Sunday of Pentecost
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Sunday of Pentecost (HTML
format)
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Sunday of Pentecost (HTML
format)
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Sunday of
Pentecost (HTML
format)
By Fr David Moser
2002
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Sunday of Pentecost (HTML
format)
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Sunday of Pentecost
(HTML format)
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Sunday of Pentecost
(HTML format)
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Sunday of Pentecost
(mp3 format)
2010-05-23
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Sunday
of Pentecost (mp3 format)
Exegesis Of Pentecost Vespers Parables
Numbers
11-16-17-24-29, Joel
2-23-32, Ezekiel 36-24-28
2011-06-11
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Sunday
of Pentecost (mp3 format)
Ministry Of The Holy Spirit
O Heavenly
King
2011-06-12
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Sunday
of Pentecost (mp3 format)
I Will Give You A New Heart And Put A New Spirit Within
You
Learning To
Discern Between The Old And New Ways
Acts 21-11, Ezekiel
36-24-28
2012-06-03
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Sunday
of Pentecost (mp3 format)
I Will Give You A New Heart And Put A New Spirit Within
You
Learning To
Discern Between The Old And New Ways
Acts 21-11, Ezekiel
36-24-28
(1)
2012-06-03
SYNOPSIS:The readings
for Divine Liturgy on
Pentecost give the story of Pentecost and our Lord #39;s
prophesy of it. The "take
home" for Pentecost is from one of the Vespers
readings: "I will give you a
new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will
take away the stony heart out of
your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh."
(Ezekiel 36:26) We can know a lot
about Pentecost, but if we do not learn how to discern
the old ways, which the heart
falls into frequently, from the new ways, we will have
learned nothing useful for our
salvation. We look into how to learn to discern what is
in our hearts, whether it be
according to the old, or according to the new. The Holy
Spirit will not continue to
abide in a heart that does not seek after the new ways.
We contrast new and old ways and
discuss how to develop the skill to discern between
them. This is a critically important
subject. This homily is a bit longer than normal, but it
is important, and it is
difficult to discuss important things, and important
skills in 12-15 minutes.
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Sunday
of Pentecost (mp3 format)
If Any Man Thirst Let Him Come Unto Me And
Drink
How To Cultivate
Thirst
John 7-37-52-8-12
2013-06-23
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Sunday
of Pentecost (mp3 format)
O That All People Might Prophesy And That The Lord Would
Give Them His
Spirit
I Will Give You A New Heart
2014-06-09
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Sunday
of Pentecost (HTML format)
Exegesis On The Holy Spirit
How To Listen To Your
Heart
2015-05-31
Also in Format:
Adobe
PDF
or
Word
DOC
or
mp3
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Children's sermon: The Pentecost Icon,
King Kosmos, Symbols of the Holy
Spirit (mp3 format)
Pentecost
2016
SYNOPSIS:Sermon to children with a
detailed explanation of who King Kosmas is,
and a "spirited"
discussion and questions and answers with the children
about the Pentecost icon. Why is
St Paul in the Pentecost icon? Why is there FIRE in the
icon? Symbols of the Holy
Spirit.
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Sunday
of
Pentecost (mp3 format)
Pentecost Ikon Holy Spirit Symbols
Childrens
Sermon
2016
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Sunday
of Pentecost (mp3
format)
Thirst
O Heavenly King
John 7-37
2016
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"O
Heavenly King" explained, and about prayer in the
heart. (mp3 format)
Pentecost
2017-06-04
SYNOPSIS:"O Heavenly
King" is explained in detail, with an aim to teach
us how to pray with our hearts.
Also, the Jewish and Christian feasts of Pentecost
discussed, and the ministry of the
Holy Spirit, which is necessary for us to fulfil the
Christian law. A short rule of
prayer and prayer for others will help us, if we try, to
develop prayer with our heart.
O Heavenly King
, Comforter, Spirit
of Truth, Who art everywhere
present and fillest all things, Treasury of good
things and Giver of life: Come and
dwell in us, and cleanse us of all impurity, and
save our souls, O Good One.
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The
purpose of the sending of the Holy Spirit. Survey of
Scripture read on Pentecost. (mp3
format)
Acts 2:1-11 John 7:37-52: 8:12 Joel
2:23-32
2018-05-27
SYNOPSIS:Fr
Methodius is a priest at St Barnabas Mission in Kenya,
Africa
(http://orthodoxmissionkenya.org/). He was with us on
Pentecost and gave a homily which
is a sweeping survey of the Scriptures that are read on
the feast and teaches us the
purpose of the coming of the Holy Spirit and many other
things.
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The
promise of Pascha is fulfilled because of Pentecost.
(mp3 format)
Numbers 11:16-17,24-29 : Joel 2:23-32 : Ezekiel 36:24-28
: John 20:19-23 : Acts
2:1-11 : John 7:37-52:8:12
2019-06-16
SYNOPSIS:The Christian
life, and salvation, is impossible without the Holy
Spirit abiding in us. This is what
we celebrate on Pentecost, and all of the readings for
the feast teach us not only about
the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but also how we must
live. We do short survey of the
readings from Vespers, Matins and the liturgy.
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By
the Holy Spirit,
we put on Christ and become perfected human beings in
the likeness of God. (Word DOC
format)
2020-06-07
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:Because of the Holy Spirit, we
are able to put on Christ
and after baptism begin the process become perfected
human being in the likeness of God.
This is the primary reason for celebrating the giving of
the Holy Spirit to Christians.
Until that time, how do we live spiritually in such
times as pandemics and civil unrest,
protests, anger and violence which have occurred after
the death of George Floyd? The
Christian answer is not political.
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I
will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I
will give you an heart of flesh.
(mp3 format)
Numbers 11:16-17, 24-29 Joel 2:23-32 Ezekiel
36:24-28
2021-06-20
SYNOPSIS:The
event of Pentecost is described in the reading from Acts
today,
the promise of Pentecost in the Gospel, and the result
of Pentecost in the three
selections from the Old Testament that were read in the
Vespers service. We will
concentrate on those, which promised that we will never
be left alone, everything broken
in our soul will be healed and restored to perfection,
and that our stony heart will
become heart of flesh.
1st Sunday after Pentecost
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1st
Sunday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
Sunday Of All Saints
2000
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
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1st
Sunday after Pentecost (Word
DOC format)
Sunday Of All Saints
2003
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1st
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Sunday Of All Saints
2004
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1st Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
2008-06-22
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1st Sunday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
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1st Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
2010-05-30
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1st
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Celebrating Sanctity
How To Become A
Saint
Hebrews 11-33-12-2,Matthew
10-32-33,37-38,19-27-30
2011-06-19
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1st
Sunday after Pentecost (RTF format)
Exegesis Of Sunday Of All Saints Vespers
Parables
Isaiah
43-9-14,Wisdom-3-1-9,Wisdom-5-15-6-3
2011-06-19
Also
in Format:
mp3
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1st
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Sunday Of All Saints
How To Become A
Saint
Matthew
10-32-33,37-38,19-27-30,Hebrews 11-33-12-2
2012-06-10
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1st
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
All Saints
Through Faith With Patience
Heb
11-33-12-1
2015
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"Behold,
we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we
have therefore? " A question
we all must be able to ask. (mp3 format)
Sunday of All Saints
Matthew
19:27
2016
SYNOPSIS:We are all
called to be saints, therefore, we should be able to say
what Peter said, without being a liar: "Behold, we
have forsaken all, and followed
thee; what shall we have therefore?" What does this
mean? Can we say this? What
must we do to be able to say this? Full disclosure: he
text selected was actually read
on the Sunday of All Saints, and accidently used again
on the Sunday of All Saints of
Russia, the following Sunday. Mistakes happen, but the
sermon still applies to saints,
and therefore, to us, since we are called to be saints.
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What
is confession of Christ in our sin-loving and
sin-excusing world? (mp3 format)
Sunday of All Saints
Confession Of
Christ
Matthew 10:32-33,
37-38
2016-06-26
SYNOPSIS:What is a
synaxis of All
Saints, and why do we celebrate them the Sunday after
Pentecost? It is rare to be a
saint, but we are all called to be saints! How are we
going to become saints, even
though we have sins, some of which we cannot overcome?
This starts with how we identify
ourselves and the things we, in our heart of hearts,
really value. In our modern, sin
loving and excusing age, we must take a stand for who we
are. This is true confession.
In this context, we examine the verses read today:
"Whosoever therefore shall
confess me before men, him will I confess also before my
Father which is in heaven. 33
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also
deny before my Father which is
in heaven. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than
me is not worthy of me: and he
that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy
of me. 38 And he that taketh not
his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of
me."
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1st
Sunday after Pentecost (Word DOC format)
Many That Are First Shall Be Last And The Last Shall Be
First
2017
Also in Format:
mp3
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What
is a saint and how do you become a saint? (Word DOC
format)
Hebrews 12:1-2 Matthew
10:32-33
2019-06-24
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:On the Sunday of All Saints
appropriate to talk about what
is a saint, how the saints relate to us, and how to
become a saint. We look especially
at Hebrews which talks about the great cloud of
witnesses, and also in the gospel about
the confession we must make before men. Putting these
things together we see the life of
the saints and how to join that life.
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Sunday of All
Saints. Because of the
Holy Spirit, we are all called to be saints. (Word DOC
format)
Sunday of All Saints
Romans
12:1-2
2020-06-14
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:Why do we celebrate all of the
saints the Sunday after
Pentecost? It is because the gift of the Holy Spirit
makes everyone capable of becoming
a saint. There is only one thing that can keep us from
becoming a saint. Let us learn
the lay aside every weight of sin, even if only a little
bit at a time and we will
become saints.
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All
Saints. What we must do to be in the great cloud of
witnesses. (mp3 format)
Matthew 10:32 : Hebrews 11:33-34 : Hebrews 12:1
2021-06-27
SYNOPSIS:On All-Saints
Sunday, we explain why it is appropriate to
commemorate all the saints the Sunday after Pentecost
and also why we begin fasting on
the next day. It’s all about becoming saint: to be part
of the great cloud of witnesses.
The Scriptures for the day tell us how to become saints.
We must know deeply in our
heart that out of weakness we are made strong and we
must run the race with patience and
must know what it means to confess Jesus Christ before
men (it’s not something you just
do with your lips or even your actions). During our
explanation we discussed the actions
of some modern hierarchs which are a case study and not
running the race with patience
or confessing Jesus Christ before men. May God deliver
us and them from a secular way of
living!
2nd Sunday after Pentecost
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2nd
Sunday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
All Saints Of Russia
1999
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
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2nd
Sunday after Pentecost (Word
DOC format)
All Saints Of Russia
2000
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2nd Sunday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
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2nd Sunday after Pentecost
(Word DOC format)
2003
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2nd Sunday after Pentecost
(mp3 format)
2004
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2nd Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
2008-06-29
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2nd Sunday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
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2nd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
All Saints Of Russia
3 Necessary
Things
2010-06-06
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2nd
Sunday
after Pentecost (mp3 format)
A Good Beginning
Matthew 4-18-23
2011-06-26
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2nd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Follow Me And I Will Make You Fishers Of
Men
Matthew 4-18-23-Matthew
4-25-5-12
2012-06-17
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2nd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Everything Is Spiritual
Follow Me And I Will Make
You Fishers Of
Men
Matthew 4-18-23
2013-07-07
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2nd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Beatititudes
Christian Meaning Of Poverty Of Spirit
And
Mourning
Matthew 4-25-5-12
2014-06-22
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2nd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Beatitudes
Blessed Are The
Peacemakers
Mat-4-25-5-12
2015
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A
practical look at the beatitudes, which describe the
saints and those trying to be
saints. (Word DOC format)
2019-06-30
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:A look at what the saints are
like, and what we should do
to be like them. By looking at the first 4 Beatitudes
from St. Matthew (" Blessed
are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Blessed are they that
mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the
meek: for they shall inherit the
earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall
be filled.") in a very practical way. There are
things we all can do to fulfill
these Beatitudes, and if we do them a little bit, and
even not so well, God will help us
and we will become saints. The key is to try, even if we
are not very good at it!
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The
Saints achieved profound peace in an unpeaceful world.
(RTF format)
Matthww 4:25-5:12
2020-06-21
Also in Format:
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SYNOPSIS:This Sunday we are celebrating
All Saints of Russia as we
always do on the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost. The end of
the troparion says: "By
their prayers keep the Church and the world in profound
peace." Russia and the
world are not peaceful and never have been. What is this
peace that we are asking for?
It is the same peace that it is in the heart of every
saint. We look at the first two
Beatitudes (poverty of spirit and mourning) to see how
to achieve this peace in the
midst of the world that is ever becoming less
peaceful.
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How
to solve the greatest problem in the world. (mp3
format)
Hebrews 11:33-12:2
2021-07-04
SYNOPSIS:On the Sunday
of All Saints of Russia we ask the question: "what
is the greatest problem in the
world today?" Some might answer that it is the
pandemic and the vaccine, politics,
the environment, immorality, etc. None of these is the
greatest problem. All the saints
teach how to solve the greatest problem, and we talk
about two essential aspects of the
solution: faith, and patience.
3rd Sunday after Pentecost
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3rd Sunday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
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3rd Sunday after Pentecost
(Word DOC format)
2003
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3rd Sunday after Pentecost
(mp3 format)
2004
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3rd Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
2008-07-06
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3rd Sunday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
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3rd
Sunday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
Answer All The Questions
2010-06-13
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
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3rd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
How To Discern Light And Darkness In The Eye Of The
Soul
Matthew
6-22-33
2011-07-03
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3rd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Seek Ye First The Kingdom Of God And His
Righteousness
As We Think So We
Are
Matthew 6-22-33
2012-06-24
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3rd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
The Light Of The Body Is The Eye
Unbridled Desire
Causes
Anxiety
Matthew 6-22-33
2013-07-14
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3rd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
The Meaning Of Life
Is Not The Life More Than Meat
And The Body Than
Raiment
Matthew 6-22-33
2014-06-29
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3rd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Timothy Of Esphigmenou
New Martyrs Of The Turkish
Yoke
2015
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The
eye, desire, anxiety & peace. Matthew 6:22-33 (mp3
format)
Matthew-6:22-33 Romans 5:1
2016
SYNOPSIS:The problem
of anxiety and the cure for it. There is a link between
bad desires, and weak faith and
anxiety. Exposition of Matthew 6:22-33 and Romans 5:1,
particularly: "The light of
the body is the eye", "seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
you" and "being
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ" As in any
short talk, all solutions are not discussed. There is an
organic cause for anxiety, but
no more common cause for it is a problem with the
"eyes"
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3rd Sunday
after Pentecost (mp3
format)
New Martyrs Turkish Yoke
2017
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"If
thine eye be whole, thy heart will be settled in
peace." (RTF format)
Matthew 6:22 : Luke 21:14
2020-06-28
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:In this Third Sunday after
Pentecost when we also celebrate
the New Martyrs of the Turkish yoke, the Gospels,
although they are from Matthew and
Luke, are very much connected. We describe our greatest
problem, that which brings us
the most dissatisfaction and unhappiness in the world
and how these Gospels describe how
we can have a heart that is settled, always at peace.
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Holy
New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke. How do we imitate them
and be settled in our hearts the
matter what persecutions arise? (mp3 format)
Luke 21:12-19 : Romans 5:1-10
2021-07-11
4th Sunday after Pentecost
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4th Sunday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
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4th Sunday after Pentecost
(Word DOC format)
2003
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4th Sunday after Pentecost
(mp3 format)
2004
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4th Sunday after
Pentecost (Word DOC
format)
2008-07-14
Also in Format:
mp3
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4th Sunday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
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4th
Sunday after Pentecost
(Word DOC format)
Freedom And Slavery
2010-06-20
Also in Format:
mp3
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4th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Being Then Made Free From Sin Ye Became The Servants Of
Righteousness
Freedom And Slavery Explained By Paul And The
Centurion
Romans
6-18-23-Matthew 8-5-13
2011-07-10
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4th
Sunday
after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Faith Of The Centurion
Matthew
8-5-13
2012-03-30
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4th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Being Then Made Free From Sin Ye Became The Servants Of
Righteousness
Romans 6-18-23
2012-07-01
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4th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Healing Of The Centurions Servant
Character
Matters
Matthew 8-5-13,
Romans 6-18-23
2014-07-06
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4th
Sunday
after Pentecost (Word DOC format)
Healing Of Centurions Servant
Obedience
Mat
8-5-13
2015
Also
in Format:
mp3
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Freedom
and slavery, and the Centurion. (mp3 format)
Romans 6:18-23 Matthew 8:5-13
2018-06-24
SYNOPSIS:The Epistle today tells us about
slavery - to sin, and slavery to
righteousness - which is true freedom. We compare the
two kinds of slavery, and the
perfection of freedom to righteousness, as shown by the
centurion who asked the Lord to
heal his servant.
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Being
made free from sin, ye have your fruit unto holiness,
and the end everlasting life. (mp3
format)
Romans 6:18-23
2019-07-14
SYNOPSIS:St. Paul teaches
us how to think about sin and holiness. If we do not
think correctly, we cannot live
correctly. He gives us two ways to think about sin and
holiness. The first is after the
manner of men, but it is still extremely useful. The
second is the highest way. We
discuss both of these ways. It is notable that St.
Paul’s instruction regarding sin and
righteousness is in the chapter where he also describes
baptism
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Freedom
to not sin vs
slavery, and righteousness obtained from experience.
(Word DOC format)
Romans 6:18-23 Matthew 8:5-13
2020-07-05
Also
in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:On the 4th Sunday after
Pentecost, we explain the meaning
of the words of St Paul: "Being then made free from
sin, ye became the servants of
righteousness". These words define the ***only***
problem of human life, the
solution, and the promise. Furthermore, the words of the
centurion, whose servant was
sick tell us the way to obtain this freedom, in which we
are no longer compelled to sin,
and can ***easily*** be righteous. It is from experience
and activity, with the grace of
God helping us.
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Experience
and the Centurion will teach us: "Being then made
free from sin, ye became the
servants of righteousness." (mp3 format)
2021-07-18
SYNOPSIS:We talk about
the centurion, a man
who knew how to give and obey commands and because of
his experience in living
righteously, had faith that was commended by Jesus
Christ. By experience we will learn
what it means to be free from sin and a slave to
righteousness. This change occurs in
the heart and is the perfect freedom of which Christ
speaks of when He says: "In
that day ye shall be free indeed." The freedom of
the world is slavery in slavery
to righteousness is freedom. We will learn this by
experience.
5th Sunday after Pentecost
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5th Sunday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
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5th Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
2008-07-20
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5th Sunday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
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5th
Sunday after Pentecost
(mp3 format)
Gergesenes Demoniacs
2010-06-27
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5th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
What Have We To Do With Thee, Jesus, Thou Son Of God And
Who Shall Separate Us
From The Love Of Christ
Questions That Must Be
Answered
Matthew 8-28-9-1,Romans
8-28-39
2011-07-17
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5th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Gergesenes Demoniac
What Have We To Do With Thee
Jesus Thou Son Of
God
Matthew 8-28-9-1
2012-07-08
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5th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
What Have We To Do With Thee Jesus Thou Son Of
God
That They Might Have My
Joy Fulfilled In Themselves
Matthew
8-28-9-1
2013-07-28
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5th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
When They Saw Him They Besought Him That He Would Depart
Out Of Their
Coasts
Everything Is An Encounter With Christ
Matthew
8-28-9-1
2014-07-13
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5th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Word Is Nigh Thee Even In Thy Mouth And In Thy
Heart
Rom 8-8
2015
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"They being
ignorant of God's righteousness... have not submitted
themselves unto the righteousness
of God." A man cannot live righteously according to
*his own* truth. (mp3
format)
S
Romans 10:1-10 Matthew
8:28-9:1
2018-07-01
SYNOPSIS:In our
day, many sins, opinions, and lifestyle choices being
described is "living your own truth". It is
quite impossible for man to be his
own truth, as only Jesus Christ is the truth. The
readings for today show the results
when a man tries to live according to his own truth. The
people of the Gergesenes
rejected the Light, and St. Paul's description of such
people sounds very modern and
contemporary: "For they being ignorant of God's
righteousness, and going about to
establish their own righteousness, have not submitted
themselves unto the righteousness
of God."
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"The
word is nigh thee even in thy mouth." (mp3
format)
Romans 10:1-10, Matthew
8:28-9:1
2019-07-21
SYNOPSIS:Three
rhetorical questions are asked in today’s readings that
we
must strive to answer.
"Who will ascend into
heaven? (that is, to bring
Christ down from above) "
"Who will
descend into the abyss? (that is,
to bring Christ up from the dead) "
"What have we to do with you,
Jesus, you Son of God? "
. Paul’s answer to
these rhetorical questions is
that we must live an intimate life with God, so that
"The word is nigh thee even in
thy mouth. " He points out the insufficiency of the
law for salvation. Only Jesus
saves, not any rule of life. To come to salvation
requires struggle, and a daily effort
to rid ourselves of the distraction and spiritual
blindness of sin, which keeps us from
realizing the intimate presence of God in our hearts.
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Always
*be*
answering the question! What have we to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of God? (mp3
format)
Gergesenes
Matthew
8:28-9:1
2021-07-25
SYNOPSIS:When
the Gergesene demoniacs encountered Jesus they asked
him:
"What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of
God?" Grammatically, this is
a rhetorical question but there are no rhetorical
questions for we who are Christians
and read the Scriptures; we must answer all of them! The
entirety of our Christian life
should be a constant answering of this question. We
discuss the power of demons and how
they afflict us, and the things we must do to properly
answer this question. We also
discussed the one thing we should be afraid of; it is
not the demons.
-
5th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
matthew8-28-9-1
SYNOPSIS:5th
Sunday after
Pentecost
6th Sunday after Pentecost
-
6th Sunday after Pentecost
(mp3 format)
2004
-
6th Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
2009-07-19
-
6th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
The Paralytic
A Promise And Rebuke Regarding
Faith
2010-07-04
-
6th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Remission Of Sins Of The Paralytic And Woman Who Was A
Sinner
Matthew
9-1-8,Luke 7-36-50
2011-07-24
-
6th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Let Love Be Without Dissimulation
A Reason For All
The Rules
Romans
12-6-14
2012-07-14
-
6th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
They Brought To Him A Man Sick Of The Palsy
Bear Ye
One Anothers Burdens
And So Fulfil The Law Of Christ
Matthew
9-1-8
2013-08-04
-
Grace,mercy, do's & dont's, and
becoming vessels of grace. (mp3 format)
Romans 12:6-14
2017-07-16
SYNOPSIS:Christianity is
to live in a moral way. It is not dogmas or principles
in the abstract. It is very
practical. We talk about do's and don’ts, legalism,
grace and mercy, and making
ourselves vessels of grace, and a line by line exegesis
of Paul's "do's".
