Dear all.
Gospel reading
- Yesterday’s gospel reading of the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16 – 21) is a timely reminder as to what is really important in this world. The message is simple but its implications are profound and the message is this: we, who love things and accumulations cannot love God. Possessions are a manifestation of our pride. They tell the world who we are and that we have in fact arrived in this world and indeed we are of this world.
- This rich fool must have relied upon hired workers for the abundance of his harvest, who exchanged their labour for a few pennies a day. He would have been a difficult taskmaster for the more wages he gave the less benefit he would have had from the exertion of his workers. He would pay them the least so could be left with the most. In this way there becomes a great divide between those that work and those that they work for. Capital, in extracting as much as it can from labour, thus paints life as “us” and “them.” In this way, like the rich fool, we focus upon our need “to get some” without regard to our fellow human being and their needs.
- Each and every one of us determines the significance and purpose of our lives. In so doing we give our life value and purpose. But take note the purpose that we are giving our life in this world means that we are taking our soul down the same path and giving it an identical value. Do not for one moment think that that you can dive into the mire of the passions and expect your soul to be unsullied and free from blemish or spot.
- A life devoted to things is a life thrown away. A life full of things has meaning only to those that covet them – and it has only transient meaning at that. Things do not get you into paradise. The things that get us into paradise are those things that are rich to God – and what are those things? They are doing the work of God in the name of the triune God. They are recognising God in our neighbour and because we love God our neighbour becomes the most important person to us. It is about caring and loving the other. In that way when our time comes God will not say to us : “you fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”
Around our parish
- The program for this week is as follows: Wednesday: feast day of the great martyr Catherine (matins from 7:30 AM); Saturday, 28th, divine liturgy in English from 9 AM to 10:15 AM;
- Catechetical Zoom class tonight from 6:30 PM.
- On Tuesday on six EBA FM from 5 to 6 PM I present “the Hour of Orthodoxy “. The focus will be on the coming Sunday’s epistle and gospel. On Thursday from 1:30 PM to 3 PM the divine liturgy recorded on Saturday (English) will be replayed and for 4:30 PM to 6 PM the divine liturgy recorded on Sunday (Greek) will be replayed.
- Zoom class on Thursday, at 7 PM. THE BOOK OF REVELATION CONTINUED.
- The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia – District of Perth – will be amalgamating all parish emails in Perth to establish a WA Archdiocese Email Database. This will allow the Archdiocese District of Perth and His Grace Bishop Elpidios of Kyaneon to be able to communicate with the faithful in Perth. Please inform me if you do not want to be included on the Archdiocese District of Perth Email Database. We will, of course, continue our distribution as normal.
- The program for the feast day of St Nicholas in Bunbury is as follows: Vespers 6 PM (fifth December); Hierarchical Matins and Divine Liturgy (sixth of December) for further details see me.
- On Thursday the 17th December 3 PM in the seminar room at the Archdiocese office there will be live streaming of the open day for St Andrew theological College. Anyone interested in pursuing studies at our college should attend.
Thought of the week
Which of us does not seek to arrange his life as best suits them to secure their material needs? Do we not all consider plans concerning our physical well-being without any thought to our spiritual needs? Finding God has a place in our lives but we have plenty of time to engage with Him later in our life. The problem is that we continue to find things that capture our attention so we focus on those things and then we die. In this way we fail our souls for not seeking the only thing that is needful from this world namely the kingdom of heaven.
Till next time.
In Christ.
Father John Athanasiou 0411 061 554
