GodWill Find A Way To Reach Us - Saints Peter & Paul

PAGE 3S S P E T E R & P A U L O R T HO D O X C HU R C H NE WS LE T T E RVOLUME 12, I S S UE 6The Descent of the Holy SpiritIn the Old Testament, Pentecost was the feastthat occurred fifty days after Passover. As thePassover feast celebrated the exodus of theIsraelites from the slaveryof Egypt, so Pentecostcelebrated God's gift ofthe ten commandments toMoses on Mount Sinai.In the New Covenant ofthe Messiah, the Passoverevent takes on its newmeaning as the celebration of Christ's death andresurrection, the "exodus"of men from this sinfulworld to the Kingdom ofGod. And in the New Testament as well, the Pentecostal feast is fulfilled andmade new by the comingof the "new law," the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples ofChrist.When the day of Pentecost had come, theywere all together in one place. And suddenly asound came from heaven like the rush of amighty wind, and it filled all the house wherethey were sitting. And there appeared to themtongues as of fire, distributed as resting uponeach one of them. And they were all filled withthe Holy Spirit . (Acts 2:1–4).The Holy Spirit that Christ had promised to hisdisciples came on the day of Pentecost (cf. Jn14:26, 15:26; Lk 24:49; Acts 1:5). The apostles received "the power from on high," andthey began to preach and bear witness toJesus as the risen Christ, the King and theLord. This moment has traditionally beencalled the birthday of the Church.In the liturgical services of the feast of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit is celebrated together with the full revelation of thedivine Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.The fullness of the Godhead is manifestedwith the Spirit's coming to man, and theChurch hymns celebrate this manifestation asthe final act of God's self-disclosure and selfdonation to the world of His creation. For thisreason Pentecost Sunday is also called TrinityDay in the Orthodox tradition. Often on thisday the icon of the Holy Trinity—particularlythat of the three angelic figures who appearedto Abraham, the forefather of the Christianfaith—is placed in the center of the church.This icon is used with thetraditional Pentecostal icon,which shows the tongues offire hovering over Mary andthe Twelve Apostles, theoriginal prototype of theChurch, who are themselves sitting in unity surrounding a symbolic imageof "cosmos," the world.On Pentecost, we have thefinal fulfillment of the mission of Jesus Christ and thefirst beginning of the messianic age of the Kingdom ofGod mystically present inthis world in the Church ofthe Messiah. For this reason, the fiftieth day stands as the beginning ofthe era which is beyond the limitations of thisworld, fifty being that number which stands foreternal and heavenly fulfillment in Jewish andChristian mystical piety: seven times seven,plus one.Thus, Pentecost is called an apocalyptic day,which means the day of final revelation. It isalso called an eschatological day, whichmeans the day of the final and perfect end (inGreek eschaton means the end). For whenthe Messiah comes and the Lord's Day is athand, the "last days" are inaugurated in which"God declares: . I will pour out my Spirit uponall flesh." This is the ancient prophecy towhich the Apostle Peter refers in the first sermon of the Christian Church which waspreached on the first Sunday of Pentecost(Acts 2: 1 7; Joel 2: 28-32).Once again it must be noted that the feast ofPentecost is not simply the celebration of anevent which took place centuries ago. It is thecelebration of what must happen and doeshappen to us in the Church today. We all havedied and risen with the Messiah-King, and weall have received his Most Holy Spirit. We arethe "temples of the Holy Spirit." God's Spiritdwells in us (Rom 8; 1 Cor 2-3, 12; 2 Cor 3;Gal 5; Eph 2-3). We, by our own membershipin the Church, have received "the seal of thegift of the Holy Spirit" in the sacrament ofchrismation. Pentecost has happened to us.The Divine Liturgy of Pentecost recalls ourbaptism into Christ with the verse from Galatians again replacing the Thrice-Holy Hymn.Special verses from the psalms also replacethe usual antiphonal psalms of the liturgy. Theepistle and gospel readings tell of the Spirit'scoming to men. The kontakion sings of thereversal of Babel as God unites the nationsinto the unity of his Spirit. The troparion proclaims the gathering of the whole universeinto God's net through the work of the inspiredapostles. The hymns O Heavenly King andWe have seen the True Light are sung for thefirst time since Easter, calling the Holy Spiritto "come and abide in us", and proclaimingthat "we have received the heavenly Spirit."The church building is decorated with flowersand the green leaves of the summer to showthat God's divine Breath comes to renew allcreation as the "life-creating Spirit." In Hebrewthe word for Spirit, breath and wind is thesame word, ruah.Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God,who hast revealed the fishermen asmost wise by sending down uponthem the Holy Spirit: through themThou didst draw the world into Thynet. 0 Lover of Man, Glory to Thee(Troparion).When the Most High came down andconfused the tongues, he divided thenations. But when he distributed thetongues of fire, he called all to unity.Therefore, with one voice, we glorifythe All-Holy Spirit! (Kontakion)The Great Vespers of Pentecost evening features three long prayers at which the faithfulkneel for the first time since Easter. The Monday after Pentecost is the feast of the HolySpirit in the Orthodox Church, and the Sundayafter Pentecost is the feast of All Saints. Thisis the logical liturgical sequence since thecoming of the Holy Spirit is fulfilled in men bytheir becoming saints, and this is the verypurpose of the creation and salvation of theworld. Thus says the Lord: Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I your Godam holy (Lev 11:44-45, 1 Pet 1:15-16).

