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St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church

Monthly Messenger 2439 S. Long Lake Rd, Fenton MI. 48430. 810 -750-1401

November, 2014 www.st-marymagdalene.org

The Obedience of the 10 Lepers

Volume 13, Number 11

PARISH ANNOUNCEMENTS

A Sermon by Fr. Paul Jannakos

Go and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were

cleansed.
If the gospels are clear about one thing, it is about the need for obedience. The
ten Lepers were cleansed, yes. Only one of them came back to give thanks, yes. But,
this entire narrative is predicated upon the fact that the ten were cleansed because they
were obedient to the call of Christ. And we are going to focus on this aspect of the
story this morning because the virtue of obedience, which is one of the great
hallmarks of the Christian life, is a virtue which is tends to be misunderstood by the
majority of us ordinary Americans.
We Americans, after all, love our freedom. We love our independence. We
love the fact that, in contrast to many other cultures, we are not bound to the kinds of
social restraints that would prevent us from living autonomously, that is, from being
able to do what we want, when we want, and how we want. We love the fact that the
secular society in which we live has exalted self-will to the status of being the highest
value and good. Isnt this what makes the American way of life what it is? The
opportunity to determine for ourselves the kind of persons we want to become and
the kind of good life we hope to attain? So, can any of us here today, myself included,
really, truly, honestly, imagine ourselves living life any other way? Yet this is where we
get into trouble with the notion of obedience, because obedience appears, quite
blatantly, to run upstream from the downstream of ideals and principles that define us
as an American people.
Even so, it is helpful to return to the definition that Mr. Webster gives
about obedience. In his dictionary he speaks of obedience by saying that it is The act
of obeying, or of being in compliance with that which is required by authority. So
here we see, in the most basic sense, that obedience means being under someones
authority. Soldiers are under the authority of their commanding officers. Sailors sail
under the authority of their Captain. Athletes compete under the authority of their
coaches. Musicians in an orchestra play under the authority of their conductor. And as
denizens of the United States, we live our lives under the authority of its law. We are
obedient to its tax laws, traffic laws, and to the laws that inhibit us from causing harm
to others. We live our lives in obedience to these conventional laws, most of the time,
without even questioning their rightful authority, because we know that without them

Our St. Mary Magdalene Church

will hold its Annual Meeting on
Sunday, November 16th
following the Divine Liturgy.
Reports from the parish
ministries will be given along
with an update on our St. Mary
Magdalene Strategic Plan.

Thanksgiving Dinner

On Sunday, October, 9th

following the Divine Liturgy, our
parish will hold our annual
Thanksgiving Banquet. Please
bring your favorite Thanksgiving
side dish or dessert!

