Just a Bit More

We live in a busy society. Our day never seems to stop from the moment we wake until the time in which we finally lie down to sleep, normally MUCH later than we would hope. We live in a multi-task society in which we are expected to always be thinking about work and how we are going to accomplish the next task on our agenda. We live in a society in which if we dare to spend a few moments to reflect upon the “greater things of life” we are considered lazy. When rest does come at the end of the day, you are finally able to reflect upon the joys of life. Just then, you get a call: “Get up, go back to work, you have more to do before you can sit down!”

I wonder if that might have been the reaction of the Disciples when Jesus came to them that fateful day and said, “Put out into the deep and let your nets down.” (Luke 5.4) They must have been very frustrated since they had, like so many of us, worked all night long and needed a moment of rest. And Jesus knew their frustration when He blessed their efforts with a catch larger than they expected. Their willingness to “go just a bit more” was honored by God.
Many times, just when we think that we can’t possibly do one more thing, the Church calls out and challenges us to go just a bit more. We are asked to fast when we struggle just to put food on our table. We are asked to come to special Church services when we struggle just to get to Church on Sunday morning. We are asked to read the Bible when we struggle just to find a few moments to catch up on the important news of our world. And the Church wants us to “go just a bit more?”
The blessing of a great catch was possible only when the Disciples were willing to “go just a bit more,” and the blessing God has in mind for us are only “just a bit more” away, but we will never know those blessings until we embrace God’s invitation. Today I invite you to launch out into the deep waters of faith and consider how much more you can offer God and His Church.
There has been much talk about stewardship over the years, speaking about offering our time, talents, and treasure to the Church for God’s work to be done. I am truly grateful to those who support the work of our Cathedral, both financially and through the many hours of volunteering. In the past few years we have seen an increase in volunteers, an increase in participation, an increase in Church attendance, and even an increase in the different types of ministries that are offered at our Cathedral, all of which we should be proud.
But there is more work to be done. There is always more work to be done. There are more “fish to catch” within the nets of the Church. There are more souls to inspire to follow Christ. There are more lives to be changed by God’s saving grace. The only thing left is for us to respond to God, and together, like the disciples did, offer a bit more for God’s glory.

+Fr. Athanasios C. Haros

Dear St. Nicholas Cathedral Family, 

Last week we spoke about the Orthodox Church Architecture explaining the architectural concept of “domed basilicas,” and the Church building having three main parts: the Narthex, the Nave, and the Holy Altar. Within Orthodox Churches you will see beautiful iconography, and those icons’ purpose is liturgical; it is an integral part of liturgical space (the church) and an indispensable participant in divine services. Hieromonk Gabriel Bunge writes, “Its theological place is primarily the liturgy in which the message of the Word is complemented by the message of the icon.” Outside of Liturgy we can hang icons up at home, but because our homes should be a continuation of the church, icons in our home and day-to-day life act as a continuation of the liturgy.
An icon’s home is primarily the Church, and just as our homes are the area that we primarily reside, there is an area or “home” for each Saint or event depicted to reside. To help us see the “map” of each Icon’s “home,” will begin to look at the Orthodox Church’s Iconography from the building top and then on down.
At the top of our dome is an Icon that is usually where the icon “Pantokrator” (see north side stained glass window of Christ) is supposed to be. In our Cathedral instead is an icon of God the Father that also portrays the trinity. One step, or layer, lower we see the icons of the Old Testament Prophets. On the four corners of the dome, acting as it’s foundation, as you will always see in Orthodox Churches, the Four Evangelists who wrote the gospel accounts.
In the Nave, or around the Church is where you begin seeing variations in iconography, depending on which parish you are in. In our Cathedral we have Icons of the Saints and of events in Christs life. For example, one church has the creation story in Genesis all the way to Christs Resurrection within their iconography around the church. At St Nicholas, the story of Christ is depicted at the top of the altar wall, from left to right. Most Iconography in Churches have a direction or flow that people can follow along with, as it is meant to tell a story. Its a beautiful Tradition of our Church that is now left to us to witness its beauty and to tell its story.
There once was a priest, during a Church Tour at his Greek Festival, who shared that there is another level to our Orthodox iconography; since icons are images of God’s people, we too, in a way, are an Icon. We hear in Genesis that we are made in the image and likeness of God. We complete the Liturgical function and are an integral part of the Liturgy’s function as I explained above. So today we will go into more detail of the Icons we see in our Church and please have more questions ready for us the following weeks!

With Love in the Lord,

+Fr. Sampson N. Kasapakis

Memorials

8:15AM Divine Liturgy (Greek)
Grigoris Kalampogias | 40 Days
Spiros Trikoris | 40 Days
Themielina Koulianos | 1 Year
Michael (Michalis) Fountotos | 7 Years
Ioannis Zarionias | 10 Years
Aggeliki Tsantes | 13 Years
Elias Tsantes | 77 Years

11:00AM Divine Liturgy (English)
Michael Sakelson | 40 Days