July 9 – 5th Sunday after Pentecost. Tone 4

St. David of Thessalonica (540). St. John, bishop of the Goths in Crimea (ca. 787).

Rom. 10:1-10; Mt. 8:28 – 9:1;

Propers

Live Streaming - Пряма Трансляція

July 12 – The Holy, Glorious and All-praised Leaders of the Apostles, Peter and Paul (67).

2 Cor. 11:21–12:9 ;
Mt. 16:13-19;

July 16 – 6th Sunday after Pentecost. Tone 5

Martyr Hyacinth. Martyrs Diomedes, Eulampius, Asclepiodotus, and Golinduc of Caesarea in Cappadocia (108). Martyrs Mocius (Mucian) and Mark (4th c.). Ven. Alexander, founder of the Monastery of the Unsleeping Ones (430). St. Anatolius, patriarch of Constantinople (438). Ven. Anatolius, of the Near Caves in Kyiv (12th c.). Ven. Anatolius (another) recluse of the Far Caves in Kyiv (13th c.).

Rom. 12:6-14; Mt. 9:1-8;

Services & Other Events

YouTube Livestreaming services can be found on YouTube TV search for Ivan Synevskyy

9‌ July, Sunday:

• 9am – Hours, Confession - Часи і сповідь
• 9:30am – Divine Liturgy - Божественна Літургія
• Patron Saint Day Brunch following Divine Liturgy.
• Church School retreat at Bhandari's Lake house on Quaker Lake following brunch.

11‌ July, Tuesday

• 10:00am - Kitchen Session
• 6:45pm – Choir Rehearsal for Ukrainian Day

12‌ July, Sts. Peter & Paul Day:

• 9:30am - Divine Liturgy - Божественна Літургія
• 5:30pm - Tent set-up
• 5:45pm – Ukrainian Dance Practice

13‌ July, Thursday

• 7:30am - Process potatoes
• 9:00am - Kitchen Session
• 11:00am - Holubtsi packing and dishwashers

14‌ July, Friday

• 3:00pm - Bake Sale prep

15‌ July, Ukrainian Day:

• 11am — 7pm - Enjoy Ukrainian food, traditions, crafts, baked goods, dance, singing, beer and more...

 

Fr. Ivan can be reached by call/text c.617-646-9515 or email: fr.i.synevskyy@uocofusa.org

Апостол

З Посла́ння до Римлян Свято́го Апо́стола Павла́ чита́ння (10:1-10)

Браття, бажання мого серця і молитва до Бога за Ізраїль на спасіння. Бо свідчу їм, що мають ревність по Бозі, та не за розумом. Бо, не розуміючи праведності Божої і намагаючись поставити власну праведність, вони не скорились праведності Божій, бо кінець закону – Христос, до праведності кожного віруючого. Мойсей пише про праведність від закону: людина, яка виконала його, жива буде ним (Лев. 18,5). А праведність від віри так говорить: не кажи в серці твоєму: хто зійде на небо? тобто Христа звести (Втор. 30,12). Або хто зійде в безодню? тобто Христа з мертвих підняти. Але що говорить Писання? Близько до тебе слово, в устах твоїх і в серці твоїм, тобто слово віри, яке проповідуємо (Втор. 30,14). Бо якщо устами твоїми будеш сповідувати Ісуса Господом і серцем твоїм вірувати, що Бог воскресив Його з мертвих, то спасешся, бо серцем вірують до праведності, а устами сповідують до спасіння.

Євангеліє

Від Матфея 8:28 – 9:1

І коли Він прибув на інший берег, в країну Гергесинську, Його зустріли двоє біснуватих, що вийшли з могильних печер, дуже люті, так що ніхто не міг пройти тією дорогою. І ось, вони закричали: що Тобі до нас, Ісусе, Сину Божий? прийшов Ти сюди передчасно мучити нас. А далеко від них паслося велике стадо свиней. І біси благали Його: якщо виженеш нас, то пошли нас у стадо свиней. І Він сказав їм: ідіть. І вони, вийшовши, пішли в стадо свиней. І ось, все стадо свиней кинулося з кручі в море і втопилось у воді. Пастухи ж побігли і, прийшовши у місто, розповіли про все, і про те, що було з біснуватими. І ось, все місто вийшло назустріч Ісусові; і, побачивши Його, просили, щоб Він відійшов за межі їхні. Тоді Він, увійшовши в човен, переплив назад і прибув до Свого міста.