Obedience

Parish Life Photo Album

everything would fall into chaos. So the point here is that the kind of autonomy we
think we have as Americans, is not really as autonomous as it appears. We are a lot
more obedient than we think. On my way to Church this morning I was obedient to
the red light on the corner of Torrey and South Long Lake roads even though there
wasnt a car to be seen for miles.
This leads us to the virtue of obedience as characterized by the gospels,
and which we saw employed in the behavior of the 10 lepers. Here we learn that
obedience is part and parcel to the mystery of salvation. But what is really interesting
is how different our notion of obedience is in the Church from that of the obedience
we have just described in the civil and social sense. And this is for one reason:
because nowhere in the gospels, and within the life of the Church, is any one ever
compelled to be obedient. Nowhere do we ever find the words, you must do this
and you must do that. Think about it, just for a moment. This free country in
which we live compels us to follow its laws; failing to do so leads to all kinds of
unpleasant consequences, to fines, and jails, and probation, and the like. Break these
rules and your freedom becomes progressively diminished.
But within the Church, obedience has a much softer feel, only because no
one is constrained to do anything they have not freely accepted to do. Jesus wants us
to surrender our fallen, selfish, sinful wills to Him. But He does so by invitation and
not by force. And He does so because love and obedience are related to each other
from the beginning. Here we arrive at the crux of the matter, because as the Son of
God Himself, Christ loves His Father by doing His Fathers will. Jesus is obedient to
His Fathers bidding, and He does so because His love is perfect and unending. As
the letter to the Hebrews states, [And] although he was a Son, he learned
obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source
of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after
the order of Melchiz'edek. Unlike the old Adam Who failed in his love on account
of his disobedience, the New Adam is perfectly obedient to His Father and is, for
this reason, vindicated and glorified at His Fathers right hand.
Simply put, being obedient to Christ means giving up our fallen, selfish,
sinful wills in favor of Gods will whose will for us is always for good. At first, this is
an incredibly painful thing to do, because it means doing the things we dont feel
like doing. It means surrendering ourselves to our daily prayer even though we may
not be in the mood for prayer. It means participating faithfully in the liturgical life
of the Church even though we may not feel like going to Church. It means
confessing our sins in the sacrament of confession even though everything inside of
us is screaming that we can do it later, at a more convenient time. It means giving
ourselves up to the Christmas fast even though we are surrounded by all of the
holiday goodies that tempt us to forsake the virtue of fasting whose beginning is
obedience to the discipline of the fast. Obedience is really, when it comes down to it,
the way we cut off our selfish, willful compulsions by giving ourselves up to the little
things that all add up to a life of faith. And here I will add my own suggestion,
which is that it is ok for us to acknowledge the fact that quite often we might not
feel like doing what we know deep down is Gods will for us to do, be it liturgizing,
confessing, fasting or praying. For by acknowledging it we are simply confessing to
ourselves and to the Lord that this is how we are at this moment. And we do this
because we can then counter these feelings and thoughts and moods with the words
so what? Yes, Im not in the mood. But so what, Ill do it anyway. And Ill do it
because I know and believe in my deepest heart of hearts that by doing it God will
bring about something good in the end. Go and show yourselves to the priests,
and as they went, they were cleansed.
This is what obedience looks like within the life of the Church. We cut off
our own self-will in favor of Gods will because we know that apart from this, we
cannot truly love God.

Fr. Paul and his dad, Protodeacon Nicholas

Jannakos serving on Sunday October 5th.
What a blessing for Fr. Paul!

Special thanks to Mr. Michael Onderchanin

who has dedicated many many hours in the
Annex working on its renovation.

Praying for our sick:

Archimandrite Roman (Braga)
Fr. Deacon Basil Frenchek
Dr. Dan Sak
Larry Shipley
Andrew Marko
Richard Ziats
Sue Walton
Dennis Perez
Helen Phillips
Marcella Moorman
Josephine Baker
Mike Centala (Terri Oginskys husband)
Anna Branoff
Elaine Gejoff
Kosta Papathanisiou
Helen Soroka (Maria Saks mother).
Anton Petrenko (son of Larissa Lesho)
Elizabeth Barrows (Ruth Karabinas
mother)
Doug Lyon
James Lyon ( brother of Melissa Auxier)
Violette Griffin
Anastasia Karabinas
Lynn Larson (Andy Markos friend).
Helen Sak (Dr. Dan Saks mother).
Autumn Smith, (Jeanette Hildreths
friend.
Our prayers and consolations are
extended to Mrs. Terry Oginsky and her
family upon the death of her mother,
Mrs. Margaret Steep on Monday,
October 28th. May her memory be
eternal!

Do Christians Have a
Political Responsibility?

