SMG OYYA in Ryde, New South Wales, Australia | Religious centre

SMG OYYA

Locality: Ryde, New South Wales, Australia

Phone: +61 403 847 690

Address: 72 Belmore St 2112 Ryde, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.smg.org.au

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24.01.2022 First Sunday of Luke Here we have one of the best known stories from the Bible, which is more than a miracle of catching fish. Jesus tells Peter and the other disciples not to be afraid. What did they have to fear? They all had a profession catching fish, but Jesus calls them to become fishers of men, to leave what they are familiar with, to leave their comfort zone, and to follow Him. In the Gospel lesson He doesn’t ask them to leave their fishing business because times ...may be hard or business slow that day. The disciples had worked all night with nothing to show for their efforts on this occasion. And after teaching the crowds from the boat, Jesus said to Peter, Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. (The best fishing was done at night in deep water.) Even though he protested, Peter trusted and obeyed the Lord. The fear he felt after seeing the miraculous catch was that fear which all sinful men will feel in the presence of the divine. The miraculous catch of fish is simply a sign of what the disciples will be doing in their lifetime. St John Chrysostom notes, The fish, when they are caught, are transported from life to death, but men from death to life. Christian evangelisation is not done to devour the catch, nor to make a profit from the catch, nor to feed the fishermen. We are to catch people to give them all the benefits of God’s grace and to bring them into the Kingdom of Heaven. Today we commemorate the wonder working icon of the Theotokos Of the Myrtle Tree. The icon is held in the monastery church of Myrtides on the Greek island of Kythera. It derives its name from the fact that it was found in a myrtle bush in the fourteenth century. At that time, a shepherd was tending his sheep in a deserted valley filled with myrtle bushes. Forty days after the Dormition, the Mother of God appeared to him and told him to seek her icon which had been brought to that place many years before. He found it in a myrtle bush and a small church was later built on the site to house the icon, the church called Of the Myrtle Tree, after the icon. (The full story can be read elsewhere.) Some of the miracles associated with the Most Holy Theotokos and her icon Of the Myrtle Tree include healing, protection of the island from the plague, saving people from death and many other great wonders. Pilgrims visit and venerate the icon on the feast of the Dormition and also on the day of its discovery, today in history, September the 24th.

24.01.2022 Join us on the 23rd of November for our Youth Bible Study & Fellowship event starting at 4 pm.

21.01.2022 12th Sunday of Matthew This is an important story as it is in all three synoptic Gospels and raises the important question, what good thing shall I do that I may have life eternal? When the rich young man heard Jesus’s answer he walked away dejected. This was a man who was sincere, a man who wanted to be saved, but Jesus knew exactly what was important to him. His biggest obstacle was that he valued his wealth more than God. So Jesus challenged the young man to see how ser...ious he was to follow Him. By asking him to sell all his possessions and give it to the poor, Jesus was in fact saying he needed to let go of his god of wealth so that he could allow the one true God to come into his life. Jesus knew that it was almost impossible for a rich man to give up his wealth even for life everlasting. As He said, Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. How one follows Christ will be different for each person. Because wealth had such a grip on this young man, his only hope was to sell and give away all his possessions, but there was moreand come and follow me, Jesus said. St John Chrysostom tells us that giving away possessions is the least of Christ’s instructions here, following Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling. Like the rich young man in the Gospel lesson, how many of us today perhaps want everything that Christ has to offer: forgiveness, peace, assurance of life eternal with God, but don’t want to let go our false gods. The love of possessions, the love of comfort that comes from money, love of security and the so-called building for old age, etc., can all distract us. We appreciate the things our money can give us, and this love of things may blind us to spiritual matters. If our treasure is in this world where moths consume and rust corrodes, our life will pass away just like our treasure. In order to acquire eternal life we are told to seek the things that do not pass away, that moth and rust cannot consume or thieves break in and steal. What good thing shall I do that I may have life eternal? the young man asked. To be perfect, one must be willing to sacrifice all to follow Christ and this sacrifice is to be given freely. And if we are totally sincere and committed to that relationship, we will do our best to strip away all that stands in the way of us following Him. If all this seems too hard, we can take heart from Jesus’s own words: with God, all things are possible. (v.26).

