ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE

ARCHDIOCESE OF
THYATEIRA & GREAT BRITAIN

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BULLETIN OF SPIRITUAL EDIFICATION
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14 2013

. . 1279

4th SUNDAY OF LENT (St John Climacus)

14th April 2013
th
4 Mode. No. 1279

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. 13-20

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EPISTLE READING
Heb. 6:13-20

rethren, when God made a promise to Abraham, because he had no one greater by
whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, I will surely bless you and multiply
you. And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. Human beings,
of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation
puts an end to all dispute. In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly
to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it
by an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God
would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the
hope set before us. We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that
enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has
entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

. 17-31

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GOSPEL READING
Mark 9:17-31

t that time, a man approached Jesus and said, Teacher, I have brought you my
son, who has a spirit that cannot speak. And whenever it seizes him, it dashes him
down; and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and goes rigid; and I asked your
disciples to cast it out, but they could not. He answered him, You faithless generation,
how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you?
Bring him to me. And they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw Jesus,
immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming
at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, How long has this been happening to him? And
he said, From childhood. It has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him;
but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us. Jesus said to him, If you
are able to believe, all things can be done for the person who believes. Immediately the
father of the child cried out with tears, I believe, Lord; help my unbelief! When Jesus
saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it,
You spirit that cannot speak or hear, I command you, come out of him, and never enter
him again! After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was
like a corpse, so that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and raised
him up, and he stood up. When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him
privately, Why could we not cast it out? He said to them, This kind cannot come out
except through prayer and fasting. They went
on from there and passed through Galilee. He
did not want anyone to know it; for he was
teaching his disciples, saying to them, The Son
of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and
they will kill him, and after being killed, he will
rise again on the third day.

APOLYTIKION OF ST JOHN CLIMACUS

ith the streams of your tears you
cultivated the barren desert, and with
deep sighings from the heart you made your toils
bring forth fruit a hundredfold, and you became a
beacon, shining in all the world by your wonders,
our venerable Father John; intercede with Christ
God that our souls may be saved.



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SERMON ON THE GOSPEL READING

ne way of approaching the Gospel is to see it as our Lords victorious
confrontation with the ruler of this world, and todays reading describes one of
the miracles in which He overthrows the power of demons. Let us think how we can
apply this story to ourselves, as we enter the fifth week of the Fast. The demon in this
story has a dramatic impact on the life of the boy, which is apparent to everyone. The
Devil seems to set about his work among most of us in a less obvious and more subtle
way. But work he does: every day. We realise this once we examine our own thoughts
and actions. How do we overcome these things? Our Lord gives us a clear answer: such
can be cast out only by prayer and fasting.
Lets think first about fasting. This is one of the great joys of the Church. If we
keep the fasts, then we are helped to live our whole life in a different way: each week of
the year reflects the Life of Christ; the year as a whole is imbued with life in the
Kingdom of God, as we prepare for and celebrate the great feasts of the Lord and the
Theotokos; above all in this Great Fast we make our annual journey to Golgotha and the
tomb filled not with the dead, but with life and light. So the planning and preparation
of our lenten meals serve to remind us of this great journey in which we all take part.
Fasting, then, helps us to reflect on the eternal truths of the Gospel. But theres a more
down-to-earth character to fasting, which is often pointed out by the Church Fathers. If
the body is constantly sated, the person becomes more prone to carnal thoughts: a
body tempered by the fasts is more readily attuned to the demands of love.
In the case of fasting the rules are clear and the practice not too exacting. What
about prayer? Many of us find it really hard. In these final weeks of the Fast we have
the gift of many beautiful services; these can help us break through our doubts and
uncertainties. One of the prayers said by the priest during the reading of the Six Psalms
in Matins has the words: Grant us grace in the opening of our lips, and accept our
thanksgivings as we have power to make them. For we know not how to pray as we ought unless
you, O Lord, by your Holy Spirit guide us. Perhaps we strain too hard to do things by
ourselves instead of depending on the Holy Spirit. Our prayers always start with the
invocation to the Holy Spirit, our Heavenly King, to come and take up his abode within
us. Do we allow ourselves to trust him, to have faith?
This leads to the theme that underlies the whole of todays periscope: faith. The
father of the boy possessed by demons asks our Lord to help us if you are able, to
which our Lord replies all things are possible for him who believes. This elicits the
response: Lord I believe, help Thou my unbelief. This prayer of the desperate father is
one we too can use at moments of listlessness, coldness or half-heartedness. Let us say
it today as we hear the great prophecy of our Lord about the suffering, death and third
day resurrection of the Son of Man. May God grant us wholehearted love of Christ as we
accompany Him during the last days before His Arrest, Trial and Condemnation.

If a man commits a sin before you at the hour of his death, pass no judgement, because the
judgement of God is hidden from men. It has happened that men have sinned greatly in the open but
have done greater good deeds in secret, so that those who would disparage them have been fooled... So
listen to me, all you accountants of other people's faults, listen well; for if, as is certain, it is true that
"you shall be judged with the judgement you have used yourselves" (Matt.7:2), then whatever sin of
body or spirit that we ascribe to our neighbour we will surely fall into ourselves. (St John Climacus)
ArchdioceseofThyateira&GreatBritain,5CravenHill,LondonW23EN
Tel.:02077234787.Fax:02072249301.Email:mail@thyateira.org.uk.Website:www.thyateira.org.uk

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