{"id":11849,"date":"2023-12-11T22:57:58","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T03:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/?p=11849"},"modified":"2023-12-11T22:57:58","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T03:57:58","slug":"st-peter-news-december-12-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/st-peter-news-december-12-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Peter News December 12, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunday of Forefathers (Ancestors) of Christ<\/h2>\n

Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Youths Ananias, Azarias and Mishael; Dionysios of Zakynthos, the Wonderworker<\/h4>\n
\n\"The<\/p>\n

The Forefathers (Ancestors) of Christ<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Preparing to Appear with Christ in Glory: Homily for the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers in the Orthodox Church<\/h2>\n

Fr. Philip LeMasters<\/em><\/p>\n

In our time of so many distractions and worries, it is easy for forget why Christ was born, why He came among us a helpless baby in a cave used for a barn with an animal’s feeding trough for His crib. As St. Paul wrote in today’s epistle lesson, He appears so that we may appear with Him in glory. Both the first coming of His birth and the second coming of His return are so that we may share in His salvation. But to encounter Christ at either of His appearances is also to undergo a kind of judgment, for the truth about ourselves becomes evident when we enter into His presence. How we respond to Him reflects the state of our souls. The same is true of how we prepare to receive Him during this blessed season of Advent, of the Nativity Fast.<\/p>\n

Throughout the history of the Old Testament, there were those who ignored both the Law and the Prophets, who did not prepare and were not ready for the coming of the Messiah. That was also true at the time of the Savior’s birth when the wicked Herod tried to kill Him. On this Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, we commemorate those who did prepare, all those in the Old Testament who foretold or prefigured the coming of Christ. The first coming of our Lord at His Incarnation did not simply occur one day as a random event, but was the fulfillment of God’s plan to bring us into His divine life, which took many generations to fulfill. No one was forced to get ready for Him, and today we honor those who accepted the invitation to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. We want to use this season of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and reconciliation to become more like them.<\/p>\n

That is difficult because we constantly face temptations to focus on other things. Like the guests invited to the great feast in today’s gospel, we often think that we have more appealing things to do. They turned down the invitation because they had land to inspect, oxen to test, or family responsibilities. In other words, they were normal human beings with everyday obligations. So their places at the banquet were taken by the most unlikely guests: the poor, the maimed, the blind, and the strangers from the highways and hedges came to the celebration, but none of those who were originally invited bothered to show up. <\/p>\n

Read the complete history on the Orthodox Christianityy<\/a> website.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Services and Events This Week<\/h2>\n