Saint John The Baptist Orthodox Church

Weekly Newsletter and Sunday Bulletin

Sunday, May 18, 2025

(Sunday of the Samaritan Woman)

Sunday Services

Matins: 9:00 a.m.

Divine Liturgy: 10:00 a.m.

Coffee Fellowship follows Divine Liturgy

Saturdays - 5:00 pm - Vespers

(Confession available following Vespers)


691 Green Street, Craig, CO 81625

Fr. David Henderson - 970-846-2245

fatherdavid@saintjohnscraig.org

www.saintjohnscraig.org

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America



In This Issue:

A Message from Father David 


Epistle and Gospel Readings

for Sunday, May 18


Food for the Soul

 

Happening this Week

 

Upcoming Ministry Events/Services

  

Orthodox Resources



A Message from Father David


Our Lord’s encounter with the Samaritan Woman as recorded in St. John’s Gospel is one of the most moving in the Gospels. This woman, shunned by her community because of her “checkered past,” is approached by Jesus as she goes at mid-day to draw water from Jacob’s Well. She is likely ostracized by others, looked down upon, and struggling under the weight of her own sin and guilt. But Jesus reaches out to her with love and offers to her something far surpassing the water from the well that momentarily satisfies but does not ultimately quench the thirst of her soul – He offers to her the Water of Life, to drink of which is never to thirst again – Christ offers her the Holy Spirit.

 

All of us, like the Samaritan Woman, thirst for meaning, for belonging, for freedom from our past mistakes and the burden of our guilt. We often seek for such things from many different “wells,” only to find that the thirst of our souls may be momentarily quenched but quickly returns. We seek satisfaction of our needs and desires in all the wrong places, not realizing that our ultimate thirst, our ultimate longing is for God Himself. We long for the “water” only Christ can give, the Holy Spirit that wells up within us, “springing up into everlasting life.”

 

An important detail of this encounter that St. John recounts is that the woman, now known by the Church as St. Photini, left her water jar by the side of the well, and went back into the town to tell others about Jesus. She no longer thirsted for the water that does not ultimately quench but had found the source of true life in the “one who told me all that I ever did.” The question remains for each of us: From which “wells” do we draw water?


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What does it mean to “have the Orthodox mind?” How do we think and live our lives in light of Holy Tradition that has been passed down to us? We will be continuing a Tuesday night class, entitled, “Orthodox Journey” on Tuesdays from 7:00 pm to 8:15. This is not just a class for inquirers or catechumens, but intended for all. Whether you’re new to Orthodoxy or have been Orthodox all your life, we hope you will join us. The class will be held in the church for those who can be present in person, as well as on Zoom for those who live some distance away. Please join us as we share together what it means to be on the “Orthodox Journey.”

 

Blessings,

Fr. David




Epistle and Gospel Readings

Epistle Reading


Prokeimenon. Mode 4

Psalm 103.24,1 O Lord, how manifold are your works.

You have made all things in wisdom.

Verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul.


The reading is from Acts of the Apostles 11:19-30


In those days, those apostles who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number that believed turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large company was added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians. Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabos stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world; and this took place in the days of Claudius. And the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brethren who lived in Judea, and they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

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The Gospel According to John 4: 5-42


At that time, Jesus came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.


There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."


Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly." The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."


Just then his disciples came. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but none said, "What do you wish?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" They went out of the city and were coming to him.


Meanwhile the disciples besought him, saying "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought him food?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."


Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony. "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard ourselves, and we know that this is indeed Christ the Savior of the world."



Food for the Soul


In all our actions, God considers the intention:

whether we act for Him or for some other motive.


~ Saint Maximus the Confessor


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The Samaritan Woman


One of the most ancient cities of the Promised Land was Shechem, also called Sikima, located at the foot of Mount Gerazim. There the Israelites had heard the blessings in the days of Moses and Jesus of Navi. Near to this town, Jacob, who had come from Mesopotamia in the nineteenth century before Christ, bought a piece of land where there was a well. This well, preserved even until the time of Christ, was known as Jacob's Well. Later, before he died in Egypt, he left that piece of land as a special inheritance to his son Joseph (Gen. 49:22). This town, before it was taken into possession by Samaria, was also the leading city of the kingdom of the ten tribes. In the time of the Romans it was called Neapolis, and at present Nablus. It was the first city in Canaan visited by the Patriarch Abraham. Here also, Jesus of Navi (Joshua) addressed the tribes of Israel for the last time. Almost three hundred years later, all Israel assembled there to make Roboam (Rehoboam) king.