PAGE 4S S P E T E R & P A U L O R T HO D O X C HU R C H NE WS LE T T E RVOLUME 12, I S S UE 6Homel and of PromiseFr. Vladimir Berzonsky sinfulness? Sodom and Gomorrah are everywhere.“By faith Abraham obeyed when he wascalled to go out to a place which he was It’s too easy to sanctify the past and vilifyto receive as an inheritance; and he went the present. In the name of truth and honout, not knowing where he was to go. By esty, let’s not do so. Consider the adfaith he sojourned in the land of promise vances made in the same fifty years: Raas in a foreign land for he looked for- cial and sexual equality, tolerance for difward to the city which has foundations, ferences of religion and ethnicity, adwhosebuilderand makeris vances in technology, medical breakGod” (Hebrews 11:8-10)throughs that have enhanced and advanced human life, knowledge of the uniWhen we hear the priestly prayer at the verse and the expansion of all forms ofconclusion of a funeral or requiem inviting intelligence – none of that should be ignored, especially by peothe beloved to theple of faith. Good and“bosom of Abraham,”bad are mixed togetherwe understand that as We are truly strangers on earthhis children we too have passing through two stages: our in these times.passed through a life- nine months before birth, andtime where we had no then through whatever the years Indeed, the theme of thepermanent residence. that the Lord has planned for our chapter in Hebrews andLike our great spiritual stay here until like Fatherthe entire epistle is faith.father, we too have left Abraham we are “looking forward Abraham, the father ofbehind a foreign land, to the city with foundations,faith, is our spiritualeven if we had been whose builder and maker isleader. The tendency toborn in it. Regardless of God.” (Hebrews 11:10)celebrate and bond withhow lovely, comfortable,the society we are bornand in materialisticin until our twenties orterms, even expensive our home had thirties,thenbeginto question its moresthe curriculum published by the Department of Christianbeen, nevertheless, it was just a tent in ionof the Orthodoxin America.andmany otherEducationresources are availablethe sense that we pass on from there. We whatweChristianfind notin conformitywith atourhttp://dce.oca.org. may have been taken to hospital and fu- youthful standards is not exactly to be theneral home from the same house in which people of faith that the Lord expects us towe were born; yet if we spent about fifty be. We are neither to take on the lifestylesyears on earth, the familiar in our child- of our contemporaries without question,hood became foreign in time. There’s nor are we to stand apart and criticizetruth in the saying: The past is a foreign from the periphery, but rather to reprecountry; they do things differently there. sent and embody Jesus Christ in each(J.P. Hartley, The Go Between, 1053)situation. That’s what identifies us as Orthodox Christians, people of faith par exA half century ago, Bibles were read and cellance.prayers were said in schools. Sexual education was not taught because few felt the We are in the world but not of it. We celeneed to do so. Movies were not given let- brate and share in all that is good, kind,ter grades because none were produced peace-filled, charitable and worthwhile;that required monitoring for sexuality, and we point out, deplore, reject andlewdness or violence. Today, if the three separate ourselves from what is vulgar,angels passed by the tent of Abraham and debasing, demeaning, defiling and evil,Sarah, where might they say they were regardless of the source or the appeal. It’sgoing to punish the cities offensive to the so easy to be lost in a world gone astrayLord for their promiscuity, vulgarity and and even to justify the fact that it has nodirection. The life we live, we live forChrist. The faith we proclaim we know tobe true, holy and eternal. The hope wecherish is a clear vision of a place whichhas no address but is located whereverthe Holy Trinity resides, which is not alocation at all but beyond this world limited by space and time. We are trulystrangers on earth passing through twostages: our nine months before birth, andthen through whatever the years that theLord has planned for our stay here untillike Father Abraham we are “looking forward to the city with foundations, whosebuilder and maker is God.” (Hebrews11:10)Reprinted from the Orthodox Church inAmerica web site, Thoughts in Christ, June19, 2011, http://oca.org/reflections/Kids Say the DarndestThings . . .A little girl was sitting on her grandfather's lap as he read her a bedtimestory. From time to time, she wouldtake her eyes off the book and reachup to touch his wrinkled cheek. Shewas alternately stroking her owncheek, then his again. Finally shespoke up, "Grandpa, did God makeyou?""Yes, sweetheart," he answered, "Godmade me a long time ago.""Oh," she paused, "grandpa, did Godmake me too?""Yes, indeed, honey," he said, "Godmade you just a little while ago."Feeling their respective faces again,she observed, "God's getting betterat it, isn't he?"A little boy was overheard praying:"Lord, if you can't make me a betterboy, don't worry about it. I'm having areal good time like I am."