Since this is during the 40 days for my son +Daniel (
https://www.orthodox.net//daniel
),
there
are also very personal examples of how God visits with
grace, but we must react to this
grace.
-
How
do we give with simplicity, and love without hypocrisy?
The Apostle Paul and the parable
about the two debtors explains. (mp3 format)
Romans 16:6-14 Luke 7:36-50
2018-07-08
SYNOPSIS:The
parable (two men owed a debt to their Lord, one 500, and
another 50, and he was gracious
to both) told by Jesus to explain the simple love and
devotion of the sinful woman who
anointed His feet helps explain how we can give with
simplicity, show mercy with
cheerfulness, and love without hypocrisy, all of which
are commands of the Apostle Paul
in Romans 12:6-14. There is another
"technique" given by the Apostle, to help
us to fulfil his commands: put spiritual things first,
especially prayer.
-
6th
Sunday
after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Be-Of-Good-Cheer, Increasing-Faith-Matthew
9-1-8
2019
SYNOPSIS:6th Sunday after
Pentecost
-
Be
of good cheer! Increasing our faith. (mp3 format)
Be Of Good Cheer
Increasing Faith
Matthew
9:1-8
2019-07-28
SYNOPSIS:The
discourse of the Lord before He
healed the paralytic teaches us many things in order to
have more faith.
-
Healing
of
the Paralytic - a parable that reveals our purpose and
destiny. (Word DOC format)
Matthew 9:1-8
2020-07-19
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:The healing of the paralytic is
a true story, however it
can also be thought of as a parable that reveals the
purpose of our life and how to
achieve it. There were three healings in the story, one
from sin and another from
paralysis, and another that enables us to obtain our
purpose, which is much deeper and
beautiful than just fighting sin. In this homily, in the
end, we read a letter from a
prisoner which illustrates the great beauty our
purpose.
-
St
Paul tells us: What
are we going to do about the challenges and dangers of
our age? (mp3 format)
Romans 12:6-14
2021-08-01
SYNOPSIS:I’ve been asked
many times by many people regarding the chaotic world
that we live in, with rumors and
pandemics and mandates and pronouncements and hatred and
cancel culture and threats of
ecological disasters and even the words of hierarchs
which disappoint us: What are we
going to do? The epistle from Paul for the Sixth Sunday
after Pentecost tells us exactly
what we should do. It is what we should have done
yesterday and should also do today and
tomorrow. We discuss several of his exhortations and why
obeying him will help us deal
with our anxieties and everything that comes into our
path.
7th Sunday after Pentecost
-
7th Sunday after Pentecost
(mp3 format)
2004
-
7th Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
2008-08-03
-
7th Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
2009-07-26
-
7th Sunday
after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Romans 15-1-7
2010-07-11
-
7th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
We Then That Are Strong Ought To Bear The Infirmities Of
The Weak And Not To
Please Ourselves
Romans 15-1-7
2012-07-21
-
7th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
According To Your Faith Be It Unto You
Matthew
9-27-35
2012-07-22
-
7th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
According To Your Faith Be It Unto You
We Then That
Are Strong Ought To
Bear The Infirmities Of The Weak
Romans 15-1-7-Matthew
9-27-35
2013-08-11
-
7th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
We Then That Are Strong Ought To Bear The Infirmities Of
The Weak And Not To
Please Ourselves
Romans 15-1-7
2014-07-27
-
We
are blind men, following the God of patience and
consolation. (mp3 format)
Romans 15:1-7, Matthew
9:27-35
2016-08-07
SYNOPSIS:The
Gospel and Epistle (Romans 15:1-7, Matthew 9:27-35) have
a
golden link today. First a riddle to solve: "What
do you ask for and do not obtain,
and because you do not obtain, you are given what you
ask for?" The Gospel tells us
that two blind men *followed* Jesus crying out for
mercy. After a long time, they were
healed. We blind people also must follow the Lord, and
the prayer of Paul become true
for us: "Now the God of patience and consolation
grant you to be likeminded one
toward another according to Christ Jesus: 6 That ye may
with one mind and one mouth
glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ." We talk about following the
Lord, and belief, and patience, and, especially,
patience and consolation. What, plainly
is consolation, and how do we obtain it? Consolation is
one thing only, and there is one
way only to obtain it.
-
Healing
of the 2 Blind Men. What increases our faith? (mp3
format)
Matthew 9:27-35
2017-07-23
SYNOPSIS:We must
understand the basic meaning of Scripture to apply it to
our lives. We do an exegesis of
the entire selection from Matthew describing the healing
of the two blind men who called
after Jesus and the reaction of the Pharisees,
concentrating on the heroic actions of
the men, the prayer they said, and the difference
between the OT priesthood and the
priesthood of the High Priest - Jesus Christ, and then
apply it to our lives,
particularly how we should pray and how we can increase
our faith.
-
What
is faith, what is it based on, and how do we increase
it? St. Paul teaches us. (Adobe
PDF format)
Romans 15:1-7
2019
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:The Gospel reading the Sunday,
Jesus told the paralytic
that he was healed "according to his faith ".
What is faith? What is it based
on? How do we increase it? The answers are in St. Paul’s
epistle today.
-
What
is faith, what is it based on, and how do we increase
it? St. Paul teaches us. (Adobe
PDF format)
Romans 15:1-7
2019
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:The Gospel reading the Sunday,
Jesus told the paralytic
that he was healed "according to his faith ".
What is faith? What is it based
on? How do we increase it? The answers are in St. Paul’s
epistle today.
-
Two
kinds of eyes, and of possession, and 2 sides of faith
which is expressed with 2 kinds
of action (mp3 format)
2 Kinds Eyes Possession Faith Action
Romans 15:1-7
Matthew
9:27-35
2020
SYNOPSIS:The healing of
the two blind men, and of
the man struck dumb by a demon, combined with teaching
of the Apostle Paul about the
strong bearing the infirmities of the weak all teaches
how to live with faith in a
practical and a spiritual way.
-
7th Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
2021
8th Sunday after Pentecost
9th Sunday after Pentecost
-
9th
Sunday after Pentecost (Word
DOC format)
Walking On The Water
1998
-
9th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
We are labourers together with God
1 Corinthians
3:9-17
1corinthians3-9-17
SYNOPSIS:9th Sunday after
Pentecost
-
9th Sunday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
2001
-
9th Sunday after Pentecost
(mp3 format)
2004
-
9th Sunday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
-
9th
Sunday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
Walking On The Water
2009-08-09
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
9th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
We Are Labourers Together With God
1 Corinthians
3-9-17
2010-07-25
-
9th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
When The Disciples Saw Him Walking On The Sea They Were
Troubled Saying It Is A
Spirit And They Cried Out For Fear
Matthew
14-22-34
2012-08-05
-
9th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Ye Are Labourers Together With God
Know Ye Not That
Ye Are The Temple Of
God And That The Spirit Of God Dwelleth In You
1
Corinthians 3-9-17
2013-08-25
-
9th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Jesus Walks On The Water
Matthew
14-22-34
2014-08-09
-
9th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Ye Are Gods Husbandry Ye Are Gods
Building
Christian Marriage And Family
Life
1 Corinthians 3-9-17
2014-08-10
-
"Wherefore
didst thou doubt?" The relationship between doubt
and labor. (mp3 format)
Matthew 14:22-34-1 : Corinthians
3:9-17
2016-08-22
SYNOPSIS:Every
question in the scripture is meant to be answered. There
are
no rhetorical questions in the scripture. Here is a
question from the Gospel today which
we will answer: We answer this question partly by
confessing that few believe wholly in
the resurrection, and few are obey the words of the
Apostle: "For we are laborers
together with God: ye are God's husbandry". We
discuss the various kinds of doubt
(they are legion) and of labor.
-
We are labourers together with God. This is
the Christian
way. It is the only way. (mp3 format)
1 Corinthians 3:9-17
2017-08-06
SYNOPSIS:Exegesis of
the Epistle for today, from 1 Corinthians 3:9-17 with
particular emphasis on the
application of the Apostle's words: "... We are
labourers together with God"
and the practical meaning of "For other foundation
can no man lay than that is
laid, which is Jesus Christ." and the true meaning
(which differs from the commonly
accepted understanding) of " If any man's work
shall be burned, he shall suffer
loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by
fire." We cannot be Christians,
or be saved, unless we labor together.
-
We
all need encouragement. On being co-laborers and
temples. (mp3 format)
1 Corinthians 3:9-17
2020-08-09
SYNOPSIS:We all need
encouragement, and we also need to be reminded of what
our duties are. St. Paul’s
epistle today accomplishes both of these tasks. We
explore the deep spiritual meaning
and comfort of the apostle’s words: "For we are
laborers together with God: ye are
God's husbandry, ye are God's building" and
"Know ye not that ye are the
temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in
you?"
-
We
are laborers
together with God. (mp3 format)
1 Corinthians 3:9-17
2021-08-22
SYNOPSIS:In the
midst of troubles, sometimes we forget how precious and
beautiful our lives are and how
we have the greatest privilege in the universe! Despite
our sins and weaknesses and
troubles, God allows and even commands that we would be
laborers together with him. This
means everything! The apostle Paul teaches us but this
means and how we should build on
the foundation which we have been given through baptism
and grace. Many are wondering
what we should do from day to day because troubles
continue to arise. Here is the
answer! It is always been the answer. We are to be
laborers together with God and build
on the foundation we have been given with precious
things.
10th Sunday after Pentecost
-
10th
Sunday after Pentecost (Word DOC format)
The Exorcism Of The Lunatic Son Mat17;14
23
1997-08-26
-
10th
Sunday after Pentecost (Word DOC format)
The Exorcism Of The Lunatic Son Mat17;14
23
1998-08-25
-
10th Sunday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
2000
-
10th
Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
Healing Of The Lunatic Son
2002
-
10th Sunday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
-
10th
Sunday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
Demoniac Son
Fasting
2009-08-16
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
10th Sunday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
-
10th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Healing Of The Demoniac Son
A Very Common Question
And The 2 Ways To
Understand The Answer
Matthew 17-14-23
2011-08-21
-
10th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
_2012-08-11+-being-defamed-we-intreat-wherefore-i-beseech-you-be-ye-followers-of-me_1corinthians4-9-16
Being Defamed We Intreat Wherefore I Beseech You Be Ye Followers
Of Me
1 Corinthians
4-9-16
2012-08-11
-
10th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
This Kind Goeth Not Out But By Prayer And
Fasting
Matthew
17-14-23
2012-08-12
-
10th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Why Could Not We Cast Him Out
Because Of Your
Unbelief For Verily I Say
Unto You If Ye Have Faith As A Grain Of Mustard
Seed
Matthew 17-14-23
2013-09-01
-
10th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Being Creators Christian Parenthood
I Have Begotten
You Through The Gospel
Be Ye Followers Of Me
1 Corinthians 4-9-16
2014-08-17
-
10th
Sunday after Pentecost (HTML format)
Why Could Not We Cast Him Out
Works Increase
Faith
Mat
17-14-23
2015
-
The
exorcism of the lunatic son teaches us how to believe,
with action, prayer and fasting.
(Adobe PDF format)
Matthew 17:14-23
2019-08-25
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:When the disciples asked the
Lord why they could not cast
out the demon from the lunatic boy, he answered it was
because of their unbelief. But as
is always the case, He answered with much more than that
fact. He taught us how to have
belief. It is through action which is based on our
faith, and prayer and fasting.
-
Nothing
shall
be impossible regarding literal or metaphorical demons,
with prayer and fasting. He did
not say: everything will be easy! (mp3 format)
Matthew 17:14-23
2021-08-29
SYNOPSIS:After Jesus
healed the demoniac boy with merely a word, his
disciples were confused, and He
explained to them that nothing would be impossible for
them, with prayer and fasting. He
then immediately told them that He was going to be
killed. It is always this way in the
Christian life, and perhaps to us it seems even more so
in our chaotic times when people
are acting more and more insane. With faith, and
struggle, nothing is impossible, but
many times, things are very hard.
11th Sunday after Pentecost
-
11th
Sunday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
The Unmerciful Debtor Mat 18 23 35
1998
Also
in Format:
Word
DOC
-
11th Sunday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
2000
-
11th
Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Unmerciful Debtor
2002
-
11th Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
2008-08-31
-
11th
Sunday
after Pentecost (HTML format)
Parable Of The Unmerciful
Debtor
2009-08-23
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:11th Sunday after
Pentecost
-
11th
Sunday
after Pentecost (HTML format)
Parable Of The Unmerciful
Debtor
2010-08-08
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
11th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Have Patience With Me And I Will Pay Thee
All
Matthew
18-23-35
2013-09-08
-
11th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Unmerciful Debtor
Golden Rule
Restated Do Unto Others As You
Would Have God Do Unto You
Matthew 18-23-35
2014-08-24
-
11th
Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
Unmerciful Debtor
Self Knowledge
Mat
18-23-35
2015
-
Parable
of the Unmerciful Debtor, repetition and the
Transfiguration (mp3 format)
Parable of the Unmerciful
debtor.
Transfiguration
Matthew
18:23-35
2017-08-20
SYNOPSIS:Subtle
repetition in the story
about the Unmerciful Debtor. The meaning of prison and
the selling of his wife and
children. The great (and common among men) sin of the
debtor. More to the point, WHY do
we do good to others? We give the best answer - not
about commandment’s, or rules, or
rewards or punishments. The Transfiguration, celebrated
the day before, helps us to form
the answer.
-
Parable
of the Unmerciful debtor. Why forgive? Because of the
Incarnation! (mp3 format)
Matthew 18:23-35
2019-09-01
SYNOPSIS:A homily by
Priest Nicholas Park about the Parable of the Unmerciful
debtor. He explains the purpose
of the Incarnation, which is also the reason why we must
forgive! 2019-09-01 Matthew
14:22-34
-
The
way of Salvation described by the Parable of the
Unmerciful Debtor. (mp3 format)
Matthew 18:23-35
2020-08-23
SYNOPSIS:We look more
deeply at the inner spiritual meaning of the Parable of
the Unmerciful Debtor. Everyone
knows the story, and the stern admonition at the end of
it; the Lord tells us that if we
do not forgive, we will not be forgiven. The reason why
that admonition is given is
because if we receive the love of God in our hearts, we
will love and we will forgive.
This is obvious and natural. The absence of love and
forgiveness of others is a sign
that the heart has not received the love of God
experienced Him. This is not a matter
of: we *must* do certain works such as love and forgive
others; it is a matter of our
hearts being changed by the love of God so that we
naturally will love and forgive.
Whether or not the heart is changing is the greatest
litmus test for whether or not a
person is really a Christian. This is not works based
religion. This is the way of
life.
12th Sunday after Pentecost
-
12th
Sunday after
Pentecost (Word DOC format)
The Rich Young Ruler Mat 19 16 26
1999
-
12th Sunday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
2001
-
12th
Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
The Question Of The Young Rich Man
2002
-
12th Sunday after Pentecost
(mp3 format)
2004
-
12th Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
2008-09-07
-
12th
Sunday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
The Rich Young Ruler
2009-08-30
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
12th
Sunday after Pentecost (HTML format)
Grace And Labor
1 Corinthians
15-1-11
2010-08-15
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
12th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Christ Died For Our Sins According To The
Scriptures
But By The Grace Of
God I Am What I Am
1 Corinthians 15-1-11
2011-09-04
-
12th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Young Rich Ruler
Answer Every Question Ask The
Right Questions
Matthew
19-16-26
2014-08-31
-
12th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
The Rich Young Ruler
Exegesis And Take
Home
Matthew 19-16-26
2015
-
The
best way to learn is to follow an example. The Rich
Young Ruler. (mp3 format)
The Rich Young Ruler
Matthew
19:16-26
2017-08-27
SYNOPSIS:The
best way to learn is to follow an example. We have many
examples - the God-Man Jesus Christ, the saints, and
those we respect in this life. We
look at the admonition given to the Rich Young Rules in
this light. Three examples are
discussed - my dad (and BASEBALL!), St Timothy of
Esphigmenou, and St Paisios. The point
is not really that we must follow certain rules - we
must follow Jesus Christ, and all
the rules we follow will be because we follow Him. The
most important part of the
admonition is AT THE END: "If thou wilt be perfect,
go and sell that thou hast, and
give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in
heaven: and come and ***follow
me**"
-
The
Rich Young Ruler. We must ask the right questions and
know how to answer them. (mp3
format)
Matthew 19:16-26 1Corinthians
15:1-11
2019-09-08
SYNOPSIS:The
young ruler who asked Jesus the question: "what
good thing
shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" asked
the wrong question. We must know
the right questions to ask and how to answer those
questions. The most important
questions are about our identity and purpose. The Gospel
and the Epistle today answer
these questions.
-
12th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Matthew 19:16-26
2020-08-30
SYNOPSIS:The rich young
ruler called Jesus Christ good, but he did not know what
"good" is. Christians
must know who is good and why we should try to do good
things. There is a simple reason,
misunderstood by most. We also discussed other words
that are misunderstood in today’s
society, such as suffering and regarding things that are
possible or impossible.
13th Sunday after Pentecost
14th Sunday after Pentecost
-
14th Sunday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
-
14th Sunday after Pentecost
(mp3 format)
2004
-
14th
Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Wedding Feast
2009-09-18
-
14th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Wedding Feast
It Is Always About
Morality
2010-08-29
-
14th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Wedding Feast
The Wedding Garment Is
Christ
Matthew
22-1-14
2011-09-18
-
14th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Wedding Feast Earnest Of The
Spirit
Praying For People
During Divine Liturgy
Matthew 22-1-14, 2 Corinthians
1-21
2012-09-09
-
14th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Wedding Feast
Many Are Called But Few Are
Chosen
Matthew
22-1-14
2015
-
Parable
of the Wedding Feast, the wedding garment, and baptism.
(mp3 format)
Parable of Wedding Feast
Baptism of Mary
Matthew
22:1-14
2017-09-08
SYNOPSIS:The
Gospel reading for today is
about the parable of the Wedding feast and the wedding
garment, and therefore applies
completely to the baptism of Mary today. How do we put
on this garment? How do we keep
it on, and just as important, how do we keep it clean?
What is the outer darkness, the
weeping and gnashing of teeth? What is repentance, and
how is it related to the wedding
garment? Were we made to fear Hell, or long for heaven?
How *does* one *long* for
heaven?
-
Parable
of the Wedding Feast - it has questions we must answer!
(mp3 format)
Parable of the Wedding Feast
Matthew
22:1-14
2018-09-02
SYNOPSIS:An
exegesis of the Parable of the Wedding Feast, by Deacon
Nicholas
Park. There are many questions directed towards US in
this parable. Will you answer
them?
-
The
Earnest of the Holy Spirit is only in those who wear the
wedding garment. (mp3
format)
2 Corinthians 1:21, Matthew
22:1-14
2020-09-13
SYNOPSIS:St Paul
tells us that Christians have been "given the
earnest
of the Spirit in our hearts". What is the meaning
of this "earnest", how
to we obtain it, and how do we keep it? The parable of
the wedding feast, read also
today, teaches us.
15th Sunday after Pentecost
16th Sunday after Pentecost
17th Sunday after Pentecost
-
17th Sunday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
1997
-
17th
Sunday
after Pentecost (Word DOC format)
Sun After Exaltation The Caananite Woman
1999
-
17th Sunday after Pentecost
(RTF format)
2001
-
17th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
The Cannanite Woman
2002
-
17th Sunday after Pentecost
(mp3 format)
2003
-
17th Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
2008-10-12
-
17th
Sunday after Pentecost (HTML format)
The Canaanite Woman
Exactly How To
Pray
2010-09-19
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
Sow
bountifully and abound to every good work (mp3
format)
S
2 Corinthians 9:6-11
2020-10-11
SYNOPSIS:What
is the key to having a fulfilled, happy life? Most
people in the world don’t know. Most
Christians in the world don’t know. St. Paul knows, and
he explains it this portion of
his epistle to the Corinthians. When we act according to
who we are, we are happy.
Therefore, person must know himself, and he will know
himself if God abides in him. God
made man in a specific way for a specific purpose. St.
Paul talks about every man living
according as the purpose of in his heart, and that is
indeed the reason why we sow
bountifully and reap bountifully, and abound in every
good work. An exegesis of this
passage from Corinthians makes it very clear why we do
what we do and how beautiful it
is. 2 Corinthians 9:6-11
-
The
Golden rule and loving
without agenda. (mp3 format)
2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1 Luke 6:31-36
2021-10-17
SYNOPSIS:Everyone knows
about the so-called "Golden rule", but
very few understand what it really means, and why it is
a rule. We talk about this, and
how the complete fulfillment of the Golden Rule is the
greatest miracle that a Christian
can ever witness.
0:00 - 2:28 St Paul the Simple.
2:28 - 3:20 What the Golden
rule IS NOT.
3:20 - 5:12 External vs internal laws,
the purpose of our life, and a
working definition of salvation.
5:12 - 7:13 The
Greatest News you will hear today
(or any day).
7:13 - 10:21 The *Reason* for the
Golden Rule, and love without
agenda, and the way to live a victorious life.
10:21
11:47 A Practical Application
of the Golden Rule.
11:33 11:47 How do we know we
are children of God?
11:33 -
15:46 What does this mean? "Wherefore come out from
among them, and be ye separate,
saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing;" 2
Corinthians 6:17
11:33
15:46 The Goal of the Spiritual life and the Golden
Rule.
15:54 16:12 What to do
(and not do) Immediately when you wake up in the
morning.
16:12 16:38 Why do
prostrations. Can I substitute something else if
prostrations are hard?
17:02 17:53
How to get rid of all your troubles.
18th Sunday after Pentecost
-
18th Sunday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
1997
-
18th
Sunday after
Pentecost (Word DOC format)
The Miraculous Draught Of Fish
2000
-
18th
Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
The First Great Catch Of Fish
2002
-
18th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Sunday After The Exaltation Of The Cross
A Simple
Way Of
Life
Galations 2:16-20, Mark 8:34-9:1
2007-09-30
-
18th Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
2008-10-19
-
18th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
The Great Catch Of Fish
The Greatest Miracle Was
Not The Fish
Luke
5-1-11
2009-10-11
-
18th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
The First Great Catch Of Fish
Luke
5-1-11
2010-10-10
-
18th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Launch Out Into The Deep
The Jesus Prayer
Luke
5-1-11
2012-10-07
-
18th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Internal Laws
He Which Soweth Bountifully Shall
Reap Also Bountifully As Ye
Would That Men Should Do To You Do Ye Also To Them
Likewise
2 Corinthians-9-6-11-Luke
6-31-36
2014-10-12
-
"Every
man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him
give...". True Christian
stewardship (mp3 format)
2 Corinthians 9:6-11
2016
SYNOPSIS:A simple homily
about Christian Stewardship, based on the words of St
Paul: "Every man according as
he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not
grudgingly, or of necessity: for God
loveth a cheerful giver. ". We talk about a real
life example, the "Our
Seva" foundation http://www.ourseva.org), which
helps poor and indigent folk in the
DFW area. This homily challenges us as to how Christian
we really are.
