Parish Bulletin – August 12th, 2012

10TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

TONE 8

AFTERFEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD

ST. MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR

I Corinthians 4:9-16
Matthew 17:14-23

Choir Director: Veronika

Welcome

We welcome you to the Orthodox Church. Please feel at ease and free to participate in the singing. As a visitor you are welcome to come forward at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy and venerate the Cross offered by the priest. Additionally you may receive the blessed bread (Antidoron) that is offered at that time. If you have questions or would like further information, the priest or one of the members of the parish will be pleased to help.

A word to our visitors on Holy Communion

The Orthodox Church does not practice open Communion. Therefore, only members of Canonical Orthodox Churches exercising jurisdiction in America may approach the Chalice for Holy Communion. The Orthodox do not regard Holy Communion solely as an act of personal piety, but also as an expression of union with the Orthodox Church’s faith, doctrine, and discipline. Orthodox visitors wishing to receive Holy Communion should make their intention known to the priest in advance — ask any member of the parish for help in relaying your intention to the priest. Orthodox Christians should prepare themselves to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion through recent Confession, prayers of preparation for Holy Communion, and fasting (at minimum, from midnight before receiving).

“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.” – I Corinthians 11:27

TROPARIA AND KONTAKIA

The Troparion of the martyrs, in Tone IV:

In their sufferings, O Lord, Thy martyrs received imperishable crowns from Thee, our God; for, possessed of Thy might, they set at nought the tormenters and crushed the feeble audacity of the demons. By their supplications save Thou our souls.

The Troparion of the Venerable One, in Tone VIII:

O instructor of Orthodoxy, teacher of piety and purity, beacon of all the world, divinely inspired adornment of monastics: O all-wise Maximus, by thy doctrines thou hast enlightened all O harp of the Spirit, entreat Christ God, that our souls be saved.

Kontakion of the Forefeast – Tone IV:

Human nature is made divinely luminous today by the transfiguration of God, and crieth out in gladness: Christ is transfigured, saving us all!

Kontakion of the Venerable One, in Tone VI:

The thrice-radiant Light which abode in thy soul showed thee to be a chosen vessel revealing divine things to the ends of the earth, O blessed Maximus, who givest utterance to concepts hard to grasp and manifestly proclaimest the transcendent and unoriginate Trinity unto all.

Opportunities to give:

➢ Food donations to the Ashland Food Project

➢ The parish is looking to purchase new vestments for altar servers. Please give designated donation if you would like to contribute.

Announcements:

• Please sign up for coffee fellowship/kitchen cleanup. Your help is needed and much appreciated!
• New time for Saturday Great Vespers – 6.00 pm!
• Choir practice on Saturday, 5.00 pm.
• No adult education class this week!
• The Dormition Fast is going on; please consult the calendar for daily fasting directions.
• Have some frozen yoghurt at the Yogurt Hut fundraiser, 12-4 pm next Sunday (the 19^th)!
• Don’t forget to sign up for the retreat at Box R Ranch!

Service Schedule this Week:

Tuesday – 6.00 pm, Great Vespers (Dormition)

Wednesday – 6.40 am, Hours, Divine Liturgy, Dormition of the Theotokos (Blessing of Flowers and Herbs) – 6.00 pm, Vespers

Thursday – 6.40 am, Hours, Divine Liturgy

Saturday – 6.00 pm, Great Vespers

Sunday – 8.40 am, Hours, Divine Liturgy

Confession after Vespers or by appointment!

Other Activities Next Week:

• Saturday, 4.30 PM – Choir practice

Bulletin Insert (OCA Department of Education):

On August 12 we read I Corinthians 4: 9-16. In these verses Paul talks to the Christians of Corinth with sarcasm and severity.

In verse 8 he has used the word “already” to express his feelings. The Corinthians apparently feel they already have the fullness of the faith and have already become rich. Paul says, “Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!” In other words, if the Corinthians have achieved the fullness of salvation, they should take Paul and the other hard-working preachers to reign with them in the Kingdom.

Verses 9 and 10 remind the Corinthians of the sufferings of those preachers and teachers, contrasting them to the virtues of the Corinthians themselves. The preachers are fools, weak, and held in disrepute. Corinth’s believers are wise, strong and held in honor. Of course Paul is being ironic here—these virtues are only what the Corinthians imagine they possess.

This is not the only part of this letter in which Paul has scolded the Corinthian Christians for having puffed-up ideas about themselves. In 1:26 he tells them, “…not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.” They were chosen by God, Paul is telling them, and not because they were anything special, but because He is merciful.

In today’s verses, 4:11-13, Paul vividly describes the sacrifices that he and others have made to spread the Gospel. The efforts of these hungry, thirsty, ill-clad, buffeted, homeless people who labor to support themselves have left them as “the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things.” Despite this, they have blessed those who reviled them. They have endured persecution, and tried to conciliate when they are slandered.

Paul wants the proud Corinthians to remember all these things that he and others have done and endured for them. He doesn’t want them to go on believing that everything good that has come to them has been the result of their own efforts or virtues.

In the next verse Paul’s tone changes abruptly; his words no longer have a hard edge. He assures the Corinthian believers that he has not directed such harsh words at them in order to shame them, “but to admonish you as my beloved children.” Though disappointed, Paul is still the father whose heartfelt wish is the salvation of his children in Christ. He tells them he is not just one of the “countless guides in Christ” they may know—people who observe the basics of belief and worship. Paul is the one who has sacrificed and suffered for them, as only a father would.

The last verse of this passage is a simple request made by a father who is worried about his children: “I urge you, then, be imitators of me.”