+Father John Meyendorff, Witness to the World, pp 99-100 & 101-2

In a democratic society---an apolitical stance is
impossible. Even abstention from voting invites a condonement of
the status quo, which is itself a political attitude. On the other
hand, the Christian faith, which announces the coming of an eternal
Kingdom of God, also implies that the disciples of Jesus are sent
into the world to transform and transfigure it. The real danger for
Christians lies not in political activity, as such, but in a loss of their
Christian identity.
All Christians must realize their responsibility in shaping
events---at least by voting. One of the greatest fallacies which is
held by many is that it is possible to abstain from politics and thus
remain immune to a process which is, of necessity, ambiguous and
frequently dirty. In fact, abstention means a passive, unconscious
and irresponsible support to whomever is or will be ---in
power. Very often the wrong people came to power at the wrong
time because of the majoritys indifference.
In the past, the Church has lent unconditional and
uncritical support to emperors, tsars, or other powers-that-be simply
because they were considered as having been appointed by God
Himself to exercise leadership. Indeed, St Paul himself teaches us
that power comes from God in as much as it encourages us to do
what is good (Rom 13:1-3). We will not discuss here whether in
the past Christian states and theocracies were faithful or not to
their Christian commitment, but we should all agree that they do
not exist anymore, and that in our modern secular societies, the
people themselves---not God---are responsible for the way in which
government is run. Only we, as faithful Christians, acknowledge
our responsibility before God, not only for ourselves and for our
salvation, but also for the world as a whole.
One of the greatest mistakes one can make in either taking
part in political process or in abstaining from it is to believe that all
political choices are choices between the absolute Good and the
absolute Evil. In fact, such absolute choices exist only in the
spiritual realm, where Evil is called sin and God Himself is
identified with absolute Goodness. Politics rarely involve such
radical dichotomies. When we vote for a candidate we do not vote
for or against God, but for a person who, in our opinion, will do
better (or not as bad) as another. When we support a program, we
do not equate that program with absolute Justice, for we do not
believe that absolute Justice is a man-made accessible and realizable
ideal. Rather, as responsible Christians, we must have opinions
about what is better or worse for people, for society, for our
country. If we do not as least try to have an opinion, we sin by
irresponsible self-centeredness. Of course, very often the choices
offered to us are very ambiguous, but we always must try to choose,
if not that which is truly good, at least that which appears to us as
a lesser evil.
As Christians, we may also have different opinions on
many issues, while remaining united in faith in One Church. But
we have no right to be selfish and indifferent.

We pray for those in the Armed Forces:

Jacob Yonan Airman 1st Class Air Force
Matthew Beck First Lieutenant Air Force
Stephanie Bishop US Navy
Robert Faulkner Private First Class US Marines
Michael Oginsky Major US Marines
Jason Wilburn Corporal Army Rangers
Patrick Tejkl - US Marines

Greeters&for&September&
November(2,(David(and(Cindy(Welch((
November(9,(Steve(and(Sue(Walton((
November(16,(Pat(Smith(and(Margaret(Shipley((
November(23,(Mike(and(Irene(Onderchanin(((
November(30,(Scott(and(Tina(Shephard(
Epistle&Readers&for&September&
November(2nd((Elaine(Gejoff(&(Ruth(Karabinas(
November(9th(:(Janet(Frick(&(Andrew(Durand(
November(16th(:(Paul(Hildreth(&(Elaine(Gejoff(
November(23rd(:(Richard(Ziats(&(Janet(Frick(
November(30th(:(Ruth(Karabinas(&(John(Auxier(
Fellowship&Volunteers&for&September&
November(2,(Jeremy(and(Taylor(Blohm((
November(16,(Brian(and(Tamara(Arnes((
November(23,(Scott(and(Tina(Shephard(
November(30,(Andrew(and(Meghan(Durand(
((

NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS

Zachary Wilkinson
Gregory Auxier
Paul Hildreth
Thomas John Yonan
Brian Walton
Susan Walton
Dr. Janet Frick
Justin Auxier
Pam Grubaugh
Renea Becklehamer
Matthew Kilbourne
Julia Auxier

October(11th,(Wedding(of(Mr.(&(Mrs.(John(&(Brianna(Walton(

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NOVEMBER ANNIVERSARIES

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Hinshaw 28

St. Mary Magdalene Annual

Thanksgiving Dinner

Roast Pork & Turkey

Sunday, November 9th following the Divine Liturgy
Bring your favorite Thanksgiving Side Dish or Dessert!
Cost: Free will offering

ST. MARY MAGDALENE ORTHODOX CHURCH NOVEMBER 2014

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

30

FAST DAY
Holy Apostle Andrew
the First-Called
Adult Ed. 9:00 am
Ch. School, 9;00am
Divine Liturgy, 10 am
Coffee Hour, 11:30

SATURDAY
1
Unmercenaries and
Wonderworkers Cosmas
and Damian
2 Cor. 1:8-11. 2:9-14
Luke 8:16-21
NO VESPERS

Venerable Joannicius
the Great
Col. 1:1-2, 7-11
Luke 11:34-41

FAST DAY
Martyrs Galacteon and
his wife Episteme
Col. 1:18-23
Luke 11:42-46

10 Apostles of the 70:

11

12

Adult Ed. 9:00am

Ch. School 9:00am.
Div. Liturgy 10:00am
THANKSGIVING
BANQUET, 11:30AM.

