OCA - ROEA EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH 20830 N. 25th Place, Suite 106 Phoenix, AZ 85050 www.orthodox-arizona.org Phone: 623.693.4639 V.Rev Father Alin Munteanu - parish priest V. Rev. Fr. Vasile Părău - attached priest Rev. Dn. Florin Soare Subdeacon Charles-Michael Hann; Subdeacon Matthew Hall; Readers Bill Graham & Teofil Munteanu "Liturgical services are not one of the 'aspects' of the Church; they express its very essence, are its breath, its heartbeat, its constant self-revelation." --Fr. Alexander Schmemann Sunday, January 22 nd, 2012 32 nd Sunday after Pentecost SUNDAY OF ZACCHAEUS TONE 7 Eothinon 10 On this day we commemorate: Apostle Timothy; Venerable-martyr Anastasios the Persian; Venerable Joseph the Sanctified of Crete IMPORTANT IMPORTANT 1.STEWARDSHIP CARD SIGNING TIME!!!! PLEASE SIGN THE STEWARDSHIP CARD TO BE A MEMBER IN A GOOD STANDING OF OUR CHURCH!!!! 2. GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING!!!! NEXT SUNDAY JAN 29, 2012 AFTER DIVINE LITURGY WILL BE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING OF OUR PARISH, PLEASE PLANING TO ATTEND!!!!! TROPARION For the Resurrection, Tone 7 Thou didst shatter death by thy Cross; thou didst open paradise to the thief; thou didst turn the mourning of the ointment-bearing women into joy, and didst bid thine Apostles proclaim warning that thou hast risen, O Christ, granting the world Great Mercy. EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS, Tone 1 O LORD, save thy people, and bless thine inheritance. Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians over their adversaries, and by the virtue of thy Cross preserve thy habitation. SAINT PARASCHEVA THE NEW, Tone 4 You chose a silent and solitary life; you followed Christ your Bridegroom. You took his easy yoke in your youth, arming yourself with the sign of the Cross. You contended against spiritual enemies through fasting, tears and labors, O glorious Paraskeva. Now you stand before Christ with the Wise Virgins: Intercede for us who honor your precious memory. SAINTS OF NORTH AMERICA, Tone 8 As the bountiful harvest of Your sowing of salvation, the lands of North America offer to You, O Lord, all the saints who have shone in them. By their prayers keep the Church and our land in abiding peace Through the Theotokos, O most Merciful One. TROPARION for Saint Timothy Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit Tone 4 Since thine early youth, thou hast longed with fervor for the things of the Lord; leaving the world and its pleasures, thou becamest an example of the monastic life. John most blessed, thou builtst thy hut at the door of thy parents house and overcame the devil s guiles. Wherefore Christ Himself has glorified thee as thou deservest. Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. Tone 4 The mystery which was hidden from everlasting and was unknown of the angels, O Theotokos, was revealed through thee to those who dwell upon earth, in that God, having become incarnate in unconfused union of His own good will, accepted the Cross for our sake, whereby He raised again the first created and hath saved our souls from death.
Epistle I Timothy 4:9-15 (32nd Sunday after Pentecost) The Lord will give strength to his people. Bring to the Lord, O sons of God, bring to the Lord honor and glory. The Reading is from Saint Paul's First Letter to Timothy TIMOTHY, my son, the saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Till I come, attend to the public readings of scripture, to preaching, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophetic utterance when the council of elders laid their hands upon you. Practice these duties, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. GOSPEL Luke 19:1-10 (15th Sunday of Luke) The Reading of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke At that time: He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost." O angel of Christ, holy guardian and protector of my soul and body, forgive me everything wherein I have offended you every day of my life, and protect me from all influence and temptation of the Evil One. May I never again anger God by my sins. Pray for me to the Lord, that He may make me worthy of the grace of the All-Holy Trinity, and of the blessed Mother of God, and of all the saints. Amen.
