13th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST — Tone 4. Hieromartyr Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia (302), Ven. Theoctistus, fellow ascetic with Ven. Euthymius the Great (467)
Tone 4 Troparion (Resurrection)
When the women disciples of the Lord learned from the angel the joyous message of Your Resurrection, they cast away the ancestral curse and elatedly told the apostles: “Death is overthrown! Christ God is risen,// granting the world great mercy!”
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; y0our poverty enriched you.// O Father Bishop Nicholas, pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved.
Tone 4 Troparion (St. Anthimus)
By sharing in the ways of the Apostles, you became a successor to their throne. Through the practice of virtue, you found the way to divine contemplation, O inspired one of God; by teaching the word of truth without error, you defended the Faith, even to the shedding of your blood.// O Hieromartyr Anthimus, entreat Christ God to save our souls!
Tone 8 Troparion (St. Theoctistus)
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 holy Father Theoctistus, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!
Tone 4 Kontakion (Resurrection)
My Savior and Redeemer as God rose from the tomb and delivered the earth-born from their chains. He has shattered the gates of hell, and as Master,// He has risen on the third day!
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 4 Kontakion (St. Anthimus)
Living hon’rably as a priest, you completed the course of martyrdom; you extinguished the worship of idols and became a champion of your flock, O divinely wise one. Therefore, we honor you, mystically crying out:// “Through your prayers deliver us from calamity, ever-memorable Anthimus.”
Tone 6 Kontakion (Steadfast Protectress)
Steadfast Protectress of Christians, Constant Advocate before the Creator; Do not despise the cries 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 4 Prokeimenon (Resurrection)
O Lord, how manifold are Your works; / in wisdom have You made them all. (Ps. 103:26)
V. Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord, my God, You are very great! (Ps. 103:1)
1 Corinthians 16:13-24 (Epistle)
Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love. I urge you, brethren – you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the first-fruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints – that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with us. I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for what was lacking on your part they supplied. For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men. The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. The salutation with my own hand – Paul’s. If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Tone 4
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
V. Go forth, prosper and reign, for the sake of meekness, righteousness and truth! (Ps. 44:3b)
V. For You love righteousness, and hate iniquity. (Ps. 44:6)
Matthew 21:33-42 (Gospel)
Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
And the Word was made flesh
(John 1:14) Here, brethren, is a new, blessed and salvific beginning for us—the beginning of our salvation. Adam was in the flesh when he fell under the authority of sin and death. Now the Creator of Adam has appeared in the flesh, to deliver Adam and Adam’s posterity from the power of sin and death. The Son of God—the Word, Wisdom, Light and Life— descended among men in human flesh and with a human soul. He was incarnate but not divided from His Divinity. He descended without being separated from His Father. He retained all that He had been and would be for all eternity, and yet He received something new: human nature. His eternal attributes were not diminished by the Incarnation, neither was His relationship to the Father and the Spirit changed. Lo, the Father testified to this, both on the Jordan and on Mount Tabor: This is my beloved Son! He did not say: “This was my Son,” but “This is my Son.” The Holy Spirit was with Him at His bodily conception and throughout His mission on earth. The divine and human nature were united in Him, but not intermingled. How? Do not ask, you who do not even know how to explain yourself to yourself, and cannot say how your soul and body are united in you. Only know this: God came to visit the earth, bringing unspeakably rich treasures for mankind—royal gifts, incorruptible, eternal, priceless and irreplaceable gifts. Know this and let your heart dance for joy. Strive to cleanse your hands, purify your senses, wash your soul, whiten your heart, and set your mind straight, that you may receive the royal gifts. For they are not given to the unclean. O Lord Jesus Christ, help us to cleanse and wash ourselves by Thy blood and Thy Spirit, that we may be made worthy of Thy royal gifts. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
— Velimirovic, Saint Nikolai. The Prologue of Ohrid Sebastian Press Publishing House.
My Life In Christ
And this is eternal life, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3).
My heart should cling to God alone. “It is good for me to cleave unto God” (Psalm 72:28), but—what blindness and perversion—my heart clings to earthly delights—to food, drink, carnal pleasures, money, dress, perishable colors, patterns, fashions that charm the eyes, luxuriously furnished rooms, etc. How strange it is! I, a Christian, a citizen of heaven, am occupied with everything earthly, and care but little for heavenly things. Through Christ, I have been relocated into heaven, but instead I cling with all my heart to earth, and to all appearances never desire to be in heaven, but would rather always remain on earth, even though earthly things, notwithstanding their delights, oppress and torment me. I see that everything earthly is uncertain, corruptible, and soon passes away; I know and feel that nothing earthly can satisfy my spirit, appease and give joy to my heart, which is constantly disturbed and grieved by earthly vanity. How long shall I, a citizen of heaven, remain earthly? How long shall I, a child of God, born in holy baptism, “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13), remain flesh? How long will it be before I strive with my whole being to God? Lord! Draw my heart to You through Your Holy Spirit. Lord! Turn my heart away from earthly vanities. Lord! Without You I can do nothing… During communal prayer, let your whole heart be in God, and do not on any account let it cling for a single moment to anything earthly. Cultivate also an ardent love for human souls, love for the sake of God, and be zealous for their salvation. Pray for them as you would for those in great misery, for it is said: “All we who are subjected to the enticements of the evil one are in misery.”
— Sergiev, Ivan Ilyich. (St. John of Kronstadt) My Life in Christ. Holy Trinity Publications.
Sunday Bulletin August 27, 2023