Mastering our Thoughts

Every one of us has, on occasion, had times of prayer, worship, or meditation disrupted by unwanted thoughts. Having uncontrolled, dark thoughts disrupting and impeding one's spiritual growth seems to be a universal human problem. Even the early mystics who fled to the desert for solitude found that they could not escape the distraction of their own thoughts. So, if these thoughts have such a negative impact, what can be done? How do we deal with this all-too common phenomenon? By dealing with it I do not mean denying, suppressing or shutting down the thought process itself. That is a God-given and vital aspect of human existence. The problem is not the ability to think, but rather losing the ability to discipline and control our thoughts, which, in turn, opens the mind to a flood of unwanted, disruptive, and evil thoughts. The task, it seems to me, is to manage the gift of thought in keeping with its intended purpose.

In his Ladder of Divine Ascent" St. John Climacus offers a number of practical suggestions. We might be disappointed to find that he does not speak of "silver bullets" or cure-all remedies that produce instant and permanent improvements. Instead he suggests a number of practical strategies which, if applied faithfully, go a long way toward minimizing the darkening power of our own evil thoughts. When it comes to our own evil thoughts we need to…

1. Expect them. "Let us not be amazed if we are still assaulted following our confession…," (4) "Let it not be a surprise to you that stumble each day…" (5). The idea here is that dismissing the possibility of these controlling thoughts sets us up for failure. The moment you think you have achieved victory over some vice or passion the evil one attacks. Not expecting anything we don't keep watch, we don't even see the temptations approaching. So, we are caught by surprise and very easily led astray. However, if we not only allow for the possibility but actually expect our thoughts to betray us, we will keep our guard and seeing the temptations and evil thoughts approaching we have a better chance of fending them off. So, don't be surprised if you stumble. Instead, "never give up, but hold your ground with courage." (5)

2. Ignore them.  In Step 28 of the Ladder St. Climacus states that "When you are planning to stand before the Lord, let the clothing of your soul be knit with a thread that has become ignorant of evil, lest your prayer be of no avail." (28). This is one of the first lines of defense. Of course, "ignorance of," that is ignoring the intruding thoughts does not imply that we deny their existence, but rather that we do not legitimize them by engaging, by refusing to participate in the "dialog with evil" that I mentioned in the previous post.

3. Repel them. That passive approach does not always help. Sometimes these thoughts are so powerful that we cannot even allow them to be present in our hearts and minds. This goes beyond ignoring them and involves actively chasing them away. As St. John puts it, "Drive off, with this stick, the hound that keeps attacking, and no matter how many times he attempts, never give way to him. (28) This amounts to shouting an internal "no" to the temptations, to negative thoughts, to remembering evils done to us. More than just not engaging this is an intentional, determined rejection of the very idea/thought.

4. Run from them. Sometimes disruptive thoughts are so strong that we can't ignore or repel them. In that case St. John suggests running. He speaks of running away from the darkness and running towards the light, the sun of righteousness (26) "For it is one matter to keep away from a shadow, but it is much better to rush toward the sun of righteousness. Being in the dark is reason for stumbling. A stumble leads to a fall, and a fall to death." (26) In some situations running is, indeed, the only alternative—quite simply because we are not ready, not strong enough to face the challenge. This is not a sign of cowardice or a lack of faith. Nor does it constitute a victory for evil. It is, rather, a tactical retreat that gives us space and time to better prepare or, more likely, to recognize the futility of trying to engage such darkness.

5. Capture them. This is the most interesting and daring principle articulated by St. John. He writes, "shut off your thought within the words of your prayer" (28). What he appears to be suggesting is that we use the words of our own prayers to capture, subdue, and render harmless the thoughts that threaten to distract us. This makes a lot of sense since our prayers, if uttered in the context of communion with Christ, are indeed our most powerful words/thought. Consider, for example, the words of Elder Sophrony's "Prayer at Daybreak. "By the power of your blessing enable me at all times to speak and to act with a pure spirit to your glory;  with faith, hope and love, humility, patience, gentleness, peace, purity, simplicity, sobriety, courage and wisdom,"  If while praying these words, evil and dark thoughts come to mind, then allow the words of the prayer to capture those thoughts. Prideful ones enveloped by the humility we are praying for, impatient, aggressive, divisive, ones arrested by the patience, gentleness and peace we are requesting and receiving from our Lord. In other words, our own thoughts, being the very opposite of our prayer, are drawn in as living illustrations of what our prayer seeks to overcome and are thus deprived of legitimacy and power.

By Fr. Edward Rommen

Преподобний Іоанн, єпископ Готфський

Преподобний Іоанн, єпископ Готфський, жив у VIII столітті. Майбутній святитель походив із Тавроскіфії (в Криму), син благочестивих батьків Льва і Фотини. Іоанн з дитинства був присвячений на служіння Богу, тому що народився за старанною молитвою своїх батьків і з юності подвизався в чернецтві.

У 754 році православні в Готфії обрали Іоанна на єпископа. Але не відразу прийняв сан преподобний, а обійшов усі святі місця. Повернувшись, він вирушив у Грузію (Іверію), що збереглася від поширення іконоборчої єресі, де був хіротонізований.