20.01.2022 13th Sunday of Matthew When Jesus told this parable of the Tenants of the Vineyard, the beheading of John the Forerunner had already taken place. Our Lord was telling the listeners that the habitual behaviour that Israel’s past leadership displayed towards God’s servants, the prophets, had once again been repeated with the beheading of John. And that’s also how they responded to the Son of God, refusing to accept His teaching and handing Him over to the enemies for death on a... cross. Jesus spoke this parable against the high priests and Pharisees, and they knew it. Jesus was speaking this parable with the language of chapter five of Isaiah in the background, which says, There was a vineyard for my beloved, a place in power and richness. He placed a wall around it and fortified it. He planted it with a choice vine. He built a tower in its midst and also made a winepress in it. So I waited for it to bring forth grapes, but it produced thorn-plants. (Isa 5:1-2) Jesus took the meaning of the image, which his audience would have been familiar with, and expounded on it. The landowner who planted the vineyard is God the Father, and the vineyard is Israel, His chosen people. The hedge around it is His law and the Tower, His temple. The One whom they rejected became the chief cornerstone, the very foundation of the Heavenly Kingdom in which Jew, Gentile, male, female, rich, poor, young, old, slave and free would inherit the blessing of life eternal. Tradition tells us that this parable was spoken on Tuesday of Holy Week to remind the Pharisees and the Scribes of the serious sins that they had committed. The vineyard is given to new tenants therefore I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a people who will produce its fruit. (Matt 2:43) As all Scriptures speak to us here and now, the lesson of this parable remains as a warning for us too - the sons and daughters of adoption. Our identity must be firmly grounded on the one true cornerstone. To accept Him as the cornerstone of our lives is to be engaged in the eternal process of sharing in His life and light, of being transformed by His holiness. To do anything less is to reject Him just as surely as did the religious leaders of old.

20.01.2022 In a couple weeks time on Saturday 12th December, SMG will have a Vespers Service followed by a Youth and Young Adults movie night. Please register your name with myself or Jennifer so we can organise the manoush and ensure there is enough room. Hope to see you there!

18.01.2022 KNOWLEDGE IN CHRIST (Luke 18:10-14). ~ The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican was told by our Lord Jesu...s Christ Himself to teach us a lesson about humility. God tells us that he who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. ~ The parable describes two people praying in the Temple of Jerusalem, one a pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee is highly respected and a careful observer of the details of the Law, whereas the tax collector, is despised as a sinner who collaborates with the occupying Roman forces, betraying and cheating his own people. ~ The Pharisee acts with arrogance towards the publican and accuses him of immorality and injustice. He is proud that he pays a tenth of all that he has and he is proud that he fasts twice a week, displayed through his prayer. The practices of this Pharisee are worthy examples to follow. However, without a humble and repentant heart, these practices are worthless and lead only to pride and judgement of others. ~ However, the tax collector shows by his posture an awareness of the state of his soul, standing far from the altar of sacrifice with eyes cast downward. His prayer, God, be merciful to me a sinner, is the foundation of the Jesus prayer, as is the refrain Lord have mercy that permeates Orthodox worship and personal prayer. ~ The Apostle Paul said: "He who considers himself something is nothing". In view of this, we find the one through boasting lost his reward, and the other by his silence deserved gifts. Jesus said: I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. Justified means being forgiven and set right by God, for inward humility is blessed while pride in outward deeds is condemned. ~ Through the prayers of our holy fathers may our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us. Amen. #antiochianaus #ACOYNSW #KnowledgeinChrist

