Rev. Fr. John E. Artemas, October 2009

Beloved Parishioners of our St. Nicholas Church:
May the Grace and Peace of God be with you.

1. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everything was perfect in our lives? Good Health. Prosperity. Perfect weather. Perfect harmony in all of our inter-personal relationships. No fear of war, crime or terrorism. No speed limits,stop signs or stop lights. But also no accidents. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could eat all you wanted, but gain no extra weight? Be an
excellent athlete, without the need for strenuous exercise and workouts? Get perfect grades, without having to study long hours? Of course, we could go on and on.

2. But then we realize that we’re just dreaming. This is reality. This is a fallen world. This is not Heaven. There is no perfect peace, health, harmony, happiness and joy. There is pain, injustice, conflict, sorrow, hard work,
disappointments, fear, loneliness and finally death. After the fall of Adam and Eve, God said to Adam:
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you…By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are,
and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:18-19).
And to Eve God said: “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he
will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16).

3. The Christian Church must not preach a false gospel of worldly happiness, peace and prosperity. It must proclaim the true Gospel of worldly hardships, the need for a sense of responsibility and self-denial, faith and obedience, and unconditional trust and surrender to God. Jesus did not make false and misleading promises. He honestly told us: “In this world you will have troubles.” But then He immediately added: “But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

4. As Christians, we need to have “realistic expectations” in this life. Most of the time our faith and fervent prayers do not eliminate or remove the pain, the suffering, or the various adversities. But our faith and prayers do make us stronger to bear the burdens, and give us wisdom to deal with our troubles,
and comfort and peace in our sorrows and hardships. And ultimately we have the greatest comfort and godly joy, anticipating “a new heaven and a new earth (2 Peter 3:13), when we appear with Christ in heavenly glory” (Colossians 3:4).                    

5. Our Church is here to teach, sanctify, comfort and guide us in the above realistic approach to life. It is up to us to choose to make our Faith and our Church the center and Guiding Light of our lives. This, too, requires time, effort and even sacrifice. But is there any other and better way?

6. As your Pastor, I realize that you are all pressured with many struggles and responsibilities. When I had weekly Bible Study, very few of you were able to attend. I will attempt to have a Saturday session, once every two months, with the hope that many more of you will make the effort to attend. Thus I invite you to join me in the Dr. Mary Dochios Kamberos Community Center on Saturday, October 24, from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm. I will give a talk on the topic “Essentials of the Christian Faith, “ and there will be time for questions and dialogue. Please make plans now to join me.

7. May the Lord bless and keep all of you under His loving care. It gives me great joy to worship together with you every Sunday. And, on behalf of our St. Nicholas Church, I sincerely thank you for your continuous monthly contributions toward the support of our parish’s needs and Ministries.

Yours in the Love of Our Lord Jesus Christ
+Father John E. Artemas
Pastor-Protopresbyter