CONTACTS:
To message Archimandrite Kyril or to arrange a baptism or wedding please email the Parish Priest@bristol-orthodox-church.co.uk (Tel. 01179706302 or 07944 860 955).
For more see: CONTACTS
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Every Saturday: 5.30 p.m. Vespers Every Sunday: 10.30 a.m. Divine Liturgy
WEEKLY SERVICES & INFORMATION (Note: our Parish follows the “New” (Revised Julian) Calendar.) Saturday, 20th July. 5.30 p.m. Vespers
Sunday 21st July. Fourth Sunday after Pentecost. Tone 3. Readings: Romans 6: 18-23 Matthew 8:5-13 10.30 a.m. Divine Liturgy
Saturday, 27th July. 5.30 p.m. Vespers
FOOD BANK: Amidst our God-given sufficiency, DON’T FORGET THE NEEDS OF OTHERS. Bring contributions please.
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PARISH NEWS **Building update**: The plasterers are about to start replastering the damaged surfaces in the altar area. THANK YOU for your generous donations. Without this, we would not have a space to worship in. We are extremely blessed to have our own space that does not need to be shared with other users. If we look after it, the building will be sure to last a few more hundred years and serve our community for many generations to come. GIFT AID |
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Some selected saints (AND FEASTS) of the coming days).
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For those who wish to donate to our Parish online, our Facebook fundraiser can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/donate/453504039824339/?fundraiser_source=external_url
Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Archimandrite Kyril Jenner
Matthew 8:5-13
The centurion came to Jesus seeking healing for his servant boy. Compared with the other recorded healings by our Lord, this one stands out as very different.
In some of the other healings the sufferer came, or was brought, to our Lord. In others our Lord went to the sick person. In this instance neither of these things happened.
The centurion left his servant boy at home – we may presume that he was too ill to be moved. But the centurion did not ask for Christ to go to the sick person. He assumed that Christ’s actual presence was not necessary. As a middle ranking army officer he was used to working in a chain of command. In Christ he saw someone who could simply give the necessary order for the cause of the sickness to disappear.
The centurion had faith in Christ. A foreigner, a Gentile, an officer in an army of occupation, had faith in Christ. This faith was not formulated in words. It was not a matter of agreement with some written statement of faith. This faith was practical. It showed itself in action.
Saint Theophan the Recluse comments: “What faith the centurion has! The Lord himself marvelled. The essence of this faith is that he confessed the Lord to be the God of all things, an all-powerful sovereign and master of all that exists; for this reason he said, “Speak the word only, and my servant will be healed. I believe that everything is under your authority and everything obeys your slightest beckoning.” ” (Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Matthew)
Our Lord responded to the centurion’s faith with astonishment: “Amen, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” (Matthew 8:10) This saying has two interpretations. One is that our Lord was referring to the House of Israel, that is to the Jewish community around him. He contrasts the faith of the centurion with that of those people who were presumed to have a better knowledge of God.
The other interpretation looks back to the Patriarch Jacob. According to this interpretation: “When Jacob, the renowned patriarch, beheld the ladder reaching up to heaven and the angels of God ascending and descending, he understood that God was present in that place, but not that he is everywhere present. Thus he said, ‘How fearful is this place! This is none other than the house of God’ [Gen. 28:16-17]. The Lord now marvels at the great and supernatural faith of this Gentile, saying, ‘Not even in Israel,’ that is, ‘in Jacob’ did I find such faith. For Jacob understood that I could appear in one place, but this man understands that I am everywhere, in all places, and that by word alone I can do all things.’ For he said, ‘Only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.’ ” (Saint Theophylact: Explanation of the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew, Chapter 8)
In responding to the centurion our Lord pointed out to those around him that true faith in God was not restricted to any one nation. God calls us all, wherever we are, and wherever we have come from. Our past is not relevant. What matters is recognising Christ as the Son of God, and acting on that beginning. We should see Christ as the source of all healing, both bodily and spiritual. That healing comes from God’s great love for us. He forgives our sins when we repent. He offers us salvation and a place in his heavenly kingdom. What we need is faith like that of the centurion that shows itself in how we act.
Do we put our trust in God? Do we repent of our sins? Do we acknowledge God’s great love for us, that showed itself in our Lord’s death on the Cross? Do we share that love with one another in our daily life?
Saint Theophan the Recluse comments, concerning the faith of the centurion: “The Lord requires the same faith of us, as well. The person who has this faith knows no lack, and whatever they ask, they receive. Thus the Lord himself has promised. When will we have if only a little of such faith? But this faith is also a gift; we must ask for it as well, and ask for it with faith. Let us ask for it, with a feeling of need for it, ask for it continually, fervently, at the same time aiding its unfolding within us through corresponding thoughts, and most of all by submitting to God’s commandments.” (Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Matthew)
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Like all small communities we rely on the generosity of friends and well-wishers. If you would like to contribute to the continuation of our parish and the upkeep of our historic church building, you can make a donation here:
https://www.facebook.com/donate/679204386685133/?fundraiser_source=external_url
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