16Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ 18But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’† 19And another said, ‘I have bought five yokes of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ 20Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’† 22And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ 23Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’”

Source: Bible, Crimson Publishing. The Orthodox study bible (updated Old and new testament) (Kindle Locations 73106-73114). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Life Application Narrative:

LK 14: 16-35 The custom was to send two invitations to a party: the first to announce the event and the second to tell the guests that everything was ready. The guests in Jesus’ story insulted the host by making excuses when he issued the second invitation. In Israel’s history, God’s first invitation came from Moses and the prophets; the second came from his Son. The religious leaders accepted the first invitation. They believed that God had called them to be his people, but they insulted God by refusing to accept his Son. Thus, as the master in the story sent his servant into the streets to invite the needy to his banquet, so God sent his Son to a whole world of needy people to tell them that God’s kingdom had arrived and was ready for them.

LK 14: 16-35 In this chapter we read Jesus’ words against seeking status and in favor of hard work and even suffering. Let us not lose sight of the end result of all our humility and self-sacrifice— a joyous banquet with our Lord! God never asks us to suffer for the sake of suffering. He never asks us to give up something good unless he plans to replace it with something even better. Jesus is not calling us to join him in a labor camp but in a feast— the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19: 6-9), when God and his beloved church will be joined forever.

Source:Tyndale. NIV Life Application Study Bible, Second Edition (pp. 7456-7457). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Kindle Edition.

Resurrectional Apolytikion

Mode 2.

When You descended unto death, O Lord who yourself are immortal Life, then did You mortify Hades by the lightning flash of Your Divinity. Also, when You raised the dead from the netherworld, all the Powers of the heavens were crying out: O Giver of life, Christ our God, glory to You.

Ἀπολυτίκιον Ἀναστάσιμον.

Ἦχος βʹ.

Ὅτε κατῆλθες πρὸς τὸν θάνατον, ἡ Ζωὴ ἡ ἀθάνατος, τότε τὸν ᾍδην ἐνέκρωσας

τῇ ἀστραπῇ τῆς Θεότητος, ὅτε δὲ καὶ τοὺς τεθνεῶτας ἐκ τῶν καταχθονίων ἀνέστησας,

πᾶσαι αἱ Δυνάμεις τῶν ἐπουρανίων ἐκραύγαζον· Ζωοδότα Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν

δόξα σοι.

Resurrectional Kontakion

You rose from the tomb, O Savior allpowerful, and Hades beheld the marvel and

was struck with fear, and the dead were rising up, and creation beholds and rejoices with You, and Adam is also exultant; O my Savior, and the world ever sings Your praise.

Κοντάκιον Ἀναστάσιμον.

Ἀνέστης Σωτήρ, ἐκ τάφου Παντοδύναμε καὶ ᾍδης ἰδών, τὸ θαῦμα ἐξεπλήττετο,

καὶ νεκροὶ ἀνίσταντο, καὶ ἡ κτίσις ἰδοῦσα συγχαίρει σοι, καὶ ὁ Ἀδάμ συναγάλλεται, καὶ κόσμος Σωτήρ μου ἀνυμνεῖ σε ἀεί.

DECEMBER 15th – ELEUTHERIOS THE HIEROMARTYR

Reading

This Saint had Rome as his homeland. Having been orphaned of his father from childhood, he was taken by his mother Anthia to Anicetus, the Bishop of Rome (some call him Anencletus, or Anacletus), by whom he was instructed in the sacred letters (that is, the divine Scriptures). Though still very young in years, he was made Bishop of Illyricum by reason of his surpassing virtue, and by his teachings he converted many unbelievers to Christ. However, during a most harsh persecution that was raised against the Christians under Hadrian (reigned 117-138), the Saint was arrested by the tyrants. Enduring many torments for Christ, he was finally put to death by two soldiers about the year 126. As for his Christ-loving mother Anthia, while embracing the remains of her son and kissing them with maternal affection, she was also beheaded.

TUESDAY, December 15th, 2020 – Saint Eleutherios and his mother Anthia

8:00 am - Divine Liturgy.

Click this link to Epistle Reading

Click this link to Holy Gospel Reading

MARK 2:23-28, 3:1-5 – The disciples pick wheat on the sabbath

Reading

The Gospel:

23Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. 24And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

25But He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: 26how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”

27And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

3And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” 4Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

Source: Bible, Crimson Publishing. The Orthodox study bible (updated Old and new testament) (Kindle Locations 70638-70646). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Life Application Narrative:

MK 2: 23 Jesus and his disciples were not stealing when they picked the grain. Leviticus 19: 9-10 and Deuteronomy 23: 25 say that farmers were to leave the edges of their fields unharvested so that some of their crops could be picked by travelers and by the poor. Just as walking on a sidewalk is not trespassing on private property, picking heads of grain at the edge of a field was not stealing.

MK 2: 24 God’s law said that crops should not be harvested on the Sabbath (Exodus 34: 21). This law prevented farmers from becoming greedy and ignoring God on the Sabbath. It also protected laborers from being overworked. The Pharisees interpreted the action of Jesus and his disciples— picking the grain and eating it as they walked through the fields— as harvesting; and so, they judged Jesus a lawbreaker. But Jesus and the disciples clearly were not harvesting the grain for personal gain; they were simply looking for something to eat. The Pharisees were so focused on the words of the rule that they missed its intent.

