On December 10-11, 2022, on 26th Sunday after Pentecost, when our Church celebrates Holy Martyr and Confessor Stephen the New and Holy Martyr Christo, His Grace Bishop Maxim visited both Parishes in Seattle: The Holy Protection of the Theotokos in South Park and St. Sava Parish in Issaquah.
On Saturday evening, Bishop Maxim officiated the Great Vespers Service at the Church of Holy Protection together with local priest Fr. Serafim Gascoigne and Fr. Zoran Aleksic from St. Sava Church. After the Vespers, parishioners prepared diner and a warm welcome for their Bishop. There was a short presentation of the new book by Bishop Maxim on the Portraits of Heroes and Heroines of Dostoyevsky.
On Sunday morning, the clergy and the faithful greeted Bishop Maxim at St. Sava Church in Issaquah. Bishop Maxim presided over the Holy Liturgy concelebrated by guest priests, Very Rev. Ayoub Owais from Amman, Jordan, and Rev. Zoran Aleksic. The Church was overflowing with faithful from both Parishes, and many children and people partook of the Holy Communion.
During the sermon, Bishop Maxim pointed out the importance of the message of the Gospel reading (Lk. 12, 16-21), and how the moment we think that everything is guaranteed regarding our earthly life, suddenly we hear these words: this night your soul will be taken from you. This means that when we are with God, we have all the time, and that time becomes an event of relationship which cannot be measured by seconds or hours. It is a continued relationship. And once this relationship is cut off, suddenly the time shrinks and we lose everything. So, what the Gospel reading gives us today is another surprising dimension showing not only how when we are with God we have everything, but also, and especially now in these times of utilitarianism and greed, we learn how God asks for us to rely on Him and to offer ourselves to Him. Every perfect gift comes from above, the Church says, and every perfect giving is inspired by our Lord. We are created in His image, and there is nothing more blessed than to offer, to give. The Eucharist that we are now participating in has this character, it’s a gift. It is an offering, and also it is a self-offering of the Church to her Creator. By embracing the coming Feast of the Nativity of Christ, let us also embrace this message from today’s Gospel, and unlike the fool rich man from the Gospel story, we should take the opposite path which is Christ-like journey in which everything is a gift, a filial grace given to us in the Holy Spirit. What we are being asked is to give it back, to return it to our Creator. In today’s Liturgy we manifest that, and may this Divine Eucharist be an image of that true life and also an inspiration for us in our daily struggles on our journey, said Bishop Maxim in his sermon.
After the Liturgy, parishioners of St. Sava together with Damjanco Adzievski and his family prepared a delicious lunch for everyone. Children’s choir prepared a short program for our guests, and everyone enjoyed a fellowship with Bishop Maxim until late afternoon.