-
18th
Sunday
after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Marriage Prospers If We Sow Boutifully
2 Cor
9-6-11
2017
SYNOPSIS:18th Sunday
after Pentecost
-
Marriage
prospers if we sow bountifully. (RTF format)
2 Corinthians 9:6-11
2017-10-08
Also in
Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:Texts on marriage. Sowing
bountifully. A necessity of a
good, Christian marriage. How marriage enables
almsgiving. Practical and theological
reasons to "sow bountifully".
-
Purpose
and
will and choices and sowing and reaping, fear and
anxiety and suffering and weeping.
(mp3 format)
2 Corinthians 9:6-11, Luke 7:11-17, John 173:3
2021-10-24
SYNOPSIS:He who sows
bountifully, reaps bountifully; he who sows sparingly,
reaps sparingly. We are to sow a good and honest heart,
and God will drive out all our
anxiety.
0:37:- 3:12 - This is the same sermon that
I always preach! The only sermon
I know.
3:12 - 4:33 and 7:26-7:47 What should we be
"sowing"?
4:33 -
7:26 what should we expect to be "reaping"?
7:56 - 11:39 "As every
man purposeth in his heart, so let him give." What
DOES THIS MEAN?
11:34 -
20:18 - A new parable for our time, how to obtain
salvation during our times of fear and
anxiety. Also in video:
19th Sunday after Pentecost
20th Sunday after Pentecost
21st Sunday after Pentecost
22nd Sunday after Pentecost
-
22nd
Sunday after Pentecost (HTML
format)
The Rich Man And
Lazarus
Luke
16-19-31
1996
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
-
22nd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
The Parable Of The Rich Man And
Lazarus
2002
-
22nd
Sunday after Pentecost (HTML
format)
-
22nd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
2004
-
22nd
Sunday after Pentecost (RTF
format)
Rus
2004
-
22nd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
2008-11-16
-
22nd
Sunday after Pentecost (Word
DOC format)
2009-11-08
-
22nd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Parable Of The Rich Man And
Lazarus
A Important Principle Is
Taught
Luke
16-19-31
2009-11-08
-
22nd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Parable Of The Rich Man And
Lazarus Summary
Concerning Parables
And True Salvation
Luke 16-19-31,
Ephesians 2-14-22
2010-11-07
-
22nd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
God Forbid That I Should Glory
Save In The Cross Of Our Lord Jesus
Christ By Whom The World Is Crucified
Unto Me And I Unto The
World
Galatians
6-11-18
2011-11-13
-
22nd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Parable Of The Rich Man And
Lazarus
Luke
16-19-31
2012-11-04
-
Parable
of the Rich man & Lazarus. God
has blessed you. WHAT are you
doing with it?
(mp3 format)
Parable of the Rich Man and
Lazarus
Luke
16:19-31
2017-11-05
SYNOPSIS: How are we
going to
read the Gospels, since they are
so hard to understand? They are
not always
hard. Even in complicated parts,
we can understand that are
useful to our
souls if we read with
expectation and desire. An
example of something simple
is in the Parable of the Rich
man and Lazarus, one of the most
complex
parables in all of the Gospel.
We will look at the behavior of
the rich man
and WHY he was in torments, and
the reply of Abraham to the
(unnamed) rich
man: "Son, remember that
thou in thy lifetime receivedst
thy good
things, and likewise Lazarus
evil things: but now he is
comforted, and thou
art tormented."
-
We
are good ground and walk
according to this rule, because
we are new
creatures! (mp3 format)
Galations L 6:11-18 Luke
8:5-15
2018-10-28
SYNOPSIS:This
Sunday, we read about the
Parable of the Sower and
about the "Good
Ground", which is the most
important part of this
parable. How do we become the
good ground? The epistle tells
us exactly how.
It tells us that we should walk
according to a "rule",
and this
rule must be that we bear in our
body the marks of the Lord Jesus
because we
are a new creature. Listen
carefully. The apostle is
telling us the only way
that leads to life. It is a
wonderful, difficult, and joyous
way.
-
22nd
Sunday after Pentecost (RTF
format)
Galations
6:11-18
2020-11-08
Also in
Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:St Paul
teaches us HOW to think about
ourselves, which completely
determines how we live. The
Pastoral letter
referred to in the homily is at:
https://www.orthodox.net//pastoral-letter_2020-11-08.html
23rd Sunday after Pentecost
-
23rd
Sunday after Pentecost (HTML
format)
The Gadarene Demoniac
Luke
8-26-39
1996-10-28
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
-
23rd
Sunday after
Pentecost (mp3 format)
The Gadarene Demoniac
2002
-
23rd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
2004
-
23rd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
The Gadarene
Demoniac
Ephesians 2:4-10, Luke
8:26-39
2007-11-04
-
23rd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
2008-11-23
-
23rd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
We Are His Workmanship Created
In Christ Jesus Unto Good
Works
Ephesians
2-4-10
2012-11-11
-
23rd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Dead In Sins
By Grace Are
Ye Saved Through Faith
Eph
2-4-10
2015
-
23rd
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Workmanship Created In Christ
Jesus Unto Good Works
Eph
2-4-10
2015
-
Faith
and works explained in the
Orthodox way. Read and
UNDERSTAND the other parts
of the passage! (mp3 format)
Ephesians
2:4-10
2017-11-12
SYNOPSIS:There is a
controversy about the
relationship between
"faith and works" in
the Western world. This is not
so among
Orthodox Christians. We explain
the relationship between faith
and works and
grace. This is easy to know, if
we live according to the OTHER
parts of the
passage in Ephesians, besides
"For by grace are ye saved
through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: Not of
works, lest any
man should boast.", such as
"Even when we were dead in
sins, hath
quickened us together with
Christ, (by grace ye are
saved;)" and "
For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto
good works, which
God hath before ordained that we
should walk in
them."
-
"For
by grace are ye saved through
faith; AND we are his
workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto good
works." (mp3 format)
Ephesians
2:4-10
2018-11-04
SYNOPSIS:Exegesis of
one of the best and poetic
descriptions of
the process of salvation, and
most misinterpreted part of all
of Scripture.
Let us look at the meaning of
being "quickened ...
together with
Christ", "by grace ye
are saved" and the verse
misunderstood
by millions: "For we are
his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto
good works." If we
understand the Incarnation and
its purpose, all of
this passage will resonate in
our hearts, and guide us and
give us great
joy.
24th Sunday after Pentecost
25th Sunday after Pentecost
-
25th
Sunday after Pentecost (Word DOC
format)
Notes
Walk Worthy Of The
Vocation Wherewith Ye Are
Called
Ephesians 4-1-6
-
25th
Sunday after Pentecost (HTML
format)
Parable Of The Good
Samaritan
Luke
10-25-37
1999-11-24
Also in
Format:
Adobe
PDF
or
Word
DOC
-
25th
Sunday after Pentecost (Word DOC
format)
Rus
2002
-
25th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
The Parable Of The Good
Samaritan
2002
-
25th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
The Parable Of The Harvest Of
The Rich Man
2002
-
25th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
The Parable Of The Good
Samaritan
2003
-
25th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
The Parable Of The Good
Samaritan
Who Is My
Neighbor
2004
-
25th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
2008-12-07
-
25th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
The Greatest Commandment And
Parable Of The Good Samaritan
Two
Answers To The Question Who Is My
Neighbor
Luke
10-25-37
2009-11-29
-
25th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
One Body, One Spirit, One Hope,
One Lord, One Faith, One
Baptism
Descending,then Ascending
Fulfills The Gospel
Ephesians
4-1-6
2010-11-14
-
25th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Parable Of The Good
Samaritan
8th Sunday Of
Luke
Luke
10-25-37
2010-11-28
-
25th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Parable Of The Good
Samaritan
Understanding The
Greatest
Commandment
Luke
10-25-37
2011-11-25
-
The
Good Samaritan: Kindness
produces endurance. (mp3
format)
Luke 10:25-37 : Luke
8:50
2017-11-26
SYNOPSIS:The Parable
of the Good Samaritan,
interpreted in light
of the previous Sunday Gospel -
about Jairus. This parable
teaches us HOW To
obey the hard words of the Lord:
"Fear not: believe only,
and she shall
be made whole. " The key
is, first to understand the
parable, which
teaches us who our neighbor is,
and then to act like the
Samaritan:
"But a certain Samaritan,
as he journeyed, came where he
was..."
26th Sunday after Pentecost
27th Sunday after Pentecost
-
27th
Sunday after Pentecost (RTF
format)
The Healing Of The Woman With An
Infirmity Of Eighteen
Years
Luke 13-10-17
1996-12-06
-
27th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Two Visions Of The
Kingdom
Ephesians 6:10-17, Luke
13:10-17
2007-02-11
-
27th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
2008-12-21
-
27th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Healing Of The Woman With An
Infirmity Of Eighteen Years
Luke
13-10-17
2009-12-13
-
27th
Sunday after Pentecost (HTML
format)
Jesus Christ Came Into The World
To Save Sinners
The Reason For
The Season
1 Timothy 1-15-17, Luke
13-10-17
2010-12-12
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
-
27th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Jesus Christ Came Into The World
To Save Sinners
What Is
Sin
1 Timothy 1-15-17, Luke
13-10-17
2010-12-12
-
27th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Healing Of Woman With A Spirit
Of Inrimity 18 Years
Love Is The
Highest Law
Luke
13-10-17
2012-12-09
-
27th
Sunday after Pentecost (HTML
format)
A Woman Which Had A Spirit Of
Infirmity Eighteen Years And Was Bowed
Together And Could In No Wise Lift Up
Herself
Luke
13-10-17
2013-12-08
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
The
wiles of the devil and the human
condition, and praying for those
who are
bent over, so that they would
rise up. (HTML format)
Luke 13:10-17 Ephesians
6:11
2017-12-10
Also in
Format:
Adobe
PDF
or
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:The
healing of the woman who was
bent over for
18 years and the Apostle Paul
teach us the two causes of sin -
the wiles of
the devil and the human
condition. We should blame
these, and not our
brother, since we share the
infirmities of our brother. If
we learn this
skill, we will pray with
compunction and power for our
brother (and
ourselves): ":Lord, have
mercy on those who are bent
over, and help them
to rise up"
-
ow
to live in our evil days?
Putting on the whole armor of
God means living
according to the truth that is
in you. (RTF format)
Ephesians
6:10-17
2020-12-13
Also in
Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:We live
in evil days, and the things
society
loudly proclaims as
"truth" are lies. How
do we know what is truth
and what is a lie? And even if
we do know, how should we fight
off the lies
and live according to the truth?
St Paul teaches how to do all of
this.
28th Sunday after Pentecost
29th Sunday after Pentecost
-
29th
Sunday after Pentecost (HTML
format)
The Healing Of The Ten
Lepers
Luke
17:12-19
1996-12-22
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
-
29th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
The Healing Of The 10
Lepers
10 Are Cleansed But Only The
One
With Graditude Is Made Whole
1
Timothy 1:15-17, Luke
17:12-19
2007-12-03
-
29th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Healing Of The Ten
Lepers
Arise,go Thy Way Thy Faith
Hath Made
Thee Whole
Luke
17-12-19
2009-12-20
-
"Thy
faith hath made thee
whole"; understanding the
faith of the leper who
was healed. (mp3 format)
Luke
18:18-27
2012-12-23
SYNOPSIS:The
response of gratitude of the one
leper of the ten who were healed
by Jesus
prompted our Lord to say to him
" thy faith hath made thee
whole."
This common expression of Jesus
must be investigated closely,
for in each
instance, different aspects of
faith are revealed. This
Samaritan's faith
was expressed in two ways, that
he prayed for mercy and he gave
thanks for
his great gift. Regarding his
prayer, we have a detailed
interlude to talk
about the Jesus prayer and how
we should pray it, including
praying it for
others. Then we link the prayer
to thanksgiving, for without the
latter, the
former withers. As we become
aware of how much God's mercy
surrounds us and
helps us. we thank Him, and seek
his mercy even more, for
ourselves and
others. Our heart becomes
softer, and feels the needs of
others - our heart
becomes like that of Jesus.
These two things, seeking God's
mercy and
thanking him for everything -
are required for salvation.
-
29th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
All Things That Are Reproved Are
Made Manifest By The Light For
Whatsoever Doth Make Manifest Is
Light
Ephesians
5-9-19
2013-12-21
SYNOPSIS:Exegesis of
Ephesians
5:9-19. There are moral
requirments placed upon a
Christian - things he
should do and not do. Why? This
passage explains. It also, in a
mystical way
explains the reason for
confusion and despondency and
similar ailments thay
are common in modern man:
"All things that are
reproved are made
manifest by the light: for
whatsoever doth make manifest is
light."
-
29th
Sunday after Pentecost (mp3
format)
Healing Of The Ten
Lepers
Gratitude Makes One
Whole
Luke
17-12-19
2013-12-22
-
The
only Christian life is that
which is lived in the heart.
(mp3 format)
1 Timothy 1:15-17 : Luke
18:18-27
2018-12-16
SYNOPSIS:The words
of St. Paul to his son Timothy
are an example
of living in the heart. The
actions of the ruler who
followed the external
commandments but did not know
anything besides them are an
example of a man
who lives outside of his heart.
The Christian life has no power
whatsoever
if it is not lived in the heart.
We examine these positive and
negative
examples about life in the
heart. The person living in his
heart understands
that " Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners;
of whom I am
chief", and that He has
"shown forth all
longsuffering, for a
pattern to them which should
hereafter believe on Him to life
everlasting"and that, in
these things, we know everything
needful to
know how to live, what to think,
and who to be in every situation
in
life.
30th Sunday after Pentecost
31st Sunday after Pentecost
35th Sunday after Pentecost
36th Sunday after Pentecost
Sundays of Luke
1st Sunday of Luke
-
The
first great catch of fish compared with the
second. (mp3 format)
First Great Catch Of Fish Compared With The
Second
Luke
5:1-11
2011-10-09
SYNOPSIS:The first Great Catch of
Fish
began shortly after Jesus met some of His
Apostles. The second occured after the
resurrection, about 3 and a helf years later. It
is very spiritually profitable to
compare the two.
-
1st
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Launch Out Into The Deep
First Great Catch
Of Fish And Instructions In
How To Live
Luke 5-1-11
2013-10-06
-
1st
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
First Great Catch Of Fish
Prayer Of The
Heart Described
Luke
5-1-11
2014-10-05
-
1st
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Great Catches Of Fish Compared
Luke
5-1-11
2015
-
The
link between the first and second great catches
of fish, and the parable of the
leaven. (mp3 format)
Gospel of Luke
Luke 5:1-11 Matthew
13:33
2016-10-09
SYNOPSIS:The two great catches of
fish are linked, even though they are
separated by over 3 years. Let us look at the
first, then connect it to the second,
and also weave in the teaching about the parable
of the leaven, and understand the
significance of the words of Peter:
"Master, we have toiled all the night, and
have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I
will let down the net." We will
live to see the second great catch of fish, if
we understand and therefore live
according to these words.
-
The
first great catch of fish as a parable about
life. (mp3 format)
Luke 5-1-11
2018-10-07
SYNOPSIS:The first great
catch of fish after which some of the apostles
left all and followed the Lord can be
understood as a parable about our life. Things
in the story have a mystical
significance: launching out into the deep,
letting down the nets, toiling overnight,
doing things by the Word of the Lord, the boat
starting to sink and the fish being
salvaged by other boats, and Simon Peter seen
the Lord and saying "depart from
me if I am a sinful man".
-
The
Great Catch of fish: obedience before anything.
How to read the bible. (mp3
format)
Luke 5:1-11
2019-10-06
SYNOPSIS:The Great Catch
of Fish describes daily temptations that a
Christian encounters, if he reads the
story spiritually. This is a learned skill, and
all one must do to obtain it is
read, and pray and struggle to live the
Christian life. We discuss several life
lessons from this story, including how to deal
with doubt, despondency, fatigue,
sorrow - anything.
2nd Sunday of Luke
-
2nd
Sunday of Luke (HTML format)
Saint John Of Kronstadt And The Golden Rule And
The Purpose Of The
Incarnation
Luke 6-31-36
2010-01-02
-
2nd
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Reason For The Golden Rule
Ye Shall Be The
Children Of The Highest For
He Is Kind Unto The Unthankful And To The Evil
Luke
6-31-36
2011-10-16
-
2nd
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Golden Rule
As Your Father Also Is
Merciful
Luke
6-31-36
2015-10-18
-
Practical
applications of the Golden Rule (HTML
format)
Luke 6:31-36
2016
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:The Golden Rule. Real
incidents commonly encountered in
regular life show how easy it is to practice the
golden rule and derive great
benefit. First, some theology, then the
application of that theology. Two principles
of the way of life: You should use yourself as a
measurement of how other people
should be treated, and you are not to expect
something in return.
-
When
we follow The Golden Rule, we are choosing the
good part and are children of the
highest. (mp3 format)
Luke 6:31-36
2018-10-14
SYNOPSIS:In the Feast of
the Protection of the Mother of God, the Gospel
reading for the Theotokos points to
the other Gospel read today - about the Golden
Rule. If we follow this rule, we will
be choosing the "good part" and be
"sons of the highest". Let us
look at the Golden Rule in this way - not as an
externally imposed law, but an easy
way of life that always chooses the "good
part".
-
The
Golden Rule and extravagant tales of Christian
love. (mp3 format)
Luke 6:31-36
2019-10-12
SYNOPSIS:Why do we
follow the "Golden Rule". It is
because of love. God loves, and so we,
being made in the image of God, in attaining His
likeness, love. There are stories
of extravagant love in the lives of the saints.
We explain why and how we read the
lives of the saints, and then tell some of these
stories of extravagant love,
including events that have happened in our time.
Some of the saints mentioned are St
Paulinus, St Thomais of Lesvos, St Paisios of
Mount Athos & St. Irene
Myrtidiotissa.
-
Why
should we follow the Golden rule? It is in
accordance with our very nature. (mp3
format)
Children Of God
Luke
6-31-36.
2020-why-follow-the-golden-rule
SYNOPSIS:Everyone
knows the "Golden rule", but very few
understand the *exact* why we should
follow it. As soon as the Lord gives this
instruction, He explains the reason why.
If we understand this reason is that we are
children of the Highest and therefore it
is absolutely and exclusively our nature to be
merciful as our Father is merciful,
we are not far from the kingdom of God, in fact,
so very close that we are entering
it, on the very threshold. Luke 6:31-36
3rd Sunday of Luke
-
3rd
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Weep Not And He Came And Touched The Bier And
They That Bare Him Stood
Still
Luke 7-11-16-Galatians
5-22-6-2
2011-10-23
-
3rd
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Looking Unto Jesus The Author And Finisher Of
Our Faith
He Touched The
Bier And They That Bare Him Stood Still
Luke
7-11-16
2013-10-20
-
3rd
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Widow Of Nain
One In Every Crowd 3 Ways God
Communicates With
Us
Luke 7-11-16
2014-10-19
-
3rd
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Weep Not
Young Man I Say Unto Thee
Arise
Luke 7-11-16
2015
-
The
Widow of Nain & St Jonah of Manchuria. Jesus
touches us; we must touch others.
(mp3 format)
The raising of the son of the widow of
Nain
St Jonah of
Manchuria
Luke 7:11-16
2019-10-20
SYNOPSIS:The Gospel
detailing the raising of the son of the widow of
Nain and celebration of St. Jonah
of Manchuria occurred on the same Sunday. We
explain important points of the Gospel,
of which the most important is that Jesus
touched the bier and they stood still. We
must learn how to touch others since Jesus
touches us, and the life of St. Jonah is
an excellent example for us to follow.
-
The
Widow of
Nain and "The Bronze Bow" prove every
person is significant. (mp3
format)
Luke 7:11-16
2020-10-25
SYNOPSIS:Jesus raised
the son of the widow of Nain because He arranged
everything toward this purpose. We
do not know her name or the name of her son. We
discuss this and bring in the book
called " The Bronze Bow" which also
depicts Jesus visiting an unknown
person and completely changing their life.
Although the book is fiction, it depicts
something is happening every day for everyone.
We are significant! If we understand
this in the Christian way, not the way of the
world, we will live with patience,
without confusion, in a victorious and
transcendent way.
4th Sunday of Luke
-
4th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Sower
Take Heed Therefore
How Ye Hear
Luke
8-5-15
2011-10-30
-
4th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Sower
He Which Soweth
Sparingly Shall Reap Also
Sparingly
Luke 8-5-15, 2 Corinthians
9-6-11
2013-10-27
-
4th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Sower
Honest And Good Heart
Patience
Luke
8-5-15
2014-10-26
-
4th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Sower
Good Ground
Patience
Luke 8-5-15
2015
-
"Unto you it is given to
know the mysteries of the kingdom
of God:" ONLY IF you have "an honest
and good heart..." The Parable
of the Sower. (mp3 format)
Parable of the Sower
Luke
8-5-15
2016
SYNOPSIS:In the
parable of the Sower, only one kind of ground is
saved.
We skip to the chase and evaluate how much our
Savior's words apply to us:
"Unto you it is given to know the mysteries
of the kingdom of God: but to
others in parables..." and how to have an
"an honest and good
heart..."
-
Parable
of the Sower. Any ground can become good ground.
(mp3 format)
Luke 8:5-15 : 2 Corinthians 12:9 : John
17:1-13
2019-10-27
SYNOPSIS:The parable of the sower
describes four kinds of ground, and
only one of them brings forth fruit, that is,
leads to salvation. Many times, we
think statically about this parable and think
that a person is one kind of ground or
another and does not change. Actually, any
ground can become good ground. The
epistle and second gospel tells us two things
that we must know and do in order to
become good ground. In the Epistle of St. Paul
today, he talked about glorying in
his infirmities. This is absolutely essential
but we must understand what this term
means. We also must understand as we glorying
our infirmities that God loves us will
never abandon us. If we understand these two
things, any ground can become good
ground.
