Sunday, September 27, 2026 | 1st Sunday of Luke “Put Out Into the Deep”

This Sunday, September 27, we gather at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church for the 1st Sunday of Luke.

Our Gospel brings us to the Lake of Gennesaret, where Simon Peter and the other fishermen have spent an exhausting night working without catching anything. Then Christ enters Simon’s boat and gives him a command that, from a human perspective, seems to make little sense:

“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

Simon responds in faith. Though he has already tried and failed, he trusts the word of Christ and lets down the nets once more. The result is an overwhelming catch of fish. But as Fr. Michael reminds us in this week’s message, the greatest miracle is not what happens in the water. It is what happens within the heart of a person who finally says yes to Jesus.

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The question placed before each of us this Sunday is simple, but deeply personal:

What is Jesus asking me to leave behind so that I can follow Him?

A Message from Fr. Michael

Dearly Beloved Faithful:

Today, on the First Sunday of Luke, we hear a beautiful and powerful Gospel about Jesus calling His first disciples. Simon Peter and the others had been fishing all night. They were tired. They had worked hard, but they had caught nothing.

Then Jesus comes to them and says, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

Simon answers, essentially, “We have worked all night and caught nothing. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.”

They catch so many fish that their nets begin to break. But the miracle of the fish is not the greatest miracle of the story. The greatest miracle is what happens after the catch.

Jesus says to Simon: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”

And the Gospel tells us that they brought their boats to land, left everything, and followed Him.

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What Are We Willing to Leave Behind to Follow Jesus?

It is easy to say, “I believe in Jesus.” It is easy to come to church. It is easy to pray when we need something.

But following Jesus is more than believing that He exists.

Following Jesus means allowing Him to change the direction of our lives.

Peter had a boat. He had nets. He had a business. He had a familiar life. And Jesus did not say, “Peter, stay exactly where you are and simply add Me to your schedule.”

Jesus called him to something greater.

Peter had to trust Jesus enough to say:

“Because You say so, I will do it.”

That is faith.

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Trust Jesus When You Don’t Understand

Peter had every reason to be frustrated. He was the fisherman. Jesus was a carpenter and teacher. Peter knew fishing. He knew they had already worked all night.

From a human perspective, it didn’t make much sense to try again.

But Peter says:

“Nevertheless, at Your word…”

That little phrase is powerful.

How many times does God ask us to do something that doesn’t make sense to us?

Forgive someone who hurt us.

Be patient with someone who frustrates us.

Pray when we feel like God is silent.

Give when we think we don’t have enough.

Serve when nobody notices.

Trust when we cannot see the future.

God sometimes asks us to put our nets back into the water when we feel that we have already tried everything.

And the question is: Will we trust His word?

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Don’t Let Failure Define You

Peter had spent the entire night working with nothing to show for it. Imagine how he felt.

Sometimes we feel the same way. We pray, but nothing seems to change. We work hard, but things don’t work out. We try to improve our marriage, our family, our spiritual life, but we continue to struggle.

We may begin to think:

“What’s the point?”

But Jesus comes to Peter precisely in the middle of his disappointment.

Jesus does not say, “Peter, because you failed last night, I cannot use you.”

Instead, Jesus says:

“Follow Me.”

Your failures do not disqualify you from God’s calling. Your past does not have to determine your future. Your weakness does not frighten Jesus.

Peter was not perfect. The other disciples were not perfect. And neither are we.

Jesus does not call perfect people. Jesus calls willing people.

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What Is Jesus Asking You to Leave Behind?

Then comes the hardest part.

The Gospel says they left everything and followed Him.

What does that mean for us?

Most of us are not being asked to literally abandon our jobs, homes, or families. But Jesus does ask us to leave something behind.

Maybe we need to leave behind resentment.

Maybe pride.

Maybe an addiction.

Maybe gossip.

Maybe jealousy.

Maybe the desire to control everything.

Maybe a relationship that is pulling us away from God.

Maybe an old habit that we have justified for years.

Maybe we need to leave behind the person we used to be.

Because sometimes the greatest obstacle between us and Jesus is not something we don’t have. It is something we refuse to let go of.

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So here is today’s big question:

What is Jesus asking me to leave behind?

