the fault
only of men, for "as I hear, I judge and my judgment is just," says
the Lord (Jn
God takes
no "pleasure in the death of the wicked" (Ez
men to live
"with the devil and his angels" if they so desire. Even in this He is
loving and just. For if God's presence as the "consuming fire" (Heb
light"
(1 Tim
The doctrine of eternal hell, therefore, does not
mean that God actively tortures people by some unloving and perverse means. It
does not mean that God takes delight in the punishment and pain of His people
whom He loves. Neither does it mean that God "separates Himself" from
His people, thus causing them anguish in this separation (for indeed if people
hate God, separation would be welcome, and not abhorred!). It means rather that
God continues to allow all people, saints and sinners alike, to exist forever.
All are raised from the dead into everlasting life: "those who have done
good, to the resurrection of judgment" (John
There is
sprung up a light for the righteous, and its partner is joyful gladness. And
the light of the righteous is everlasting...
One light alone let us shun -- that which is the
offspring of the sorrowful fire...
For I know a cleansing fire which Christ came to
send upon the earth, and He Himself is called a Fire. This Fire takes away
whatsoever is material and of evil quality; and this He desires to kindle with
all speed.
I know also
a fire which is not cleansing, but avenging ... which He pours down on all
sinners ... that which is prepared for the devil and his angels ... that which
proceeds from the Face of the Lord and shall burn up His enemies round about
... the unquenchable fire which ... is eternal for the wicked. For all these
belong to the destroying power, though some may prefer even in this place to
take a more merciful view of this fire, worthily of Him who chastises (St.
Gregory the Theologian).
(To be continued…)
+ St. Elias Antiochian
Orthodox Cathedral +
(
Cathedral Office:
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1V 6N1
Telephone: (613) 738-2222, Fax: (613) 737-4392
Email:
info@steliascathedral.com,
Website: www.steliascathedral.com
The Most Rev. Metropolitan PHILIP
Archbishop
of New York and Metropolitan of all North America
The Rt. Rev. Bishop ALEXANDER
Bishop of
The Very Rev. Father Ghattas Hajal – Dean
The
Very Rev. Father Daniel Matheson – Emeritus
Rev.
Dn. Dimitri Choueiri
What is the
Nativity of our lord to us?
“A child is born to us! A Son is given
to us! And He will be our ruler. He will
be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
HIS NAME SHALL
BE CALLED WONDERFUL
This is the
Christmas season and every child of God along with many people, are thinking
about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a time when we sing the songs
of Christmas and retell the Christmas story and read the passages from the
Bible that speak of that glorious day when God became flesh and walked among
men. This verse presents His glorious
Person. It also portrays His activity in the lives of His people. This morning, Jesus is presented to us from
this verse of the Bible saying that His Name Shall Be Called Wonderful. This was no ordinary baby! He was flesh, but
at the same time, He is God. (John 1:1; 14)
His birth
was anything but ordinary in: Its announcement, (Luke
accomplishment
(Isaiah
He came the
first time as a Lamb to die; He will come one day as a King to conquer. (Rev. 19:11-16) He has a claim in your heart
today! Is He the absolute king and ruler of all that you are and have? If not,
give Jesus Christ yourself and allow Him to be what He is: Lord! He is all of this at the same time! No wonder
He is called: Wonderful!
A.
Wonderful; only those who truly know Him can appreciate Him and understand His
attraction. He is truly the Wonderful!
B. Counselor
– A leader and guiding force in the lives of men. He is wonderfully qualified
to counsel.
C. Mighty
God, Strong, invincible. He has conquered all our enemies: Death, (1Cor.
D. Everlasting; He is the "I AM" –
Never was there a time when He was not. (Gen. 1:1) There will never be a time
when He will not be. (Psalms 90:1-2)(Deut.
33:27) My life should be tied to His, I
should strive to live in Him. Do I
deserve Him?
E. Father –
He fulfills His role as our Father by: Loving, (Jeremiah 31:3) Supporting,
(Psalms
F. Prince of
Peace; (John
We can sum
all of this up and say that it is Wonderful! It is more wonderful to know it
than it is just to hear it. If you do not know it, or if there are things that
have crept into your life that are hindering you from walking with Jesus, I
invite you to come to Him this morning. Find out why His Name is called
Wonderful! Find out what the true Spirit of Christmas is all about.