-
4th
Sunday
of Luke (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Sower
How To Develop Ears To
Hear
2021
5th Sunday of Luke
-
5th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Rich Man And
Lazarus
Everything In Life Is A
Trade
Luke 16-19-31-Galatians
2-16-20
2011-11-06
-
5th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Rich Man And
Lazarus
Awareness
Luke
16-19-31
2013-11-03
-
5th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Rich Man And Lazarus
Thou In
Thy Lifetime Receivedst Thy
Good Things And Likewise Lazarus Evil Things
Luke
16-19-31-2timothy
2-1-10
2014-11-02
-
Parable
of the Rich man and Lazarus. Self-indulgence
kills. (mp3 format)
Luke 16:19-31
2016
SYNOPSIS:A quick exegesis of
the Parable of the Rich man and Lazarus, because
we should understand what we are
reading, then the most important part of
scripture reading - application. We talk
about what Christian asceticism is and the
necessity for it.
-
Rich
man and Lazarus:you must do what you can do!
(mp3 format)
Luke 16:19-31
2019-11-03
SYNOPSIS:The parable of
the rich man and Lazarus gives us an opportunity
to talk about how self-indulgence
kills the soul, and what orthodox asceticism
really is, and very importantly, God
will help us no matter what we encounter, and we
must always do what we *can* do. We
will not be held responsible for not doing the
things that we are *unable* to do but
God will definitely hold us responsible for
doing the things that we *can* do. The
rich man was lost because he did not do what he
could do quite easily for the beggar
Lazarus.
6th Sunday of Luke
7th Sunday of Luke
8th Sunday of Luke
-
8th
Sunday
of Luke (Word DOC format)
Notes
The Greatest Commandment
Luke
10-25-37
-
8th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Good Samaritan
Who Is My
Neighbor
Luke
10-25-37
2011-11-27
-
8th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
And Who Is My Neighbour
Luke
10-25-37-Galatians 6-11-18
2013-11-24
-
8th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Good Samaritan
The
Incarnation
Luke
10-25-37
2014-11-23
-
8th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Parable Good Samaritan
Theory Vs
Practice
Luke 10-25-37
2015
-
8th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Luke 10:25-37
2016
SYNOPSIS:The Parable of the
Good Samaritan is read just before the Nativity
Fast begins, because it is a
beautiful, complete description of the
Incarnation, using symbolic language. It is
also the answer to the question "Who is my
neighbor". This parable, if we
understand it, teaches us who we are, and what
the Incarnation did. If this
knowledge abides in our heart, we know ourselves
and easily can answer the question.
If a man does not know himself he CANNOT know
his neighbor.
-
Why
would God want to
have communion with me? What have I to offer
God? The answer is in the parable of
the Good Samaritan. (mp3 format)
Parable Of the Good Samaritan
Luke
10:25-37
2018-11-25
-
Who
is my neighbor? What is man? The Parable of the
Good Samaritan. (mp3 format)
Parable of the Good Samaritan
Luke 10:25-37
Ephesians
2:8-10
2019-11-24
SYNOPSIS:The Lawyer asked Jesus
"Who
is my neighbor", and He answered this
horrible question with the parable of the
Good Samaritan. A better question, and the one
that Jesus answered (which included
the question about the neighbor, and much more)
is "What is man, that Thou art
mindful of him?" (PS 8:4) This parable
describes the incarnation, and who is
man, and who he will become, and why. We have no
need to answer any questions about
"who is our neighbor?" if we
understand and live according to this
parable.
-
If
the
incarnation resonates in our hearts, we will
know who our neighbor is. (RTF
format)
Parable Of The Good
Samaritan
Incarnation
Luke
10:25-37
2020-11-29
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:The parable of the good
Samaritan answers the question
who is my neighbor. It also is the most perfect
description of the incarnation in
the Scriptures if the incarnation resonates in
our hearts, there is no need to ask
who our neighbor is.
9th Sunday of Luke
10th Sunday of Luke
-
10th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Healing Of The Woman With An Infirmity Of
Eighteen Years
Hidden
Motivations
Luke 13-10-17
2011-12-11
-
10th
Sunday of Luke (mp3 format)
Healing Of The Woman With An Infirmity Of
Eighteen Years
Thou Art
Loosed From Thine Infirmity Kindness Saves Us
Luke
13-10-17
2014-12-08
-
Our
precious ideas challenged - Healing of the woman
with an infirmity of 18 years. (mp3
format)
Luke 13:10-17
2016
SYNOPSIS:There should have
been TWO healings when the woman with an
infirmity of 18 years was healed! The ruler
of the synagogue should have been healed of his
"precious opinions". Why
was he not healed? What must we do to be
healed?
-
Healing
of the woman on the Sabbath day. At least be
kind. (mp3 format)
Luke 13:10-17
2018-12-02
SYNOPSIS:The healing of
the woman with the spirit of infirmity for 18
years has 2 important lessons that
stand out for us. The first is that we are also
bent over, so should we should
identify with the woman and everyone suffering.
In the second is that since we are
bent over, we should at least be kind. The great
sin of the Pharisees was that they
had no kindness. A person cannot be saved if
they are not kind.
11th Sunday of Luke
12th Sunday of Luke
Weekday Readings
-
The
giving of the Holy Spirit is personal and intimate, to
each of His "Little
Ones" (mp3 format)
Monday of the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit Is
Personal
Matthew
8:10-20
2018-05-28
SYNOPSIS:The day
of Pentecost was a public
event affecting many people, but at its core, Pentecost
is personal. We are the
"little ones"that are referred to in the
Gospel on this Monday of the Holy
Spirit today, and the Holy Spirit is personal and
intimate with every believer. We
little ones must remember that even though we might feel
insignificant, the Holy Spirit
will abide in us and help us personally, because he
chooses to. If we understand this
and live by it, we will live victorious lives.
-
Monday
of the Holy Spirit. We must do the practical things in
order to become spiritual. (mp3
format)
Practical To Spiritual
Matthew
18:10-20
2019-06-17
SYNOPSIS:You
must have practical in order to have spiritual.
Actually, you
must do practical things in a spiritual way in order to
truly become spiritual. The
Gospel of St. John was read during the Paschal period,
ans after Pentecost and now we
are trying to apply the grace of the Holy Spirit in our
life in practical ways.
Therefore, we are beginning to read the Synoptic Gospels
starting with St. Matthew, we
can see everywhere that they are a practical application
of living spiritually. The
selection today is a good example. We see practical
examples of how to stave off
arrogance and indifference, and a feeling of
insignificance, and anger.
-
1st
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Jesus Teaches A New Way Of Understanding Sin
All
Life Is Lived From The
Heart
Matthew 5-27-32,Romans 1-28-2-9
2011-06-16
-
1st
Thursday after Pentecost
(mp3 format)
Matthew 5:27-32, Rom 8.28-39, John
15:17-16:2
2021-06-24
SYNOPSIS:On
this Thursday in Pentecost week, we ask, what was the
MAJOR
thing that the Holy Spirit does for us? There are many
"correct" answers but
today we assert that He helps us with our thoughts,
which are a reflection and result of
who we are. We synthesize 3 readings: the Gospel for the
day, when Jesus teaches about
thoughts and adultery, and the two readings for the
Chinese Martyrs of the Boxer
rebellion. Everything in our life that we do, good or
bad, starts with thought. We
discuss how it is impossible to be saved, with good
thoughts unless we become
"conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom
8:29), and if we are, the world will
hate us, as it hated the holy martyrs, because they were
"not of the world"
(John 15:18) June 11/24, Chinese Martyrs of the Boxer
rebellion, Matthew 5:27-32, Rom
8.28-39, John 15:17-16:2
-
Only
one way of life permanently relieves anxiety. (mp3
format)
Anxiety
Matthew
6-21-24-7-9-11
2019-06-24
SYNOPSIS:Only Jesus Christ has the
authority
to tell us "Do not be
anxious", because only He can back up His words by
helping us permanently. The are
many temporary cures for anxiety, but only one way of
life leads to a life free of
anxiety. The Gospel talks about this way, which is a
learned skill
-
2nd
Wednesday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Everything Must Be Done With Faith Or The Lord Say I
Never Knew You Depart From
Me, Ye That Work Iniquity
Matthew 7-21-23
2011-06-22
-
2nd
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Childrens Homily
Jesus Is Always With
Us
Matthew
8-23-27
2011-06-23
-
2nd
Thursday after Pentecost
(mp3 format)
Romans 5-10-16
2011-06-23
-
3rd
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Childrens Homily
Fear Not Them Which Kill The
Body
Matthew
10-23-31
2011-06-30
-
3rd
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Groaning Hope And Prayer
The Spirit Itself Maketh
Intercession For
Us
Romans 8-22-27
2011-06-30
-
3rd
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
The Spirit Itself Maketh Intercession For Us With
Groanings Which Cannot Be
Uttered
Romans 8-22-27
2014-06-26
-
Teaching
of Jesus about John the Baptist, and living up to our
abilities. (mp3 format)
John the Baptist
Matthew
11:2-15
2019-07-08
SYNOPSIS:Whenever
Jesus was asked a question, He also answered much more
than just the question. Such as His answer to the
question of the disciples of St. John
the Baptist: whether or not He was the one "that
should come". This answer
contains instructions for how to live our life properly.
As is the case with almost all
of the Gospel it is counterintuitive to the vast
majority of pop Christianity, some of
which has even invaded the Orthodox faithful. We should
not be overwhelmed by the
austerity of Jesus teaching. It is quite easy to fulfill
His teaching if we always
struggle to live up to the limits of our ability, even
if our ability is very
small.
-
4th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Take My Yoke Upon You
Ye Shall Find
Rest
Matthew 11-27-30
2015
-
5th Wednesday after
Pentecost (HTML
format)
-
6th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Whosoever Shall Do The Will Of My Father Which Is In
Heaven The Same Is My
Brother And Sister And Mother
Matthew
12-46-13-3
2014-07-10
-
Morality
after baptism. It still applies. (mp3 format)
Morality After Baptism
Abortion Harms Women
1
Corinthians
5:9-6:11
2019-07-29
SYNOPSIS:St.
Paul is always explicit about
the moral requirements of Christianity. In our modern
day, these requirements are
forgotten, ignored or mocked. They all still apply.
There are nuances in our modern day.
We explain the 2 main admonitions and Paul makes in the
selection, the first being not
to associate with fornicators, covetous, etc.
Christianity was growing in the midst of
the pagan society it was a clear demarcation between
those that did unclean things those
that did not. In our day, we have family members and
business associates that are
fornicators and engage in other unclean lifestyle
choices. It is not realistic that we
would never associate with them, but it is still
required of a Christian that he applies
to his personal life the apostles admonition: "Know
ye not that the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God?"
-
The
prayer of Jesus Christ that we be one with God is also a
prayer that we be one with
ourselves. (mp3 format)
John 17:18-26
2021-06-18
SYNOPSIS:On the
leave-taking of the Ascension, the gospel text is from
the high Priestly prayer of Jesus
where He prays: “That they all may be one; as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us.” We were made in order
to be one with God, but we
cannot be one with Him unless we also become one with
ourselves: not scattered, but
integrated, complete, sufficient, consistent. This is
our destiny and we talk about it
and then we mention a lamentable event week ago when a
hierarch who should be rebuked
preached in a discordant way which has nothing to do
with union with God or within
ourselves. If such preaching disappeared from Orthodox
churches and was replaced with a
call to repentance and a call to always know and
struggle to fulfill our purpose, can we
imagine how beautiful and powerful our lives would be?
(John 17:18-26)
COMMENT:Also
in
Video
-
8th Thursday after
Pentecost (HTML format)
-
9th Tuesday after Pentecost
(HTML format)
-
9th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Whosoever Will Be Great Among You Let Him Be Your
Minister And Whosoever Will Be
Chief Among You Let Him Be Your Servant
Matthew
20-17-28
2011-08-11
-
9th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Pride Is The Problem
Matthew
20-17-28
2013-08-22
-
"My
mouth shall speak wisdom and the meditation of my heart
shall be of understanding."
This will be true for us only if we choose to fall upon
the stone. (mp3 format)
Psalm 48:3 Matthew 21:44
2021-08-26
SYNOPSIS:"My mouth shall speak wisdom
and the meditation of my heart
shall be of understanding." (Ps 48:3) This Psalm
verse describes the end result of
the fulfillment of the purpose of our life: Theosis. We
look at this verse in depth. We
read it today, just before the epistle reading for St
Tikhon of Zadonsk. It is one thing
to understand this verse, and it is another to
accomplish it. The Gospel read today will
teach us this: we must fall upon the stone, and be
broken. "Whosoever shall fall on
this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall
fall, it will grind him to
powder." (Mat 21:44) There are only two options in
life: to fall upon the stone
which is Jesus Christ our for it to fall upon us and for
us to be shattered. We describe
both of these, falling upon the stone and having it fall
upon us, made this never be! It
is impossible to speak about such things without calling
to mind our modern day problems
and especially the climate of fear and, quite frankly,
stupidity and worldliness that is
so common during our pandemic times. We describe what it
means to fall upon the stone
during this times and what things we should avoid so as
to have the stone never fall
upon us.
-
10th
Friday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Beatitudes In Luke
Learn To Weep To Have
Joy
Luke
6-17-23
2013-11-10
-
11th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
He That Shall Endure Unto The End The Same Shall Be
Saved
Matthew
24-13-28
2011-08-25
-
11th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
For As The Lightning Cometh Out Of The East And Shineth
Even Unto The West So
Shall Also The Coming Of The Son Of Man Be
Matthew
24-13-28
2012-08-16
-
The
answer to
all questions: the "Eagles" are in malice as
children, and in understanding as
men. (mp3 format)
Matthew 24:13-28 1 Corinthinans
14:20
2021-09-02
SYNOPSIS:A
discussion of a difficult saying of Jesus: “for
wheresoever the
carcass is there will be the eagles gathered together.”,
combined with something else we
read today: “Brethren, be not children in understanding:
howbeit in malice be ye
children, but in understanding be men.” (1 Cor 14:20).
Many are wondering "What to
do" Christians always know what to do at least in a
general way: we are to be in
malice as children, and in understanding as men, and
endure to the end. If we are always
where the body is, we will be Eagles.
-
12th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Godly Sorrow Worketh Repentance To Salvation Not To Be
Repented Of But The
Sorrow Of The World Worketh Death
2 Corinthians
7-1-10
2013-09-12
-
Why
did Jesus forbid others to speak openly about His
healings? (mp3 format)
Why Did Jesus Forbid Others To Tell About The
Healings
Mark
3:6-12
2019-09-09
SYNOPSIS:Many
times, early in his ministry,
Jesus Christ forbade people to speak openly about His
many healings. Why did He do this?
This is mysterious, and when anything is mysterious, we
should obey God even if we do
not understand, because obedience always precedes
understanding. There are other reasons
that a more pragmatic, and we speak about them.
-
14th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Healing Of The Gadarene Demoniac
Fear Of God Vs
Other Fear
Mark
5-22-24,35-6-1
2011-06-15
-
16th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Humility Of The Greek Syrophenician Woman Who Cared For
Her Husbands
Mistress
Mark 7-24-30-Ephesians 1-1-9
2011-09-29
-
16th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Syrophonecian Woman
Entitlement
Mark
7-24-30
2014-09-25
-
What
is the *Greatest* achievement of the Martyrs? (mp3
format)
Luke 4:16-22 Matthew 25:1-13
2021-10-07
SYNOPSIS:This homily is a synthesis of the
two Gospel selections we read in
liturgy and some experiences of Fr Seraphim, when he
venerated Holy Iviron icon of
Hawaii which was present the past two days for the feast
of our sister parish:
"Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church", in
Georgetown Texas. We bring together
many things including the greatest achievement
(miracles) of the Mother of God when
people venerate her holy icons, the terrible confusion
of our day when people are
terrible confused about where and Who Jesus Christ is,
when we talk about the
incredulity of the Jewish ruling elite they heard Jesus
preach in the synagogue:
"And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?" No
Christian should ask that
question because they should know who Jesus is but we
know only if we live according to
the Spirit, and not according to secular life. This day
is also the commemoration of the
Holy Equal to the Apostles and Proto-martyr Thekla, and
the reading for is a very common
reading for women martyrs, about the 10 virgins. Only
five achieve the greatest
achievement the human being can have in this world,
which is also the greatest of the
martyrs. We talk about this achievement, how to be sure
about how to live our life and
not be confused. In the midst of our discussion, we
mention the medical and social
confusion of our day regarding sickness, and
unfortunately some will focus only on these
words, but we cannot understand anything without
achieving that which we are called to,
and the person who has this great gift is not confused
about anything in life.
-
17th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
No Existence Or Power In Evil
Do Not Be Afraid Of
Being Labeled
Mark
11-27-33
2014-01-09
-
17th
Saturday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Ten Virgins
Aquiring The Holy
Spirit
Matthew
25:1-13
2008-01-27
-
19th
Wednesday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
I Therein Do Rejoice Yea And Will Rejoice
Joy Is A
Choice
Philippians
1-12-20, Philippians 1-20-27
2013-10-31
-
20th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
What Went Ye Out Into The Wilderness For To See A Reed
Shaken With The
Wind
Luke 7-17-30
2014-10-16
-
21st
Monday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Sinful Woman Who Annointed Jesus In The House Of Simon
The Pharisee
Loving
Much Seeing Reality
Luke 7-36-50
2014-10-20
-
21st
Monday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
I Know Both How To Be Abased And I Know How To
Abound
I Can Do All Things
Through Christ Which Strengtheneth Me
Philippians
4-10-23
2014-10-27
-
21st
Tuesday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Spiritually Praying For People
Main Problem In
Society
Today
Colossians 1-2-7-11
2014-10-28
-
21st
Wednesday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Having Made Peace Through The Blood Of His Cross By Him
To Reconcile All Things
Unto Himself
Colossians 1-18-23
2012-10-25
-
21st
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
The Mystery Which Hath Been Hid From Ages And From
Generations But Now Is Made
Manifest To His Saints
Perfection Happening In The Midst Of
The Mundane
Colossians
1-24-29
2011-11-03
-
22nd
Tuesday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
If Any Man Will Come After Me Let Him Deny Himself And
Take Up His Cross Daily
And Follow Me
Luke-9-23-27
2011-11-01
-
22nd
Wednesday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
And Whatsoever Ye Do Do It Heartily As To The Lord And
Not Unto
Men
Colossians 3-17-4-1
2011-11-09
-
22nd
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Continue In Prayer
Let Your Speech Be Alway With
Grace Seasoned With
Salt
Colossians 4-2-9
2011-11-10
-
23rd
Monday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
We Give Thanks To God Always For You All Making Mention
Of You In Our
Prayers
Pray For Others
1 Thessalonians
1-1-5
2011-11-16
-
"In
power and much assurance". The key to transcendent
living, compared to the broken
solutions of the world. (mp3 format)
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5 : Luke
12:30-31
2019-11-18
SYNOPSIS:We will
never find something if we search were it is not. The
world
searches for assurance, happiness, peace, where it is
not. We reference a recent article
a young man who searched for meaning in his life in the
wrong place, and ended up
mutilating his body, and how is case is typical for most
people, not in the exact
details, but in the spiritual error. The opening of the
epistle of St Paul to the
Thessalonians included this statement: “For our gospel
came not unto you in word only,
but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much
assurance”. Where do we get this
assurance? It is a critical question in our day. The
mind and heart of St Paul,
expressed with brilliance and affection in the first few
verses of his introduction,
together with the Gospel read during the liturgy (Luke
12:13-15, 22-31), teaches us the
only path that will led to “much assurance”. Link to the
article about the unfortunate
young man:
https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/11/17/1-year-after-sex-change-this-teen-regrets-his-frankenstein-hack-job/?fbclid=IwAR2C1so1SSSPNUyUfyuPoAv_IS2clr9xoMBrlmQJ5CNfVqT5Dgtbj-IcbWA
-
23rd
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
True Eucharist Every Day
For This Cause Also Thank
We God Without
Ceasing
1 Thessalonians 2-9-14
2013-11-28
-
There
is only one, goal for everyone – we must love them. If
we love them no matter how they
respond, we have succeeded. (mp3 format)
Only One Goal For Everyone Love Them
Luke 14:12-15
: Luke
6:17-23
2019-11-25
SYNOPSIS:There is
a deeper meaning to the
words of Jesus to the Pharisee when he sat and ate
dinner with him. He told him that he
should never invite people only to get a reward from
them. Everybody knows this. But do
we do other things for people, expecting some sort of
reward, not in terms of money or
some material thing, but something? For a priest and any
Christian, it is hard to
encounter people for whom you do things, but they do not
respond as we wish them to
respond. The spiritual meaning of His words is that the
only goal we should have for any
human being is that we love them, and if we do that then
we are completely successful,
no matter what they do in response to our love. This is
very simple, and not so easy. We
also mentioned St. John the Almsgiver, whose day it is,
who exemplified this virtue of
which we are speaking.
-
26th
Thursday after Pentecost (Adobe PDF format)
Parable Of The Ten Minas And Poisonous Self
Talk
Luke
19-12-28
2018
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
26th
Saturday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
No Man Having Put His Hand To The Plough And Looking
Back Is Fit For The Kingdom
Of God
Timothy Of Esphigmenou
Luke
9-57-62
2013-11-30
-
In
the days of Noah: appearances vs spiritual meaning. (mp3
format)
Luke 17:26-37 Luke:17-20-25
2017-12-05
SYNOPSIS:Life
is full of space, and things that appear to us not as
they really are. In the days of
Noah, people were taken unawares. How do we remain
"aware" It is by perfecting
a Christian skill, given by God, by grace, only to those
who struggle for it: to know
the inner, true meaning of everything.
-
Why
do we pray for the dead? Because of the Resurrection. 3
prayers of the priest in
liturgy. (mp3 format)
27th Tuesday after Pentecost
Luke
21:12-19
2016
SYNOPSIS:Why do we
pray for the dead? Because of the Resurrection. Jesus
explains this very clearly in His answer to the Jews who
asked him about the woman who
had 7 husbands (Luke 21:12-19). As we talked about this,
the best 2 answers to the
question "What is different between Orthodox and
(fill in your Christian
denomination here) came out. They involve the
Resurrection and mercy. We also talked at
length about what the purpose of liturgy is and the
first 3 secret prayers the priest
prays. He prays with more intensity, since he is in
front of the altar, but we all must
learn how to pray as these prayers. These prayers answer
the common question I get:
"What prayer can I pray for (fill in the blank)
".
