The Greek Orthodox Church
of St. Demetrios
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Good Evening, to You, the Parish
Family & Friends of
The Greek Orthodox Church of
St. Demetrios!
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9th Sunday of Matthew: Lord, Save Me!
By the Very Rev. Archimandrite Panteleimon Manoussakis, Ph. D.
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Today's Gospel passage continues the narrative of St. Matthew's Gospel from where we left off last Sunday. After the miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves, the evangelist is about to record another wondrous event, only this time, the miracle is restricted within the close circle of the Lord's disciples. With this miracle, Christ reveals the miracle by which miracles are made, that is, the miracle of faith.
In the opening of this passage, on the one hand, the Lord is alone praying in the stillness and the quietness of the mountain, while, on the other hand, there is the storm in the middle of the sea to which the disciples are caught.
The sea, especially a stormy sea, was always in the ancient literature an image, a symbol of the uncertainty of life, of a life lived tossed about by the cares of the world. So the sea, one time calm, another stromy, becomes a symbol of life's vicissitudes. In stark contrast, the solitude of the mountain represents a life devoted to contemplation, a life withdrawn from the cares of the world and dedicated to prayer.
The surprising element in today's Gospel is that the Lord, once has removed Himself from the multitudes and withdrawn to the mountain, does not remain there but returns-where?-precisely in the midst of the storm. The Lord descends once more into the middle of the worldly life, the middle of world's noisiness and commotion in order to affirm them. The retreat to a life of contemplation cannot and should not despise the world - and the recluse must learn to come down from the mountain of his spiritual existence in order to meet again with care his own cares and those of others. "Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear" (Mt 14:25-26).
Notice that His appearance was not comforting to the disciples, rather it added more fear to the fear they were already experiencing, being at risk to be drowned into the sea. Similarly, God's interventions in our lives might not feel as comfortable as we may expect. We may even have difficulty recognizing this or that turn of events as His work, as the disciples could not recognize Him but thought He was a ghost.
Peter, though, said" "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water" (Mt. 14:28). This is the moment of the miracle and it is motivated, as you see, not from a desire to perform or to observe the extraordinary and the supernatural but from the desire to meet the Lord. Peter's request should become our prayer at moments of anxiety and fear like those the disciples experienced in today's Gospel.
So Peter is able to do what is for him impossible, that is, to walk on water. "And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Mt. 14:29-31). Even though he was able to do the impossible, Peter started sinking into the water. Why? The answer lies at the "when". At the moment when Peter withdrew his eyes from the Lord and started paying attention to the wind-marvelling perhaps that he was able to do what he was doing, the sea becomes, again, the sea and Peter is sinking. This cannot be happening, Peter is thinking, and indeed, as soon as he thinks that, that is, as soon as he doubts that it could happen, then it is not happening any more. For doubt is the opposite of faith.
We hear today's Gospel and, like Peter, we doubt: how could such things really happen? They cannot happen if we do not believe that they could happen, and so this vicious circle of doubt comes full circle to its logical conclusion: nothing wonderful (quite literally, full of wonder) happens-because we have no eyes for what is wonderful. But for him who has eyes for the wonderful nothing is without it: that Peter walked on the water is nothing any more wonderful than his boat could stay afloat. Peter sinks at the moment he starts paying attention to himself, to what he is doing as if it was him doing it. That is why the evangelist quite poignantly adds that "immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him." Learn by this whose doing this was. So, even when we succeed in something in our agitated lives, we are doomed to fail as soon as we take it to be our own work and our own achievement, as soon as we take the credit for it. Rather, we should, like "those who were in the boat, [come] and worship Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God" (Mt. 14:33).
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Epistle Reading (8/9/2020): 1 Corinthians 3:9-17
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Gospel Reading (8/9/2020): The Gospel According to
Matthew 14:22-34
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St. Demetrios Parish
Information & Updates
This Week at St. Demetrios...
Κυριακή, 9 Αυγούστου / Sunday, August 9th
Κυριακή Θ΄ Ματθαίου
Όρθρος, 8π.μ. & Θεία Λειτουργία, 9:30π.μ.
9th Sunday of Matthew
Orthros, 8a.m. & Divine Liturgy, 9:30a.m.
Δευτέρα, 10 Αυγούστου / Monday, August 10th
Ακολουθία Μικρού Παρακλητικού Κανόνος, 6μ.μ.
Small Paraklesis, 6p.m.
Τρίτη, 11 Αυγούστου / Tuesday, August 11th
Ακολουθία Μεγάλου Παρακλητικού Κανόνος, 6μ.μ.
Great Paraklesis, 6p.m.
Τετάρτη, 12 Αυγούστου / Wednesday, August 12th
Ιερόν Ευχέλαιον και Ακολουθία Μικρού Παρακλητικού Κανόνος, 6μ.μ.
Sacrament of Holy Unction and Small Paraklesis, 6p.m
Πέμπτη, 13 Αυγούστου / Thursday, August 13th
Ακολουθία Μεγάλου Παρακλητικού Κανόνος, 6μ.μ.
Great Paraklesis, 6p.m.
Παρασκευή, 14 Αυγούστου / Friday, August 14th
Προεόρτια Κοιμήσεως της Θεοτόκου
Όρθρος, 8π.μ. & Θεία Λειτουργία, 9:00π.μ.
