When Jesus starts His earthly ministry, after voluntarily going to the desert to defeat His spiritual enemies, He begins preaching in the region of Galilee. This is the present-day region of northern Israel, where the Sea of Galilee is, back then called Lake Gennesaret, and where many of the events of the Gospel take place. In the morning, Jesus stands by the shore and sees Peter, James, John, and An drew, as well as their two boats. The fishermen are washing their nets after a night of work when they caught nothing. Many people are around, so Jesus gets into Peter and Andrew’s boat and asks Peter to go out a little from the shore. As he does so, Jesus sits down, the customary position for teachers, and speaks the word of God to them. Jesus Himself is the Son of God and the Word of God, and so when He talks to people, He brings them the word of eternal life. After Jesus teaches the multitude, He tells Peter to go back into the deep waters and let down the nets again for fishing. Peter responds that they toiled all night and took nothing, but out of trust and obedience, he would again throw the nets. Peter is bewil dered by the Lord’s command, and we observe two important things. Firstly, we see here a fundamental principle to our lives: Peter does not quite un derstand why the Lord commands him to fish again, but he obeys the Lord all the same. He had spent all night fishing and has caught nothing. He is an experienced fisherman and knows that, humanly speaking, the conditions on that morning are not ideal for fish ing. Yet, he trusts and obeys. Secondly, we see that Peter’s obedience (in Greek, ὑπακοή), like our obedience to the Lord, will always bear lasting results. Peter spends all night toiling and does it with his own strength. But now, as the morning dawns, with the Lord strengthening him and illuminating his life, fish are caught in abundance. The remarkable result of Peter’s obedience to Jesus’ loving command is that there are so many fish that he has to shout for James and John to help him. They fill both boats, almost to the point of sinking. A whole evening of empty toil has turned into incredible abundance in an instant, by the Lord’s Word and through His love and grace. The lasting result of Peter’s obedience is that we learn about the Kingdom of God. The Lord teaches us that the fish symbolizes people, and the catch symbolizes the call to eternal life. The Lord tells Peter that from that moment on, he would be fishing the souls of people into the Kingdom of God. It points to the work of the Church to bring the Gos pel to people of all tongues and nations, a great multitude who will enter the Kingdom. As boats filled with fish, the Church has been and will continue to be filled with the people of God. The Lord brings His people from across the world and throughout the ages to follow Him. The Lord says through the Prophet Jeremiah, 600 years before Christ, that He would send many fishermen. Saint Ambrose of Milan says, “What is so deep, as the knowledge of the Son of God! But what are the nets of the Apostles which are ordered to be let down, but the interweaving of words which . . . bring up those that are tossing about in the waves from the depths below to the regions above.” On the Church’s celebration of the Feast of Pentecost, we sing the Apolytikion (the Dismissal Hymn), which says, “Blessed are You, O Christ our God, who made fisherman all-wise, by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit, and through them, drawing all the world into Your net. O Loving One, glory be to You.” Peter feels unworthy to be in the Lord’s presence when this miracle occurs. A heart that God has touched is a heart that recognizes its own failures and trusts entirely in the love and grace of God. Jesus shows him and the three other disciples that everyone is special and that they can become fishermen of souls if they follow Him. They, too, can help save people. Everyone who believes in Christ is called to be His disciple, and work on spreading the Gospel, which means the “Good News.” This is the work of the Church, which is the work of every member of Christ’s Body, that is, us. God is love, and He wants everyone to be saved. He gives us daily opportunities to repent, follow Him and seek salvation. Peter, James, John, and Andrew are astonished when they see this miracle, so they leave everything and follow Jesus. Similarly, the Lord calls us to leave all earthly things behind, that is, to shift our hearts from worldly things to Him, and make Him our priority. He calls us to follow Him with hope in our hearts, going on the path of love and salvation. Jesus says to Peter, James, John, and Andrew not to fear. He tells us the same. We spend much time and energy on the things of this life as we seek to provide for our loved ones and ourselves. We apply our talents, training, experience, and hope as we work for good things. There is nothing wrong with this, and in fact, this is a virtue. However, we are called to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things we strive for will be added to us. If we become doers of God’s Word, and if we trust Him enough to obey Him, even when we do not entirely understand the circumstances, we know that He is with us. We know He gives us the abundant grace we need and desire, for He loves us. Following Him without reservation is both the prerequisite and the result of having our nets full so that we, too, may inherit eternal life.

We welcome you to worship with us on Sunday and whenever the Divine Liturgy is celebrated. Matins begins at 9:00 am and the Divine Liturgy at 10:00 am.

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DIRECTIONS TO THE DORMITION CHURCH FROM THE NORTH:

1. Proceed south on Interstate 81 South heading toward Winchester
2. Take exit 317 for VA-37/ US-11 toward US-522 N/ US-50 W/ Winchester/ Stephenson (0.3 mi)
3. Turn right at US-11 S/ VA-37 S/ Martinsburg Pike, Continue to follow VA-37 S (3.8 mi)
4. Take the ramp to US-50 E/ Northwestern Pike (0.2 mi)
5. Turn left at US-50 E/ Northwestern Pike, Continue to follow US-50 E (0.6 mi )
6. Turn left at Omps Dr, Continue to entrance of the Church`s parking lot (100 ft)
7. Turn left into the Church`s parking lot.

DIRECTIONS TO THE DORMITION CHURCH FROM THE SOUTH:

1. Proceed north on Interstate 81North heading toward Winchester
2. Take exit 310 for VA-37 toward US-11/VA-642/ Winchester/ Kernstown/ US-50/ US-522/ Berkely Spgs/ Romney (0.2 mi)
3. Turn left at VA-37 N (5.2 mi)
4. Take the US-50 ramp to Winchester/ Romney (0.3 mi)
5. Turn right at US-50 E/ Amherst St (0.5 mi)
6. Turn left at Omps Dr, Continue to entrance of the Church`s parking lot (100 ft)
7. Turn left into the Church`s parking lot.