780 року, за імператриці Ірини, послав Константинопольському патріарху Павлу сувій із викладом віри (виписки зі Старого і Нового Завітів про шанування ікон). Після видалення Павла (у серпні 784 року) з дозволу імператриці Ірини приходив до Константинополя у справах церковних, брав участь у Нікейському Соборі, який відновив іконошанування. Після повернення єпископ Іоанн знайшов, що хазари зайняли своїм гарнізоном Дорі, головне місто його єпархії. Іоанн переконав володаря Готфії вигнати хозар. Але каган хазарський знову оволодів цим місцем, багатьох стратив, а Іоанна віддав під варту. Вірні допомогли єпископу втекти за море, в Амастриду. Через чотири роки, почувши про смерть хазарського володаря, святитель сказав: "Через 40 днів я піду судитися з ним перед Христом Спасителем". Дійсно, через 40 днів, 26 червня святитель помер, це сталося в той час, коли він звертався з повчанням до народу, 790 року. З честю його проводжав "з фіміамами і свічками до самого корабля" Амастридський єпископ Георгій, і тіло його 29 липня доставили в Готфію, в монастир Парфеніт, що розташований у Криму біля підніжжя гори Аю-Даг, де колись жив святитель біля збудованого ним великого храму в ім'я святих апостолів Петра і Павла. Про це свідчить напис на камені, знайденому на південному березі Криму: "Цей всечесний і Божественний храм святих славних всехвальних і першоверховних апостолів Петра і Павла був побудований із заснування в давні часи іже у святих отцем нашим архієпископом міста і всієї Готфії Іоанном сповідником". Пам'ять святителя Іоанна святкується 19 травня/1 червня, а також 26 червня/9 липня.

Grace Unlimited

The word of the day is "only." Tribalism is found throughout human society. Humans favor their own group however they define it, and they distinguish themselves from other such groupings. Thus, it seems natural to believe that the scope of God's concern is limited to one's own circle. However, in Romans 3:28-4:3, we hear an important question, "Is He the God of the Jews only?" (Romans 3:29). Paul answers in Romans following today's read, proclaiming whoever calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). Today we reflect on Paul's reasoning that salvation must be by faith if it is to be offered to all. We will find that this thinking requires that the church and its members play a key role in the divine plan of salvation.

As we reflect on Paul's question of how whether God's deity is limited to the Jews, we might substitute the name of a nation, tribe, race, ethnic heritage, language, class, religion, family, gender, or just "people like us." Is God Almighty only the God of those who belong to, think like, relate to, or practice the ways of the cluster of people to which we belong?

To Think That God is Partial Insults God's Glory

St. John Chrysostom says that to think that God is partial to one group or another is an insult to God's glory. The preacher reminds us that God is One. If God is not One, then perhaps there are other gods, a deity for the Jews, a god of the Gentiles, a divine being for right-handed people, and a goddess of the left-handed, etc."

However, the oneness of God means His deity is "common to all" (NfPf1:11, 379). Chrysostom says,  "For He is not partial as the fables of the Gentiles are, but common to all, and One" (NFPf1:11, 379). That premise is the foundation of Paul's claim of the Gentile mission. The logic is that "If He is of all, then He takes care of all; and if He cares for all, then He saves all alike by faith" (NfPf1:11, 379).

Three Assumptions That Underlie Paul's Logic

Three assumptions underlie this logic. First, God is consistent in his justice. If God is One over all, then the treatment He shows to one group, He must show to all other like associations. Therefore, since He cares for the Jews, He must care for non-Jews as well.

Second, God cares by saving those who would otherwise be condemned. But if God saves the Jews, then justice requires that He save the non-Jews, the Gentiles.

Third, the Mosaic law applies to the people whom Moses led out of Egypt. It is not universal. Paul's opponents confirm this when they insist that circumcision and bondage to the law is necessary for salvation. Jesus said, "Salvation is from the Jews" (OSB John 4:22). But "from" refers to its origin, not its application. How can salvation apply to the non-Jews? Paul's answer is faith. Keeping the law is impossible even for those to whom it was given. Faith is possible for all people.

Faith Is the Universal Basis for the Distribution of Grace

If faith is a universal trait, it follows that it is the basis on which God can distribute His grace. Respecting human freedom, the Almighty can offer salvation to all who hear the Gospel and believe in His Son. This gift of grace does not nullify the law. The Gospel proclaims that Christ has fulfilled it. In this way, the righteousness of the law is confirmed, while that same righteousness is given to all by faith in Christ.

