B ut he said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; 17 and at

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1 ST. JOHN'S WEEKLY BULLETIN 405 No. Dale St., Anaheim, CA Telephone (714) Fr. James S. Diavatis, Protopresbyter - Fr. Nicholas Andrews, Economos - Vol. XXXI, No.51 December 12, 2010 th 11 Sunday of Luke Spyridon the Wonderworker, Peter the Aleut ÁÐÏÓÔÏËÏÓ -EPISTLE READING - Eph. 5:8-19 h =te 9 ga,r pote sko,toj( nu/n de. fw/j evn kuri,w \ w`j te,kna fwto.j peripatei/te &o` ga.r karpo.j 10 tou/ fwto.j evn pa,sh avgaqwsu,nh kai. dikaiosu,nh kai. avlhqei,a & dokima,zontej ti, evstin 11 euva,reston tw/ kuri,w ( kai. mh. sugkoinwnei/te toi/j e;rgoij toi/j avka,rpoij tou/ sko,touj( ma/llon de. kai. evle,gceteå ta. ga.r krufh/ gino,mena u`pv auvtw/n aivscro,n evstin kai. le,gein( 14 ta. de. pa,nta evlegco,mena u`po. tou/ fwto.j fanerou/tai( pa/n ga.r to. fanerou,menon fw/j evstinå dio. le,gei\ e;geire( o` kaqeu,dwn( kai. avna,sta evk tw/n nekrw/n( kai. evpifau,sei soi o` Cristo,jÅ Ble,pete ou=n avkribw/j pw/j peripatei/te mh. w`j a;sofoi avllv w`j sofoi,( evxagorazo,menoi to.n 17 kairo,n( o[ti ai` h`me,rai ponhrai, eivsinå dia. tou/to mh. gi,nesqe a;fronej( avlla. suni,ete ti, to. 18 qe,lhma tou/ kuri,ouå kai. mh. mequ,skesqe oi;nw ( evn w- evstin avswti,a( avlla. plhrou/sqe evn 19 pneu,mati( lalou/ntej e`autoi/j ÎevnÐ yalmoi/j kai. u[mnoij kai. wv dai/j pneumatikai/j( a; dontej kai. ya,llontej th/ kardi,a u`mw/n tw/ kuri,w ( F or once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light 9 10 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to learn 11 what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is 14 light. Therefore it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light." Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the 17 most of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what 18 the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled 19 with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, ÅÕÁÃÃÅËÉÏÍ-GOSPEL READING - Luke 14:16-24, Matt. 22:14 o` de. ei=pen auvtw/ ( :Anqrwpo,j tij evpoi,ei dei/pnon me,ga( kai. evka,lesen pollou,j 17 kai. avpe,steilen to.n dou/lon auvtou/ th/ w[ra tou/ dei,pnou eivpei/n toi/j keklhme,noij( :Ercesqe( o[ti h;dh e[toima, evstinå 18 kai. h;rxanto avpo. mia/j pa,ntej paraitei/sqaiå o` prw/toj ei=pen auvtw/ ( VAgro.n hvgo,rasa kai. e;cw avna,gkhn evxelqw.n ivdei/n auvto,n\ evrwtw/ se( e;ce me parh thme,nonå 19 kai. e[teroj ei=pen( Zeu,gh bow/n hvgo,rasa pe,nte kai. poreu,omai dokima,sai auvta,\ evrwtw/ se( e;ce me parh thme,nonå 20 kai. e[teroj ei=pen( Gunai/ka e;ghma kai. dia. tou/to ouv du,namai evlqei/nå 21 kai. parageno,menoj o` dou/loj avph,ggeilen tw/ kuri,w auvtou/ tau/taå to,te ovrgisqei.j o` oivkodespo,thj ei=pen tw/ dou,lw auvtou/( :Exelqe tace,wj eivj ta.j platei,aj kai. r`u,maj th/j po,lewj kai. tou.j ptwcou.j kai. avnapei,rouj kai. tuflou.j kai. cwlou.j eivsa,gage w-deå 22 kai. ei=pen o` dou/loj( Ku,rie( ge,gonen o] evpe,taxaj( kai. e;ti to,poj evsti,nå 23 kai. ei=pen o` ku,rioj pro.j to.n dou/lon( :Exelqe eivj ta.j o`dou.j kai. fragmou.j kai. avna,gkason eivselqei/n( i[na gemisqh/ mou o` oi=koj\ 24 le,gw ga.r u`mi/n o[ti ouvdei.j tw/n avndrw/n evkei,nwn tw/n keklhme,nwn geu,setai, mou tou/ dei,pnouå 22:14 polloi. ga,r eivsin klhtoi.( ovli,goi de. evklektoi,å B ut he said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; 17 and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, `Come; for all is now ready.' 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, `I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.' 19 And another said, `I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; I pray you, have me excused.' 20 And another said, `I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' 21 So the servant came and reported this to his master. Then the householder in anger said to his servant, `Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.' 22 And the servant said, `Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' 23 And the master said to the servant, `Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'" For many are called, but few are chosen." 2