MK 2: 25-28 Jesus used the example of David to point out how ridiculous the Pharisees’ accusations were (this incident occurred in 1 Samuel 21: 1-6). God created the Sabbath for our benefit; we are restored both physically and spiritually when we take time to rest and to focus on God.

For the Pharisees, Sabbath rules had become more important than Sabbath rest. Both David and Jesus understood that the intent of God’s law is to promote love for God and others. The Christian faith involves many rules that are meant to be governed by love. That makes love the highest rule, but it also moves Christians toward personal sacrifice, discipline, and responsibility— scarce resources in today’s world. When confronted with rules of your own or others’ making, ask: (1) Does the rule serve God’s purposes? (2) Does the rule reveal God’s character? (3) Does the rule help people get into God’s family, or keep them out? (4) Does the rule have biblical roots that can be supported in the context of all of Scripture? Good rules pass all four tests.

MK 2: 26 The “consecrated bread” (called the bread of the Presence) was set before God on a table in the Holy Place in the tabernacle (and later in the temple). Every Sabbath, 12 freshly-baked loaves of bread were set out, and the priests ate the old loaves. See Exodus 25: 30 and Leviticus 24: 5-9 for more about the bread of the Presence.

MK 3: 2 Already many of the religious leaders had turned against Jesus and become his enemies. They were jealous of his popularity, his miracles, and the authority in his teaching and actions. They valued their status in the community and their opportunity for personal gain so much that they lost sight of their goal as religious leaders— to point people toward God. Of all people, the Pharisees should have recognized the Messiah, but they refused to acknowledge him because they were not willing to give up their treasured position and power. When Jesus exposed their attitudes, he became their enemy instead of their Messiah, and they began looking for ways to turn the people against him.

MK 3: 5 Jesus was angry about the Pharisees’ uncaring attitudes. Anger itself is not wrong. It depends on what makes us angry and what we do with our anger. Too often we express our anger in selfish and harmful ways. By contrast, Jesus expressed his anger by correcting a problem— healing the man’s hand. Use your anger to find constructive solutions rather than to tear people down.

Source: Tyndale. NIV Life Application Study Bible, Second Edition (pp. 7353-7354). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Kindle Edition.

Apolytikion of Hieromartyr Eleutherios and Anthia

Fourth Tone

Adorned with flowing priestly vesture and with dripping streams of blood you at once went to your Lord Christ, O blessed wise Eleftherios, annihilator of Satan. Wherefore, do not cease to intercede for those who honor your blessed struggles in faith.

Ἀπολυτίκιον Ελευθερίου Μεγαλομάρτυρος και Ανθίας Μητρός

Fourth Tone

Ἱερέων ποδηρει κατακοσμούμενος, καὶ αἱμάτων τοὶς ῥείθροις ἐπισταζόμενος, τῶ Δεσπότη σου Χριστῷ μάκαρ ἀνέδραμες, Ἐλευθέριε σοφέ, καθαιρέτα τοῦ Σατάν, διὸ μὴ παύση πρεσβεύων, ὑπὲρ τῶν πίστει τιμώντων, τὴν μακαρίαν σου ἄθλησιν.

Kontakion.

Mode 2. You have taken.

You the adornment of the priesthood, O righteous one, * and the encouragement of prize-winning martyr saints * are extolled

by all. To you we pray, * O hieromartyr Eleftherios, * to free us who with love observe your memory * from every kind of dangerous predicament, * and unceasingly intercede on behalf of us all.

Κοντάκιον.

Ἦχος βʹ. Τοὺς ἀσφαλεῖς.

Ὡς καλλονὴν τῶν ἱερέων Ὅσιε, καὶ προτροπὴν τῶν Ἀθλοφόρων ἅπαντες,

εὐφημοῦμεν καὶ αἰτοῦμέν σε, Ἱερομάρτυς Ἐλευθέριε· Τοὺς πόθῳ σου τὴν μνήμην ἑορτάζοντας, κινδύνων πολυτρόπων ἐλευθέρωσον, πρεσβεύων ἀπαύστως, ὑπὲρ πάντων ἡμῶν.

WEDNESDAY, December 16th, 2020

· There will be NO 7:00 pm -Paraklesis Service to Saint Nectarios.

Reopening of our Parish

DUE TO THE MANDATE of STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND LOS ANGELES COUNTY, the SUNDAY SERVICES ARE ONLY OFFERED OUTDOORS TO A LIMITED CAPACITY.

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS

Those with any signs or symptoms of any acute illness (whether it is COVID-19 or not) MUST stay home, as shall those who have come into contact with COVID-19. It is strongly recommended that parishioners who are 65 or older, especially those living in long-term care facilities and who suffer from serious medical conditions such as cardiac and/or pulmonary disease, diabetes, a compromised immune system, or other underlying health issues are advised to participate in live-streamed services home at this time. Parishioner assumes all responsibly in risks and Covid-19 related health risk should they occur for attending in person services. Questions should be directed to your healthcare provider.

Dismissal hymn of Saint Nectarios of Aegina

Special Announcement:

· We need oil (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) for the Church, please donate.

· Please notify us if someone in the member of the family or yourself is sick, so that we may offer healing prayer.

· Our schedule of church services is now uploaded on a monthly basis, so if you plan to request memorial service for the soul of your loved ones and would like it to be posted on our weekly bulletin, please send us your request two weeks ahead of the following month. For example, our next schedule of church service would be for the month of December 2020, therefore, the request should be made on or before November 16, 2020.