The Tenth Sunday of Matthew
After-feast of the Transfiguration of Christ feast of the Transfiguration of Christ feast of the Transfiguration of Christ
Apostle Matthias; translation of the relics of Venerable Herman of Alaska,
wonderworker of America
Met. Joseph: Transfiguration Pastoral Message
Pastoral Message for the Feast of The Transfiguration
August 6, 2015
“Today hast Thou manifested on Mount Tabor, O Lord, the glory of Thy divine image to the chosen of Thy Disciples, Peter, James and John; for when they saw Thy garments glistening as light, and Thy face surpassing the sun in splendor, and they could no more bear to behold Thine unbearable radiance, they fell to the ground, utterly unable to gaze upon it; and they heard a voice from on high testifying and saying: ‘This is My beloved Son, Who cometh into the world to save man.’” (The Idiomelon for the Feast of the Transfiguration from the Vespers of the feast)
We greet you with love and joy on this Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor.
The text above transmits to us the essence of this feast. Whereas our Lord Jesus Christ had previously revealed His divine power through His working of miracles, He now physically reveals “the glory of His divine form” to Peter, James and John on Mount Tabor. The great prophets Moses and Elias appear with deference to the Lord further revealing that the prophets are His servants, and that our Lord Jesus Christ rules as King above all creation.
Our Lord granted this vision to the three Apostles as a way of strengthening them against fear and despair at the time that He was to be arrested and crucified. Likewise, we are strengthened by the sure knowledge that Jesus Christ is God, and that our God is loving, compassionate and merciful. This assurance stands against all of the evil of the world and lifts us up with assurance that His promise of eternal life with Him in paradise can never be compromised or taken away.
The great joy of this feast, occurring in the midst of the Dormition Fast, causes us to pause in brief celebration before we resume the fast which honors the Most Holy Theotokos. We convey our most heartfelt love to you as we celebrate this joyous feast and we ask our gracious Lord to bless you and to grant that the remainder of the Dormition Fast will bring you spiritual rewards.
Yours in Christ,
+JOSEPH
Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America
Source: Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese
Dormition Period Continues through August 15
The Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on August 15.
This feast, which is also sometimes called the Assumption, commemorates the death, resurrection and glorification of Christ’s mother. It proclaims that Mary has been “assumed” by God into the heavenly kingdom of Christ in the fullness of her spiritual and bodily existence.
Paraklesis Services will be held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays of the Dormition period starting at 6:30pm. Check the website calendar for the dates.
Learn more about the Dormition Orthodoxwiki website.
Choir Practice and Bible Study Cancelled on August, 11
We will resume the week following.
Remember in Your Prayers
Mary Spiropoulos, mother of Joan Simon.
Bob Smith. Bob has been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease.
Tom and Jean, parents of Patty and Jerry.
How should we pray for the sick? Remember them daily. Say their names and ask God to bestow mercy and grace on them.
Sunday Readings
Epistle
For the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous.
The Reading from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. (4:9-16)
Brethren, God has exhibited us Apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill clad and buffeted and homeless; and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the off scouring of all things.
I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.
Gospel
For the Tenth Sunday of Matthew
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (17:14-23)
At that time, a man came up to Jesus and kneeling before Him said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to Thy disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly.
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” Jesus said to them, “Because you have no faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. This kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting.”
As they were traveling together through Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and He will rise on the third day.”