2 From the Archives of Fr. James Reflections: Dears brothers and sisters in Christ, SALVATION: THE GREAT BANQUET Can I share something with you? Today s gospel bothers me and not just a little. Let me explain to you why I feel this way. The words found in St. Luke s gospel are uttered by the Lord himself, which therefore require that we listen to what he tells us attentively. A man...gave a great banquet and invited many. However, for one reason or another those who had been invited all declined the invitation. The man in the story is non other than God himself. The invited guests of honor who declined to attend the great banquet represent humanity. The banquet is eternal salvation. Why am I bothered by this story? Because it means that many across this planet will not be saved.and more specifically it means that many of my fellow Orthodox Christians will also never get to partake of the Lord s banquet which is God s salvation. Consider the word banquet A correct understanding of this concept will help us to comprehend the importance of what Jesus is saying. The Liturgy of our church is the same banquet of which our Lord speaks of. Salvation is only through Christ and it requires that we be organically united with the Savior. Jesus established the Holy Eucharist and through this sacrament we are mysteriously united with the Lord himself. Consider what Jesus says: I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." (John 6:51) He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:54) To absent ourselves from the Lords s Banquet, (Holy Liturgy) save for serious reasons, is to deny ourselves salvation. Kyriaki, the Greek word for Sunday, comes from the Greek word Kyrios (i.e. Lord) and it is translated as Day of the Lord. Its theological meaning is two fold. On the one hand it refers to the day of the Lord s glorious Resurrection, and secondly it refers to the day of Judgment. Those of us who are part of the eucharistic assembly (liturgy)each Sunday, not only celebrate the Lord s conquering of death by His death but also are judged accordingly by our presence or non presence. Something else to consider. We are also judged by whether or not we partake of the banquet (HOLY COMMUNION), and whether or not our reception is a worthy or unworthy reception. This heavenly banquet which takes place in heaven and on earth at the same time, is of extreme importance. That is why the Church passed regulations (canons) which state that if a bishop, presbyter, deacon or layman..., for no grave reason, does not attend Church for three consecutive Sundays, if he is a member of the clergy, he is to be deposed, but if a layman let him be cut off. (excommunicated) (FrJSD) Message from Fr. James GOD IS LOVE In the first Epistle of St. John 14:16 we read that, God is love. On the surface, it may not mean any more than any other phrase. However, there is more to it than any mere glance can present us. Let s look at more than just a simple trilogy that tells us something about God. But first we need to take out the word God and replace it with the pronoun man. Man is love! Most would roll their eyes and say, really, man is love? We certainly can say that man is loving, or capable of love but to equate man with love is an impossibility. We can say that a human being has the potential to love. Only of God can we dare to say He is love. Throughout the New Testament, we read of God s love, of his acting always in love, and constantly the thoughts and actions of Christ our God are made in love. I for one find it difficult to fully comprehend the depth of this divine love on the part of God. First of all, one who is the recipient of God s love must in all honesty ask himself, why does God love me? And perhaps he should also add, I ve done nothing special, nothing that warrants this special treatment by God, I haven t given away to the poor all that I have and followed him nor have I lived my life in total obedience to the Lord and his commandments. No, I have nothing that can lay claim to this unmerited love. Why then does God still love me? Yet, there is something that quite does not make sense. I claim I believe in God, have faith in God, and I trust in God. However, only when I live the love of Christ in my relationship with my human brothers and sisters across the globe, that I can honestly fulfill his word and will which is always rooted in his love. If my life has any substantive connection to the love of God, then I need to be reminded of this great love of God, which embraces me at all times. An my lips and especially my heart will pronounce that exquisite prayer, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy upon me the sinner. 4