-
27th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
They Understood None Of These Things And This Saying Was
Hid From
Them
Understanding Is A Process
Luke
18-31-34
2013-12-05
-
27th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Keep That Which Is Committed To Thy Trust Avoiding
Profane And Vain Babblings
And Oppositions Of Science Falsely So Called
Stephen The
New
1 Timothy
6-17-20
2014-12-11
-
The
Christian law, which has only one commandment, is
fulfilled only in the heart. (mp3
format)
Luke 20:27-44 : Galatians
3:23-29
2018-12-17
SYNOPSIS:The
words of St. Paul to his son Timothy are an example of
living
in the heart. The actions of the ruler who followed the
external commandments but did
not know anything besides them are an example of a man
who lives outside of his heart.
The Christian life has no power whatsoever if it is not
lived in the heart. We examine
these positive and negative examples about life in the
heart. The person living in his
heart understands that " Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners; of whom
I am chief", and that He has "shown forth all
longsuffering, for a pattern to
them which should hereafter believe on Him to life
everlasting" and that, in these
things, we know everything needful to know how to live,
what to think, and who to be in
every situation in life.
-
Why
did the apostles not understand? He who truly loves is
never tired. (mp3 format)
Mark 8:11-21
2019-12-22
SYNOPSIS:The Apostles did
not understand the Lord when He told then "Take
heed, beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.", and
thought it was because they had not
taken any bread with them. He reminded them of the 2
mass feedings He has conducted, and
asked them why they did not understand. That is an
excellent question for us also. Why
do we not understand? Why do we make bad choices? Why is
their ignorance? The answer is
simple: we do not love enough. We reference a saying by
Mother Gavrila, which sets our
bar: "He who truly loves does not feel tired.
"
-
30th
Friday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Whosoever Shall Give You A Cup Of Water To Drink In My
Name Shall Not Lose His
Reward
Mark 9-33-41
2014-01-02
-
31st
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Whoso Looketh Into The Perfect Law Of Liberty This Man
Shall Be Blessed In His
Deed
James 1-19-27
2014-01-23
-
32nd
Saturday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Increase Our Faith
Order Of Events And Answers In
Scripture
Luke
17-3-10
2014-12-25
-
35th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
For Ye Have Need Of Patience
Hebrews
10:35-11:7
2008-01-24
-
35th
Friday after Pentecost (HTML format)
Which Country Are We Mindful Of
Hebrews
11:8,11-16
2008-01-25
Also in Format:
RTF
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36th
Thursday after Pentecost (mp3 format)
Pure Religion And Undefiled Before God And The Father Is
This
James
1-19-27
2011-01-27
-
38th
Monday after Pentecost (HTML format)
What Did Christ Do On The Cross
1 Peter
2:21-3:9
2008-02-11
Also
in Format:
RTF
Homilies for Children
Sundays of Pascha
Pascha
-
Sunday of Pascha (Word
DOC format)
1997
-
Sunday
of Pascha
(HTML format)
Metropolitan Vitaly Encyclical
1997
-
Sunday
of Pascha
(HTML format)
Metropolitan Kyprianos Encyclical
1999
-
Sunday
of Pascha
(HTML format)
Serbian Archdiocese Encyclical
1999
-
Sunday of Pascha (Word
DOC format)
2003
-
Sunday
of Pascha (mp3
format)
Agape Vespers
2008-04-27
-
Sunday of Pascha
(mp3 format)
2009-04-19
-
Sunday of Pascha
(Word DOC format)
2010-04-04
Also in Format:
mp3
-
Sunday
of
Pascha (HTML format)
Agape Vespers
Paschal
Instructions
2010-04-04
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
Sunday
of Pascha
(mp3 format)
Bright Week Dos And Donts
2012-04-15
-
What
is the meaning of
Pascha? Pascha letter, 2017 (HTML format)
-
Why
is the first part of the 9th Matinal Gospel read
during Agape Vespers on day of
Pascha? (mp3 format)
Pascha Agape Vespers
John
10:19-25
2017-04-16
SYNOPSIS:Why is the first part of
the 9th Matinal Gospel read during
Agape Vespers on day of Pascha? It is because of
a common characteristic of true
Christians - we are always looking ahead to the
next life, and this determines how
we live in the present. Also About the
liturgical use of fictional discussions, one
of which, from the myrrh-bearers, also
illustrates this characteristic of looking
ahead, and our vision of the future effecting
our present. Also a very important
questoin: What is the most important day of the
year? It is NOT Pascha!
-
Why
do we read the beginning of the Gospel of John
on Pascha? (mp3 format)
John 1:1-17
2020-04-19
SYNOPSIS:On the night of
Pascha the Gospel reading is not about the
resurrection but rather is from the
beginning of the Gospel of John. We explain why.
-
Pascha:
Let us give God
what we can, and His mercy will magnify it and
we will live in the resurrection.
(RTF format)
2021-05-02
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:Everything that we
accomplish is by the mercy of God!
His greatest mercy is the resurrection which He
manifests in our life even now. This
will surely happen to us if we give God
everything that we can give Him. We are not
responsible for giving Him what we cannot give
but if we give him the things that we
are able to give, then we are living according
to His mercy. A reflection on a hymn
from the Holy Saturday Canon which speaks of the
soldiers guarding the tomb: "O
ye who keep guard falsely and in vain, ye have
forsaken your own mercy", and
using the myrrh bearing women and Mary of Egypt
as examples how we can accept the
mercy of God.
Thomas Sunday
-
2nd Sunday
of Pascha; Thomas Sunday
(HTML format)
Thomas Sunday
1998
-
2nd Sunday of
Pascha; Thomas Sunday (HTML
format)
1998
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas
Sunday (HTML format)
Saint Thomas Sunday
1998
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
-
2nd Sunday of
Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3
format)
2008-05-04
-
2nd Sunday of
Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3
format)
2009-04-26
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (HTML
format)
Saint Thomas Sunday
Realism About The
Resurrection
2010-04-11
Also in Format:
RTF
or
mp3
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (HTML
format)
Why Are The Altar Doors Open On Pascha
When
Are They Closed What Does
It Mean
2011-04-30
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (HTML
format)
Thomas Sunday
Believing Disbelief Is The
Most Important Part Of The
Story
John 20-19-31
2011-05-01
Also in
Format:
RTF
or
mp3
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3 format)
Thomas Sunday
Always Stay Close To Christ
No Matter What The
Understanding Says
John 20-19-31
2012-04-22
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3 format)
Thomas Sunday
Thomas Is Just Like
Us
John 20-19-31
2013-05-12
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3 format)
Exegesis Of Epistle For Thomas Sunday Do
Something
Acts
5-12-20
2014-04-26
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3 format)
Thomas Sunday
Love With Perseverance Fixes
Everything
John
20-19-31
2014-04-27
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3 format)
Thomas
Doors Were Shut Peace Be Unto
You
John
20-19-31
2015-04-19
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3 format)
Thomas Sunday
Be Not Faithless But
Believing
John
20-19-31
2016
-
Thomas
Sunday: the most important day in the life of
Thomas, and us too, if we look at it
spiritually. (mp3 format)
Understanding the confession of Thomas
spiritually.
Understanding and
fighting despondency.
John
20:19-31
2017
SYNOPSIS:Thomas Sunday is the most
important Sunday in the year for
Orthodox Christians. Why? How can we be like
Thomas? To do this, we must understand
and fight despondency. We must also understand
the confession of Thomas: "My
Lord and my God" - not just a dogmatic
confession, but also a prophesy of
things to come after we live out our "8
days"
-
Core
message of Thomas Sunday, for those who have
sorrow & confusion. (mp3
format)
Thomas Sunday
John
20:19-31
2018-04-15
SYNOPSIS:Thomas Sunday is the most
important day of the year. His
experience teaches us a core truth, which we
will need - many times in our lives.
What are we to do when we are deeply sorrowful,
confused, anger, disillusioned?
Thomas teaches us.
-
5
important points from the Gospel on Thomas
Sunday. (mp3 format)
Thomas Sunday
John
20:9-31
2019-05-05
SYNOPSIS:5 important points from the
Gospel on Thomas Sunday. Each is
related to the other, and must be *applied* to
your life to be of any use to you at
all.
1. Show up!
2. God will be there
through our doubts/sins/stupidity/etc
IF...
3. We must work even when we do not
see God.
4. Thomas was the first
to declare the two natures of Jesus Christ.
5. The promise of the Holy Spirit.
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3 format)
_2021+-as-my-father-hath-sent-me-even-so-send-i-you_john20-20
As My Father
Hath Sent Me Even So Send I You
John
20-20
2021
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3 format)
Then Were The Disciples Glad When They Saw The
Lord
2021
-
2nd
Sunday
of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3 format)
2021-05-09
SYNOPSIS:Len:
0:39 God enlightens each of
us in unique ways according to our abilities and
enlightenment happens by degrees.
And nothing happens unless we endure. (An
excerpt, starting about 8:05 in the
homily:
https://www.orthodox.net//sermons/pascha-sun-02_2021+thomas+god-reveals-himself-according-to-ability-and-zeal.mp3)
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3 format)
John 20:20
2021-05-09
-
Why
did Jesus show His wounds to his disciples after
His resurrection? (mp3 format)
John 20:19
2021-05-09
SYNOPSIS:Len 0:40 All of
the Gospels during the Paschal period or about
to God enlightens us by condescending
to our human weakness. This is why he kept his
wounds. He had a perfected body but
he also was revealing himself to imperfect
people. (An excerpt, starting about 10:30
in the homily:
https://www.orthodox.net//sermons/pascha-sun-02_2021+thomas+god-reveals-himself-according-to-ability-and-zeal.mp3)
-
Why
Did Jesus tell the
apostles: "Peace be unto you" as His
first words when He entered the upper
room? (mp3 format)
John 20:19
2021-05-09
SYNOPSIS:Commentary on
John 20:19. Len 0:49. (An excerpt, starting
about 9:12 in the a homily:
https://www.orthodox.net//sermons/pascha-sun-02_2021+thomas+god-reveals-himself-according-to-ability-and-zeal.mp3)
-
2nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3 format)
Thomas Sunday Is The Most Important Day Of The
Year
2021-05-09
SYNOPSIS:Why
is Thomas Sunday the most
important day of the year? What is the main
message of Thomas Sunday? How is Thomas
Sunday in the weeks that followed after
significantly different than Pascha and
Bright week? We answer all of these important
questions in just over 2 minutes. (An
excerpt, starting about 0:15 in the homily:
https://www.orthodox.net//sermons/pascha-sun-02_2021+thomas+god-reveals-himself-according-to-ability-and-zeal.mp3)
-
Thomas
Sunday. God reveals Himself according to our
ability and zeal. (RTF format)
2021-0509
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:Thomas Sunday is always
the Sunday after Pascha. God
revealed himself to Thomas and brought him to a
full healing and full belief by
condescending to his weakness. He does that with
all of us. Enlightenment happens by
degrees, and God will do anything to enlighten
us as long as we have zeal and we
endure. It’s really very simple. It is not easy
but it is always simple. If we seek
God, God will come and find us and enlighten us
according to our abilities at that
moment and we will be raised up and He will come
and find us when we have higher
abilities and enlighten us and raise us up
higher again.
Myrhhbearing Women
-
3rd
Sunday of Pascha (HTML format)
Myrrhbearers
Who Shall Separate Us From The
Love Of Christ
1998
-
3rd
Sunday of Pascha (HTML
format)
The Myrrhbearing Women
1998
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
-
3rd
Sunday of Pascha (mp3
format)
Myrrhbearing Women
2000
-
3rd
Sunday of Pascha (mp3
format)
Myrhhbearing Women
2003
-
3rd Sunday of
Pascha (mp3 format)
2008-05-11
-
3rd Sunday of
Pascha (mp3 format)
2009-05-03
-
3rd Sunday of
Pascha (HTML format)
-
3rd
Sunday of Pascha (mp3
format)
Myrhhbearing Women
2010-04-18
-
3rd
Sunday of Pascha (mp3
format)
Myrrhbearing Women
2011-05-07
-
3rd
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
Myrrhbearing Women
Joseph Became Bold Who
Shall Roll Us Away The Stone
From The Door Of The Sepulchre
Mark
15-43-47
2011-05-08
-
3rd
Sunday of Pascha (HTML format)
Myrrhbearing Women Joseph Nicodemus
Having
Become Bold
Mark
15-43-16-8
2012-04-29
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
3rd
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
Myrrhbearing Women Joseph Nicodemus
The
Ache In The Heart
Mark
15-43-16-8
2013-05-19
-
3rd
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
They Trembled And Were Amazed Neither Said They
Any Thing To Any Man For
They Were Afraid
Mark 15-43-16-8
2015-04-26
-
3rd
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
Having Become Bold
Who Shall Roll Us
Away
Mark
15-43-16-8
2016
-
The
lesson of the Myrhh-bearing women - do things
becasue of who you are. (mp3
format)
Mark 15:43-16:8
2017-04-30
SYNOPSIS:The
Myrhh-bearing women attempted an impossible and
dangerous task - to anoint the body
of the Lord after the Sabbath ended. They did
not know that He was risen, but they
did know that a hostile Roman guard and a huge
stone were in their way. Why did they
go to the tomb? IT was because of who they are.
Their hearts told them they MUST do
this thing. This must be so, also, with us.
Christians must feel compelled to do
good because of who they are, and not any
compulsion from anyone or things, not even
God. 15:59
-
The
Myrhhbearing Women. Our hurts must burn. (mp3
format)
Sunday of the Myrhhbearing Women
Mark
15:43-16:8
2018-04-22
SYNOPSIS:The Holy Myrrh bearers
persevered despite great disappointment, loss
and fear. WHY? For the same reason
that Thomas persevered, and Peter, and Luke and
Cleopas, and all the true Apostles
and disciples. It was because their heart burned
with love for Jesus, and they gave
to Him all that they were capable of
giving.
-
The
Holy Myrhh-bearers: We must always give whatever
we *can*! (mp3 format)
Sunday of the Holy Myrhh Bearers
Mark
15:43-16:8
2019-05-12
SYNOPSIS:The story of the Holy
Myrrh-bearers is especially about doing what we
are able to do. They acted out of
love, even though they were overcome with
sadness, and because of this, ignorance.
If we do what we are able to do (never less!),
even if we are not completely
correct, God will make us able to do more. This
is the story of how a sinful,
ignorant human being because enlightened and
perfected.
-
Restoring
the image that was buried under the passions:
Pascha is the celebration of the
ongoing restoration of the image of God in man!
(mp3 format)
2020-05-02
SYNOPSIS:This
is what we are celebrating
during the time of Pascha: "As One Who
loveth Mankind, desiring to save from
deception all whom Thou hast created, Thou didst
endure to be nailed to the Cross, O
Saviour, that by Thy flesh Thou mightest restore
Thine image, which was buried under
the passions; and having cast down hades, Thou
didst arise, and the dead with
Thee". (from the Canon of the
Myrrh-Bearers, Ode VII) Understanding this hymn
means applying it to everything in our daily
life. Acting on this knowledge, with is
resonating in the soul, will give us energy to
overcome everything.
-
We
can only have joy if we pursue obedience
struggle and endure sadness. (mp3
format)
Mark 15:43-16:8
2020-05-03
SYNOPSIS:In the
world, people pursue happiness, mistaking it for
joy. Joy is actually a condition in
the human heart, when we are free of our
passions. We can NOT HAVE joy if we pursue
ONLY joy. We must pursue obedience, and
struggle, and endure sadness in this life.
The example of the myrrh-bearing women, and the
Apostle Thomas, and the Apostle
Peter and many others that we read about both
before and after the time of Pascha
teach us this fundamental truth.
-
Essential
for modern survival: Fidelity and courage like
the myrhh-bearers. (mp3 format)
2021-05-16
SYNOPSIS:We
live in a difficult age in the
truth is called a lie and a lie is called truth
and death is called life and life is
called death. This happens with secular leaders,
many people we know, and even
religious leaders. How are we to survive in this
age of enhanced anxiety and
increasing repression and control? Let us look
to the holy myrrh-bearers as an
example of fidelity and courage, and practical
ways to live We must learn from their
example, and we will not be destroyed, and by
our prayers, our loved ones will be
preserved.
The Paralytic
The Samaritan Woman
-
5th
Sunday of Pascha (HTML
format)
The Samaritan Woman
2001
Also in
Format:
RTF
or
Word
DOC
-
5th Sunday of
Pascha (Word DOC format)
2008-05-25
Also in Format:
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-
5th Sunday of
Pascha (HTML format)
-
5th
Sunday of Pascha (HTML
format)
Samaritan Woman
2010-05-02
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
5th
Sunday of
Pascha (mp3 format)
Samaritan Woman
John 4-5-42
2011-05-22
-
5th
Sunday of
Pascha (mp3 format)
The Samaritan Woman
John
4-5-42
2012-05-13
-
5th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
The Samaritan Woman
Feastday For All Us
Samaritans
John
4-5-42
2013-06-03
-
5th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
Luminous Personality Of The Samaritan Woman
Photini
Courage Honesty
Curiosity Burning Heart
John 4-5-42
2014-05-18
-
The
Samaritan Woman. Great things happen, when there
is kindness, and humility. (mp3
format)
The Samaritan Woman
John
4:5-42
2017
SYNOPSIS:Great
things happen when we are kind, and we are
humble. The
Samaritan woman, Photini, became equal to the
Apostles, because He was kind, and she
was humble. How many times have we been kind?
How many times have we been unkind - a
more exact phrase would be "have not
followed the Great Commandment and have
not loved our neighbor" - by our
indifference, arrogance, inattention? All
these things are just at hateful as active hate.
Let us follow the example of our
Lord, and be kind to everyone who crosses our
path, and if we have even a shred of
humility, God will bless us and those we
encounter.
-
The
purpose of Liturgy and the conversation of the
"woman at the well" with
Jesus Christ. They are about the same thing!
(mp3 format)
Sunday of the Samaritan
Woman
2018-05-06
SYNOPSIS:A
little bit about how the Gospel of John is
different from
everything else in the bible, and the purpose of
liturgy (the same as the purpose of
John), and that the conversation of the woman at
the well is a mystical
"instruction book" about achieving
this purpose. A little about our
religion. There is nothing "formal" in
it!
-
The
Samaritan woman - we must also repent and put
down our water pot. (mp3 format)
The Samaritan woman
By Priest Nicholas
Park
John
4:5-42
2019-05-26
SYNOPSIS:Father Nicholas Park, in an
extensive exegesis of the encounter of the
Samaritan woman with Christ at the well,
points out the many things she did which must be
examples to us if we are to find
salvation. Among them are that, when faced with
her sins, she was silent and
repentant, she listened and cared about
theology, and she put down her water
pot.
-
The
encounter of the Samaritan woman with Jesus is a
textbook, teaching us how we must
live to be saved. (mp3 format)
John 4:5-42
2020-05-17
SYNOPSIS:The Samaritan
woman, whom Jesus Christ met at the well, became
equal to the apostles Photini
(Svetlana, Claire, Clara). She was not living a
righteous life, but that is not the
most important prerequisite for finding
salvation. The most necessary thing is to
have a heart that is able to open to God- with
holy desire, honesty, humility and
zeal. St. Photini demonstrates to us principal
personality traits that are necessary
for salvation. Her conversation with Christ and
her actions thereafter are like a
textbook teaching us how we should live.
-
Healing
of
the Paralytic. Knowing the Hidden Reality.
Paralysis and sin. (RTF format)
John 5:1-15
2021-05-23
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:In any given situation,
there is an apparent reality,
easily understood with our eyes and ears and
human intelligence, and there is a
hidden spiritual reality, which we often do not
see and cannot understand.
Victorious Christian living is only possible if
we develop the skill to see the
inner reality of things. The story of the
healing of the paralytic demonstrates this
hidden reality, and how we must react to it. We
are all paralytics. What paralyzes
us?
The Blind Man
-
6th Sunday of
Pascha (mp3 format)
Blind Man
2001
-
6th Sunday of
Pascha (mp3 format)
Blind Man
2002
-
6th Sunday of
Pascha (mp3 format)
Blind Man
2003
-
6th
Sunday of Pascha (HTML
format)
The Blind Man
2008-06-01
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
6th
Sunday of Pascha (HTML
format)
The Blind Man
2010-05-09
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
6th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
The Blind Man
Courage Precedes Full
Enlightenment
John
9-1-38
2011-05-20
-
6th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
Passage Through The Red Sea As A Type Of The
Theotokos
2011-05-29
-
6th
Sunday of Pascha (Word DOC format)
The Blind Man
What Must I Do To Be
Saved
John
9-1-38
2011-05-29
Also in Format:
mp3
-
6th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
The Blind Man
Courage And Honesty
John
9-1-38
2013-06-09
-
6th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
Healing Of The Blind Man
Be Open To The
Truth
John
9-1-38
2014-05-25
-
6th
Sunday of
Pascha (mp3 format)
The Blind Man
Courage
John
9-1-38
2015-05-18
-
6th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
The Healing Of The Blind Man As A
Parable
John 9-1-38
2016
-
6th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
Fathers Of The 1st Council
Truth Only In
The Church
John
17-3
2017
SYNOPSIS:6th
Sunday of Pascha
-
Sunday
of the Blind Man. Total Healing only with
flagrant honesty. (mp3 format)
Sunday of the Blind Man
John
9:1-38
2017
SYNOPSIS:The
Blind Man shows how we must react to grace. God
will heal
us, enhance our courage, give us knowledge and
peace, but not if we do not react to
the grace He gives with honesty. The story of
the healing of the Blind man is a case
study of the necessity of honesty when we
encounter God.
-
Review
of the Sundays of Pascha, and the unifying
theme: Fire in the belly! (mp3
format)
Sunday of the Blind Man
2018
SYNOPSIS:All of the
Sundays of Pascha, from Thomas Sunday, the
Myrrh-bearing women, the Paralytic, the
Samaritan woman and the Blind man, have
compelling stories, with a unifying theme:
You must have fire in your belly! Whether we are
beset by ignorance, sins, confusion
- whatever - none of this will matter if we have
fire in our belly! All these
stories who how God reacts to our desire, and
overcomes our problems.
-
Sunday
of the Blind man. Asking the right questions.
(mp3 format)
By Priest Nicholas Park
John
9:1-38
2019-06-02
SYNOPSIS:Like the disciples of Jesus
in the Gospel today, we seek to
understand the reasons behind our misfortunes
and difficulties; but perhaps in our
pursuit we are asking the wrong questions.
Instead of focusing on our circumstances
and faults, how do we discover what is most
important for us in our lives?