PAGE 5S S P E T E R & P A U L O R T HO D O X C HU R C H NE WS LE T T E RVOLUME 12, I S S UE 6On Not Second-Guessing GodThe Epistle reading for June 22, which is the chapters that follow, Paul will make clear hisRomans 9: 6-19, contains some uncompro- certainty that everything God does, includingmising words of Saint Paul.things so hard for us to understand, are part of Hisplan to bring every willing person to salvation. ButPaul writes that it is God's prerogative to treatfor now it is not our place to questionpeople as He wishes to, evenor second-guess what He does.when that treatment seemsunfair to us human beings. Hecites God's words to Moses: "Iwill have mercy on whom I willhave mercy, and compassion onwhom I will have compassion."Paul comments that "it dependsnot upon man's will or exertion,but upon God's mercy."Then Paul acknowledges the injustice that somepeople might see in this. He writes, "You will sayto me then, 'Why does He still find fault? For whocan resist His will?' " In other words, why doesGod judge us if our actions, good or bad, have noeffect on our salvation anyway?On June 23rd we remember a sixteenth-century saint, Artemius, whois referred to as a "righteous childwonderworker" and who lived in theRussian village of Verkola. The storyof his life is another reminder that weshouldn't second-guess God.Even as a small boy, Artemius hadbeen kind, contemplative and quietly cheerful,so that many people called him a child of God.But tragedy struck when he was just twelve. Hewas helping his father in the open fields when athunderstorm came up so quickly that the twohad no time to run for shelter. A bolt of lightningstruck Artemius dead.Paul's answer in the next verses (read on June25) is unequivocal: "But who are you, a man, to Instead of remembering Artemius' godly qualianswer back to God? Will what is molded say ties as signs of God's love, the villagers adto its molder, 'Why have you made me thus?' " In hered to the old superstition that his manner ofdeath, at so young an age, was a sign of God'sdispleasure. They denied him a proper funeraland burial, and his body was left in the forest,covered only by tree branches.But many years later, people noticed a lightshining over the place where he was lying, andwhen his body was uncovered it was just as ithad always been—there was no corruption orruin. Realizing that God had shown His youngchild to be a saint, the villagers took his body tochurch, and his relics were a source of healingfor many. Later, a monastery was built withSaint Artemius as its patron.Though the Bolsheviks hacked the youngsaint's relics to pieces in 1918 and threw theminto a well, the power of his example staysstrong. We needn't second-guess God aboutour own destinies, or about those whom Hehas chosen as His saints.This weekly bulletin insert complements the curriculumpublished by the Department of Christian Education ofthe Orthodox Church in America. This and many otherChristian Education resources are available at http://dce.oca.org. Ten ImportantThings to DoWhile onVacationArchpriest Alexander IliashenkoIt is important that our vacation time serve as apath to Christ, so that the time given us wouldnot fly by unnoticed; it should be spent well andwith spiritual benefit. An Elder of exalted spiritual life was asked: “How did you spend yourtime away?” He replied: “Prayerfully.”I think the following recommendations can beoffered:1. Make every effort to improve your health:try to get enough sleep; go for walks in thefresh air as often as you can; put your dailyregime in order. Having a bad time off and notrestoring your strength can lead to difficulty indoing your work with proper concentrationover the course of the year.2. Expand your prayer rule by adding something that you do not normally have time toread: prayers, psalms, or a chapter from theGospels. Or read your usual rule with greaterattention and concentration.3. Read at least one book about the faith:something by one of the Holy Fathers (forinstance, St. John Chrysostom) or by a contemporary theologian.4. Try to visit a monastery and venerate itssacred objects. Do not allow yourself to missthe Sunday Liturgy, justifying yourself by saying you are on vacation.5. An information break is also essential. Putaside a few days of your vacation time thatwill be entirely free from the Internet, socialnetworks, and frequent text messaging. Reduce the amount of time you spend readingthe news or watching television. Hold out foras long as possible!6. Communicate on a serious and deep levelwith members of your family – wife, husband,parents – without hurrying and without beingdistracted every five minutes by the telephone. Talk about life, joys, problems, andplans; rejoice in one another’s company.7. As our children grow up, we often stopteaching them anything new in the same waywe did when they were little. Read aloud tothem an interesting but serious work that willopen up something new to them. Watch agood, meaningful film with them. Teach themto listen to silence or to understand the beautyof poetry.8. Think of something that members of yourhousehold have been asking you to do forsome time, but that you have kept putting off.Take the children to the zoo, repair something, or sew up something – fulfill what wasrequested of you.9. Complete an act of charity that you havelong been putting off.10. Visit your godparents, godchildren, or oldfamily friends whom you have not seen for along time.Reprinted from Pravmir.com, hile-on-vacation-3/

S S P E T E R & P A U L O R T HO D O X C HU R C H NE WS LE T T E RPAGE 6VOLUME 12, I S S UE 6Even MiracleWorkers HaveTheir Bad MomentsOn June 14th we remember the prophetElisha, who was the disciple and successorof another great prophet, Elijah. In his eagerness to serve God, Elishaperformed many miracles. Oftenthese wonderful acts benefitedpeople's physical health as wellas their spiritual well-being.For example, the men of the cityof Jericho complained to him that"the water is bad and the land isunfruitful." Elisha was able topurify the water, and as a true prophet he gavethe credit and glory to God working throughhim: "Thus says the Lord, 'I have made thiswater wholesome; henceforth neither death normiscarriage shall come from it' " (2 Kings 2: 21).Another time, Elisha provided a stew made ofherbs and wild gourds for a group of "sons ofthe prophets." Tasting it, the men cried out thatthere was "death in the pot." Elisha merelyadded some meal, and made the food harmless and tasty. When someone brought himtwenty loaves of barley and some fresh grain,he instructed his servant to give it to the men.But the servant complained that it wasn't nearlyenough to feed all 100 of them.Elisha calmly repeated his instructions, and again said the words theLord had given him: "They shall eatand have some left" (2 Kings 4: 3844). Sure enough, in a way similarto Jesus' feeding of the 5000, everyone was satisfied, and therewere lots of leftovers.When a widow cried out to him that creditorswere about to enslave her children to pay thefamily's debts, Elisha offered practical but miraculous help. He instructed her to borrow containers from her neighbors, and then providedoil to fill every one. When there were no morecontainers, the oil stopped flowing, and Elishatold the woman to "sell the oil and pay yourdebts, and you and your sons can live on therest" (2 Kings 4: 7).One of Elisha's best-known miracles involvedanother woman in distress. The account of theShunamite woman is given in 2 Kings 4: 8-37and it is one of the fifteen Old Testament readingsfor Holy Saturday. Through Elisha's prayer, thishospitable woman is able to conceive a child. Buta bad moment comes for the prophet when thechild dies. She reproaches Elisha, and he says tohis servant that "she is in bitter distress; and theLord has hidden it from me, and has not told me."How helpless he must have felt, and perhapsmomentarily abandoned by God. But by arduousprayer he is able to revive the child.Elisha's mentor Elijah also had bad moments.Having killed Jezebel's prophets, he feared forhis life and even "asked that he might die" ratherthan continue his prophetic work (I Kings 19: 4).When our own bad moments come, it's good toremember that we are not alone in having them,and that God will help us through them, just asHe helped His miracle-working prophets.This weekly bulletin insert complements the curriculum published bythe Department of Christian Education of the Orthodox Church inAmerica. This and many other Christian Education resources areavailable at http://dce.oca.org. Around SS Peter & PaulPRAYER LISTJUNE BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIESElena KerrJune 1Nancy & Dennis TarasevichJune 3Olga BahledaJune 15Polina NovitskayaJune 25Betsy BegianJune 26Rita MudrenkoJune 27MEMORY ETERNALPauline Vinay fell asleep in the Lordon Tuesday, May 22, 2012. Pauline“I was sick and you visited me.”Matt 25:36was a long-time member of SS PeterWe offer prayers to all of our parishionerswho are ill or unable to attend services:held at SS Peter and Paul on Tues-Nicholas Enochand Paul. The Funeral Service wasday, June 5, 2012 at 10:00 AM, withDan Perrottoburial at National Memorial Cemetery,Phoenix, AZ.Mary MaulAnn GarzaMay the Lord grant peaceful restNancy Tarasevichand memory eternal to his belovedBill and Rose Kovalservant and comfort and peace toMnogaya Leta!Many Years!Pauline’s family.Memory Eternal! Vechnaya P

at St. Tikhon’s Monastery, South Canaan. The legacy he left to us—the members of this parish community—is great and we are grateful for it. As we honor all our fathers (fathers, grandfather, godfathers, spiritual fathers) on this Fathers Day, let’s not forget to prayerfully remember Father Peter. May the Lord grant him rest with the