14.01.2022 Ninth Sunday of Luke The message in today’s Gospel is powerful, blunt and to the point. To the man who lays up treasures on earth and is not rich towards God God calls him a fool. That hits hard if we internalise it and imagine it directed at ourselves! We never know when our number is up as the saying goes. If we die today, the things you have prepared, whose will they be?... The man in this parable is rich, yes, but is not a bad person outwardly, at least, he is decent and a man of status. But he had a preoccupation that was self-centred, resulting in a forgetfulness of God, instead of striving to be rich towards God. Eat, drink and be merry. How often do we still hear this expression today! More often it is still the catch cry of the worldly soul living a life denying the very existence of God. For the Christian, it is still hard to contemplate we are all living on borrowed time and that is why the Saints teach us that the remembrance of death should be a key component of our spiritual lives, precisely to protect us from such foolish forgetfulness. St John Chrysostom says that the wealth of this world is but a dream when we die, we will awake from this dream and understand the true value of wealth. Without even knowing it, we so often give lip service to the warning: take heed and beware of covetousness; for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Lk 12:15). In a materialistic, consumer driven world, how easy it is to accumulate as much as our wallets will allow. Are we more preoccupied with becoming rich towards God, or simply with becoming rich in the accumulation of our possessions? As St Paul might say, God forbid that we have to suffer with being called a fool when our time is up. The person who loves God values knowledge of God more than anything created by God, and pursues such knowledge ardently and ceaselessly. St Maximus the Confessor

08.01.2022 Join us for the St Demetrius Vigil at Sts Michael and Gabriel Orthodox Church followed by veneration of the relics and sausage sizzle!

05.01.2022 KNOWLEDGE IN CHRIST #antiochianaus #ACOYNSW #KnowledgeinChrist

05.01.2022 Sunday after the Elevation of the Holy Cross The joyful celebration of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross brings together various events from history, beginning with the discovery of the Cross by St Helen in the 300’s. The feast also recalls the Cross’s recovery from Persia by Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in the 600’s. Ultimately, this feast is a celebration of Christ’s Cross as the tool of our salvation. Jesus turned the most fearsome way of death into the means of eternal li...fe, filled with grace, power and meaning. The height of the Cross reconnects earth with heaven, providing humanity with a way to recover from the Fall. The wood brings us back to the tree in Eden, granting us a new beginning in union with God incarnate. The shape of the Cross points to every direction; no one is beyond the reach of its power. Through this shape, Christ stretches out His arms to embrace everyone who chooses to come to Him. The Feast of the Holy Cross is one of the twelve great feasts of the church and the Orthodox liturgical tradition devotes many days throughout the year to its commemoration, while every Friday we observe as a day of fasting to remember the crucifixion. The Gospel lessons for the Sunday before and after the feast both focus on the meaning of the Holy Cross. On the Sunday prior to the Feast of the Elevation we heard the lesson of God’s love; for God so loved the world, he gave His only Son . The Gospel reading on the Feast itself is a reflection of the passion of our Lord, while on this, the Sunday following the Feast, the Gospel message focuses on the call to commitment: to take up our cross and to follow Christ. However, whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed and when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. (8:38) Are we shamed of being Christian in our lives in the world? Are we embarrassed to let others know about our beliefs? The spiritual life is a challenge. It is a challenge in this world to be someone who is a person of faith. Faith is something that is mocked in the world and scorned. We elevate the Holy Cross because it is the symbol of the spiritual path we must take in life. The way of the Cross is the way of inner purification, the way of repentance. What matters most is the soul. The might and power of the Holy Cross is ours though by virtue of Christ’s triumph over death. Like Paul may we say, I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Gal 2:20)

