Liturgical – 16th Sunday of Luke
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Apolytikion Ήχος Πλ. A – 5th
Τόν συνάναρχον λόγον…
Eternal with the Father and the Spirit is the Word, Who of a Virgin was begotten for our salvation. As the faithful we both praise and worship Him, for in the flesh, did He consent to ascend unto the Cross, and death did He endure and He raised unto life the dead through His all glorious resurrection.
Apolytikion for the Foreunner John the Baptist
Εκ γής ανατείλασα, η τού Προδρόμου…
The head of the Forerunner radiates incorruptible rays of healing upon the faithful as it rises from the earth. Heavenward, the assembly of Angels is gathered, while below the human race is called to offer glory to Christ God in unison.
Apolytikion of St. Demetrios
Μέγαν εύρατο έν τοίς κινδύνοις…
The world found in you a great champion in dangers a victor who could turn the nations back! As you restrained Levi in the arena, you also inspired Nestor to courage! Therefore, holy, great martyr, Demetrios, entreat Christ God to grant us great mercy!
Kontakion
Φαρισαίου φύγωμεν ύψηγορίαν…
Let us flee from the boasting of the Pharisee and learn through our own sighs of sorrow the humility of the Publican. Let us cry out to the Savior, “Have mercy on us, for through You alone are we reconciled.”
Memorial
Eleni Lintzeris (2yrs) survived by her two sons Paul and Paris
Trisagia
Lee and Despina Telegadis (3mths) survived by their daughter Elizabeth, son-in-law James Carpenter and grandson Nicholas
Dr. George Thodos (13yrs) beloved husband of Dianne Nickols Thodos
George and Stella Nickols , Harriet and Peter, parents and siblings of Dianne Nickols Thodos
Nicholas, Katina and Denis Stamatos: John, Angeliki, Theophilus, Peter and Andonia Gomatos and Catherine Lavrakos beloved family of Fr. Milton and Presv. Poppy Stamatos
The Publican and the Pharisee
The Pharisees were an ancient and outstanding sect among the Jews known for their diligent observance of the outward matters of the Law. Although, according to the word of our Lord, they “did all their works to be seen of men” (Matt. 23:5), and were hypocrites (ibid. 23: 13, 14, 15, etc.), because of the apparent holiness of their lives they were thought by all to be righteous, and separate from others, which is what the name Pharisee means. On the other hand, Publicans, collectors of the royal taxes, committed many injustices and extortions for filthy lucre’s sake, and all held them to be sinners and unjust. It was therefore according to common opinion that the Lord Jesus in His parable signified a virtuous person by a Pharisee, and a sinner by a Publican, to teach His disciples the harm of pride and the profit of humble-mindedness.
Since the chief weapon for virtue is humility, and the greatest hindrance to it is pride, the divine Fathers have set these three weeks before the Forty-day Fast as a preparation for the spiritual struggles of virtue. This present week they have called Harbinger, since it declares that the Fast is approaching; and they set humility as the foundation for all our spiritual labors by appointing that the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee be read today, even before the Fast begins, to teach, through the vaunting of the Pharisee, that the foul smoke of self-esteem and the stench of boasting drives away the grace of the Spirit, strips man of all his virtue, and casts him into the pits of Hades; and, through the repentance and contrite prayer of the Publican, that humility confers upon the sinner forgiveness of all his wicked deeds and raises him up to the greatest heights.
All foods are allowed the week that follows this Sunday.
The Lenten Spring
Before Great Lent begins, there is a preparatory period of four weeks called “The Triodion.” Each of the Sundays of the pre-Lenten Triodion prepares us for the spiritual journey to Pascha.
The four weeks preceding Lent are known as:
- Sunday of the Tax Collector and Pharisee
- Sunday of the Prodigal Son
- Sunday of Meat (the Final Judgment)
- Sunday of Cheese(Adam’s expulsion from Paradise)
The Lenten spring is welcomed by Christians in the Church not as the time for self-inflicted agony or self-improving therapy. It is greeted as the sanctified season consecrated to the correction, purification and enlightenment of the total person through the fulfillment of the commandments of the crucified God. It is received as the time for battling with evil spirits and blossoming with the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal.5:22). It is accepted as “the great and saving forty days” set apart for complete and total dedication to the things of God. It is the “tithe of the year” which tells us that all times and season belong to the Lord who has created and redeemed the world.
Scripture Readings
Epistle Reading
St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians 4:6-15
Brethren, it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we too believed, and so we speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into His presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
Gospel Reading
Luke 18:10-14
Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee: Triodion Begins Today
The Lord said this parable, “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
