The Great Feast of Pentecost St. Thomas Orthodox Church
PO Box 1042 Sioux City, IA 51102-1042
A parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America There is a common and disturbing theme which runs through most of the commentary surrounding the current sadness, anger, and frustration which we are experiencing in this country. That common theme is to point a finger and to blame everyone else. The police are at fault. The looters are at fault. The Republicans are at fault. The Democrats are at fault, etc, etc. The real truth is that I am at fault. What is necessary is for each of us to search ourselves, in the deepest parts of our hearts and souls, and to confront the baggage that lives there. And once we find that baggage, it is necessary for us to make a sincere and urgent decision to change the way we think, speak, and behave. And this must be done with the recognition that we strive to imitate our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ in all that we do, say, and think. Make no mistake! If we pursue this journey into our own hearts, we will find things that are ugly, and probably frightening. But the first step of true change is to find, and take ownership of the problem. And we cannot do this alone. We need God to drive away these things from our hearts, and to bring true healing to each of us. We need to approach Him with extreme humility, preferably on our knees, and ask for forgiveness. The miracle of His love for us is that He will immediately embrace and forgive us, as the father embraced and forgave the Prodigal Son. But this will only happen if we are sincere in our desire to change. Let us stop pointing fingers, take personal responsibility for changing ourselves, and allow God to heal us! —The Very Rev. Fr. George Kevorkian
Hymns in Today's Liturgy Apolytikion of Pentecost (Tone 8). Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, Who hast revealed the fishermen as most wise, having sent upon them the Holy Spirit, and through them Thou hast fished the universe, O Lover of mankind, glory to Thee. Kontakion of Pentecost (Tone 8). When the High One descended, confusing tongues, He divided the nations. And when He distributed the fiery tongues He called all to one unity. Wherefore, in unison we glorify the most Holy Spirit.
Epistle Acts 2:1-11. When the day of Pentecost had come, the Disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at 1