Reflection Zacchaeus changed, through the agency of the God-man, Jesus Christ, and also though an application of his will. He is a case study in how to live the Christian life, how to DECIDE to change, how to STRUGGLE to change, and how, after ACCEPTING God's mercy, to RESOLVE to continue to amend and become better. All these elements are in this story. Zacchaeus was a publican (the Apostle says that he was the chief among them), and he was rich. This definitely indicates that he was a very evil man in the beginning of his life. He also defrauded many men. Publicans were not just those who collected taxes. They were invariably corrupt, and often swindlers, and murderers and thieves. They would rob widows so they could have ivory in their palaces, and as one of the fathers has said, make their living on the "tears of the poor". Zacchaeus was the worst of the lot, he was "top dog", but his conscience bothered him. Even in the midst if his flagrant conduct, there was a small seed in him, waiting to grow. It troubled him, and told him that "what I am doing is wrong, what I am doing is not fulfilling. What I am doing is evil and wretched and corrupt." It is interesting to see what "sycamore tree" means. It means a "wild and unruly fig tree." He climbs up in a wild and unruly tree. We should think of our human nature when we contemplate this tree. Our nature is wild and unruly, but somehow, with God's help we can tame this unruly nature, and we are able to elevate our thoughts to heavenly and important things. This is what Zacchaeus did. He climbed up in a tree, elevating his thoughts to the God-man. He took his nature and used it for godly purposes, instead of dissipation. We must take the nature that God gave us and use it for godly purposes, instead of drunkenness or debauchery, or fantasy about what we wish our lives would be, or pride, or despondency or all those other things with which we indulge ourselves. Instead, we must contemplate God, and good works and the fulfilling of the commandments. Wisdom of the Fathers St. Gregory of Sinai (1260s 1346) Those who seek humility should bear in mind the three following things: that they are the worst of sinners, that they are the most despicable of all creatures since their state is an unnatural one, and that they are even more pitiable than the demons, since they are slaves to the demons. You will also profit if you say this to yourself: how do I know what or how many other people's sins are, or whether they are greater than or equal to my own? In our ignorance you and I, my soul, are worse than all men, we are dust and ashes under their feet. How can I not regard myself as more despicable than all other creatures, for they act in accordance with the nature they have been given, while I, owing to my innumerable sins, am in a state contrary to nature. Life of The Saints God's children lose their life but save their souls 1. THE HOLY APOSTLE TIMOTHY Timothy was one of the Seventy Apostles. He was born in Lystra in Lycaonia of a Greek father and a Jewish mother. The Apostle Paul praised his mother and grandmother because of their sincere faith. " I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and that, I am confident, lives also in you" (II Timothy 1: 4-5). Timothy first met with the great apostle in Lystra and was himself a witness when Paul healed the one lame from birth. Later, Timothy was an almost constant traveling companion of Paul, traveling with him to Achaia, Macedonia, Italy and Spain. Sweet in soul, he was a great zealot for the Faith, and a
superb preacher. Timothy contributed much to the spreading and establishing of the Christian Faith. Paul calls him "my own son in the faith." "Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus, Who is our hope, to Timothy, my own son in the Faith: grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord" (I Timothy 1: 1-2). After Paul's martyrdom, Timothy had St. John the Evangelist as his teacher. But when the Emperor Domentian banished John from Ephesus to the island of Patmos, Timothy remained in Ephesus to serve as bishop. During the time of an idolatrous feast called Katagogium, the pagans, resentful of the Christians, treacherously and in disguise, attacked Timothy and killed him about the year 93 A.D. Later his honorable relics were translated to Constantinople and interred in the Church of the Twelve Apostles along side of the grave of St. Luke the Evangelist and St. Andrew the First-called. 2. THE VENERABLE MARTYR ANASTASIUS Anastasius was a Persian by birth. His pagan name was Magundat. When Emperor Heraclius warred with the Persians, Magundat deserted to the Christians, went to Jerusalem where he was baptized and received the name Anastasius. It was not enough for him to be baptized, but, in order to give himself completely to serving the Lord he was also tonsured a monk. Among his other mortifications, Anastasius joyfully read the hagiography of the holy martyrs and in reading them he moistened the book with his tears and ardently yearned for martyrdom. The Lord finally crowned him with the martyr's wreath. In prison for a long time, he was cruelly tortured, until Emperor Chozroes pronounced the death sentence. After that death sentence, Anastasius was suffocated under water and after being removed from the water, the executioner beheaded him and sent his head to the emperor. He suffered on January 22, 628 A.D., in the town of Bethsaloe near Nineveh. Prayer Upon Entering A Church I will come into Your house in the greatness of Your mercy: and in fear I will worship toward Your holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before me, that with a clear mind I may glorify You forever, One Divine Power worshiped in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. Prayer Upon Leaving A Church Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all people; a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!