3 Now, let s consider another aspect in this relationship we struggle to attain with the Lord. I m reminded of the word slave or servant in the New Testament. In the Greek its, doulos. In a correct understanding the Lord and his Lordship does place us in a Lordservant relationship. In the pre-communion hymn our acceptance of the Lordship of Jesus resounds as the people intone. "One is Holy, one is Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the father. Amen." Christ's lordship is something special for us only if we understand it in a right manner. Throughout the sacraments and other services of our church the familiar words servant/slave of God emerges. In our worldly understanding, the word servant or slave does not sit very well. The words are unacceptable for they connote servility and remind us of the days when human beings were kept and sold as slaves. For us Christians, the term is seen in a totally different meaning. At baptism we freely chose to accept the Lordship of our "King and God", Jesus Christ. There is no coercion but rather a liberating force, which unites us with our creator and redeemer, Christ who died to set us free. As a "servant of God", I am united with him and elevated to a noble position as his willing servant. St. Paul reminds us that before the Incarnation we were "held in bondage" (Gal 4:3) now we are truly free thanks to the Lordship of our only benefactor "who has made us his sons (and daughters)". Yes friends, the freedom which Christ our Lord has won for us came with a very heavy price. It was costly grace not cheap grace because it cost Jesus his very life. The love of God for us cannot be ever fully fathomed for it can only be truly felt when we totally and joyfully without any force or coercion, accept that divine love from the one whom we can identify as love itself. In my Lord and in his grace, I find joy and peace, hope and strength. For only when I am totally united with the love of Christ, can I be truly identified as one of his faithful servants. Ultimately, to be a faithful servant of God, confers upon us the genuine freedom which the world cannot give us. We wait to receive our freedom from the God who is love and whose love is immeasurable. RELIGIOUS SERVICES, MEETINGS AND EVENTS FOR THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 12, 2010 Sun., December 12, 2010 th 11 Sunday of Luke Orthros & Liturgy, 9am -Sunday School Christmas Program PARISH COUNCIL ELECTIONS Tues., December 14, No Bible Study this week (Will resume on Tues., Jan. 11) -Greek School, 4pm -Greek School Christmas Program Weds., December 15, No Orthodox Faith Class (Will resume on Weds., Jan. 12) Thurs., December 16, Choir Practice CREED IN GREEK (pg.18) LORD S PRAYER GREEK/ENG.(pg26) th Next Sunday, December 19 we will be honoring Fr. James Retirement along with Metropolitan Gerasimos. There will be a small reception following church services. Greek School Christmas Program Tuesday, December 14 at 5pm Christmas Songs and Poems Dinner will be served following program All Greek School students will start class at 4pm. 6 + MEMORIALS - + VASILIOS ARVANITIS - 9 MONTH ALEXANDRA CONNIE ANDROS - 1 YEAR *Coffee Hour will be sponsored by the Arvanitis Family. + May their memory be eternal + PROSFORO SCHEDULE Sun. Dec.12 Mrs. Voula Kitsigianis Sun. Dec.19 Mrs. Anastasia Mandas Fri. Dec.24 Mrs. Joanne Kalogeropoulos Sat. Dec.25 Mrs. Joanne Kalogeropoulos ACOLYTES Team 3 December 12, 2010 John Hourigan, Stefan Malmlund, Alexander Malmlund, Aristos Malmlund, Carl Cantonis, Aleko Culp, Dean Athanasiou The Parish Council Elections will be this Sunday, December 12. Absentee ballots are available in the church office. YOUTH CORNER Congratulations to our Junior team for achieving fourth place in this year s Bible Bowl, missing third place by only one point! A job well done. We are proud of all of you who studied hard in order to participate, as well as represent our church in this event. A special thank you goes to George Stephens who took the time and effort to conduct a preparatory session with the children in order to enable them to more fully participate in the event.

4 FLOWERS FOR THE HOLY DAYS CHRISTMAS AND THEOPHANY SERVICES SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19 SUNDAY BEFORE NATIVITY. Orthros 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy 10:00 AM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24 CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE OF THE ROYAL HOURS, 9:00 A.M. With CHRISTMAS, THEOPHANY, and ST. JOHN S Feast Day around the corner, we invite donations for the purchase of the needed flowers: 1. POINSETTIAS 2. LARGE ICON OF LORD S BAPTISM, (Roses, Cymbidiums, greens, etc) 3. ICON OF ST. JOHN (portable) ROSES. We thank you for your contributions. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24 VESPERS/LITURGY OF NATIVITY, 6:00 PM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25 THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD, GOD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO THE FLESH Orthros 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy 10:00 A.M. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 26 SUNDAY AFTER NATIVITY FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN THE FIRST MARTYR Orthros 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy 10:00 A.M. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31 THE CIRCUMCISION, ACCORDING TO THE FLESH, OF OUR LORD, FEAST OF ST. BASIL THE GREAT 6:00 P.M. TUESDAY, JANUARY 4 THE ROYAL HOURS OF THEOPHANY, 9:00 A.M. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5 ORTHROS, LITURGY LESSER BLESSING OF WATERS, 9:00 AM THURSDAY, JANUARY 6 THE HOLY THEOPHANY OF OUR LORD. ORTHROS, LITURGY AND GREAT BLESSING OF WATERS 9:00 AM (EVENING) GREAT VESPERS OF OUR BELOVED PATRON ST. JOHN THE FORERUNNER AND BAPTIST With Area Priests Attending 7:00 PM FRIDAY, JANUARY 7 FEAST OF ST. JOHN THE FORERUNNER AND BAPTIST Orthros 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy 10:00 AM 8

5 ÑÉÓÔÏÕÃÅÍÍÙÍ/ ÈÅÏÖÁÍÅÉÙÍ ST. JOHN S FEAST DAY SERVICES Orqroj 9:00 p...m..., Qeia Leitorugia 10:00 pm..v ( ), 9:00.., You are cordially invited to participate in the celebration of the feast day of our patron ST. JOHN THE FORERUNNER AND BAPTIST Thursday, January 6, 2011 The festal Great Vespers, 7:00 p.m. with dinner reception to follow Friday, January 7, 2011 The festal Orthros 9:00 a.m. Liturgy 10:00 a.m. 10

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