Uniting Together in Giving Thanks to God
It has become the practice in America for many Orthodox Christians to gather in their temples for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on Thanksgiving Day. As we gather together with friends and family, sharing in the traditional turkey dinner, we remember that this great country has set aside Thanksgiving Day, not as a day to overeat, but as a day when we come together as family.
The central service in the Orthodox Church is the Divine Liturgy, and since the word liturgy means the “work of the people”, the centrality of this service is all the more important, for it involves us all in a most intimate way. The people of God, who make up the Body of Christ, come together to celebrate the Eucharist, and receive the very Body and Blood of our Saviour. This very Christ condescended to take on our flesh, and condescends, again, to unite Himself to His creation in each celebration of the Divine Liturgy.
The word Eucharist comes from the Greek by way of Latin, and it means “thanksgiving”, and is, by its very nature, a meal of unity. We leave our isolated lives and come together around the table of the Lord. We are mystically joining in the Heavenly Banquet that is ongoing in Heaven, and celebrated in the heavenly realm. This celebration of the Divine Liturgy is not an isolated event, but a Meal of Unity.
We Orthodox, perhaps more than most, understand the profound importance of the unity of coming together as one, as we set aside, if even for a day, our lives that have been set apart. We come together to celebrate this work of the people, giving thanks to the Lord for yet another year of blessings.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Thursday November 24, 2022 / November 11, 2022
24th Week after Pentecost. Tone six.
Martyr Menas of Egypt (304).
Martyrs Victor at Damascus (160) and Stephanida (Stephanis) of Spain (161).
Martyr Vincent of Spain (304).
Venerable Theodore the Confessor, abbot of the Studion (826).
Repose of Blessed Maximus of Moscow Fool-for-Christ (1434).
New Hieromartyr Eugene priest (1937).
Venerable Martyrius, abbot of Zelenets (1603).
Great-martyr Stephen-Urosh III of Dechani, Serbia (1331) (Serbia).
St. Martin the Merciful, bishop of Tours (397).
Appearance of the Myrrh-Streaming Icon of the Iveron Mother of God in Montreal.
St. Militsa, princess of Serbia (1405) (Serbia).
Blessed Euthymius and Nestor of Dechani (14th c.) (Serbia).
St. Neophytus and St. Uroshitsa of Serbia (14th c.) (Serbia).
Martyrs of Zelenetsk: hegumen Victor with brotherhood (1927).
Martyr Drakonas of Arauraka in Armenia (4th c.).
St. Nicodemus the Younger of Beroea in Macedonia (1305).
Synaxis of the Saints of Dechani.
St. Bartholomew the Younger, of Rossano, Calabria (1054).
The Scripture Readings
1 Thessalonians 5:1-8
The Day of the Lord
5 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do,but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
Luke 13:1-9
Repent or Perish
13 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
6 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ 8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”