-
Sunday
of the Blind man - enlightenment is a process,
and we must supply labor and courage.
(mp3 format)
Sunday of the Blind Man
By Priest Seraphim
Holland
John
9:1-38
2019-06-02
SYNOPSIS:The healing of the Blind
Man,
like all of the Sunday Gospels during the
Paschal season, important teaching for us
- the PROCESS of enlightment. It is not easy, or
automatic. To obtain it, we must
syupply labor, and courage, and know who we are
and what our purpose in life is. God
will supply all grace needed as we make mistakes
along the way. Also, a little bit
about pursuing enlightenment while living in
Austin, Texas.
-
Do
you
want healing? Know the obvious and react to it,
with courage and intellectual
honesty, like the blind man. (mp3 format)
2021-06-06
SYNOPSIS:The
healing of the blind man is
the story of our healing. It is a story of
accepting God’s providence in all things
and knowing things that should be obvious but
unfortunately are not obvious to those
who are not living a vigorous interior life. All
of this is possible if we react to
the things that God puts in our path. The trick
is learning which things are from
God in which things are temptations, but even
temptations can be used by God to
bring us to healing.
Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council
-
7th
Sunday of
Pascha (mp3 format)
Fathers First Ecumenical Council
2002
-
7th Sunday of
Pascha (mp3 format)
2008-06-08
-
7th Sunday of
Pascha (Word DOC format)
2009-05-31
Also in Format:
mp3
-
7th
Sunday of Pascha (HTML format)
Holy Fathers Of The First Ecumenical
Council
John
17-1-13
2010-05-16
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
7th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
Holy Fathers Of The First Ecumenical
Council
High Priestly Prayer Of
Jesus Christ
John 17-1-13
2011-06-05
-
7th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
Fathers First Ecumenical Council
That They
May Be One
John
17-1-13
2012-05-27
-
7th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
That They May Be One As We
Are
Reintegration Of The Faculties Of The
Soul
John 17-1-13
2013-06-16
-
7th Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
That They May Be One As We
Are
Reintegration Of The Faculties Of The
Soul
John 17-1-13
2013-06-16
SYNOPSIS:First, a little
bit of basic literacy about the First Ecumenical
council and Jesus' emphatic
expressions of unity and equality with His
Father. We then emphasize how Jesus'
unity with the Father is the model for our
salvation - the powers of the soul - the
appetitive, knowledge and irascible - are
integrated in the soul in perfect unity
with each other, as God is one with Himself.
This is important stuff - it is
salvation defined in a very deep and mystical
way, and you should be aware of it
happening in you
-
7th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
Old Testament Is Not So Hard
Do You
Therefore Love Strangers Because
You Also Were Strangers In The Land Of
Egypt
Deuteronomy
18-11-15-17-10-14-21
2014-03-31
-
7th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
Fathers First Ecumenical Council
God Is One
Salvation Is To Be
One
John 17-1-13
2014-06-01
-
7th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
Fathers First Ecumenical Council Arius
That
They May Be One As We
Are
John 17-1-13
2015-05-24
-
7th
Sunday of Pascha (mp3 format)
1st Council
Exegesis Of High Priestly
Prayer
John
17-1-13
2016
-
Four
practical ways for those in the church to fulfil
the prayer of Christ: "And
this is life eternal, that they might know thee
the only true God" A guest
homily by Papa Demetrios Carellas. (mp3
format)
7th Sunday of Pascha: Fathers of the First
Ecumenical Council
John
17:3
2017-05-28
SYNOPSIS:A
homily by Papa Demetrios
Carellas. A very practical exegesis of John
17:3: "And this is life eternal,
that they might know thee the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent." First, a discussion of where the
truth it - only in the church, and
then, practical advice about how to live
according to this truth, in our daily lives
- think ONLY about our own sins, JUSTIFY the
other person ALWAYS, and DO NOT jump to
conclusions, and do not make a runway for your
thoughts!
-
The
High Priestly prayer, for each of us to ponder.
(mp3 format)
Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, 7th
Sunday of Pascha
John
17:1-13
2018-05-20
SYNOPSIS:The high priestly prayer of
Jesus is a great opportunity to read scripture
with purpose. Everything we read
should encourage us and help us to change our
behavior. We look at the High Priestly
prayer in a practical way, for the benefit of
our soul, including a practical,
personal interpretation of the words of Jesus:
"Thou hast given him power over
all flesh", and "keep through Thine
own name those whom Thou hast given
Me, that they may be one, as We are",
whether or not sinners can have any
chance to be as the apostles, of whom Jesus
said: “they have kept thy word”, and of
course: “this is life eternal, that they might
know thee the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.“ Sunday of
the Fathers, of the 1st Ecumenical
Council, 7th Sun of Pascha, 2018-05-20
-
The
High Priestly Prayer of Jesus, and 4 definitions
of salvation. (mp3 format)
Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical
Council
John
17:1-13
2019-06-09
SYNOPSIS:The Gospel reading for the
Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First
Ecumenical Council, which follows the Feast
of the Ascension, is from the High Priestly
prayer of Jesus Christ, since the
counsels were instrumental in protecting the
dogmas regarding Jesus Christ and the
Holy Trinity. This prayer defines salvation in
four different ways, and these
definitions are also an instruction about how to
live.
-
12nd
Sunday of Pascha; Thomas Sunday (mp3 format)
Young Rich Ruler
Answer Every Question Ask
The Right
Questions
Matthew
19-16-26
2014-08-31
SYNOPSIS:Answer
every question in the scripture! There are no
rhetorical questions. Look carefully
at the answers Jesus gives to questions. He
often answers what the question should
have been! Be careful to ask good questions and
recognize stupid ones. The rich
young ruler asked a bad question. Jesus rebuked
him on two counts, and taught
clearly, for those who have eyes to see, and
ears to hear, the way of salvation, and
the purpose of life. This answer is directly
opposed to the minimalist spirit of
this age, with its pseudo-Christianity. We can
do no "good" thing, because
only God is good. The way to salvation is not by
doing one or a million good things,
although we must attempt to follow the
commandments. Jesus gives the way to
salvation - not being good enough, but
fulfilling the great commandment - to love
the Lord with all the heart, soul, mind and
strength - which He defines here as
"If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that
thou hast, and give to the poor, and
thou shalt have treasure in heaven." Read
the Gospels every day (or it will be
as hard for you to be saved as the rich man),
and you will learn the purpose of life
- perfection! The Lord tells us that "With
men this is impossible; but with God
all things are possible."
Weekday Readings during Paschaltide
-
Bright
Monday (mp3 format)
Important Truths Are Rarely Said Absolutely
Unambiguously
No Man Hath Seen
God At Any Time And Make Straight The Way Of The Lord
John
1-18-28
2011-02-25
-
Bright
Monday (mp3 format)
Bright Monday Ministry And Baptism Of John
How To
Read The Old
Testament
John 1-18-28
2014-04-21
-
Bright
Monday (mp3 format)
The Person Jesus
Who Are You
John
1-18-28
2016-05-02
-
Bright
Monday: the resurrection is happening RIGHT now. Two
lessons from the Paschal hymns (mp3
format)
Bright Monday
2019-04-29
SYNOPSIS:On Bright Monday,
at liturgy, some thoughts about the secret to triumphant
Christian living which is
contained in two lessons from the Paschal hymns. 1.
Because of the resurrection, we are
headed towards INCORRUPTION, and it is happening in us
RIGHT NOW. 2. Even though life is
messy, it is happening, RIGHT NOW. Also an explanation
of how the fear of death leads to
sin, but believing in the resurrection removes the fear
of death, and therefore, sin,
and the difference between Western understanding of the
resurrection and the Orthodox
understanding.
-
The
Love
of God for man described by the latchet of a sandal – an
image of the incarnation. (mp3
format)
John 1:18-28
2020-04-20
SYNOPSIS:In the Gospel on
Bright Monday, St. John the Baptist described in a
mystical way the incarnation when he
said: "He it is, who coming after me is preferred
before me, whose shoe's latchet I
am not worthy to unloose." These words describe the
intimate love God has for man
and we contrast them with the relatively recent heresy,
somewhat more than 500 years
old, in which God is described as a God of anger and
judgment, and that the Son died on
the cross to appease the anger of the Father. This
Gospel refutes this heresy, which is
completely foreign to Orthodox Christianity.
-
Bright
Tuesday (mp3 format)
Bright Tuesday
The Road To Emmaus
Luke
24-12-35
2014-02-22
-
Bright
Tuesday (mp3 format)
Road To Emmaus
Hearts Burning God Opens
Eyes
Luke 24-12-35
2016
-
The
road to Emmaus and mysterious things and the
indispensability of the Eucharist for
enlightenment. (mp3 format)
Bright Tuesday & the 5th Matinal Resurrectional
Gospel
Luke
24:12-35
2018-04-10
SYNOPSIS:After
saying "Christ is
risen" in many languages including
"Texan", we talk about the mysterious
road to Emmaus. There many tantalizing things in this
story, such as - why did the
disciples not recognize Jesus, but the most important
take-home here must Be that even
after being enlightened by our Lord describing Himself
iin the Scriptures, the apostles
did not know Him until He gave them the Eucharist. The
Eucharist is indispensable for
enlightenment.
-
The
Road to Emmaus. Our hearts must be burning too. (mp3
format)
Bright Tuesday
The Road to Emmaeus
Luke
24:12-35
2019-04-30
SYNOPSIS:The
Resurrectional Gospel from Luke
about the encounter of Jesus Christ with two of His
disciples on the road to Emmaus is
read on Bright Tuesday. We discuss why this is read,
even though the Gospel of John is
read for almost every other day in the Pascha period,
and that this encounter must be
like our life. Our hearts must also burn. What is this
"burning"?
-
The
Road to Emmaus - We all are
on this road – how man encounters God (mp3 format)
Luke 24:12-35
2020-04-22
SYNOPSIS:On Bright Tuesday,
we read the account in St Luke of the road to Emmaus,
when he and fellow disciple
Cleophas encountered Jesus on the road and did not
recognize Him but their hearts burned
within them, and then they recognized Him in a moment of
perfect clarity when they sat
down to eat and He broke bread. We are on this road.
This is how man encounters God. It
would be good for us to learn from their
experience.
-
"Where
are you staying?" "Come and see." (mp3
format)
Bright Wednesday
John
1:35-51
2019-05-01
SYNOPSIS:What
will Jesus answer us if we asked him, as Andrew did:
"Where are you staying?". We must ask this
question and also respond to His
answer: "Come and see", in a spiritual way.
What is this way? Also: Why are
the doors to the altar opened during Bright week? And
why are they closed on Saturday?
How is the book of John different than every other book
in the bible?
-
Bright Thursday (HTML
format)
-
Bright
Thursday (mp3 format)
That Which Is Born Of The Flesh Is Flesh And That Which
Is Born Of The Spirit Is
Spirit
The Encounter With Nicodemus
John
3-1-15
2011-02-28
-
Bright
Thursday (mp3 format)
Bright Thursday Nicodemus And Christ
Spiritual Vs
Flesh And Remembrance Of
Death
John 3-1-15
2014-04-24
-
Bright
Thursday (mp3
format)
Pascha Traditions
2014-04-24
-
Bright
Thursday (mp3 format)
Bright Thursday Nicodemus And Christ
Living
Spiritually Listening To Our
Heart
John 3-1-15
2015-04-16
-
The
heart feels as the eyes read: the Encounter of Nicodemus
with Jesus Christ. (mp3
format)
Nicodemus and Christ
John
3:1-15
2018-04-13
SYNOPSIS:On a
Bright Thursday, a more leisurely look at the encounter
of
Nicodemus and Christ. In a Sunday sermon, a priest must
hone in one 1 point or 2, but
here we speak from the heart – the heart reacts as the
eyes read - this is how we should
encounter the scriptures.
-
Bright
Thursday: The encounter with Nicodemus is all about
learning to live in a spiritual way.
(mp3 format)
Bright Thursday
John
3:1-15
2019-05-02
SYNOPSIS:The
encounter of Jesus with Nicodemus teaches about baptism,
the
cross, the divinity and humanity of Jesus, and above
all, how to think and live
spiritually and why this is important. Our exegesis of
this very important encounter
covers these things, and always focuses on living
spiritually. This is an important life
skill, and the Gospel of John teaches it more than any
other scripture.
-
Bright
Friday (mp3 format)
Bright Friday Lifegiving Spring
Let This Mind Be In
You Which Was Also In
Christ Jesus
Philippians 2-5-11
2015-04-17
-
"Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus..." (mp3 format)
Bright Friday
Acts 3:1-8 : John 2:12-22 :
Philippians 2:5-11 : Luke
10:38-42: 11:27-28
2019-05-03
SYNOPSIS:The scriptures must be
applied! We savor all 4 of the readings today, and
discuss having the mind of Christ,
"nice" Jesus (He does not exist in the
church), always giving back when given
a blessing, the complete and total absence of legalism
or formalism in the church, and
acquiring moral authority.
-
Bright
Saturday (mp3 format)
Most Important Happiest Saddest Day Of The
Year
2015-04-18
-
It
is not about me! It is about Jesus Christ, who healed
me, and it my job to proclaim Him
to others. (mp3 format)
Bright Saturday
John 3:22-33 : Acts
3:11-16
2019-05-04
SYNOPSIS:A homily
by Fr Nicholas Park. Both the Epistle and the Gospel
today
on Bright Saturday have a central teaching: it is not
about me, it is always about Jesus
Christ. We must always be asking ourselves about the
thing we are
doing/teaching/desiring/being - is it about me, or is it
about Jesus Christ?
Weekday Readings after Pascha
-
2th
Tuesday
after Pascha (mp3 format)
Football Signs
Light And Darkness
John
3-16-21
2016
-
2th Wednesday after
Pascha (mp3 format)
2011-05-04
-
2th Thursday
after Pascha (mp3
format)
John 5-24-30
2011-05-02
-
2th
Thursday after Pascha (mp3 format)
Scripture Is Easy To Understand
Childrens
Sermon
John
5-24-30
2012-04-26
-
2th
Thursday after Pascha (mp3 format)
Salvation Is A Journey From Death To Life
John
5-24-30
2015-04-23
-
Passing
over from
death to life, as the world teaches, legislates, and
tries to force man to be in death
as if it is life. (mp3 format)
John 5:24-30
2021-05-13
SYNOPSIS:The process
happening to true Christians RIGHT NOW- is passing over
from death to life. This must be
remembered - in the heart - especially during our times
which are mistaking death for
life, and criticizing and even forbidding that which is
life, and requiring – in
practice, opinion and law – that which is death. An
exegesis of a selection from the
Gospel of John, which we read when we commemorate the
reposed, and which teaches us how
to live to pass over from death to life. John 5:24-30
Thursday, 2nd Week of Pascha
(Antipascha)
-
Healing of the nobleman’s son, servant of the centurion,
and daughter of Jairus, each
with 3 kinds of faith – compared. (mp3 format)
John 4:46-54 : Matthew 5:22-43 : Luke 8:41-56 : Matthew
8:5-13 : Luke 7:1-10
2019-05-13
SYNOPSIS:Today we read
about the healing of the
nobleman’s son. This man had enough faith that he
believed the Lord when He said that
his son would be would be healed. There are other
healings that show other amounts of
faith, one greater and one lesser. We compare this
healing with the healing of the
servant of Cornelius the centurion, and also the healing
of the daughter of Jairus. The
Lord will meet us at the point we are with a faith that
we have at as long as we are
doing the best we can.
-
3th
Thursday after
Pascha (mp3 format)
Acts 8-26-39-John 6-40-44
2011-05-12
-
3th
Thursday
after Pascha (mp3 format)
Trash
Trucks-Belief-And-Victorious-Living
2021
-
The
preaching of Jesus Christ about God was completely
different than anything the world had
ever known. To this day, it is still different. The
Christian God is not appeased or
placated. We do not offer Him anything in order to
change His actions towards us. Jesus
showed that God wants to give Himself to us in order for
us to become like Him. This is
still revolutionary. Exegesis of a portion of St. John’s
gospel in the sixth Chapter.
(mp3 format)
John 6:40-44
2021-05-21
SYNOPSIS:The preaching of
Jesus Christ about God was completely different than
anything the world had ever known.
To this day, it is still different. The Christian God is
not appeased or placated. We do
not offer Him anything in order to change His actions
towards us. Jesus showed that God
wants to give Himself to us in order for us to become
like Him. This is still
revolutionary. Exegesis of a portion of St. John’s
gospel in the sixth Chapter.
-
The
hard sayings of Jesus. (mp3 format)
4th Monday of Pascha
John
6:56-69
2019-05-20
SYNOPSIS:Today we
read in the Gospel that after many heard the Lord Jesus
speak about His body and blood, they left Him, saying:
"This is an hard saying; who
can hear it?". Believing, following and ordering
our life by the "hard
sayings" of the Scripture is part of that answer to
the question we often hear:
"How is Orthodoxy different than (fill in the
blank?)". We talk about this
hard saying and how a person must live in order to
follow hard sayings. Simon Peter
gives us one of the necessary things we must do: we must
order our life to show we
really believe what he told the Lord: "Lord, to
whom shall we go? Thou hast the
words of eternal life."
-
The
"nice Jesus" of modern pseudo Christianity has
a devil. (mp3 format)
John 8:51-59
2019-05-27
SYNOPSIS:Exegesis of a
selection from the Gospel of John when the Jews accused
Jesus of having a devil. Jesus
reacted to their accusation by teaching of His equality
with the Father, that is, He is
God, while also being man. Modern pseudo-Christianity,
which believes in a "nice
Jesus" who accepts basically anything, has a devil.
The Jesus Christ that we
believe in is not a so-called "nice Jesus",
but is the God man, and is truth.
truth. It is important for Orthodox Christians to
recognize the modern rhetoric which
has a devil. We cannot recognize this rhetoric without
recognizing Who Jesus is, and
living according to this understanding.
-
5th
Thursday after Pascha (mp3 format)
The Sheep Follow Him For They Know His Voice
John
9-39-10-9
2012-05-17
-
The sheep
know Him, because they know DOGMA
and always, with it morality (mp3 format)
5th Thursday of Pascha
John
9:39-10:9
2019-05-30
SYNOPSIS:The
ONE primary purpose of the Gospel of St John. The 2
components
to everything in the Gospel of John: DOGMA, and because
of DOGMA, and with DOGMA,
morality. Today's selection is a good example, showing
the immorality of the ruling
elite, the dogma of Who Jesus Christ is, and our
reaction to this dogma, as His sheep,
who know Him, because we follow Him. If we follow the
shepherd (this is not just belief
in Him), we see what is true and know what is true. The
ruling elete, who opposed Jesus,
did not follow him, and therefore saw what is not there,
and "knew" things
that are not true. The application to our days must be
understood.
-
The
sheep must
work to continually recognize their shepherd. (mp3
format)
John 9:39-10:9
2021-06-03
SYNOPSIS:Commentary on
John 9:39-10:9, the reading for this Thursday, and also
St Constantine and Helen whom we
commemorated today. We need to recognize who the
shepherds are because only the
shepherds enter by the door of the sheepfold. We talk in
blunt terms about apparent
Orthodox shepherds who are teaching a strange teaching
and therefore are thieves and
robbers, and how to live so that we will hear the voice
of the shepherd and recognize
him and no one else as our shepherd. Our words will be
appreciated by some, hated by
others, and perhaps redirect some to renewed vigor in
living a life so that they can
recognize the shepherd in our time of many false
shepherds.
-
What
is the "good ground" and what do we do to
become and remain the good ground?
(mp3 format)
Matthew 13:10-23
2019-07-22
SYNOPSIS:The Parable of
the Sower is explained in the Gospel read today. The
most important part is
understanding what is the good ground and how to become
the good ground.
-
6th
Wednesday after Pascha (mp3 format)
Leaving Of Pascha Transitions Receive The
Light
2019-06-05
-
6th Thursday
after Pascha (HTML
format)
-
6th
Thursday after Pascha (mp3 format)
Ascension
Exegesis Of Old Testament Parables Read
During Ascension
Vespers
2011-06-01
-
6th
Thursday after
Pascha (mp3 format)
Ascension
Childrens Sermon
2011-06-02
-
6th
Thursday after Pascha (mp3 format)
Ascension
Human Nature Deified Holy Spirit Sent
Judgment To
Come
2011-06-02
-
6th
Thursday after Pascha (mp3 format)
Ascension
Why Stand Ye Gazing Up Into
Heaven
Acts
1-1-12
2013-06-15
-
6th
Thursday after Pascha (mp3 format)
Ascension
Time To Do Something Now
Acts
1-1-12
2014-05-29
-
6th Thursday
after Pascha (mp3
format)
Ascension
Three Things
2016
SYNOPSIS:6th
Thursday after Pascha
-
6th
Thursday after Pascha
(mp3 format)
Ascension
Three Things
Acts 1-1-12
2016
-
3
main things about the Ascension, then the take home -
Christianity is active! (mp3
format)
The Ascension
2017
SYNOPSIS:There are three very
important things a Christian must know about the
Ascension, but knowing stuff does not
help a person unless he acts on his knowledge. The end
of the account of the Ascension
shows Christianity is active! We must work, and learn,
and change, based on the grace
God gives us.
-
Ascension:
He bare them, and carried them all the days of old. (mp3
format)
Ascension
Isaiah 62:10-63:3:
63:7-9
2021-06-10
SYNOPSIS:On the
feast of Ascension, we begin with story of a young child
snuggling on his mother’s shoulder and how this image is
much like a selection from one
of the readings for this feast: "in his love and in
his pity he redeemed them; and
he bare them, and carried them all the days of
old." (Isaiah 63:9). We do a mini
catechesis about the Ascension and discuss its four most
important theological aspects.
-
7th
Thursday after Pascha (mp3
format)
John 16-23-33
2013-06-20
-
7th
Thursday
after Pascha (mp3 format)
Do Ye Now Believe
John 16-23-33
2015-05-28
Feasts of the Savior, Ascension
-
The
Ascension changes everything! (mp3 format)
The Ascension
2018-05-17
SYNOPSIS:Stories provide
powerful incentives for changing our behavior. We look
at the Ascension story, which is
also a dogmatic fact and how it should influence our
behavior – it should change
EVERYTHING! - and also the 3 dogmatic pillars of the
event of the Ascension.
