& .

ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE
ARCHDIOCESE OF
THYATEIRA & GREAT BRITAIN

BULLETIN OF SPIRITUAL EDIFICATION
8th SUNDAY OF MATTHEW
18 August 2013
Grave Mode.
Mode No. 1297

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18 2013
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EPISTLE READING

( . 10-17)

(1 Cor. 1: 10-17)

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ow I appeal to you, brothers and

sisters, by the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that all of you be in
agreement and that there be no
divisions among you, but that you be
united in the same mind and the same
purpose. For it has been reported to me
by Chloes people that there are
quarrels among you, my brothers and
sisters. What I mean is that each of you
says, I belong to Paul, or I belong to
Apollos, or I belong to Cephas, or I
belong to
to Christ. Has Christ been
divided? Was Paul crucified for you? I
thank God that I baptized none of you
except Cruspus and Gaius, so that no
one can say that you were baptized in
my name. (I did baptize also the
household of Stephanas; beyond that, I
do not
not know whether I baptized anyone
else.) For Christ did not send me to
baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and
not with eloquent wisdom, so that the
cross of Christ might not be emptied of
its power.

Are you poor? You know someone who is even

poorer Do not shrink from giving the little you have;
do not prefer your own benefit to remedying the
common distress. (St Basil the Great)

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RESURRECTION APOLYTIKION
ou abolished death by your Cross,
you opened Paradise to the Thief,
you transformed the MyrrhMyrrh-bearers;
lament, and ordered your Apostles to
proclaim that you had risen, O Christ
God, granting the world your great
mercy.

The demon of avarice fights hard against those who have nothing. When it fails to overcome them, it
begins to tell them about the wretched conditions of the poor, thereby inducing those in the religious life to
become concerned once more with material things (St John of the Ladder).

GOSPEL READING

(. 14-22)

(Matt. 14: 14-22)

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t that time, Jesus saw a great

crowd; and he had compassion
for them and cured their sick. When it
was evening, the disciples came to him
and said, This is a deserted place, and
the hour is now late; send the
the crowds
away so that they may go into the
villages and buy food for themselves.
Jesus said to them, They need not go
away; you give them something to eat.
They replied, We have nothing here
but five loaves and two fish. And he
said, Bring them here to me. Then he
ordered the crowds to sit down on the
grass. Taking the five loaves and the
two fish, he looked up to heaven, and
blessed and broke the loaves, and gave
them to the disciples, and the disciples
gave them to the crowds. And all ate
and were filled; and they took up what
was left over of the broken pieces,
twelve baskets full. And those who ate
were about five thousand men, besides
women and children. Immediately he
made the disciples get into the boat and
go on ahead to the other side, while he
dismissed the crowds.

The man who thinks nothing of goods has freed himself

from quarrels and disputes. (St John of the Ladder)

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(. 6, 51).
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SERMON ON THE GOSPEL READING

You give them something to eat.
hrist expects us all to be involved in miracles. The passage shows most clearly in
this regard the start of the Apostolic ministry of the Eucharist, the disciples as the
apostles give out the meal, they then gather up the remains, and it is only really
really then
that they realise the extent of Christs miracle. The Bishops primarily fulfil this
function for us in the Orthodox Church. However the disciples would have given the
food to families who would have further broken it up and shared it amongst
themselves.
themselves.
Most miracles are quiet and go unnoticed, it will probably only be revealed to
us in the next life, the extent that we have been involved with them in this life. All the
miraculous meals in the Bible start with the blessing of the food. Asking God to bless
ourselves and bless our food brings in His spiritual life into our lives.
By giving hospitality to strangers people throughout the centuries have
entertained Angels without realising it (Hebrews 13:2). Even giving a cup of water can
start a miracle
miracle (Matthew 10:42). Rather than wait for a miraculous sign we are called to
go on with life with faith. The Centurion knew that by the time he got back home his
servant would have been healed (Matthew 9: 13).
Miracles are real, they arent just things that
that happen to other people. Over 5000
people were involved in the one in this story, our participation in the Eucharist
continues this miracle and increases the number of participants exponentially. Most of
us are unprepared for miracles, we find that they have
have happened rather than anticipate
them, or realise that they are going on around us. This is not a sin; even Christ was not
expecting one of his miracles to happen (the healing of the woman with the issue of
blood).
This reminds us of our great need for
for thanksgiving when they have happened,
the increase of our faith that they have happened in the past and can happen in the
future. The message of this passage though remains that God wants us to be involved.
There is no miracle in the Bible without a
human
human being involved. It is not the sole
preserve of Bishops or Priests to do miracles,
they will be unaware of most of the miracles
that they have been involved in. We know from
other accounts that it was a little boy who gave
his food for this miracle to occur,
occur, youre never
too young to be involved in a miracle and we
know from Abraham and Sarah that youre
never too old to be involved in a miracle either.

KONTAKION OF THE DORMITION

Nor tomb nor death overpowered the Mother
of God, unsleeping in her prayers,
prayers, unfailing
hope in intercession; for as Mother of Life she
has been taken over into life by him who dwelt
in her everever-virgin womb.
Archdiocese of Thyateira & Great Britain, 5 Craven Hill, London W2 3EN
Tel.: 020 7723 4787. Fax: 020 7224 9301. E-mail: mail@thyateira.org.uk. Website: www.thyateira.org.uk

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