St Paul’s and St Stephen’s teacher in the Jewish law.

St. Gamaliel
”And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.”

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

When they heard this they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamali-el, a teacher of the law, held in honor by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a while. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you do with these men. For before these days Theudas arose, giving himself out to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was slain and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this undertaking is of men, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!”“
‭‭Acts‬ ‭5‬:‭27‬-‭39‬ ‭
The body of St Stephen the first martyr was left to be eaten by beasts, but the renowned Jewish teacher Gamaliel secretly took it and buried it on his estate. Gamaliel believed in Christ, and later received holy Baptism.

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

GOSPEL READING: 15th Sunday of Matthew Isadore of Pelusium

The Reading is from Matthew 22:35-46

At that time, a lawyer came up to Jesus and asked him a question, to test him. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, "What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David." He said to them, "How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I put your enemies under your feet'? If David thus calls him Lord, how is he his son?" And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

Amen!

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

True!

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

GOSPEL READING: 16th Sunday of Matthew

The Reading is from Matthew 25:14-30

The Lord said this parable: "A man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property;
to one he gave five talents,
to another two,
to another one,
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also,
he who had the two talents made two talents more.
But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.
Now after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.'
He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'

But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming, I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; their men will weep and gnash their teeth." As he said these things he cried out: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

Church is hard.
Church is hard for the person walking through the doors, afraid of judgement.
Church is hard for the pastor’s family, under the microscope of an entire body.
Church is hard for the prodigal soul returning home, broken and battered by the world.
Church is hard for the girl who looks like she has it all together, but is contemplating ending it all.
Church is hard for the couple who fought the entire ride to service.
Church is hard for the single mom, surrounded by couples holding hands, and seemingly perfect families.
Church is hard for the widow and widower with no invitation to lunch after service.
Church is hard for the priest with an estranged child.
Church is hard for the person singing hymns, overwhelmed by the weight of the lyrics.
Church is hard for the man insecure in his role as a leader.
Church is hard for the wife who longs to be led by a righteous man.
Church is hard for the nursery volunteer who desperately longs for a baby to love.
Church is hard for the single woman and single man, praying God brings them a mate.
Church is hard for the teenage girl, carrying the child of poorly made choices, ashamed of her mistakes.
Church is hard for the sinners.

Church is hard for me.

It’s hard because on the outside it all looks shiny and perfect. Sunday best in behavior and dress.
However, underneath those layers, you find a body of imperfect people, carnal souls, selfish motives.
But, here is the beauty of church—
Church isn’t a building, mentality, or expectation.

Church is a body.

Church is a group of sinners, saved by grace, living in fellowship as people who have set their lives apart to God to live out His purposes.
Church is a body of believers bound as brothers and sisters by an eternal love.
Church is a holy ground where sinners stand as equals before the Throne of Grace.
Church is a refuge for broken hearts and a training ground for mighty warriors.
Church is a converging of both confrontation and invitation. Where the destructiveness of sin is confronted and hearts are invited to seek restoration.
Church is a lesson in faithfulness and trusting action.
Church is a bearer of burdens and a giver of hope.

Church is a family.

A family coming together, setting aside differences, forgetting past mistakes, rejoicing in the smallest of victories.
Church, the body, and the circle of sinners-turned-saints, is where our Lord resides, and if we ask, He is faithful to come.
So even on the hard days at church—
The days when I am at odds with a friend, When I’ve fought with my spouse because we’re late once again. When I’ve walked in bearing burdens heavier than my heart can handle, yet masking the pain with a smile on my face. When I’ve carried the shame of my past to be under the microscope. When I’ve longed for a baby to hold, or fought tears as the words of a hymn were sung. When I’ve walked back in, afraid and broken, after walking away.
I’ll remember, my Lord and Savior has never failed to meet me there.

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

GOSPEL READING: Sunday of The Canaanite

The Reading is from Matthew 15:21-28
At that time, Jesus went to the districts of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried,
"Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; a demon severely possesses my daughter."

But he did not answer her a word.
And his disciples came and begged him, saying,
"Send her away, for she is crying after us."
He answered,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
" But she knelt before him, saying,
"Lord, help me." And he answered,
"It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
She said,
"Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table."
Then Jesus answered her,
"O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire."
And her daughter was healed instantly.

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

Blessings

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

Not too many years ago a young monastic aspirant went to Mount Athos. In talking with the venerable abbot of the monastery where he wished to stay, he told him, “Holy Father! My heart burns for the spiritual life, for asceticism, for unceasing communion with God, for obedience to an Elder. Instruct me, please, holy Father, that I may attain to spiritual advancement.” Going to the bookshelf, the Abbot pulled down a copy of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. “Read this, son,” he said. “But Father!” objected the disturbed aspirant. “This is heterodox Victorian sentimentality, a product of the Western captivity! This isn’t spiritual; it’s not even Orthodox! I need writings which will teach me spirituality!”

The Abbot smiled, saying, “Unless you first develop normal, human, Christian feelings and learn to view life as little Davey did-with simplicity, kindness, warmth, and forgiveness-then all the Orthodox ‘spirituality’ and Patristic writings will not only be of no help to you-they will turn you into a ‘spiritual’ monster and destroy your soul.”

— From Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

Coming soon to an Orthodox parish near you…a University of Repentance!

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

The Lord said in 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 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."

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

There is a saying - "If you want a better priest, then pray for the one you have".
Every priest carries not only the burden of his own sins, which are countless,
but also the sins of everyone whom God has entrusted to his spiritual care.
At the Dread Judgement Seat of Christ, priests will have much to answer to.

Many years before my ordination, already acutely aware of my own calling, I had a conversation with an elderly priest, Fr. Alexander, about the possibility of entering the seminary. Although he encouraged me to pray about it and to follow my heart, I'll never forget how sad his face became when he looked at me and said
"You know, the priesthood is a rewarding life, but there are times when I go to bed crying, and I can't even tell my wife why".

From time to time I think I about Fr. Alexander, who has long departed this life, and I recall how I have experienced the truth of his words time and again.

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

Blessings

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова