St. James Parish News
December 27, 2023
Feast of St. Stephen the ArchDeacon and proto-martyr
In this day the Lord exchanged glory for shame, as being humble; because Adam changed the truth for unrighteousness as being a rebel: the Good One had mercy on him, justified and set right them that had turned aside.
Let every man chase away his weariness, since that Majesty was not wearied with being in the womb nine months for us, and in being thirty years in Sodom among the madmen.
Because the Good One saw that the race of man was poor and humbled, He made feasts as a treasure-house, and opened them to the slothful, that the feast might stir up the slothful one to rise and be rich.
Lo! the First-born has opened unto us His feast as a treasure-house. This one day in the whole year alone opens that treasure-house: come, let us make gain, let us grow rich from it, ere they shut it up.
Blessed be the watchful, that have taken by force from it the spoil of Life. It is a great disgrace, when a man sees his neighbor take and carry out treasure, and himself sits in the treasure-house slumbering, so as to come forth empty.
In this feast, let each one of us crown the gates of his heart. The Holy Spirit longs for the gates thereof, that He may enter in and dwell there, and sanctify it, and He goes round about to all the gates to see where He may enter. St. Ephraim the Syrian, Nativity Hymns
Feast of St. Stephen
Divine Liturgy tonight 5:30 PM
Natvity Letters from our Patriarch and Metropolitan
From our Patriarch JOHN:
https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/1873
From our Metropolitan SABA:
https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/1870
Name days, Birthdays and Anniversaries
None listed
May God grant you many years!
Upcoming Feasts / Celebrations
| Monday January 1 | |
|---|---|
| Feast of St. Basil | |
| 9:00 AM | Divine Liturgy |
| 6:30 PM | Men’s Group (New!) |
| Friday January 5 | |
| Eve of Theophany | |
| 9:00 AM | Royal Hours |
| 5:30 PM | Vesperal Divine Liturgy |
| 7:00 PM | Blessing of the Waters |
| Saturday January 6 | |
| Theophany | |
| 8:00 AM | Orthros |
| 9:00 AM | Divine Liturgy |
| 10:00 AM | Blessing of the Waters |
| Tuesday January 16 | |
| 6:30 PM | Women’s Group |
Please remember that our full calendar continues to be available at our parish web site. Here is a link:
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Calendar/calendar.php
Prosphora
| Dec 31 | Peggy Y. |
| Jan 7 | Nana D. |
| Jan 14 | Natalia M. |
| Jan 21 | Shana V. |
| Jan 28 | Anna H. |
Full schedule:
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Ministries/Prosphora/Docs/prosphora sched 2024 web.pdf
Readers
| Dec 31 | Nate | Sunday before Theophany (Epiphany) | II Tim. 4:5-8 |
| Jan 7 | Thomas | Synaxis of John the Baptist | Acts 19:1-8 |
| Jan 14 | Ken | Sunday after Theophany | Eph. 4:7-13 |
| Jan 21 | James | 29th after Pentecost | Col. 3:4-11 |
| Jan 28 | Jared | 31st after Pentecost | I Tim. 1:15-17 |
| Feb 4 | Connor | 32nd after Pentecost | I Tim. 4:9-15 |
| Feb 11 | Isaac/Micah | 16th after Pentecost | II Cor. 6:1-10 |
Full schedule:
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Ministries/Altar/Docs/epistle readers for 2024.pdf
Scripture Readings for this coming Sunday
Epistle: ST. PAUL’S SECOND LETTER TO TIMOTHY 4:5-8
TIMOTHY, my son, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
Gospel: MARK 1:1-8
The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophets, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’ John was baptizing in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Spiritual Reading
The Apocalypse of Christmas
Fr. Stephen Freeman
Few people think of Christmas as the End of the World. We have one set of feelings and thoughts for the former and another set for the latter. Christmas, taken by itself, seems quite harmless and able to be adopted or adapted (in one way or another) by cultures at large. Indeed, some cultures adopt Christmas and forget about the Child in the Manger. A feast of good feelings, goodwill among men (etc.), a bit of family and seasonal food, and you have a feast that is free of offense allowing it, incidentally, to be monetized for the widest possible consumption.
…
The word has a much more important place in theology. “Apocalypse” means to reveal that which is hidden. St. Paul describes the whole of the Christian gospel in this manner:
“…the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:24–27)
In this proper sense, the whole of the gospel is “apocalyptic.” It is something which, though once hidden from the world, is now revealed and made known.
Christmas as an apocalyptic event. It happens in “hiding.” Word leaks out and the wicked king, Herod, goes on the warpath. Through the silent means of a star, wise men from Persia make their way to Bethlehem, inadvertently alerting the wicked king. The mystery, however, is so well hidden that St. Paul tells us that the “princes of this world” (demonic forces) did not really understand what they were doing when they crucified the Lord of Glory (1Cor. 2:8).
Read the entire article:
https://glory2godforallthings.com/2023/12/24/the-apocalypse-of-christmas/
St. James Orthodox Church
2610 S.E. Frontage Rd.
Fort Collins, CO 80525
970.221.4180