The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Schedule for this week:

·         Wednesday, October 23, 5:30 p.m.: Small Compline, followed by Bible Study (led by Fr. Henry)

·         Saturday, October 26, 5:00 pm: Great Vespers

·         Sunday, October 27, 10:00 am: Divine Liturgy (preceded by Third Hour, 9:45 am)

Quote for the Week:

“The gospel parable of the poor man Lazarus and of the rich man clothed in purple shows us that souls separated from the body are neither inactive nor bereft of feeling. The one man wins as his blessed abode the peace that exists in the bosom of Abraham; the other is subjected to the unbearable scorchings of eternal fire. And if we wish to ponder what was said to the thief, namely, ‘Today you shall be with me in paradise,’ what other obvious meaning is there to this if not that souls continue to have their former sense of awareness and, further, that their lot is in keeping with their merits and with what they have done? The Lord would never have made this promise to the thief if He knew that the soul, once separated from the body, must lose all feeling and be turned into nothing. For it was the soul and not the body which would go with Christ to paradise.”

– From St. John Cassian (Conferences, Conf. 1 sect. 14; Paulist Press pg. 49)

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THE EPISTLE

The Reading from Saint Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians (9:6-11)

BRETHREN, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for great generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

THE GOSPEL

The Reading from the Gospel of Saint Luke (8:41-56)

At that time, there came to Jesus a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue; and falling at Jesus’ feet he besought him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As he went, the people pressed round him. And a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years and had spent all her living upon physicians and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment; and immediately her flow of blood ceased. And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the multitudes surround you and press upon you!” But Jesus said, “Some one touched me; for I perceive that power has gone forth from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” While he was still speaking, a man from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she shall be well.” And when he came to the house, he permitted no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. And all were weeping and bewailing her; but he said, “Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” And her spirit returned, and she got up at once; and he directed that something should be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed; but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.

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During the regular Sundays of the Church year, we each Sunday move through a repeating cycle of eight Tones, with different music and hymns for each tone, which celebrate the resurrection of Christ. This Sunday falls on Tone 1. Here is the Sunday troparion (hymn) of the Resurrection for this Sunday:

The stone being sealed by the Jews *,

and thy pure body being guarded by the soldiers,

thou didst rise on the third day, O Savior, granting life to the world.

Wherefore, the heavenly powers acclaimed thee, O Giver of life,

crying, Glory to thy Resurrection, O Christ! Glory to thy kingdom!

Glory to thy gracious providence, O thou only Lover of mankind.

Click here to listen to this troparion being sung, and here for sheet music.

* This refers to the story in Matthew 28:11-15, in which the stone in front of the tomb of Jesus was ordered sealed by agreement between “the elders” and “the soldiers” to ensure that the body of Jesus could not be secreted away by His disciples. “The Jews” refers to this segment of the leadership; “The Jews” not referring to the whole people of Israel, but a certain segment (the same construct is used in verse 15 of this passage from Saint Matthew’s Gospel: ” …So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day”).

Commemorated on this Sunday:

Our Venerable Father Demetrius of Basarabov (Romania) (13th c.)

He was born early in the thirteenth century to a peasant family in the village of Basarov, then part of Bulgaria. Even in childhood, he gave himself to fasting and prayer. Once, walking across a field, he accidentally stepped on a bird’s nest in the grass, killing the young birds. He was so filled with remorse that he went barefoot for three years, winter and summer, in penance. When he was grown he joined a monastery and, after a few years of community life, received a blessing to dwell in a cave near the River Lom. After many years of solitary struggle, he reposed in his cave. Three hundred years passed, during which all memory of the simple ascetic was lost. Then, one Spring the river flooded the cave and carried off Demetrius’ body, which had lain incorrupt in the cave for centuries. The body was carried downstream and buried in gravel. Another hundred years went by, and the Saint appeared in a dream to a paralyzed girl, telling her to ask her parents to take her to the river bank, where she would be healed. The family, along with many clergy and villagers, went to a spot where some local people had earlier seen an unexplained light. They dug and soon unearthed the still-incorrupt and radiant body of St Demetrius, by which the girl was instantly healed. A church was built in the village of Basarabov to honor the precious relics, and through the years the Saint worked many miracles there.
In 1774, during the Russian-Turkish war, General Peter Saltikov ordered the holy relics taken to Russia so that they would not be desecrated by the Turks. When the relics came to Bucharest, a pious Christian friend of the General begged him not to deprive the country of one of its most precious saints; so the General took only one of the Saint’s hands, sending it to the Kiev Caves Lavra. Saint Demetrius’ body was placed in the cathedral of Bucharest, where it has been venerated ever since. Every year on October 27, a three-day festival is held in the Saint’s honor, attended by crowds of the faithful.

– (From www.abbamoses.com)