Acts 4:23-31 (Epistle)
23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,
25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the LORD and against His Christ.’
27 For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.
29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,
30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
John 5:24-30 (Gospel)
24 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,
27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.
28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice
29 and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
Prophet Jeremiah
The Holy Prophet Jeremiah, one of the four great Old Testament prophets, was son of the priest Helkiah from the city of Anathoth near Jerusalem, and he lived 600 years before the Birth of Christ, under the Israelite king Josiah and four of his successors. He was called to prophetic service at the age of fifteen, when the Lord revealed to him that even before his birth the Lord had chosen him to be a prophet. Jeremiah refused, citing his youth and lack of skill at speaking, but the Lord promised to be always with him and to watch over him.
He touched the mouth of the chosen one and said, “Behold, I have put My words into your mouth. Behold, I have appointed you this day over nations and kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to rebuild, and to plant” (Jer. 1:9-10). From that time Jeremiah prophesied for twenty-three years, denouncing the Jews for abandoning the true God and worshipping idols, predicting sorrows and devastating wars. He stood by the gates of the city, and at the entrance to the Temple, everywhere where the people gathered, and he exhorted them with imprecations and often with tears. The people, however, mocked and abused him, and they even tried to kill him.
Depicting for the Jews their impending enslavement to the king of Babylon, Jeremiah first placed on his own neck a wooden, and then an iron yoke, and thus he went about among the people. Enraged at the dire predictions of the prophet, the Jewish elders threw the Prophet Jeremiah into a pit filled with horrid, slimy creatures, where he almost died. Through the intercession of the God-fearing royal official Habdemelek, the prophet was pulled out of the pit, but he did not cease his prophecies, and for this he was carted off to prison. Under the Jewish king Zedekiah his prophecy was fulfilled.
St. Nektarios Kefalas on Confession
By Archpriest Peter Olsen
Confession is a divine commandment which is necessary for the healing of our souls. Confession has its roots in the Old Testament. Moses commanded that the people confess their sins, so that men and women might be trained in truth and uprightness, and also to avoid lawless acts (Numbers 5:6-7). Furthermore, Moses said “If a person sins he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing; and he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord for his sin which he has committed” (Leviticus 5:1,5-6). In other words, before an Israelite could make his offering at the altar, he was required to first confess his sins. This is no different than the contemporary Christian practice to first go to confession before partaking of the Eucharistic sacrifice which is offered on the Christian altar.
Concerning confession in the New Testament, we read in Matthew 3:5-6: “Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” The Apostle James, the brother of the Lord, enjoins us, saying, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16). Confession is also mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as the gate that leads to Christianity: “And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds” (Acts 19:18). The Evangelist John says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Many of the Holy Fathers, such as Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Cyprian of Carthage speak about confession as well. The above sampling of evidence that St. Nektarios cites should make it abundantly clear to all that confession is a divine commandment.
This week’s calendar reminders:
Monday 4/28: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday 4/29: no services or events
Wednesday 4/30: no services or events
Thursday 5/1: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Friday 5/2: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Saturday 5/3: Great Vespers 6 p.m.
Sunday 5/4: Divine Liturgy 9:15 a.m.
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Christ the Savior Orthodox Church is located in Southbury, Connecticut, and is part of the New England Diocese of the Orthodox Church of America.
Mailing address: Christ the Savior Church, 1070 Roxbury Road, Southbury, CT 06488
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Fr. Moses Locke can be reached at frmoseslocke@gmail.com