TSN1221

1 THE SHEPHERD • DECEMBER 2021 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO FROM THE DESK OF FATHER ANDREW www.theshepherdnews.com The Shepherd Newsletter From the opening chap- ter of Saint Matthew’s Gospel, which is read the Sunday before the Nativ- ity of Jesus (Sunday, De- cember 19, 2021), we read about the earthy genealo- gy of Jesus Christ (1:1-25): we read about His earthly beginning and heritage. At that time genealogy was important to the Israelites, and within her history there are many genealogies o ered in the Old Testament, which remind- ed Israel about her roots. It allowed her to know from where she came, with the attempt to keep the Tribe as “pure” as possible. Wom- en, “sinners,” and non-Israelites were gener- ally not included within the list of decedents. However, in the genealogy of Jesus Christ we do hear the names of women, sinners, and non-Israelites being mentioned. Christ breaks into human history and radi- cally changes things forever. e Nativity of Christ marks a new beginning. A beginning, which takes into account that all people may come to know God through Jesus Christ. No longer is the Kingdom of God limited, for with the Advent of Jesus Christ, the gates of separation have been broken and all have access. is new beginning came about not through natural means, where a man and a woman co-create with God, but through the working of the Holy Spirit: For that which is conceived in her (the virgin’s womb) is of the Holy Spirit. God chose the pious Mary to ful ll His saving plan. He chose to take on esh not through natural means, but through Divine, and it’s through the eyes of faith that permits us to understand the birth of Christ – the true meaning of this Nativity season. To understand that yes indeed God did send an angel from heaven to announce that the birth of Christ would come about through the working of the Holy Spirit. Faith imparts upon us the capability to accept that God came to earth and took on esh. rough the Nativity of Christ, humanity ex- periences a radical change, a change that only God can bring about; a change that only faith allows us to see and to understand. For those of us who have not only heard the voice of God, within the pages of Scripture, but have also seen His earthly face upon the icons of the Church, and experience Him at every Di- vine Liturgy, what must be our response to the gi of faith we have been given? Can it be any less than the response given by those faithful men and women from the Old Testament, the New Testament, and throughout the many years of our long Holy Tradition - to dedicate ourselves totally unto Christ and to remain faithful in everything. From our long Tradition, one way we “remain faithful” is to gather together as the Ekklesia/ the Church/the Body of Christ on earth (I Cor.12:12 ; Col.1:24) to worship, praise and thank Almighty God for His saving work. is saving work begins with the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. us, the divine services for the Nativity are as follows: e Royal Hours will be read/chanted on Friday morning, December 24th at 10:00 am. en, the divine services for the Nativi- ty will be celebrated on the evening of Friday, December 24th at 7:00 pm. +A Christ is Born – Come and Glorify Him! IN THIS ISSUE FR. ANDREW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 1 PRESIDENT OF THE PARISH COUNCIL, WOMEN OF THE WORD . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 2 BIRTHS, DEATHS, DIVINE SERVICES, MEMORIALS, HOLY SACRAMENTS, ALTAR BOYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 3 GREEK LANGUAGE SCHOOL, SUNDAY SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 4 GOYA NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 5 PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS, STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . p. 7 BOOKSTORE, SENIORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 8 AHEPA, PARISH FEAST DAY CELEBRATION OF LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 11 CONTACT INFORMATION. . . . . . . . . . . p. 12 The Shepherd The official newsletter publication for the parish of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego I S S U E 3 0 7 • D E C E MB E R 2 0 2 1 Christ is born! Glorify Him! Σ Σ Γ ! ∆ Ξ Σ !