18th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST — Tone 1. Martyr Nestor of Thessalonica (ca. 306).
Tone 1 Troparion (Resurrection)
When the stone had been sealed by the Jews, while the soldiers were guarding Your most pure body, You rose on the third day, O Savior, granting life to the world. The powers of heaven therefore cried to You, O Giver of Life: “Glory to Your Resurrection, O Christ! Glory to Your Kingdom!// Glory to Your dispensation, O Lover of mankind!”
Tone 4 Troparion (St. Nicholas)
The truth of your deeds has revealed you to your flock as a rule of faith, an image of meekness and a teacher of self-control; your humility exalted you; your poverty enriched you.// O Father Bishop Nicholas, pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved.
Tone 4 Troparion (St. Nestor)
Your holy martyr Nestor, O Lord, through his sufferings has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God. For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries, and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.// Through his intercession, save our souls!
Tone 1 Kontakion (Resurrection)
As God, You rose from the tomb in glory, raising the world with Yourself. Human nature praises You as God, for death has vanished. Adam exults, O Master! Eve rejoices, for she is freed from bondage and cries to You:// “You are the Giver of Resurrection to all, O Christ!”
Tone 3 Kontakion (St. Nicholas)
You proved yourself to be be a holy priest, O Nicholas. You served God in Myra and lived the gospel of Christ. You offered your life for your people, And rescued the innocent from death. Therefore God has glorified you as a trustworthy guide of things divine.
Tone 2 Kontakion (St. Nestor)
Having fought the good fight, you won immortal glory, O Nestor. You became a perfect soldier for the Master through the prayers of the martyr Demetrius.// Together with him you are praying unceasingly to Christ God for us all.
Tone 6 Kontakion (Steadfast Protectress)
Steadfast Protectress of Christians, Constant Advocate before the Creator; despise not the cry of us sinners, but in your goodness come speedily to help us who call on you in faith. Hasten to hear our petition and to intercede for us, O Theotokos, for you always protect those who honor you!
Tone 1 Prokeimenon (Resurrection)
Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us /as we have set our hope on You! (Ps. 32:22)
V. Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the just! (Ps. 32:1)
2 Corinthians 9:6-11 (Epistle)
But this I say: “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.
Tone 8
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
V. God gives vengeance unto me, and subdues people under me. (Ps. 17:48)
V. He magnifies the salvation of the King and deals mercifully with David, His anointed, and his seed forever. (Ps. 17:51)
Luke 8:26-39 (Gospel)
Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned. Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
Martyr Nestor of Thessalonica
The holy Martyr Nestor was very young in age, handsome in appearance, and he was known to the holy Great Martyr Demetrios (October 26), for he had instructed Nestor in the faith.
The Emperor was visiting Thessaloniki, and he built a high platform in the midst of the city so that a gigantic barbarian named Lyaios could wrestle there and be seen by everyone. Beneath the platform many spears and other sharp weapons were placed pointing upward. When Lyaios defeated his opponents, he threw them down onto the spears and they died. Many Christians were forced to fight Lyaios, and were killed. When Nestor saw how Emperor Maximian rejoiced over the victories of his champion, he disdained his pride. Seeing the miracles of Saint Demetrios, however, he took courage and went to the prison where the holy Martyr was confined, and fell at his feet.
“Pray for me, O Servant of God Demetrios,” he said, “that by your prayers, God may help me to beat Lyaios, and put an end to him who brings reproach upon the Christians.”
The Saint, after sealing Nestor with the Sign of the Cross, told him that he would prevail over Lyaios, and then suffer for Christ. Nestor mounted the platform without fear and exclaimed: “Help me, O God of Demetrios.” After he defeated Lyaios, he hurled him down onto the spears, where he gave up his wretched soul.
Maximian became enraged and ordered that both Nestor and Demetrios should be put to death. Saint Demetrios was stabbed with spears, and Saint Nestor was beheaded. Thus, by his example Saint Nestor teaches us that in every human challenge we must say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me.” (Psalm 117/118:6, Hebrews 13:6).
The Martyr Nestor of Thessalonika
St. Demetrius the Myrrhstreamer of Thessalonika
Beauty that saves the world…
Concerning the account of the Transfiguration of Christ as recorded in the Gospels, St. Gregory Palamas comments: …in accordance with the Savior’s promise, [the disciples] did see the kingdom of God, that divine and inexpressible light. St. Gregory of Nazianzos and St. Basil call this light “Divinity,” saying that “the light is the divinity manifested to the disciples on the Mount,” and that [this light] is “the beauty of Him Who is Almighty….” St. Basil … said that this light is the beauty of God contemplated by the saints alone in the power of the divine Spirit…. The heart of Orthodox Christian spirituality is the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. The Eternal Logos became flesh (John 1:14) and restored creation’s beauty which had become contra-natural, disfigured, and made ugly by sin. The restoration to the world of this archetypal beauty, which is Christ Himself, is the essential part of creation’s redemption. The Church, as Christ’s Body, incarnates this beauty into the world through her Liturgy, with its symphony of liturgical arts. As the new, transfigured, and restored creation, the Church provides windows for all to see and behold the glory of God, by which they can be sanctified. Being mystically called by and witnessing this beauty of Holiness, we begin to participate in the deifying vision of God, which is salvation. To the degree that we participate in this eternal divine beauty is the extent that we actualize the beauty inherent in God’s creative act; we ourselves become transfigured in the process and through it find salvation. Salvation is our cooperative effort with God’s grace through the keeping of the commandments and the acquisition of the beauty of the virtues, which bring man, who is in the image of God, to the likeness of God. As the summit of creation’s beauty, St. John Chrysostom tells us that “there is nothing more beautiful than a beautiful soul….” He exhorts us therefore to “seek this beauty, in order that God might desire our beauty and impart to us the eternal blessings.”
— Bowyer, Sergius. Acquiring the Mind of Christ: Embracing the Vision of the Orthodox Church. St. Tikhon’s Monastery Press.
An Elder said: “The re-evangelization that we urgently need comes through personal experience, rather than speeches and flowery words – there are plenty of spiritual writings in books and on the internet! To become the best apostle of Christ, we need to experience Him in our own life. In this way, even our silence will loudly announce our faith in God.”
A Monk said: “Let us only keep track of our own sins and not dwell on the sins of others. No matter what has been done to you or how much you have been wronged, let it go or else your life will be in constant turmoil.”
A Monk said: “After some time, many have regretted not repenting and changing their way of life in time, but no one regretted for having truly repented, confessed, and turned their life to Christ. Many have confessed without repenting, and many have repented without confession.”
An Elder said: “Be wary of the small sins, which are ultimately worse and more dangerous than the big ones. Because after committing a grave sin, immediately you are overcome by feelings of remorse and one is compelled to repent, whereas the small ones often go unnoticed and we continue to repeat them unrepentantly.”
— Source: A Sweet Scented Journey: Monastic Wisdom for Today
Sunday Bulletin October 20, 2024