Forefeast of the Falling Asleep of the Theotokos
Orthros, 8a.m. & Divine Liturgy, 9:00a.m.
Σάββατο 15 Αυγούστου / Saturday, August 15th
Η Κοίμησις της Θεοτόκου / Falling Asleep of the Theotokos
Όρθρος, 7π.μ. / Orthros, 7a.m.
ΠΡΩΤΗ Θεία Λειτουργία, 8:30 π.μ. / FIRST Divine Liturgy, 8:30a.m.
ΔΕΥΤΕΡΗ Θεία Λειτουργία, 11:00 π.μ. / SECOND Divine Liturgy, 11:00a.m.
Κυριακή, 16 Aυγούστου / Sunday, August 16th
Κυριακή I΄ Ματθαίου / 10th Sunday of Matthew
Όρθρος, 7π.μ. / Orthros, 7a.m.
ΠΡΩΤΗ Θεία Λειτουργία, 8:30 π.μ. / FIRST Divine Liturgy, 8:30a.m.
ΔΕΥΤΕΡΗ Θεία Λειτουργία, 11:00 π.μ. / SECOND Divine Liturgy, 11:00a.m.
The services will continue to be LIVE-STREAMED on our:
1. Our Church Website (Live-Stream Feed)
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Dear Faithful of St. Demetrios,
We pray you are all well. We are happy and very thankful to have received such a positive response to Campaign 84. Your love and continued support keeps us all connected.
The effects of Covid-19 greatly hampered our parish, closing the Church for 84 days during our busiest and most festive period of the year. We need your help. On the wings of prayer and faith, we humbly implore you to join us in giving at least $84 more per family.
For those who have already made their 2020 Stewardship Contribution or if you just want to make a donation, you may do so online or by sending your donation to the Church Office. If you have not given your stewardship yet, please consider at least an additional $84 when making your 2020 contribution.
Our concern has always been how to minister to you during this difficult time. In addition, we are anxious about meeting the obligations of our Church. Yet, our trust and faith in God and you, our stewards, continue to answer every prayer and ease our anxiety through your response. Thank you for your loyal support.
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"THE ORTHODOX STORE"
THANK YOU to those who have donated to this ministry
of compassion & love.
Click on the link provided for information on how you can help. Just outside the Church Office door are 3 bins in which your donations can be dropped off.
Donation drop-off during
Church Office hours,
Monday-Friday,
9a.m. - 4p.m.
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Parish Registry as of August 9th:
Baptisms 19 Chrismations 2
Weddings 1 Funerals 25
Shut-Ins 20
Hospital & Home Visitations 427
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2020 Stewardship of The Greek Orthodox Church
of St. Demetrios
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Stewardship as of Friday, August 7th - 475
OR
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PYTHAGORAS GREEK SCHOOL ENROLLMENT
Enrollment has begun for 2020-2021. We are excited to have all our students back!
Read more
www.st-demetrios.org
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PCA Has Gone Above and Beyond for Our Children!
The nerves and anxiety of leading into distance learning in March were quickly eased by the PCA staff as we walked away with material the day school closed. Every staff member was very well prepared and sent daily emails with detailed lessons including all subject areas. They even went as far as to sign our children up for free websites that offered extended learning and read alouds to our kids.
Their simple kind words and smiling faces on weekly Zooms made all of us feel comfortable and confident as we became teachers from home. The first time we Zoomed as a class, tears ran down our face from the comfort we felt watching our children interact with their beloved teachers that they missed so much!
The extra one-on-one learning was the defining moment when we knew PCA had gone above and beyond for our children! We will forever have respect, love, and admiration for this staff and will ALWAYS speak of PCA in the highest regards!
- The Kourouklis Family
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Pythagoras
Children's
Academy
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2nd Annual
Metropolis of Chicago
Golf Outing
With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael, we are excited to announce the 2nd Annual Metropolis of Chicago Golf Outing. This event will prove to be a great way for ourselves and our people to get together in fellowship, while helping to benefit the work of the Chicago Metropolis. Here are the primary details:
- When: Tuesday, August 25
- Where: Arrowhead Golf Club, 26W151 Butterfield Road, Wheaton, IL 60189
- When: 11am Registration; 12pm Shotgun start; 4-6pm Dinner & Raffle
- Who: Up to 80 (maximum) clergy & faithful of the Chicago Metropolis
- Details: $150/person; Checks payable to Metropolis of Chicago, 555 E. Butterfield Road, Suite 201, Lombard, IL 60148
- Questions: 847-888-2822 x. 111
- COVID19 Details: We will follow the guidelines of Arrowhead GC, which are compliant with CDC and IDPH guidelines
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Metropolis of Chicago Philoptochos
Virtual Fundraiser
Saturday, September 19th
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Inaugural Servant Leadership Awards
The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago has rescheduled its Inaugural Servant Leadership Awards to be held on Friday, May 14, 2021 as a virtual event (more details to be announced). The evening is dedicated to recognizing laypersons from throughout the Metropolis who have demonstrated exceptional and innovative servant leadership in the Church and whose service has made a difference in the lives of others. During the event, His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael will bestow the Metropolis Cross on these exemplary servant leaders in recognition of their efforts.
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Your Church Office of The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Demetrios
Elmhurst, IL
630.924.7010
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The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Demetrios - Elmhurst, IL
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