When our Lord Jesus Christ, then, came at midday to this city, which is also called Sychar (John 4:5), He was wearied from the journey and the heat, and He sat down at this well. After a little while the Samaritan woman mentioned in today's Gospel passage came to draw water. As she conversed at some length with the Lord and heard from Him secret things concerning herself, she believed in Him; through her many other Samaritans also believed.


Concerning the Samaritans we know the following: In the year 721 before Christ, Salmanasar (Shalmaneser), King of the Assyrians, took the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel into captivity, and relocated all these people to Babylon and the land of the Medes. From there he gathered various nations and sent them to Samaria. These nations had been idolaters from before. Although they were later instructed in the Jewish faith and believed in the one God, they worshipped the idols also. Furthermore, they accepted only the Pentateuch of Moses, and rejected the other books of Holy Scripture. Nonetheless, they thought themselves to be descendants of Abraham and Jacob. Therefore, the pious Jews named these Judaizing and idolatrous peoples Samaritans, since they lived in Samaria, the former leading city of the Israelites, as well as in the other towns thereabout. The Jews rejected them as heathen and foreigners, and had no communion with them at all, as the Samaritan woman observed, "the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans" (John 4:9). Therefore, the name Samaritan is used derisively many times in the Gospel narrations. After the Ascension of the Lord, and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the woman of Samaria was baptized by the holy Apostles and became a great preacher and Martyr of Christ; she was called Photine, and her feast is kept on February 26.


Goarch.com





Happening This Week



Saturday, May 17

  • Great Vespers (5:00 PM)


Sunday, May 18

  • Matins (9:00 AM)
  • Divine Liturgy (10:00 AM)
  • Spring Parish Assembly after Liturgy


Tuesday, May 20

  • Orthodox Journey (7:00 PM). This interactive discussion is open to all and is held in person at the church and by Zoom. Click here to join: Orthodox Journey or use Meeting ID 973 8769 5656 and passcode 302935.


Wednesday, May 21

  • Please join us in volunteering at Saint Michael’s Catholic Church – Community Kitchen to prepare meals for local residents (9:00 AM). See details below.


Saturday, May 24

  • Great Vespers (5:00 PM)



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Upcoming Ministry Events/Services


Sunday, May 25

  • Matins (9:00 AM)
  • Divine Liturgy (10:00 AM)


Tuesday, May 27

  • Orthodox Journey (7:00 PM). This interactive discussion is open to all and is held in person at the church and by Zoom. Click here to join: Orthodox Journey or use Meeting ID 973 8769 5656 and passcode 302935.


Thursday, May 29

  • Feast Day of the Ascension - Divine Liturgy (5:00 PM)


Saturday, May 31

  • Great Vespers (5:00 PM)


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Summer Food Truck Events


Sign up to Assist and Enjoy Great Fellowship!!!

June 20-21 Whittle the Wood

Contact Nick Charchalis (970-629-1745)

to Volunteer


August 2 Balloon Fest

Contact Jeanne Maneotis (970-326-5547)

to Volunteer


August 8-9 County Fair

Chairperson Needed!


Monthly Service Project

I was hungry and you gave me food,

I was thirsty and you gave me drink . . .

When you did this unto the least of my servants,

you did it unto me. ~ Matthew 25


Join us on May 21 (9:00 AM) to prepare meals for 320 local residents

at Saint Michael's Catholic Church - Community Kitchen.

Contact Dimitri Zgourides (970-702-3204) if you plan to attend

or with any questions!


Orthodox Resources


Receive Daily Bible Readings and Information

on Feast Days and the Lives of the Saints:

Daily Bible Readings


Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

https://www.goarch.org/


Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Denver

https://www.denver.goarch.org/


Saint John the Baptist Orthodox Church YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/@St.JohntheBaptistOrthodoxChurc?app=desktop


Ancient Faith Radio

https://www.ancientfaith.com/


Podcasts by Father Evan Armatas

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/evanarmataslectures/


Holy Cross Bookstore

https://holycrossbookstore.com/


International Orthodox Christian Charities

https://iocc.org/