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You are listening to the “Good Samaritan” Ukrainian RadioProgram, under the patronage of the Buffalo Ukrainian Catholic Deanery. Our intention is to bring the word of God to all of you, who are unable to attend church on Sundays. Please say a prayer for the success of this project!

Dear Brothersand Sisters in Christ!

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of St. John and also marks our First Sunday of Great Lent.  John records the miracles that can be possible only through the hands of our Lord, and recounts the statements that could come from only Jesus, Himself.  Jesus tells us who He is in this Gospel.  He is the bread of life, the light of the world, the door for the sheep, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way, and the true vine.  Jesus is deity and He performed signs that indicated such.  Jesus changed water into wine, healed a child without going to their bedside, healed a man who was lame, multiplied bread and fish to feed many, walked on water, caused a blind man to see, and raised Lazarus from the dead.  These miracles show that Jesus is God.  He has the power of the elements at His fingertips.  The Creator, walking among His creation, helping His creation and sadly, so many rejected Him then, and even now.  We see in today's scripture that Jesus has begun calling His disciples.  In the previous verses He has called Andrew and Peter.  The next day, Jesus continues His search for men that would become His core group, the ones that would be able to carry on His ministry after He was gone.  We see that Jesus is in the region of Galilee when He comes in contact with Phillip.

St. John also tells us about the ‘call of the disciple’ Nathanael. When Phillip told Nathanael of Christ, and said ‘Come and See’; Nathanael responded much like we do today?  "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"  At first, he was not willing to see.  Now this can be understood in a historical sense in that Nazareth was a city of no account and unimportant.  Could anything good come out of Nazareth?  But the spiritual meaning of the text is that Nathanael asks, ‘Can anything good come out of my Nazareth, out of my Heart?  Can I be changed?  Can I be made whole?’  This is the question that Nathanael asks for each of us as well, because we inevitably ask it of ourselves.  Will anything good come out of my life, out of my hopes and dreams?  And the Lord says ‘Come and See’.  The Church encourages us to ‘Come and See’.  And as Nathanael approaches Christ, Jesus says to Nathanael: “Before Phillip called thee, when thou were sitting under a fig tree, I saw thee.”  Nathanael, overwhelmed by this revelation, declares: “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God”.  To Nathanael's credit, it does not take very long for him to realize who Christ is.  He is both the ‘Son of God’ and the ‘King of Israel.’

Jesus waspleased that Nathanael had believed so easily.  He promises them "greater things than these”.  Nathanael did not realize the journey that he was about to begin.  He did not know that he would see Jesus preach great messages, show unconditional love and compassion to the poor, heal the sick, and raise the dead.  Jesus implies that Nathanael will see even greater things then these powers of long distant sight; he shall also see heaven open up and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.  We must always be prepared for new grace and new vision.  For the life of a disciple, if it is authentic, rises from light to greater light.  And after meeting Christ, Nathanael and the other disciples probably wondered how they could possibly witness and even be a part of something as extraordinary as Christ's earthly ministry.  Today, we too, should wonder how a great and mighty God could make use of us.  We are all unworthy of God's blessings and benefits, and yet the world around us is full of discipleship, inspiring stories of encounters between ourselves and the Divine.