Erastus, Olympas,
Herodion, Sosipater,
Quartus & Tertius
Col. 2:13-20
Luke 12:13-15, 22-31
Community Bible
Study, 7:00pm.

Martyrs Menas, Victor,

Vincent & Stephanida
Col. 2:20-3:3
Luke 12:42-48

16

17

FAST DAY
St. Gregory the
Wonderworker
1 Thess. 1:1-5
Luke 14:12-15

18

Community Bible
Study, 7:00pm.

1 Thess. 1:6-10
Luke 14:25-35

1 Thess. 2:1-8
Luke 15:1-10

24

FAST DAY
Greatmartyr Catherine

25

FAST DAY
Hieromartyr Clement,
Pope of Rome

26

FAST DAY
Ven. Alypius the Stylite

1 Thess. 2:20-3:8
Luke 17:20-25

1 Thess. 3:9-13
Luke 17:26-37

1 Thess. 4:1-12
Luke 18:15-17, 26-30

th

20 Sunday
after Pentecost
Adult Ed. 9:00 am
Ch. School 9:00am.
Divine Liturgy, 10 am
Coffee Hour, 11:30am

st

21 Sunday
after Pentecost

FAST DAY
Holy Apostle and
Evangelist Matthew
Adult Ed. 9:00 am
Divine Liturgy, 10 am
Ch. School 9:00am.
Parish Annual
Meeting, - 11:30 am .

23

FAST DAY
rd
23 Sunday after
Pentecost
Adult Ed. 9:00 am
Ch. School 9:00am.
Div. Liturgy, 10:00 am
Coffee Hour, 11:30

Martyrs Acepsimus,
Joseph and Aithalas
Phil. 4:10-23
Luke 11:29-33

FAST DAY
33 Holy Amartyrs of
Melitene
Col. 2:1-7
Luke 12:2-12
Eve. Div. Liturgy for
St. Michael the
Archangel, 6:30pm.

13 St. John

14

15

Chrysostom,
Archbishop of
Constantinople
Col. 4:2-9
Luke 13:1-9

FAST DAY
Holy Apostle Philip
Col. 4:10-18
Luke 13:31-35

Martyrs Gurias, Samonas

and Abibus of Edessa

20

21

St. Paul the Confessor,

Patriarch of Constantinople
Col. 1:24-29
Luke 11:47-12:1

Community Bible
Study, 7:00pm.

FAST DAY
Martyrs Platon and
Roman

FAST DAY
St. John the Merciful
Col. 3:17-4:1
Luke 12:48-59

19

FAST DAY
Prophet Obadial

Synaxis of the
Archangel Michael

Great Vespers 6:00pm

at St. George n in
Southfield.
(Archbishop
th
Nathaniels 30
Anniversary).
FAST DAY
Nativity Fast begins

Great Vespers, 5 pm,

followed by
Confessions

FAST DAY
Entry of the Most
Holy Theotokos into
the Temple

22

Divine Liturgy,
10:00am.
Heb. 9:1-7
Luke 10:38-42;11:27-28

Great Vespers, 5 pm,

followed by
Confessions

27

FAST DAY
Great Martyr Jacob
(James) of Persia

28

29

1 Thess. 5:1-8
Luke 18:31-34

1 Thess. 5:9-13, 24-28

Luke 19:12-28

Great Vespers, 5 pm,

followed by
Confessions

THANKSGIVING

Forefeast of the Entry

Ven. Gregory Decapolites

1 Thess. 2:9-14
Luke 16:1-9

FAST DAY
Monk Martyr Stephen

FAST DAY

Apostles of the 70;

Philemon, Archippus and
Martyr Apphia

FAST DAY
Martyr Paramon and his
Companions