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ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE
ARCHDIOCESE OF
THYATEIRA & GREAT BRITAIN

BULLETIN OF SPIRITUAL EDIFICATION
5TH SUNDAY OF LUKE

4th November 2012

Plagal of the 1st Mode. No. 1256

4 2012
. .. . 1256

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RESURRECTION APOLYTIKION
et us believers praise and let us
worship the Word, who like the
Father and the Spirit is without
beginning, born from a Virgin for our
Salvation; for he was well pleased to
ascend the Cross in the flesh and
undergo death, and to raise those who
had died, by his glorious Resurrection.

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EPISTLE READING

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rethren, see what large letters I

use as I write to you with my own
hand!Those who want to impress
people by means of the flesh are trying
to compel you to be circumcised. The
only reason they do this is to avoid
being persecuted for the cross of Christ.
Not even those who are circumcised
keep the law, yet they want you to be
circumcised that they may boast about
your circumcision in the flesh. May I
never boast except in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, through which the
world has been crucified to me, and I to
the world. Neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision means anything; what
counts is the new creation. Peace and
mercy to all who follow this ruleto
the Israel of God. From now on, let no
one cause me trouble, for I bear on my
body the marks of Jesus. The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with your
spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

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Gal. 6:11-18

"The highest point of philosophy is to be both wise and simple; this is the angelic life"
(St John Chrysostom)

GOSPEL READING

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he Lord told this parable: There

was a rich man who was clothed in
purple and fine linen and who feasted
sumptuously every day. While there
was a poor man named Lazarus, who
lay at his gate covered with sores, and
who longed to satisfy his hunger with
the scraps that fell from the rich mans
table; even the dogs would come and
lick his sores. It came to pass that the
poor man died and was carried away by
the angels to Abrahams bosom. The
rich man also died and was buried. In
Hades, where he was being tormented,
he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham
far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. And
he called out and said, Father
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in
water and cool my tongue; for I am in
agony in these flames. But Abraham
said, Child, remember that during your
lifetime you received your good things,
and Lazarus likewise evil; but now he is
comforted here, while you are in agony.
Besides all this, between us and you a
great chasm has been fixed, so that
those who want to pass from here to
you cannot, and no one can cross from
there to us. He said, Then I beg you,
father, to send him to my fathers
housefor I have five brothers that
he may warn them, so that they may
not also come into this place of
torment. Abraham said to him, They
have Moses and the prophets; let them
listen to them. But he said, No, father
Abraham; but if someone goes to them
from the dead, they will repent. He
said to him, If they do not listen to
Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded even if someone
were to rise from the dead.

(. 19-31)

(Luke 16:19-31)

"The grace of God comes swiftly to the soul when endurance is no longer possible."
(St Dorotheos of Gaza)


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SERMON ON THE GOSPEL READING

Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, and let not the powerful man boast in his power, and let
not the wealthy man boast in his wealth, but let him who boasts boast in this: to understand and
know the Lord and to execute justice and righteousness in the midst of the earth. (Song of Anna)
he whole of Scripture is a
story
of
faith
and
faithlessness, of trust in God and
failure to trust in God, of
honouring a nuptial bond with God
and dishonouring it. Again and
again we are reminded of the
wisdom of trusting in God and the
folly of trusting in princes, military
might, human inventiveness,
wealth or anything else. This story
is ever recapitulated in own lives
as we find, lose and recover faith.
The Pharisees famously
made public confession of trust in God but in practice set their hope in worldly riches and
honours. In todays Gospel reading Jesus responds to their taunts by telling the parable of
poor Lazarus (whose name means God is my help) and the rich man. In spite of his
outward destitution and adversity, Lazarus, as his name implies, maintains an implicit trust
in God, an inner unity, peace and plenitude that is not threatened even by death. In
contrast, the rich man, whose desire is scattered among countless objects of pleasure, loses
everything at death and is left tortured in a burning void.
Alone, cut of from his fellows who rest in the bosom of Abraham and burned up by
desire that now has no object, the rich man calls out to Abraham, the father of his people,
for Gods help even now to be sent to him to ease his suffering. The answer he receives
underlines the chasm separating the man whose will is in the Lord and the man whose
path is with those who stray from God. Recognizing that nothing now can be done to
alleviate his plight, the rich man suggests that a spectacular miracle of resurrection will
convince his brothers of their mistaken way of life and bring them back to God. Abraham,
however, replies that his brothers already have the voice of Moses and of the Prophets to
guide them. And, as Jesus taught, the whole of the Law and the Prophets hang on two
commandments: to love God and ones neighbour. If they do not turn inwards to listen to
these commandments in their hearts, no number of outward signs will help them. They will
continue to be as insensitive to the claims of God and the needs of others as the rich man
himself had been.
The parable underlines that it is not the miracle of the Resurrection that brings us
to trust in God, but rather it through our trust in God and through listening attentively and
inwardly to the words of Scripture and through living a life founded on that trust that we
come to believe profoundly in the Resurrection. In the Resurrection we are given a life
restored and fulfilled in God that is untouched by death and that enables us to open a
forgiving and loving embrace to all others, those we know and those we do not know.

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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