A physician was driving home from a meeting that ran late, only to find himself stuck in rush hour traffic. After a few minutes, his car started to choke; he heard it sputtering just before it gave out completely.  The doctor barely managed to coast into a gas station, but was grateful that he would not be blocking traffic or causing an even longer hold up for the rest of the commuters. He tried several times to start his car, but the engine would not turn over.  As he pulled out his cell phone to call for a tow truck, he saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart" building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump.  He rushed out to see if she was okay, and when he reached her, it was obvious that she was more overcome by sobs then the fact that she had fallen.  The pediatrician noticed that she was a young woman, too young to look so haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as he helped her to her feet, and the doctor picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel. At that moment, everything came into focus for him: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with three kids in the back, and the gas pump reading $4.95. He asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying, "I don't want my kids to see me crying." So they stood on the other side of the pump behind her car. She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. The woman said that she kept praying for some turn of luck, but now she did not know if she would even make it to California. The doctor looked at her and said, "God heard you, because I think He sent me." He then took out his credit card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so the woman could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling, he walked to the next door McDonald's and bought two big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a giant cup of coffee. The woman appreciatively gave the food to her children in the car who attacked it like wolves. She told the doctor her name, and that she lived out east. She was a single mother trying to make ends meet, but due to layoffs at the plant where she worked; she had been out of a job for two months now. She knew she would not have money to pay the next month’s rent, and finally in desperation had called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about five years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet again. So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for a vacation, but not that they were going to live there. The doctor gave her his gloves, what cash he had on him in his wallet, a big hug, and said a prayer with her for safety on the road. The woman was very grateful, and thanked him many times over. As they pulled away, the doctor walked back to his car to call for a tow truck.  It was an incredible feeling for him to be able to help someone, and to be a part of someone else's miracle. When he returned to his car - amazingly enough - it started right up and got him home with no problem.  He took it to the shop the next day, just to have it checked, but as he suspected, the mechanic could not find anything wrong.

We never know when God will use our lives to change someone else’s circumstance for the better.  But the call is always there!  Discipleship is never easy, it is a personal choice of the heart to lead a life that is pleasing to God, and sometimes it even requires us to lead the way for others.  Nathanael knew Phillip and he trusted him when he said that Christ was someone worth following, someone that he should ‘Come and See’.  Phillip had already chosen to follow Christ, and he was already leading the way for Nathanael and encouraging him to make his own personal choice which would change his life forever.  Perhaps you have a story of how everything changed for you in a moment, of a time when you clearly saw God's intent in your life.  The Lord’s invitation is a life-long process.  God is still working miracles in our lives everyday.  God is still answering prayers and using us in many new and wonderful ways - ways that even we may never know!  Deep in the heart of Philip and Nathaniel, something authentic, clear, and expanding was received.  They heard the calling of Christ, and were willing to receive their invitation to discipleship.  It was the psalmist who best wrote: "As a heart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for you, my Lord" (Psalms 41:1).

This FirstSunday of the Great Fast is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy.  The purpose of the feast is to pay solemn public homage and veneration to the holy icons of Jesus Christ, the Blessed Mother, and all the Saints.  The spirit that radiates through the liturgy this Sunday is one of great joy, triumph, honor, and veneration, for the holy icons, for the true doctrines, as the Church of Christ is adorned once more with glorious images.  In reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we hear St. Paul describe the sufferings of Moses and of David, of the patriarchs and martyrs of Israel, of those for whom “the world was not worthy”, who were scourged, slain with the sword, beheaded, and whose faith yet overcame the world.  These were images not drawn on wood, but in the flesh.  They already prefigured and announced the coming of the definitive Icon, the Person of Christ.  Today, as we venerate the holy icons, as we take part in the Holy Eucharist, as we continue our journey through Lent - we are reminded of our faith.  We are asked to ‘Come and See’.  The Lord says, “I will show you greater things than these”.  Not just that I know you are under a fig tree; not just that I know all your thoughts.  But greater things than these will I show you.  I will show you that you can be completely changed, completely made whole.  Have no fear, have no sadness, and have no doubts.  “I will show you greater things than these.”  I will show you that I will change you; this is what the Lord says to Nathanael - this is what the Lord is saying to each of us today.  We appropriate this change by believing the words of the Lord - by understanding their meaning.  He knows us and He will change us!  My brothers and sisters, good will come out of Nazareth; good will come out of our hearts, good things will flourish throughout our lives - because of our faith – because of our willingness to ‘Come and See’ the Lord.

A-me-N

Youhave been listening to the Good Samaritan, Ukrainian Radio Program. If you have any questions, commentaries, or suggestions, please contact us at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, located at 308 Fillmore Avenue, in Buffalo, NY 14206. Our telephone number is area code 716-852-7566.

We received the following donation:

A$100.00 donation from Maria Malaniak.

Thankyou for your generosity and may the good Lord bless you a hundredfold.

Please join us again next Sunday at 2:00 PM, on WJJL 1440 AM for the “Good Samaritan Ukrainian Radio Program”.

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