Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Saint Steven’s Cathedral in Alhambra, California
On Sunday, August 24th, the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, His Grace Bishop Maxim concelebrated the Divine Liturgy with V. Rev. Nicholas Ceko and all the faithful of the Saint Steven’s Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Alhambra, California.
The choir’s voices filled the church with beautiful responses while the altar servers diligently attended to their tasks assisting the clergy. The children also participated taking on their familiar role assisting His Grace in the washing of his hands, purifying his hands in preparation to hold the precious body and blood of Christ.
During his sermon, His Grace reflected on Christ’s parable of the Unforgiving Servant found in Matthew 18:23-25. When a servant was unable to pay his enormous debt owed to the king, the king orders that the servant, his family, and everything he owns be sold to repay the debt. Subsequently, the king had mercy on the servant forgiving him of his debt. His Grace conveyed that this passage serves as a powerful introduction to Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness and stressed the necessity of forgiving others, just as God forgives us!
Following the Divine Liturgy, the usual Sunday luncheon was served in the hall where everyone enjoyed a delicious lenten meal and an afternoon of fellowship.