So then, on what basis will the One God judge all people? It cannot be based on the knowledge, ways, standing, or actions of one group or another—even of the Jews. For again, whatever the qualifications would be, they would be partial to that group. No, St. Paul argues, the one standard of God's judgment must be faith apart from works that demand conformity to some particular set of expectations (Romans 3:28). Faith in the Crucified and Risen Christ is available to all without limitation since He died and rose again for all (2 Cor. 5:14-15).

For Reflection

In Paul's view, salvation based on faith is to be offered to all. Quoting from Joel 2:32, he writes, "For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (OSB Romans 10:13). However, this proclamation depends on one necessary action that must involve us. No one seeks salvation from someone unless they believe in Him. And no one puts their trust in something or someone unknown. Therefore, if salvation is to be offered to all without distinction (Romans 10:12), the Gospel must be preached to all people without difference. Only when they hear the Good News can people believe it and put their faith in Christ.

Without a Preacher They Cannot Hear and Believe

Therefore, Paul writes of the urgency of preaching throughout the world: "How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (OSB Romans 10:15).

The Almighty has so designed the plan of the world's salvation that it depends on us, the Church. Our hearing and believing the Gospel is not complete until we participate in the sending (OSB Romans 10:15) of preachers, teachers, and witnesses to the message of salvation.

Very Rev. Archpriest Basil Ross Aden

Please Welcome Newly Baptized

Please welcome newly baptized Addison Grace Scannell, and congratulate her parents Dr. Patrick and Camille, Godparents Meghan Lepkowski and Anthony Pennacchia. Many blessed years! May God bless you all!

View PDF Schedule

Our Ukrainian Day Festival scheduled for
Saturday, July 15th from 11am - 7pm is growing near!

Dear St. John's Family,

Below are a few reminders to make our Festival a success:

PRE-FESTIVAL WORK SESSIONS are published in the bulletin. Kitchen sessions are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  Tent and Memorial Center setups are scheduled for Wednesday starting at 5:30 pm.  Bake Sale prep is scheduled for Friday at 3pm. WE NEED YOUR HELP!

BAKE SALE: Please make and bake your fabulous "Specialties" for our bake sale. Please drop off Friday (best - kitchen doors will be open) or Saturday by 9am.  Thank you bakers!!

BASKETS RAFFLE:  Please create your wonderful baskets for this year's Ukrainian Day Festival.  Please drop off wrapped baskets by Wednesday, July 12th. Thanks so much for all you do!

THE SIGN-UP BOARD is waiting for you to "fill in the blanks" and spend the day working, laughing, praying and enjoying each other as "One Parish Family".  Please volunteer… try something new…honor your times… have fun!

SELL YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS: A great way to raise money and get your friends, family and neighbors to attend our Festival!  Please turn in your tickets, both sold and unsold,  no later than Saturday by 11am to the Raffle Booth / Baskets Raffle area.

PLEASE DONATE to offset our expenses.  This message is for all who are out of town, unable to volunteer, as well as for those who give 110% to our Festival and Church!  We can always use your kind and generous donations!

PLEASE RETURN any borrowed tables, chairs and kitchen trays/supplies by Tuesday, July 11th. Thank you!

May God Bless you all and pray for great weather!

Miranda Klish
Chairperson's

Let's Help Ukraine!

St. John's Ukrainian Humanitarian Fund is accepting donations to help Ukrainians during war. Donations will go to provide food and other humanitarian needs.

To make donation online click here

We accept checks as well.

Please make the checks to St. John Ukrainian Humanitarian Fund

Mailing address:

1 Saint John's Parkway
Johnson City NY 13790
 

Cash is accepted in church

Pray for Ukraine!

Prayers for Ukraine are done during each service. To see the schedule click here.

Молитви за Україну проводяться під час кожної служби. За розкладом дивіться тут.

May God bless and protect Ukraine!

Happy Birthday

• July 10: Ivanna Burdyliak
• July 13: Julia Ferrante

* If your or someone else's birthday is missing or incorrect please let Fr. Ivan know right away.

Please Pray for the Servants of God

Rose, Marlyn, Bob, Nadine,
John, Olga, Jane, Lesia, Zenna,
Melanie, Helen, William, Marion,
Mariann, Jean, Brian, Pipinos,
Peter, William, Kristi, Fr. James

Upcoming Readings

Mon. July 10 – Rom. 16:17-24 ; Mt. 13:10-23;
Tue. July 11 – 1 Cor. 1:1–9; Mt. 13:24-30;
Wed. July 12 – 2 Cor. 11:21–12:9; Mt. 16:13-19;
Thu. July 13 – 1 Cor. 3:18-23 ; Mt. 13:36-43;
Fri. July 14 – 1 Cor. 4:5-8 ; Mt. 13:44-54;
Sat. July 15 – Rom. 9:1-5; Mt. 9:18-26;