THE SUNDAY MESSENGER
January 12, 2025

Seventh Day of the Octave of Theophany

The Most Excellent Calling

So what does this mean to us today? On the eighth day, the Lord was given the name Jesus, meaning “Savior,” and through baptism, our Savior has named us as his own. The priest prays over each person being baptized:

Fill your servant with your heavenly gifts and give (him/her) the joy of being named a Christian, the most excellent calling.

When we are named and baptized, we are offered to Jesus – to belong to him, to be adopted into his Church through which we are saved, healed, and forgiven. This is the meaning of the Feast of the Naming of the Lord, the eighth and last day of Theophany. When we celebrate the baptism of Christ, we celebrate our own. Through baptism, we have been adopted and belong to him. In Christ we are given a new identity, new being – we are a new creation.

How is this new identity and being lived out? What makes us different than others who are not baptized and named to belong to God? When we are isolated, alone, and afraid we turn to Jesus for comfort and strength rather than counterfeit fixes. When things look bleak in the world, we still experience peace because we know who has overcome the world (John 16:33). When we experience suffering, we identify with the suffering of Christ and allow it to draw us closer to our Healer. In times of prosperity and poverty, we pray because we always, in all circumstances depend on God for his love, and as “new creatures,” we are compelled to commune with our Creator. When we feel marginalized and unsure of where we fit, we know to what family we belong, we know to Whom we belong, we know for Whom we are born, and we know by Whom we are named.

But we fall and often don’t live up to the vows made at our baptism. St. Cyril of Alexandria explains the spiritual sense of circumcision as cutting away sin and purifying our hearts, living a holy life unto the Lord:

Circumcision is the symbol of the faithful when they are established in grace, as they cut away and mortify the tumultuous rising of carnal pleasures and passions by the sharp surgery of faith and by ascetic labors. They do this not by cutting the body but by purifying the heart. They do this by being circumcised in the spirit and not in the letter.

Christians are not meant to live in isolation, but to hold each other up in faith, to keep each other accountable to fulfill our baptismal vows. After all, we are adopted into the same family through baptism, all of us named “Christian.” An infant may not be conscious of his or her adoption into the family of God, but the pledge made at one’s baptism is made by the Church, the community who brings the child to the font and believes on behalf of the child and promises to raise him or her in the Faith in accordance to what is prayed and promised in the baptism service.

Are we living up to the name we have been given at baptism – “Christian?” Do we know what it really means to be an adopted child of God? Do we understand and weigh the cost of this most excellent calling, the demand to be a member of God’s family? Do we as baptized believers and members of the Body of Christ, as a collective community, lovingly help each other cut away what doesn’t belong in the life of another Christian, performing the sharp surgery of faith? Are we afraid to undergo this kind of surgery, or are we desperate enough to admit we require it or else we are lost and propelling toward spiritual death?

May Jesus our Savior keep us on the path of salvation as we, together as the Church, live our one baptism in Christ, singing the words of the hymn for the eighth day of Theophany,

The Savior appeared and brought the world back to life from the deception of the enemy, granting us adoption through baptism.

By Dn. Eric Vozzy

TODAY’S BIBLE READINGS 

Romans 1:1-7 (page 137) New Testament

This passage introduces Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God. This gospel, the good news, concerns Jesus Christ, who was declared to be the Son of God with power by his resurrection from the dead.

Paul emphasizes that this gospel was promised through the prophets in the Holy Scriptures and is about God’s Son, who descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God with power by his resurrection from the dead.

He concludes by addressing the recipients of the letter, “to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints,” expressing his grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 2:1-7 (page 53) New Testament – (Please follow the Armenian reading in your Bible)

This passage describes the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

• Roman Census: Emperor Augustus ordered a census of the Roman Empire.
• Journey to Bethlehem: Joseph, Mary’s betrothed (fiancé), traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, his ancestral hometown, to register for the census.
• Jesus’ Birth: While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to her firstborn son, Jesus.

This journey to Bethlehem fulfilled ancient prophecy that the Messiah would be born in the “city of David.”

The Kiss Of Peace – After the gifts of the Eucharist are brought to the Altar Table, the deacon proclaims, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.”  The person giving the greeting says, Kristos ee mech mer Haydnetsav – Christ is revealed amongst us.  The recipient would respond, Orhnial eh Haydnootiunun Kristosee – Blessed is the revelation of Christ.

