SAINT JOSEPH THE
BETROTHED
Melkite-Greek
Catholic CHURCH
725 W. Mt. Hope Ave,
Lansing, MI 48910
517-575-6264
FMailing Address: 921 Westover Circle, Lansing, MI 48917E
Rev. Father James
K. Graham, Pastor frjamie@earthlink.net
Rev. Protodeacon
Joseph Daratony 248-719-5169
Phone or
email Fr James with items for the bulletin by Thursday night.
Troparion of the
Holy Great-Martyr Panteleimon the Physician (Tone 3)
Holy and victorious Panteleimon the Healer,
intercede with our merciful God that He may grant
us the remission of our sins.
27 July 2014—7th
Sunday after Pentecost. Holy Great-Martyr
Panteleimon the Unmercenary Physician. (Tone 6)
Readings Apostolos: 2 Timothy 2:1-10 Gospel: Matthew 9:27-35
10:30 am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom
for the health and salvation of Michel Skouri, Samira El-Chaer, Awatef Chahine, Raymond
Rashid, Ann Rashid, Bonita Saba, Griffin Barna, Jim Covello, David Georges,
Elias Atallah, Ralph Farhat, Robert Kuri, Nick Nakfoor, Pam Nakfoor, Isaac
Salim, Iva Butler, Wayne Gowdy, Kelsey Andrews, Elaine & Eva-Genevieve Scarborough,
Michael Maslowski, Clay Thomas, Michael Harmuth, Elias Haggar, Dn. Joe
Daratony, Fr John Leonard, Fr Joseph Haggar, Fr James Babcock; in memory of Issa Dahoud (1-year Memorial), Louis Zarka (Deeb Mekhayel), and John Rashid (Naemi Badawi)..
2 August 2014—Great Vespers, 5 pm.
3 August 2014—8th
Sunday after Pentecost. Holy Fathers
Isaac, Dalmatus & Faustus. (Tone 7)
Readings Apostolos: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 Gospel:
Matthew 14:14-22
10:30 am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in
memory of Louis Zarka (Bill &
Evelyn Sass), John Rashid (Mr
& Mrs Edward Zarka), and Diane
Siegfried (Fr James).
Troparia and Kontakion for Today
1.
Troparion of the Resurrection, in Tone 6, Liturgikon, page 191.
2.
Troparion of the Holy Great-Martyr
Panteleimon, in Tone 3.
3.
Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
4.
Kontakion of the Theotokos in Tone 2, page 31.
Our Offerings to the Lord
The collection taken in the Liturgy is part of our
worship. We offer the Lord our lives,
our prayers, our gifts of bread and wine, and our financial gifts. Last Sunday, about 80 people attended the
Liturgy. Our offering totalled $1496 in
the ordinary collection, $25 for the bookstore, $10 in donations, and $20 for liturgy
offerings.
Ladies Society’s Michigan Princess Cruise This Afternoon
The Ladies Society has arranged a dinner cruise on the
Michigan Princess this
afternoon. Boarding at 1:30 pm for all
those with reservations. Caravan to the
dock leaves the church at 1 pm.
Vision Committee Meeting Tuesday Night, 29
July
St Joseph’s
Vision Committee will meet in the parish hall on Tuesday 29 July at 7 pm to
review and discuss a draft of a Vision Statement for the parish.
Your Church Needs You: Run For a Seat on the Parish Council
Nominations are now open for four seats on the Parish Pastoral Council that
must be filled to replace members whose terms have expired. Any registered and supporting parishioner
over the age of 21 may serve on the Council.
The election will take place on Sunday 24 August, and new members will
be seated at the September Council meeting.
Dalida Raad and Edward Eid are the nominating committee. If you wish to run, please inform either Ed
or Dalida. You may also nominate
someone, as long as he or she agrees.
Nominations will be accepted until the Council meeting on 13 August.
Educational Programs Planned for 6 August
and 15 August
St Joseph’s
Church School invites students and parents to the Divine Liturgy, an
educational program, and lunch on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
(Wednesday 6 August) and the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (Friday 15
August). Each day’s program will begin
at 10 am and will conclude after lunch.
Contact Esperance Hourani for more details.
UN Official Calls Israeli Military Actions
in Gaza Possible War Crimes
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated this week that Israel’s military
tactics in Gaza amount to war crimes. In
international law, Israel’s pretext for indiscriminate bombing– that Hamas
hides out among non-combatants– is unacceptable. Israel is the occupying power in Gaza and has
a duty to minimize non-combatant death, which it clearly is not doing (some 75
percent of Palestinians killed in this round of fighting have been children,
women and non-combatant men. More than 147
children, but only a couple of dozen Hamas fighters have been killed, and thousands
of non-combatants have been wounded by indiscriminate shelling and air strikes.)
Iraqi Archbishops Plead for End to Destructiom
In an appeal to the international community, the
Archbishops of Mosul in Iraq on 22 July asked for more outside help for
minorities in Iraq: “We, the Archbishops of Mosul, coming from all the
denominations gathered in Erbil/Ankawah, headed by His Beatitude Patriarch
Raphael Louis I Sako, are shocked, in pain, and worried about what happened to
the innocent Christians of Mosul because of their religion. It is a crime against humanity, as the UN
Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon said, and ‘a shameful stain that should not
be tolerated’ as the Secretary General of the Arab League Mr. Nabil Alaraby
called it. It’s a crime in and of itself
– a blatant persecution that we condemn and denounce.” The bishops are demanding that the national
government provide protection for Christians and other minorities, financial support
for displaced families that lost everything, and a list of all the damage done
so that compensation can be given out. They
also said: “We call on all people of conscience in Iraq and the world to put
pressure on the militants to stop the destruction of churches and monasteries
and the burning of manuscripts and relics from our Christian heritage, which
are also a priceless Iraqi and global heritage”
St
Matthew’s Gospel Presents Jesus as the Promised Messiah
St Matthew’s Gospel (1:1-17)
emphasizes the genealogy of Christ as a descendant of David. But in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke,
Jesus denies that He is the son of David.
For example, Matthew 22:41-46 reads:
“Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this
question: ‘What do you think of the
Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.; He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by
the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, “The
Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under
your feet’”? If David thus calls him
Lord, how can he be his son?’ No one was
able to answer him.”
Mark 12:34-37 tells us: “While
Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, ‘How can the scribes say that the
Messiah is the son of David? David
himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my
right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.’” David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be
his son?’ And the large crowd was
listening to him with delight.”
According to Luke 20: 41-44,
“Then he said to them, ‘How can they say that the Messiah is David’s son? For David himself says in the book of Psalms, “The
Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your
footstool.’” David thus calls him Lord;
so how can he be his son?’”
It seems that these three
Evangelists hoped to convert the Jews to Christianity and to persuade them not
to wait for another Messiah because the one they were waiting for had indeed
come. The fact is that Jesus is God’s Word
and his mother conceived Him by the Holy Spirit, so His ancestry cannot go back
to David.
The Jews expected the Messiah
to be their worldly king. The
Evangelists and the Apostles realized that and presented Jesus as a king, but
not an earthly one. John 18:36 says, “Jesus
answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my
followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’”
The Jewish understanding of
Jesus differs completely from the Christian one. Although Jesus proclaimed that He is the
Messiah they are waiting for, they didn’t believe that and still do not believe
it.
The woman at the well said to Jesus,
“I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). When he comes, he will proclaim all things to
us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is
speaking to you” (John 4:25-26).