Not your neighbor.

Not your spouse.

Not your children.

Not the person sitting next to you.

You.

What is Jesus asking you to surrender?

Perhaps today we can each quietly ask:

“Lord, what is the net I am holding onto?”

“Lord, what is the boat I am afraid to leave?”

“Lord, what is keeping me from following You completely?”

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Jesus Is Still Calling

And then we listen.

Because Jesus is still calling.

He called Peter. He called Andrew. He called James. He called John. And throughout history, He has continued calling ordinary men and women to follow Him.

And today, He calls us.

The question is not whether Jesus is calling.

The question is: Are we listening?

Peter could have said, “I’m tired. Maybe tomorrow.”

He could have said, “I’ve already tried.”

He could have said, “I have responsibilities.”

Instead, he trusted.

And because he trusted, his life was changed forever.

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Go Deeper

My brothers and sisters, perhaps Jesus is standing before some of us today and saying:

“Put out into the deep.”

Go deeper in your prayer.

Go deeper in your marriage.

Go deeper in your relationship with your children.

Go deeper in your faith.

Go deeper in forgiveness.

Go deeper in your service to others.

Go deeper in your relationship with God.

Don’t remain at the shoreline.

Don’t allow fear to keep you in the boat.

Don’t allow yesterday’s failure to determine tomorrow’s faith.

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Jesus is calling us into the deep. And He promises that we will never go there alone.

So this week, let us take one thing seriously. Ask yourself every morning:

“Jesus, what are You asking me to do today?”

And when He answers, let our response be the same as Peter’s:

“Lord, because You say so, I will.”

Because sometimes the greatest miracle is not the miracle that happens in the water.

The greatest miracle is what happens inside a person’s heart when he or she finally says yes to Jesus.

May God give us the courage to trust Him, the humility to obey Him, and the faith to leave behind whatever keeps us from following Him.

And may we never forget:

Jesus is still calling.

Prayerfully yours,

+ Fr. Michael

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Scripture Readings for September 27

Prokeimenon — Mode Plagal 4

Psalm 75:11, 1

“Make your vows to the Lord our God and perform them.”

Verse: God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel.

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Epistle

St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians 6:16–18; 7:1

Brethren, you are the temple of the living God; as God said:

“I will live in them and move among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Therefore, come out from them and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean. Then He will welcome us and be a Father to us, and we shall be His sons and daughters.

Since we have these promises, beloved, St. Paul calls us to cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit and to make holiness perfect in the fear of God.

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Προκείμενον. Ήχος πλ. δ’

ΨΑΛΜΟΙ 75.11,1

Εὔξασθε καὶ ἀπόδοτε Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν.

Στίχ. Γνωστὸς ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ ὁ Θεός, ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ μέγα τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ.

Πρὸς Κορινθίους β’ 6:16–18, 7:1 τὸ ἀνάγνωσμα

Ἀδελφοί, ὑμεῖς ἐστε ναὸς Θεοῦ ζῶντος, καθὼς εἶπεν ὁ θεός ὅτι Ἐνοικήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω· καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτῶν θεός, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔσονταί μοι λαός. Διὸ, Ἐξέλθετε ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν καὶ ἀφορίσθητε, λέγει κύριος, καὶ ἀκαθάρτου μὴ ἅπτεσθε· κἀγὼ εἰσδέξομαι ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἔσομαι ὑμῖν εἰς πατέρα, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἔσεσθέ μοι εἰς υἱοὺς καὶ θυγατέρας, λέγει κύριος παντοκράτωρ. Ταύτας οὖν ἔχοντες τὰς ἐπαγγελίας, ἀγαπητοί, καθαρίσωμεν ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ παντὸς μολυσμοῦ σαρκὸς καὶ πνεύματος, ἐπιτελοῦντες ἁγιωσύνην ἐν φόβῳ θεοῦ.

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Holy Gospel

Luke 5:1–11 | The Miraculous Catch of Fish

As Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, He saw two boats beside the lake while the fishermen were washing their nets.

Jesus entered Simon’s boat and asked him to move a short distance from the land. From the boat, He taught the people.

