Today Christ calls His foremost disciples, Peter, James, and John, from the simple life of fishermen to being “fishers of men,” in which they will give everything for the sake of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit transforms these ‘simple’ fishermen into the great disciples and then Apostles of the Church. But their calling to be “fishers of men” is not unique: it’s the calling given to each of us by virtue of our baptism into Christ. We too are called, as Christ says, to be “the salt of the earth,” “the light of the world.” St. Paul likens us to “ambassadors for Christ.” Our struggling and striving to live out our faith, not in accordance to our or society’s standards, but in accordance to the “faith once delivered by the Saints” (Jude 1:3), is a testimony to the truth of Christ which is the same for every age. Our repentance, worship, daily prayers, how we act and speak, are all engaging aspects of our witness, of us becoming “fishers of men” like them. Our living out of our faith often gives us the opportunity to speak about our faith and testify to the truth that is Christ and His healing from our sin-sickness. What we strive against is our tendency to fear witnessing our faith, to being seen as a Christian, to be seen crossing ourselves or standing apart from the crowd, which are addressed in the Scriptures as “a sinful and adulterous generation.” We remember St John’s words: “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (I Jn. 4:4). Christ God, as He calls His disciples and all of us to be “fishers of men,” evangelists, also teaches us how to witness, saying, “Do not be afraid!” May we too follow Christ’s call, live out our baptism, and continue to make our Mission a place of refuge, healing, and salvation for all those seeking the fullness of life in Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ bless you! Fr. Robert+
THIS WEEK AT HOLY ARCHANGELS:
- Wed, Oct. 1, 7 p.m., St. John’s Boathouse (parking in Gym lot or on King George St.): Applied Orthodox Theology Discussion: A discussion on the “how” of living out the Orthodox Christian Faith in our daily lives. Have a suggested question/topic for us? Email Fr. Robert. This week: Iconography: Is it necessary for the Life in Christ? All invited!
- Thurs, Oct. 2, 19.00, Applied Orthodox Theology Discussion, USNA. This week: Orthodoxy versus Catholicism. Midshipmen only.
- Sat, Oct.4, 6:30 p.m., Great Vespers, Confession following
- San, Oct. 5, 9:30 a.m., Hours, 10 am Divine Liturgy, Trapeza following
Mark Your Calendars!
- Friday-Sunday, Oct. 10-12. OCF Retreat at Sandy Point State Park (the Rectory). Great Vespers, 6 p.m., will move to the Rectory this week and be served outside on the deck, God willing. All are invited and encouraged to attend! $15. Deadline Wed., Oct. 1.
- Saturday, Oct. 25, 11-3 p.m., Centreville Day on the Eastern Shore. Come and share with others the Orthodox Faith in Christ and Holy Archangels. More details TBA.
- Fri-Sat., Nov. 7-8, HOLY ARCHANGELS PATRONAL FEAST. Details TBA.
8-Month Financial Report: Holy Archangels received a total of $1986 in offerings in August. $2500 was pledged. $16,665 was received in offerings from January thru August 2014. The budgeted amount based on pledges is $20,000. This leaves us a gap of over $3000 to make up between now and Dec. to meet our expenses! Please stay current with your pledges/offerings, and consider increasing your offering or making a special one-time gift to help meet this deficit. Thank God for His provision and thank you for your faithful support! Holy Archangels Mission Council
Prayer Requests:
- That God may grow our Mission “in spirit and in numbers…”
- For God’s financial provision for our Mission and ACM (Annapolis College Ministry);
- For our Mission that we may find a Choir Director;
- Departed handmaidens of God, Ana (grandmother of Mihaela Belvie-Ulmer), Mary and Maria (Great Aunts of Fr. Robert), Frances (grandmother of Sally Jankovic)
- Metropolitan Isaiah of Georgia, Archpriest George, Priest John, Dcn. Basil, Rdr. John, Benedict, James, Daniel, Seraphim, Ed, Bede, Wanda, Peter, the Church in Georgia and Romania as they address the relativism of the West, speaking the truth in love, our suffering, persecuted Orthodox brethren in Iraq and Syria, a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.
Troparion (Resurrection) Tone 7
By Your Cross You destroyed death.
To the thief You opened Paradise.
For the Myrrhbearers You changed weeping into joy.
And You commanded Your disciples, O Christ God,
to proclaim that You are risen,//granting the world great mercy.
Troparion (for Venerable Chariton) Tone 8
By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile,
and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance.
By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe.//
Our Father Chariton, pray to Christ God to save our souls!
Kontakion (Resurrection) Tone 7
The dominion of death can no longer hold mankind captive,
for Christ descended, shattering and destroying its powers.
Hell is bound, while the Prophets rejoice and cry:
“The Savior has come to those in faith;//enter, you faithful, into the Resurrection!”
Kontakion (for Venerable Chariton) Tone 2
You delighted in the monastic life, divinely-wise one,
and conquered the bodily passions;
you increased in faith, blossoming as the Tree of Life in the midst of Paradise,//
most blessed and holy Chariton.