Feasts of the Savior, Nativity
-
Two
Sundays before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (HTML
format)
Sunday Of The Holy Forefathers
The Great
Supper
Colossians 3:4-11,
Luke 14:16-24
1996-12-29
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
-
Two
Sundays before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (HTML
format)
Sunday of the holy forefathers
The Great
Supper
Colossians 3:4-11,
Luke 14:16-24
2001
-
Two
Sundays before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (HTML
format)
Sunday Of The Holy Forefathers
The Great Supper An
Invitation To Become Not
To Eat
Colossians 3:4-11 Luke
14:16-24
2007-12-30
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
Two
Sundays before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3
format)
Sunday Of The Holy Forefathers
The Great Supper An
Invitation To Become Not
To Eat
Colossians 3:4-11, Luke
14:16-24
2007-12-30
SYNOPSIS:Two
Sundays before the Nativity of Jesus Christ
-
Two
Sundays before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3
format)
Sunday Of The Holy Forefathers
The Great
Supper
Luke
14:16-24
2008-12-28
-
Two
Sundays before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3
format)
Sunday Of The Holy Forefathers
The Great
Supper
Colossians 3:4-11,
Luke 14:16-24
2009-12-27
-
Two
Sundays before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3
format)
Sunday Of The Holy Forefathers
The Great
Supper
Colossians 3:4-11,
Luke 14:16-24
2010-12-27
SYNOPSIS:The Parable of the Great
Supper is explained, and compared with the Parable of
the Wedding Feast, and selection
from Colossions is related to the inner meaning of the
parable.
-
Two
Sundays before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3
format)
Sunday Of The Holy Forefathers
Why Be
Good
Colossians
3-4-11
2011-12-24
-
Two
Sundays before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3
format)
Sunday Of The Holy Forefathers
The Great Supper
Compel Them To Come
In
Luke 14-16-24
2011-12-25
-
Two
Sundays before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3
format)
Go Out Into The Highways And Hedges And Compel Them To
Come In That My House May
Be Filled
Colossians 3-4-11, Luke 14-16-24
2012-12-30
-
The Great Supper is about the Incarnation and the common reactions to it. It also gives the only way to be saved: URGENCY! (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Holy Forefathers The Great Supper
Colossians 3-4-11, Luke
14-16-24
2013-12-20
SYNOPSIS:The Parable of the Great
supper
is read 2 Sundays before Nativity. It describes
the Incarnation, and men' s common reaction to it. The complimentary Epistle
describes the way we should react. The Gospel also describes the virtue
which we must have to be saved, whether we are good or bad - URGENCY!
-
The
Parable of the Great Supper teaches "good anger" compels the soul to
live righteously.
(mp3 format)
Luke 14:16-24
2014-12-28
SYNOPSIS:The Parable of the
Great
Supper is always read 2 Sundays before Nativity. We explain the parable (which,
appropriately, is
about the incarnation, how men react to it, and how it effects us), and then get
to the important
part - application to the spiritual life, and the peculiar statements:
"Then the master of the
house being angry..." and "Compel them to come in." There is a
mystical teaching here
about the important and good passion of anger, and how it is used to save the
soul, and how the soul
is compelled to act righteously. This "compelling" does not violate
our free will - on the
other hand, it must be born voluntarily from deep within us, voluntarily, and
energized by good
anger.
-
Two
Sundays
before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Parable Great Supper
Incarnation
Luke 14-16-24-Col 3-4-11
2015
-
Two
Sundays
before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Parable Great Supper
Incarnation
Luke 14-16-24-Col
3-4-110
2015
SYNOPSIS:Two Sundays before the Nativity of
Jesus Christ
-
The
Great Supper. Choosing to not be free. (mp3 format)
Two Sundays before Nativity The Great Supper
Colossians 3:4-11 Luke
14:16-24
2017-12-24
SYNOPSIS:The Parable of the Great Supper
is read 2
Sundays before Nativity, and also a passage from Colossians; both are about the
incarnation and what
our reaction to it must be, in this life, and the future. If we are to truly
"put on the new
man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him"
(something possible
ONLY because of the incarnation), then we must take to heart the spiritual
meaning of the king’s
instructions to his servants, when he told them to search for the most sinful,
broken souls and
"compel them to come in" to His supper. If we understand the
incarnation, we will, in
imitation of the Incarnated One, be COMPELLED from within to CHOOSE to not be
free, so that we may
someday be "free indeed".
-
The
parable of the Great Supper. Compel them to come in! (mp3 format)
Colossians 3:4-11 Luke 14:16-24
2018-12-30
SYNOPSIS:The parable
of the Great Supper is about the incarnation, and is read two Sundays before
Nativity. Near the end
of the parable, the master of the house, that is, God, tells His servants to:
"Go out into the
highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be
filled". This word
"compel" is a compelling and even controversial word. The epistle
helps explain what this
word means. Everything in Christianity is lived in the heart.
-
Sunday before
the
Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Holy Fathers
2003
-
Sunday
before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Holy Fathers
Two Geneologies
Matthew 1:1-25, Hebrews
11:9-10,17-23,32-40
2007-01-06
-
"And
the wolf shall lie down with the lamb." Change within the human heart is
now possible! Vespers
on the Eve of Nativity. (mp3 format)
Isaiah 11:1-10
2007-01-06
SYNOPSIS:A short
reflection on the
text from Isaiah 11:1-10, read during Vespers on the Eve of Nativity: "And
the wolf shall lie
down with the lamb." This describes the change possible in the human heart
made possible only
because of Jesus Christ.
-
Sunday
before the
Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Holy Fathers
Matthew 1:1-25
2009-01-04
-
Sunday
before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Holy Fathers
Saint John Of Kronstadt, and The Purpose Of The
Incarnation,
"Ye shall be children of the Highest"
Luke
6:31-36
2010-01-02
SYNOPSIS:On this Sunday before Nativity,
St John of Kronstadt is also commemorated, and
the Gospel for him and his life perfectly describes the purpose of the
Incarnation. This Gospel
contains our Lord's admonishments to love, using concrete examples, and
concludes with the promise
"And ye shall be children of the highest". This is the purpose of the
incarnation, and
examining this Gospel along with St John's life, which struggled to fulfill it
illuminates this
purpose for us, therefore, on this Sunday when we read the "Begats",
it is appropriate to
delve into what is means to be children of the highest, and how and why we can
attain this high
calling. We also suggest another way to describe the "Golden Rule" and
what should be our
inner motivation for loving our fellow man, and doing anything that is good in
this life.
-
Sunday
before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Holy Fathers
A Life Parable In The Kindness Of
Joseph
Matthew
1-1-25
2010-01-03
-
Sunday
before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Holy Fathers
The Geneology Proves Jesus Saves All
Humanity
2012-01-06
-
The
kindness of Joseph and faith of our Fathers. Sunday before Nativity. (mp3
format)
Sunday of the Holy Fathers
Matthew 1:1-25
2014-01-05
SYNOPSIS:On the Sunday before Nativity, we read form the beginning
of Matthew and the
"Hall of Faith" in Hebrews. We can learn much from the kindness of
Joseph, and the
patience of our Fathers. Without kindness and patience, we will not experience
God, or know him.
Lets us learn from their example.
-
Sunday
before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
God Is With Us
Matthew 1-1-25
2015
SYNOPSIS:The
primary
meaning of Nativity may be summed by the name "Emmanuel", God is with
us. We talk about
prayer and its one main purpose, and also the liturgy and all prayer in the
church. It is to have
God be with us, to be in his presence and even with Him in us. We should
experience God, more than
when we experience the sun when we are in its presence. Everything we do should
be to experience God
and be in His presence. .
-
Sunday before the Nativity of
Jesus Christ
(mp3 format)
God Is With Us
Matthew 1-1-25
2015
-
Sunday
before Nativity: The geneology tells us God can make anything good. (mp3
format)
Sunday of the Holy Fathers
Matthew 1:1-25
2015-01-04
SYNOPSIS:On the Sunday before Nativity, the Genealogy, from Matthew,
is read. This is a
"rougues gallery" of people, and the spiritual meaning is clear. God
can make anything
good. He is always in control. We have no excuses if we are bad. This is not a
reason to stop
trying, only this will cause us to fall. If we try, God will make the bad good.
This is truly good
news!
-
Sunday
before the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday Holy Fathers
Joseph The Betrothed Jesus Christ Emmanuel
2016
-
Learning
what "by faith" and "emmanuel" means, from our Forefathers,
and Uncle Izzie.
(mp3 format)
Sunday before Nativity, the Holy Fathers.
Hebrews 11:9 Matthew
1:23
2017-12-31
SYNOPSIS:On the Sunday before Nativity,
which commemorates
our Holy Fathers (the ancestors of Christ), a story from Father Moses Berry,
about Uncle Izzie,
which teaches us who our Fathers and about our Forefathers, and what "by
faith" and
"Emmanuel" - God is with us - means in our practical, daily
lives.
-
The
incarnation is an act of patience, that teaches and enables us to have patience.
Without patience,
there is no faith. (mp3 format)
Hebrews 11:9-10,17-23,32-40
2020-01-05
SYNOPSIS:On
the Sunday
before Nativity, we read in the epistle of Hebrews about the patience and
obedience of the Old
Testament fathers. Some call this passage the hall of faith. It could just as
well be called the
hall of patience. Without patience, and its sister and mother, obedience, there
is no faith. Because
of the incarnation, we can work out our salvation with patience.
-
Nativity
of Jesus Christ (Adobe PDF format)
God Has Entered The Bosom Of Human Life Nativity
Justin
Chelije
1970
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
-
Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3
format)
2002
-
Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3
format)
2004
-
Nativity
of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
The Real Christmas Story
Galations 4:4-7
2007-01-07
-
Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3
format)
The whole meaning of Christmas is in today's epistle
Galatians
4:4-7
2009-01-07
-
Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3
format)
2010-01-07
-
Nativity
of Jesus Christ (HTML format)
Eve of Nativity
We worship Thy Nativity O Christ, show us also Thy divine
Theophany
2011-01-06
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:At the Vesperal Divine Liturgy on the Eve of Nativity,
a homily about
on of the hymns of the Royal Hours. It expresses the connection between Nativity
and Theophany, and
especially how we must feel and what we must desire as we contemplate the
incarnation. "Today
He Who in essence is God intangible and holdeth all creation in His hand is born
of the Virgin and
creation in His hand is born of the virgin and wrapped in swaddling bands. He
lieth in a manger Who
established in a manger Who established the heavens by His word in the
beginning. He is fed at the
breast with milk Who rained down manna upon the people in the wilderness. The
Bridegroom of the
church summoneth the magi; the Son of the virgin receiveth their gifts. We
worship Thy Nativity, O
Christ! We worship Thy Nativity, O Christ! Show us also Thy divine Theophany.
"
-
Nativity
of Jesus Christ (RTF format)
The meaning of Christmas: "Abba, Father".
Christological exegesis
of Nativity
Epistles
Galatians 4:4-7 Hebrews 2:11-18
2011-01-07
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:During the Advent season, the "Meaning of
Christmas" is often
referenced, and most of the time, it is far from the truth, and even hackneyed
and shallow. This
homily does an almost line by line exegesis of the Epistle Read on Nativity and
one of the Epistles
read the day before, explaining the true meaning of Christmas and why and how we
achieve this
meaning. This is heavily Christological, but as all true theology is, also quite
practical and about
things that are ultimately important in life.
-
Nativity
of Jesus Christ (HTML format)
St Gregory The Theologian
(nazianzen)
2011-the-wonder-of-the-incarnation
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
SYNOPSIS:Read this homily of St Gregory the
Theologian (Nazianzen)
carefully! It is a materpiece of Christological theology and rhetoric, and while
accurately
declaring important dogmas, it also captures the wonder of the incarnation. We
MUST feel this wonder
if we are true Christians.
-
Nativity
of Jesus Christ (RTF format)
Exegesis Of Vespers Of Nativity Parables
1 4
2012-01-05
Also in
Format:
mp3
-
Nativity
of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Exegesis Of Vespers Of Nativity Parables
4 8
2012-01-06
-
Nativity
of Jesus Christ (RTF format)
Hymns Of Nativity
History Meditation Theology
2012-01-07
Also in
Format:
mp3
-
Nativity
of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Meaning Of Nativity
Abba Father They Departed Into Their Country Another
Way
Galations 4-4-7-Matthew 2-1-12
2012-01-07
-
"They
departed into their own country another way" The incarnation provides us
another way! We are
born for to live, not die. (RTF format)
Matthew 2:1-12 Galatians 4:4-7
2014-01-07
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:The Gospel on Nativity does *not* contain anything
about the day of the
birth of Christ, but rather is something that happened perhaps weeks after: the
visit of the wise
men. There is a very important reason why - it is similar to the reason we do
not directly reference
the resurrection on Pascha. The Nativity of Christ (the incarnation) does not
change us unless we
chose *another way* of living. The decision of the wise men, after they
worshipped Christ: "And
being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they
departed into their own
country another way." - teaches us that the incarnation is precisely so
that we can live our
lives in *another way* - not as mere men, but as "God-men". who have
been adopted as sons
of God.
-
Nativity
of Jesus Christ (Word DOC format)
_2015+-from-the-womb-before-the-morning-star-have-i-begotten-thee_psalm109 From
The Womb
Before The Morning Star Have I Begotten Thee
Psalm 109
2015
-
Nativity
of
Jesus Christ (HTML format)
Holiness Amidst Mundane
Meaning Of Christmas
Galatians
4-4-7
2015
Also
in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
From
the heart of a pastor on the Nativity: the meaning of Christmas. (Word DOC
format)
Galations 4:4-7
2015-01-07
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:A pastor wants to share from his heart especially
during the great
feasts. The meaning of Nativity, superbly explained by the words of the Apostle:
"when the
fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made
under the law, To redeem
them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And
because ye are sons,
God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba,
Father. Wherefore thou art
no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through
Christ." Also a comment
about "Russian Christmas" and an invitation.
-
Nativity of Jesus
Christ (RTF
format)
Emmanuel God Is With Us
Never Lonely 2
2018
Also in Format:
mp3
-
Nativity.
Emmanuel, God is with us. We will never again be lonely. (HTML format)
2018-01-07
Also in Format:
Adobe
PDF
or
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:The meaning of Nativity is described in one word –
“Emmanuel”, which
means “God is with us”. Man was made to be with God, always, but sin made him
lonely. God became man
– so that He would be us – so that He would be with us – so that we would be
able to never be lonely
again.
-
Answer
the question! What shall you do because Christ has raised up the image that fell
of old? (mp3
format)
2020-01-06
SYNOPSIS:Look to the services of the church to
understand
theology and the feasts of the church year. Many celebrate the Nativity of the
Savior, but do not
know *exactly* what its purpose was, and what it accomplished. We look at two
hymns from the
pre-festal services, which describe not only what happened, but also challenges
us to tell (by our
actions) what we are going to do about it.
"Once Mary, being with child
by a seedless
conception, * was registered in Bethlehem with the aged Joseph as being
of the seed of David. *
The time came for the birth, and there was no room in the inn; * but the
cave proved a
delightful palace for the Queen. * Christ is born to raise the image
that fell of old."
(Troparion of the Eve of the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, in Tone
IV)
"What shall we offer Thee, O Christ, for Thou hast appeared on earth as
a man for our sake?
For every creature made by Thee doth offer Thee thanksgiving: the
angels, a hymn; the heavens, a
star; the Magi, gifts; the shepherds, their wonder; the earth, a cave;
the wilderness, a manger;
and we, the Virgin Mother. O God Who wast before the ages, have mercy on
us." (The Vesperal
Liturgy For The Nativity Of The Lord, Lord I have Cried, T2)
-
1st Sunday after
the Nativity
of Jesus Christ (HTML format)
Sunday After Nativity
1999
-
1st Sunday after
the Nativity
of Jesus Christ (Adobe PDF format)
Sunday After Nativity
2000
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
-
1st
Sunday after the Nativity of Jesus Christ (HTML format)
Sunday After Nativity
The Slaughter Of The Holy Innocents And Free
Will
2000
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
-
1st Sunday
after the
Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday After Nativity
2008-01-11
SYNOPSIS:1st Sunday
after the
Nativity of Jesus Christ
-
1st
Sunday after the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday After Nativity
How Can We Make Sense Out Of The
Senseless
Galatians
1:11-19, Matthew 2:13-2
2008-01-13
-
1st Sunday
after the
Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday After Nativity
Things are not as they seem!
2009-01-11
-
1st Sunday
after the
Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday After Nativity
Matthew 2:13-23
2010-01-10
-
1st Sunday
after the
Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday After Nativity
2010-10
SYNOPSIS:1st Sunday
after the
Nativity of Jesus Christ
-
1st
Sunday after the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday After Nativity
How To React To Evil
Matthew
2:13-23
2011-01-09
SYNOPSIS:On the Sunday after Nativity, we
commemorate
King David, Joseph the Betrothed, and James, the Brother of the Lord. The Gospel
reading is about
the Flight into Egypt. It teaches us how to react to evil. This is the opposite
of the way the world
reacts. We must learn this way if we are to understand anything about God - this
is the way of
meekness, the patience of faith and humility.
-
1st
Sunday after the Nativity of Jesus Christ (HTML format)
Sunday After Nativity
Joseph The Betrothed
2011-01-09
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
-
1st
Sunday after the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Regular Everyday Christianity And Knowing The Will Of God
Flight Into
Egypt
Matthew 2-13-23
2013-01-13
-
Why
these 3 today, the Sunday after Nativity? What can we learn? Short lives of
David the King, Joseph
the Betrothed & James the Brother of the Lord. (mp3 format)
Sunday After Nativity
2014-01-12
SYNOPSIS:On the
Sunday after
Nativity, we remember David the King, Joseph the Betrothed & James the
Brother of the Lord. Why?
There are good spiritual reasons. what can the life of each teach us about how
to live?
-
1st
Sunday after the
Nativity of Jesus Christ (HTML format)
Nativity Canon Exegesis
David Joseph James Stories
2015
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
God
is in control. Life of James the brother of the Lord. Everybody should be
"Priest for a
day" (mp3 format)
Matthew 2:13-23
2015-01-11
SYNOPSIS:The most
important aspect of
the Gospel after the Nativity is that God is in control, always, but we rarely
know the full story.
We must learn to trust. Lots of other things were talked about too - the life of
St James the
brother of the Lord, the horrible death of Herod, about interpreting dreams, and
how to learn to
trust in God. Also that we all struggle, and the thought experiment of being
"priest for a
day", which would teach everyone that we all struggle in similar ways with
similar things, and
that the only solution to things we do not understand and that are too big for
us (things which
happen every day) is prayer. Everybody is struggling. If everyone was priest for
a day, they would
pray more and be more sure that their small struggle would be increased by God
and they would be
saved.
-
1st
Sunday after the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Sunday-After-Nativity
2015-01-11
-
1st
Sunday after the Nativity of Jesus Christ (mp3 format)
Matthew
2-13-23
2015-01-11=sunday-after-nativity=god-is-in-control-life-of-james-brother-of-the-lord-priest-for-a-day
-
Sunday
after
Nativity. Now what shall we do? (mp3 format)
Matthew 2:13-23
2020-01-12
SYNOPSIS:A discussion of
what we
should do AFTER a feast (this is much more important than what we do on the
feast itself!), with a
recounting of the historical events of Nativity and the visit of the wise men,
and the virtues of
James the betrothed, James, the brother of the Lord, and David, the Prophet and
King.
-
How to live in our
difficult days?
With integrity. And "Christian violence." David, joseph and James
teach us how. (RTF
format)
Sunday After Nativity
Matthew 2:13-23
2021-01-10
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:The lives of the Prophet and King David, Joseph the
betrothed, James,
the brother of the Lord, give us abundant examples of how we should be living in
our difficult
times. We discuss violence. Not the violence that occurs in our society but
Christian violence, the
right kind of violence. We also discuss what we should do as our society appears
to become less
free. We talk about the major answers to these problems, violence:expressed by
frequent
prostrations, prayer, and personal integrity.
Feasts of the Savior, Theophany
-
Two Sundays before Theophany
(mp3 format)
2004
-
Sunday before Theophany (mp3
format)
2004
-
Sunday before Theophany (mp3
format)
The "beginning" of the Gospel is accomplished every day.
Mark
1:1-8
2009
-
Sunday
before Theophany (mp3 format)
Prepare Ye The Way Of The Lord Make His Paths Straight
Mark
1:1-8
2011-01-10
SYNOPSIS:On the Sunday before
Theophany we read from
the beginning of the Gospel of Mark 2 important prophesies regarding the
ministry of Jesus
Christ, and regarding the ministry of John the Baptist. The
"baptism of John", and of
Christ, and our own is explained, and the admonition of St John:
"Prepare ye the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight", which applies to each one of us,
all the time, is
explained. There is a very important nuance of meaning that is missed by
too many Christians.
Our life must be a continual attempt to obey this admonition, and
without our effort to do so,
we cannot be saved, while, on the other hand, our success in fulfilling
this command does not
determine if we are saved either. This is the old faith vs. works
argument, which, for those who
were not raised in the church, can be very confusing. It is actually
quite easy to understand
(after you have understood it!). Our baptism, and all that God does to
give us His grace,
enables us to become perfected and to know Him. We are responsible for
trying, and only because
of His help, we will succeed. Overall, if our life is an effort to
fulfill this commandment, we
will be saved.
-
The
beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and baptism, and the end, where
we will have fought the
good fight and finished the course. Readings for the Sunday before
Theophany explained. (mp3
format)
Mark 1:1-8 2Timothy 4:5-8
2012-01-15
SYNOPSIS:The Sunday
before Theophany (the baptism of Jesus Christ), we read from Mark about
the "beginning of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ" and about the baptism of John, which is
a vivid type of
Christian Baptism. The entire selection, form Mark 1:1-8 us explained,
and especially how
John's baptism (of repentance) is different (and the same) as
Christian baptism. It is also
appropriate on this day to think about the eventual fruit of baptism,
which is human perfection
and union with God, and the passage of 2Timothy 4:5-8 presents us with a
beautiful
"after" picture. This is our destiny, if we accept baptism and
work to attain
it.
-
"Christ
has appeared in the Jordan to sanctify the waters." Exegesis of the
Pre-festival Troparion
for theophany, and WHY THE THEOPHANY at the baptism of Christ? (mp3
format)
2014-01-18
SYNOPSIS:What happened at the baptism
of Christ? The
pre-festival troparion explains it. Why did the Theophany (appearance
the Holy Triniy) occur at
the baptism of Christ? This is central to the purpose of the reason
Christ was baptized, and how
we are made - we differ from animals and angels in a critical way, which
is mystically described
at the baptism of Christ.