When He had finished speaking, Jesus told Simon:

“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

Simon replied that they had worked throughout the night and caught nothing, but at Christ’s word, he would let down the nets.

When they did, they caught such a great number of fish that their nets began to break. Their partners came to help, and both boats became so full that they began to sink.

Seeing what had happened, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees and said:

“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Simon and those with him were astonished at the catch, including James and John, the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus told Simon:

“Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.”

When they returned their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

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Living the Gospel This Week

This week’s Gospel gives us a beautiful challenge: go deeper.

Peter had already tried. He was tired. His nets were empty. Yet when Christ called him to try once more, Peter trusted Him.

There are times in our own lives when we stand beside our own empty nets. We have prayed. We have tried. We have waited. We may even feel like giving up.

But Christ still calls:

“Put out into the deep.”

Perhaps going deeper this week means returning to prayer. Perhaps it means forgiving someone. Perhaps it means serving when no one is watching, surrendering an old resentment, trusting God with something we cannot control, or simply taking the next faithful step when we cannot see where it will lead.

And perhaps our prayer can be as simple as Peter’s response:

“Lord, because You say so, I will.”

September Birthdays 🎂

We wish a happy and blessed birthday to:

September 1 — Levi Magallanes

September 3 — Nelly O’Dougherty

September 3 — Richard Walega

September 5 — Bill Sallas

September 5 — George & Argyro Nomikos

September 11 — Melody Pappas Jason

September 11 — Seuaste Filosofos

September 15 — Jessica Nipirakis

September 16 — Carolyn Walega

September 19 — Stamatia Mavrellis

September 19 — Charlee Hyser

September 20 — Robin Kontos

September 21 — Soula Climan

September 21 — Gary Nassar

September 24 — John Voyiatzis

September 25 — Mike Coombs

September 29 — Kathryn Healy

September 29 — George Nomikos

September 29 — Alexios Mullis

September 30 — Darla McCarthy

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May God grant you many blessed years!

September Anniversaries 💒

We celebrate and pray for the couples marking their anniversaries this month:

September 6 — Jim & Cathy Sanders

September 19 — Patrick & Jennifer Healy

September 21 — Nicholas & Soula Climan

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May God continue to bless their marriages and grant them many blessed years together!

Bible Study & Catechism Classes

Join us as we continue growing together in our knowledge of Holy Scripture and the Orthodox Faith.

Bible Study: 9:00 AM–10:30 AM

Catechism Class: 10:30 AM–11:30 AM

Upcoming Class Dates

• Saturday, October 17, 2026

• Saturday, December 5, 2026

• Saturday, January 16, 2027

• Saturday, March 13, 2027

All are invited to attend!

Classes use the Orthodox Study Bible, so please remember to bring yours with you.

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Upcoming Special Services

These services are in addition to our general Sunday Orthros and Divine Liturgy services.

Friday, October 23, 2026

Feast Day of St. James (Iakovos), the Brother of the Lord

Orthros: 9:00 AM

Divine Liturgy: 10:00 AM

Friday, November 13, 2026

Feast Day of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople

Divine Liturgy: 9:00 AM

No Orthros

Wednesday, November 25, 2026

Feast Day of St. Katherine the Great Martyr of Alexandria

There will be NO SERVICES AT HOLY TRINITY CHURCH. Orthros and Divine Liturgy will instead be celebrated at St. Katherine’s Greek Orthodox Church in Naples, Florida.

Sunday, November 29, 2026 | 1:00 PM

Vespers for the Eve of the Feast Day of St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle

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Join Us at Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church

24411 Rampart Blvd.

Port Charlotte, FL 33980

Phone: 941-629-3888

V. Rev. Dr. Michael Bahlatzis, Protopresbyter

Presiding Priest-Proistamenos

Phone: (607) 215-3887

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We warmly invite our parish family, visitors, and anyone interested in learning more about the Orthodox Christian faith to worship with us.

As we begin this new week, may we listen for the voice of Christ calling us beyond the shoreline, beyond our fears, and beyond the things we are afraid to surrender.

“Put out into the deep.”

And may our answer be:

“Lord, because You say so, I will.”

Christ is in our midst! He is and ever shall be. ☦️