The Nicene Creed/ Havadamk (Page 18 in New Divine Liturgy Book) – This is the Profession of our Faith which is recited every Sunday moments after the Gospel is read from the altar. Sometimes it is sung, but more often it is recited by the Deacons and/or the Choir.  We invite you to affirm your own “Profession of Faith” by reciting along with us.  God longs for all of us to express our faith and devotion to Him.

Did you know that when we participate in Soorp Badarak (Divine Liturgy), we are also being invited to a meal (communion) offered by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?  As such, we should dress in a manner worthy of that invitation.  We ask our faithful to dress appropriately for worship.  Please, no very short dresses, shorts or bare shoulders. Thank you

Using the Pew Book – In order to enrich understanding of the Divine Liturgy, we encourage our faithful to follow along in the large two-part Pew Book. Part One includes the classical Armenian used in the Liturgy; the facing page is the translation in modern Western Armenian. Part Two contains the transliteration of the classical Armenian; the right-hand page has the English translation. This Pew Book includes the prayers of the celebrant usually offered inaudibly. The prayers offered aloud are indicated in boldface type.

Fake Emails – We wanted to let everyone know that someone is spoofing Der Hakob on email.  The email will say it is coming from him, but if you look at the email address, it will be from some fake address that is not his.

So please be careful and make sure you read and RE READ any emails from him to make sure it is really him.

If you’re ever in doubt, please DO NOT reply to the email, but rather call the church office to confirm.  As we all know, our beloved pastor will always call you if he ever needs something, no matter how serious it could be.

Pastor’s ZOOM Bible Study Returns on January 15^th – Fr. Hakob’s popular Bible study on the Gospel of John resumes with a look at chapter 9.  We encourage our faithful to establish a New Year’s resolution to attend one (or more) of these studies held every Wednesday evening at 7:00. Learning more about Scripture and the unique story told by the Evangelist John may enrich your life! Send an email to nancybasmajian@verizon.net to receive the link.

Zoom Book Club Returns on January 16^th – We are pleased to announce that the Holy Trinity Zoom Book Club has chosen “The Lost Ticket” by Freya Sampson as its first pick of the new year. An uplifting novel about lost love, the kindness of strangers and how life experience brings people together. Suzanne Sherenian will be our guide. If you are not a regular, simply send an email to nancybasmajian@verizon.net to receive the Zoom link.

Scheduled for February 16, 2025 with alternate snow dates of February 23 or March 9.

Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), the charitable arm of our Eastern Diocese, works in partnership with our parish to run impactful and transparent programs that empower Armenians. To better understand the needs of our community and gauge public awareness of FAR’s initiatives, they are conducting a brief survey. We encourage you to take five minutes to share your thoughts and help FAR advance its mission via the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FARSurvey24

Your feedback is important to us as we strive to create and promote programs that reflect our organization’s pillars and ultimately empower our friends and family in Armenia. The survey should take about 5 minutes. Please answer as many questions as you can. For more information about FAR, please visit our website at www.farusa.org

Thank you for participating in the FAR Community Survey – Your input will help us shape our future.

Armenian Sisters Academy – The best way to learn about ASA is to experience it for yourself! Visit our campus to see how our deep appreciation for the Armenian language and culture empowers our students, promotes self-respect, and prepares future role models. All visitors must have a scheduled appointment and may not freely enter the building without prior notice. To schedule your private tour contact Legna Santerian at Lsanterian@asaphila.org or (610) 687-4100.

Seeking Part-time Organists – the Choir of Holy Trinity continues to seek multiple talented musicians who would be seriously interested in playing the organ for the Sunday morning Divine Liturgy (Badarak) on a rotating schedule. Organ lessons will be provided to the interested candidates, along with one-on-one direction from a senior choir person.  For further information, contact Karinne Andonian at karinne.hov@gmail.com.

~~~~~~~~~~TODAY’S EVENTS~~~~~~~~~~

Water Blessing Service
Jan 15        Weekly Bible Study Resumes
Jan 16        Zoom Book Club Resumes
Jan 19        Day of Remembrance
Jan 26        Church School Spring Semester Begins
Feb 16         Annual Parish Assembly
Mar 02        Poon Paregentan Party