05.01.2022 Third Sunday of Luke Jesus and His disciples came to a small village called Nain, which exists today. In the time of Jesus, only a few families lived there. It is now an Arab village and not much bigger. Eusebius the church historian and St Jerome mention it as near the destroyed village of Indur. Nain rests at the foot of the hill Moreh, not far from Tabor, the Mount of Transfiguration. Today’s Gospel is a story of Jesus’s compassion and of life triumphant over death.... Jesus, when He arrives at the town gate, is accompanied by not only His disciples, but also a large crowd. Coming the opposite way we see a second group, also large, which is trying to leave the town. This is a funeral cortege, carrying the body of the deceased young man. The two crowds meet. One side it would seem, must give way to the other or is there a third option? Actually, there is. Jesus walks up to the funeral procession and stops it! Touching the bier and with total authority, He gives the simple command, young man, I say to you, ARISE! Two large crowds, the bearers standing still; we can picture the scene. Momentary silence, fear at first seizing them as the dead man sat up and began to speak! Jesus gave him to his mother while they glorified God in amazement. When He first approached the crowded gate, Jesus sees the dead man’s mother and had great compassion for her, saying, Do not weep. If we are to be imitators of Christ, it is here and in so many other instances we can read, that the depth of love of Jesus’s compassion shines forth to us as an example. This story is unique to Luke and it is interesting to note that it is the first of three miracles Jesus works for the benefit of parents of an only child. St Gregory Palamas makes an interesting point that here we find no mention of faith, nor does Jesus require faith on the part of anybody present least of all the dead man! (Homilies 46.8) We see that the widow did not approach Jesus asking for help; Jesus did not pray over the dead man, nor even touch him. Luke in his description of this event, refers to Jesus as Lord Kyrios the title by which early Christians later designated the risen Messiah, victorious over death and the grave. (Acts 2:36) Having deep compassion for this poor widow’s loss, the mother of an only child, having no other means of support Jesus reaches out in a spontaneous act of pure love. Do not weep, he says. Here we come to know Jesus in a most personal way that we will see again and again. In last week’s Gospel reading, Jesus taught us to be merciful even as your Father is merciful. To be merciful, to be compassionate two petals from the same flower.

03.01.2022 Nest Saturday (24th) we will have a Vespers Service for St Demetrios followed by a Youth and Young Adults movie night. Please register your name with Serena or Jennifer so we can organise the pizzas and ensure there is enough room. This will be a good opportunity to see each for fellowship.

02.01.2022 SMG Online Bible Study - commencing on this Friday the 28th.

02.01.2022 Sunday before the Elevation of the Holy Cross The bronze serpent which Moses set up on a pole was established by God to cure those who had been bitten by the poisonous serpents in the desert. (Numbers 21:8-9) Jesus, speaking of himself, draws a direct connection between the serpent on the pole and the Son of Man on the Cross. Because Jesus spoke those words early in His ministry, the disciples may not have made the connection with the cross until after the crucifixion and the... resurrection. As believers behold the crucified Christ in faith, the power of sin and death is overthrown in them. We could say that the good thief was the first to experience the saving power of Christ on the cross: he saw the crucified Jesus, the King of Israel, the Messiah, and was immediately promised that he would be in paradise that very day (Luke 23:39-43). John 3:16 is probably one of the most well known and loved verses in the New Testament, recognised widely even by non-Christians. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. This verse is the very heart of the Gospel, the reason the Church exists. It is the message we preach, Christ and Him crucified, for the sake of God’s love for mankind, for the salvation of the world. St Paul claimed that this alone, nothing else, was the message of his Gospel. Love became incarnate. How could humanity ever go to God, had He not first come to us? Knowing what He would suffer, He still came, dying for us while we were still sinners (Rom 5:8). He did not come to judge, condemn or punish with wrath, or to burden us with new laws; instead, he came to save, bless and heal. But while Christ came to save and not condemn, man has free will. He can therefore reject His gift, and he becomes condemned by his own rejection. We cannot tell the story of God’s salvation without mentioning particular people who offered themselves as instruments of His new life. Even as we speak today of being born into a new life and becoming a new creation in Jesus Christ, we remember the birth of His Holy Mother, the Theotokos, to Saints Joachim and Anna. The first feast of the liturgical year that we celebrated last Thursday was a new beginning. Mary the Mother of God is born, bringing great joy to her parents and hope to the world. It is here that the story of her son’s incarnation and our liberation from sin and death begins. Glory to God!