-
Sunday
before Theophany (mp3 format)
Theology Of Baptism
Holy Spirit In The Nostrils
Luke
10-1-15
2015
-
Sunday
before Theophany (mp3 format)
Mark 1:1-8
2015-01-18
SYNOPSIS:The Gospel
read on the Sunday
before Theophany helps us to prepare for the feast. This we must do and
redo every day. We
discuss the difference in how Orthodox Christians prepare for feasts.
There was a messenger that
heralded the coming of Christ, and we also have such a messenger - the
conscience. We must learn
to cultivate and listen to this messenger.
-
Purpose
of Baptism. Searching for the image which had been buried by sin and the
passions and restoring
it and adorning it. (mp3 format)
Sunday before Theophany
2017
SYNOPSIS:Exegesis of a verse in
the Canon for the Forefeast of Theophany. " Thou didst light Thy
precious flesh like a lamp
in the midst of the Jordan, O Christ, and didst search for Thine image
which had been buried by
sin and the passions; and finding it, Thou didst adorn it with Thy
baptism, O Good One.
Wherefore, we hymn Thee. " (Ode 7) As we leisurely explain this
hymn, we touch on the
personality of the Gospel of Mark, a definition of the Gospel, the
purpose of baptism, some of
the scriptural allusions in this hymn, and - how do we apply it
all?
-
Theophany, The Baptism of the
Lord, &
"Illumining". "To Fulfil all Righteousness." About
Holy Water. (HTML
format)
-
Theophany (Baptism of the Lord)
(mp3
format)
2003
-
Theophany (Baptism of the Lord)
(mp3
format)
2004
-
Theophany
(Baptism of the Lord) (mp3 format)
Two Theophanies, 2 Baptisms
Titus 2:11-14:34-7, Matthew
3:13-17
2008-01-19
-
Theophany (Baptism of the
Lord) (mp3
format)
Baptism allows us to fulfil all righteousness.
Matthew
3:13-17
2009-01-19
-
Theophany
(Baptism of the Lord) (mp3 format)
The Grace Of God That Bringeth Salvation Hath Appeared To All
Men
2011-01-19
SYNOPSIS:Explanation of the reason
for the Lord's
baptism, including the prophesies about the visible changes in the
Jordan when the Lord was
baptised.
-
Theophany
(Baptism of the Lord) (mp3 format)
Synaxarion For Theophany
2012-01-18
-
What
does baptism do for us and what MUST we do after baptism? The moral
dogma of baptism. (mp3
format)
That He Might Redeem Us From All Iniquity And Purify Unto Himself A
Peculiar People
Zealous Of Good Works
Titus 2:11-14: 3:4-7
2012-01-19
SYNOPSIS:The
epistle for Theophany, the Baptism of the Lord, describes for us the
purpose of baptism, and
especially its "moral dogma". What is this? Most people know
that Christianity rests
upon various dogmas about God, such as that God is a Trinity of persons,
and that the Son of
God, Jesus Christ is God and man, but many do not know as well our moral
dogmas. The Epistle to
Titus describes both the dogma what Christian baptism does. and also the
moral dogma concerning
it - what we must do. If we do not understnad and embrace this dogma we
cannot be saved.
-
Why
a Theophany at the baptism of Christ? For the same reason that the
Trinity was present at the
creation of man. Deep and beautiful theology about baptism, and the
image of God in man. (mp3
format)
Matthew 3:13-17 Titus 2:11-14,3:4-7
2014-01-19
-
Gregory
Palamas: Purpose of the Baptism of Christ and struggle in the Christian
life. (mp3 format)
Feast of Theophany
Matthew 3:13-17
2017
SYNOPSIS:Theophany, based on the theology of St Gregory
Palamas (Homily sixty), and
not only his theology, but the theology of the church. An exposition of
the Gospel read on
Theophany, Matthew 3:13-17. The baptism of John contrasted with
Christian baptism. The
difference between the baptism of Christ and all the others John
baptized. What did Jesus mean
when He said "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to
fulfil all
righteousness" Our baptism requires many things from us. It makes
us capable of ALL of
these things. An important segue about the weakness of our age and
struggle in the Christian
life, and that struggle and success are not synonymous, and that we must
be kind and never give
up, or we will not be saved, no matter what other virtues we may have.
-
Theophany
(Baptism of the Lord) (mp3 format)
Thus It Becometh Us To Fulfil All Righteousness
Matthew
13-15
2018
-
Theophany.
Why was
Christ baptized, why are we baptized, & what must resonate in our soul
for us to be saved? (mp3
format)
Titus 2:11-14: 3:4-7
2019-01-19
SYNOPSIS:About why Christ
was baptized, what happens to us when we are baptized. We also talk
about the passage through
the red sea, which points to baptism. Two kinds of people passed through
the waters, but only
one group was delivered. It is the same with Christian baptism, which
has power, and purpose. If
we do not live according to its purpose, we will not be delivered. If
the words in the Epistle
to Titus which we read today, and we discuss in detail, resonate in our
hearts, nothing will
keep us from our purpose and our deliverance.
-
Sunday after Theophany (mp3
format)
2003
-
Sunday
after Theophany (mp3 format)
Sunday After Theophany
The Meaning Of The Winter Pascha; Our Nature
Is Changed, We
Are No Longer Captives
Ephesians 4:7-13, Matthew 4:12-17
2008-01-20
-
Sunday after Theophany
(mp3 format)
Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew
4:12-17
2009-01-25
-
Sunday
after Theophany (mp3 format)
The Measure Of The Gift Of Christ
Ephesians
4:7-13
2011-01-23
SYNOPSIS:Exegesis of the epistle
read for the Sunday after Theophany, Ephesians
4:7-13. Why is this epistle read? What is "the measure of the gift
of Christ."
"He led captivity captive" describes what Christ's death and
resurrection did for us,
and is a way of understanding the effects of sin.
-
The
purpose of the church, and of baptism. (mp3 format)
Ephesians 4:7-13
2012-01-21
SYNOPSIS:The
selection read on
the Sunday after Theophany (Ephesians 4:7-13) is critical to understand
in detail. It contains
the important dogmas abuot Christ's descent into Hell, and the
rarely understood dogma whoch
I will express as a question: "What is the purpose of the
church?" It is critical to
understand the purpose if our life, and of the church, and how baptism
affects both. The
exegesis of this Epistle explains this. This is a very important 9
minutes for a Christian to
understand.
-
How
to answer temptations and what happens after baptism. (mp3 format)
Saturday & Sunday after Theophany
Matthew 4:1-11, Matthew
4:12-17
2012-01-22
SYNOPSIS:The history of what
Jesus did after His
baptism is critical for us to understand. He set the example, both by
accepting baptism and
showing us what we MUST do after baptism. Let' look in detail at how
to encounter
temptation, which will surely come to us. We must be ready.
-
"Every one of us
is given grace according to the measure of the gift of
Christ." Do not be afraid to struggle for perfection! (mp3
format)
Sunday After Theophany
Ephesians 4-7-13
2013-01-20
SYNOPSIS:The Epistle for the Sunday after Theophany,
although it does not mention
the word, is all about baptism. St Paul teaches us what our Lord's
baptism did for us, and its
end result - perfection. We look at this passage in detail, with its
hopeful and intricate
theology, which urges us to not be afraid to struggle for perfection!
-
Christology
101: Grace, The descent into Hades,unity, salvation and being truly
human DEFINED PROPERLY - it
is all in here: Ephesians 4:7-13 (mp3 format)
Ephesians 4:7-13
2013-11-07
SYNOPSIS:Ephesians 4:7-13 is a
virtual primer on some of the most import Christological subjects. It is
read on the Sunday
after Theophany, and also for certain Saints in the Menaion, such As Oct
25 (Marcian &
Martyrius, notaries). In this short passage we learn of the descent into
Hades, and see
salvation, Unity and being truly human defined properly. St Paul is
expressing thoughts dear to
all Eastern Orthodox Christians, and sometimes not understood so well in
the West. We look at
these amazing verses: "Every one of us is given grace according to
the measure of the gift
of Christ" "He led captivity captive" "Till we all
come in the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto
the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ"
-
"Unto
a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ": the purpose of
baptism explained. (mp3 format)
Ephesians 4:7-13
2014-01-26
SYNOPSIS:Why
this reading from
Ephesians on the Sunday after Theophany? It contains the end result of
baptism, and one of the
best "definition" of salvation: unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of
the fulness of Christ". It also has marvelous Christology that many
have never heard of,
even in the church. Let us marvel at it, and be strengthened in our
struggles.
-
Sunday
after Theophany (mp3 format)
The Measure Of The Stature Of The Fulness Of Christ
Eph
4-7-13
2016
SYNOPSIS:Ephesians 4:7-13, read on the
Sunday after Theophany, is, appropriately,
describing what happens AFTER baptism. We explain the phrase " the
measure of the gift of
Christ", and why St Paul modified the Psalm he quoted, from
"received gifts from
men" to "gave gifts to men". We discuss a common and
deadly way to look at God,
and the proper way, and spend a lot of time on the phrase: "unto a
perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ".
-
Sunday
after Theophany (mp3 format)
The Measure Of The Stature Of The Fulness Of Christ
Eph
4-7-13
2016
-
Becoming
human. We are able, because of baptism. (mp3 format)
Ephesians 4:7-13
2017-01-22
SYNOPSIS:Exegesis of the Epistle
Reading for the Sunday after Theophany (Eph 4:7-13), with emphasis on
our only task in life,
made possible because of baptism - Becoming human. According to the
words of the apostle
"the grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ
(begun at baptism) leads us
to "the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of
the fulness of Christ" This is the process of becoming fully human.
In the perfect man,
Jesus Christ, there is no sin or dark passions, and we will get there
because we are able.
Feasts of the Savior, Transfiguration
-
Transfiguration (Word DOC
format)
Notes
-
Transfiguration (HTML
format)
Human nature in the midst of the Divine.
Luke 9:28-36 (The Gospel
For
Matins)
2008-08-19
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:There is a startling contrast between Moses and
Elias and the
Apostles during the Transfiguration. The Apostles show they were not yet
ready to fully
experience Divine nature because of their sleepiness, confusion and
fear. Moses and Elias were
perfectly at peace in the midst of the uncreated light. Humanity was
created to be able to
perceive the Divine uncreated light, but we must be prepared for it.
COMMENT:You can watch this sermon on the
following video platforms:
YouTube
,
Yahoo
,
MySpace
,
Metacafe
,
Google
,
Revver
,
DailyMotion
,
Blip.TV
,
Veoh
-
Transfiguration
(mp3 format)
2009-08-19
-
Transfiguration
(mp3 format)
A Prophesy Of Things To Come
Partakers Of Divine
Nature
2010-08-19
-
Transfiguration
(mp3 format)
Illumined With Effulgence Of The Virtues
To Be In The Presence Of
God
Vespers
Aposticha For The Prefestival Of The Transfiguration
2011-08-17
SYNOPSIS:The most important aspect of the Transfiguration of
our Lord on Mount Tabor
is that it is a harbinger of things to come. The apostles were not ready
to be in the presence
of the divine uncreated light of God, and yet in the end we all will be
in His presence. What
must we do to become ready? The aposticha for the forefeast teaches us:
"Illumined with the
effulgence of the virtues, let us proceed to the holy mountain, that we
may behold the divine
Transfiguration of the Lord." (Vespers Aposticha, August 5,
Forefeast of the
Transfiguration). Let us look at what happened to the apostles and why
and what we must do as
the aposticha teaches.
-
Transfiguration
(mp3 format)
Old Testament Appearances Of Jesus Christ
Exegesis of the Parables
For
Transfiguration Vespers
Exodus 24:12-18 : Exodus 33:11-23: 34:4-6, 8 : 1
Kings 19:3-9, 11-13,
15-16
2011-08-18
SYNOPSIS:Similar events to the
Transfiguration of Jesus
Christ occured in the Old Testament. Three selections from the Old
Testament are read during the
Vespers, involving Moses twice and also the Prophet Elijah. These
parables are briefly
explained.
-
Transfiguration (mp3
format)
2011-08-19
-
Transfiguration
(mp3 format)
Revealing The Human Form I Emit Unapproachable Light Having Put On All
Of Adam And
Transformed Human Nature
Transfiguration Matins Teaches Us The Meaning Of
The
Feast
2011-08-20
-
Exegesis
of Vespers readings on Transfiguration: typology and moral instruction.
(mp3 format)
Exodus 24:12-18 : Exodus 33:11-23: 34:4-6,8 : 1 Kings
19:3-9,11-13,15-16
2012-08-18
SYNOPSIS:Exegesis of
the Vespers readings
(parables, paremia) for the Feast of the Transfiguration, with emphasis
on typology, especially
comparing the Theophanies Moses and Elijah experienced to the
Transfiguration on Mount Tabor,
and the significant moral instruction these events give us, when viewed
in a Christian light.
-
Transfiguration:
Welcome to the future and examples of how to attain it in the present.
(mp3 format)
2012-08-19
-
Transfiguration:A
foretaste of what is promised: to be in the presence of God. (mp3
format)
2 Peter 1:10-19
2015
SYNOPSIS:Transfiguration is a foretaste
of what is promised: to be in the presence of God. We discuss the
reaction of sinful men when
they are the presence of God, and the answer to the riddle: Why do we
still sin? It is because
we have not fully experienced the light of God. We discuss the BEST and
most powerful reason to
fight against sin. It is not because of the commandments or fear, or
desire for reward. The
Apostle Peter explains: "We have not followed cunningly devised
fables, when we made known
unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were
eyewitnesses of his
majesty."
-
Transfiguration:
Why? Meaning and Implications? Timing? (mp3 format)
2017-08-19
SYNOPSIS:What is the Transfiguration?
What are the
implications? When did it occur and why?
-
An
experience in Dachau explains the meaning of the Transfiguration. (mp3
format)
Transfiguration
2018-08-19
SYNOPSIS:An
experience by St.
Nikolai Velomirovich in Dachau concentration camp teaches us the most
important and primary
meaning of the Transfiguration. If we believe this, truly believe it, it
will change everything
we do, think, say and care about.
-
Our
future told
in the Transfiguration vs our ***apparent*** present reality. (mp3
format)
2018-08-20
SYNOPSIS:On the day after the
Transfiguration and in
the midst of it after-feast, thoughts about the reaction of the
apostles, and the mystery as to
why we say we believe and yet do the things we do. A work of
turn-of-the-century Russian fiction
called "The Archbishop", which tells about overcoming the
cognitive dissonance in
life, since we know God is so good, and yet we are not, and we and our
neighbors do not appear
to be getting that much better helps us to understand how the vision of
the Transfiguration will
help us to overcome the ***appearance*** of our present reality.
-
Transfiguration
(Adobe PDF format)
Our Future
Eyewitnesses Of His Majesty
2 Peter
1-10-19-Rus
2019
Also
in Format:
Word
DOC
-
The
Transfiguration. Why were Moses and Elijah present? (Word DOC
format)
Transfiguration Aug 6/19
2019-08-17
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:When Lord Jesus Christ was transfigured why
were the specific
prophets Moses and Elijah present? There are many reasons, we describe
them.
-
The
Transfiguration. We have seen our future, and we should live according
to it in the present.
(Adobe PDF format)
Transfiguration
2 Peter 1:10-19
2019-08-19
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
or
Русская
версия PDF
or
Русская
версия RTF
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:The feast of Transfiguration, the "Summer
Pascha", shows
us our future. Because we have seen our future and indeed will also be
eyewitnesses of the
majesty of God, we must live differently in present. There is a rule of
thumb for life. The
Apostle Peter, in his reminisces shortly before his death by crucifixion
teaches us, as one who
was an eyewitness of the majesty of Jesus Christ about this rule of
life.
COMMENT:Also in Russian:
Russian
- Word doc
<r>
Russian
- PDF
-
Transfiguration (Word DOC format)
Leavetaking
2019-08-27
Also in Format:
mp3
-
Transfiguration:
The Greatest Feast? Knowing our future *always* tells us what we should
do. (mp3 format)
2021-08-19
SYNOPSIS:The provocative title of this
sermon posits
that in at least one way Transfiguration is the greatest feast of the
year. Of course Pascha,
the resurrection, is considered to be the greatest feast but it does not
show our future; it
only promises it. The Ascension shows some of our future, because we
know that it is a prophecy
that we indeed will rise in the heavens body and soul just as Christ did
however Transfiguration
intimately shows our future; We will be with God and in His light.
Knowing this must motivate
everything we do, no matter how difficult our times are. We will look at
the words of Peter, who
was on the mountain and who clearly was guided in everything he did by
his memory of the
Transfiguration on the Mount.
-
Transfiguration:
Why is it
during a fasting period? (mp3 format)
Why Is It During A Fasting Period
2021-08-20
SYNOPSIS:Transfiguration is the only fixed calendar feast of
the Lord that occurs
during a fasting period. We explain the liturgical reasons why and also
the spiritual reason why
it is very appropriate.
Feasts of the Savior, Exaltation of the Cross
-
Exaltation
of the Cross (HTML format)
The Cross Is the Sign of Christianity, A Christian Cannot Be Without His
Cross: On the
Inevitability of Suffering
By New Hieromartyr John, Archbishop of Riga and
Latvia
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
-
Exaltation of
the Cross (mp3
format)
John 12:28-36, 1 Corinthians 1:18-24
2008-09-27
-
Exaltation
of the Cross (mp3 format)
Sunday Before The Exaltation
A promise that only one man can
deliver, after the
cross.
John 3:13-17
2009-09-20
-
Exaltation
of the Cross (HTML format)
We Preach Christ Crucified
What is the way of the cross?
1
Corinthians
1:18-24
2009-09-27
Also in Format:
Adobe
PDF
or
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:Main points of this homily, which may express
my deepest Christian
feelings more than any other homily I have ever spoken: What is the
preaching of the Cross? The
preaching of the Cross is preaching about the way of the Cross. ** Our
Lord spoke about the way
of the Cross. It's rather mysterious, really. And the reason it's
mysterious is because of our
sins, because the way of the Cross is the way of life; and yet, in order
to gain it, we must
die. The way of the Cross is the way of joy -- or to joy. But in order
to gain it, we must
undergo tribulation and be sad. ** This is the way of the Cross: To know
that you are missing
something that is so critically important to your soul; to know that
you're missing wisdom and
compassion and gentleness and humility and wholeness. And that the only
way to gain this is to
follow Christ and to cleave to Him, to hold onto Him, no matter what. **
If your heart doesn't
ache for what you should be and what others should be, then you're not
following the way of the
Cross.
-
Exaltation
of the Cross (mp3 format)
Sunday After The Exaltation
Galatians 2:16-20 Mark
8:34-9:1
2009-10-04
-
Sunday
Before the Exaltation of the Cross. We are saved from the poison of our
passions and sin through
the Cross. Exegesis of John 3:13-17tag1:Sermons (HTML format)
Sunday Before The Exaltation
2010-09-26
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:An explanation AND APPLICATION of the Gospel on
the Sunday before
the Exaltation of the Cross, John 3:13-17, which has the famous verse:
John 3:16. The more
important part of the passage describes the standard with the serpent on
it which Moses lifted
up in the wilderness. The cross and the resurrection must be thought of
in the same breath, and
how we must live because of the cross. Excerpt ... Our poison is sin.
Our poison is passions. We
are saved from our passions and sin through the Cross. Why? Because the
Son of Man has the
authority to lay down His life and to take it up again. And He would
shortly lay down His life
and take it up again. He has the authority to change our nature such
that we no longer would be
held by death. That is what happened after His death on the Cross. He
descended into Hades of
His Own will and filled Hades with His divinity and broke the gates of
Hades. We sing about this
in Pascha, and actually we sing about it every Saturday evening. And in
breaking those bars,
breaking the bonds that hold humanity when they die, He made us capable
of ascending. ...
-
Exaltation
of the Cross (mp3 format)
Sunday After The Exaltation
Two Identical Definitions of
Christianity. What is the
way of the Cross? Important questions we must answer.
Galatians 2:16-20,
Mark
8:34-9:1
2010-10-03
SYNOPSIS:The Epistle and Gospel
for the Sunday after
the Exaltation of the Cross both contain identical 'definitions' of
Christianity. They both
involve the cross, which is an instrument of death and of life. All
Christians must voluntarily
be crucified with Christ, and take up their cross. This is explained by
our Lord's instruction
that we must 'lose' our life to save it, and His questions: For what
shall it profit a man, if
he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a
man give in exchange for
his soul? We must understand this if we are to truly live the Christian
life and know Christ.
-
Exaltation
of the Cross (mp3 format)
Sunday Before The Exaltation
Two Hymns Explaining What Happened On
The
Cross
2011-09-24
-
What
does this mean - God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and
we have this treasure in earthen vessels? (mp3 format)
Sunday Before The Exaltation
2 Corinthians 4:6-15, Galatians
6:11-18
2011-09-25
SYNOPSIS:On this Sunday before
the Exaltation of the
Cross, two of the epistle readings (2 Corinthians 4:6-15 and Galatians
6:11-18) relate directly
to the cross. St Paul states emphatically: "God forbid that I
should glory, save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." What does it mean to
"glory" in the cross?
People glory in many things - wealth, attractiveness, popularity,
political correctness, having
a good marriage, job, etc. None of these things is glorying in the
cross. We answer this
important question, and also why we who are "new creatures"
because of the cross
"have this treasure in earthen vessels".
-
Exaltation
of the Cross (mp3 format)
The Length And Height Of The Cross Is Equal To
Heaven
Praises-Matins
2011-09-26
-
The
preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us
which are saved it is the
power of God. (mp3 format)
The Preaching Of The Cross Is To Them That Perish Foolishness; But Unto
Us Which Are
Saved It Is The Power Of God
1 Corinthians 1:18-24
2011-09-27
-
Exaltation
of the Cross (mp3 format)
Sunday After The Exaltation
Christ Liveth In Me
Galatians
2:16-20 Mark
8:4-9:1
2011-10-02
-
Exaltation
of the Cross (mp3 format)
God Forbid That I Should Glory Save In The Cross Of Our Lord Jesus
Christ
Sunday
Before Exaltation Of The Cross
Galations 6:11-18
2012-09-22
-
Exaltation
of the Cross (mp3 format)
Blessed Is The Man That Findeth Wisdom And Is Rich In
Prudence
Proverbs
3-11-18
2012-09-27
-
Exaltation
of the Cross (mp3 format)
For The Preaching Of The Cross Is To Them That Perish Foolishness But
Unto Us Which Are
Saved It Is The Power Of God
1 Corinthians 1-18-24
2012-09-27
-
"I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me" - the Cross
and the REMEMBRANCE OF DEATH, which is the ONLY way of life. (mp3 format)
Galatians 2:16-20 Mark 8:34-9:1
2012-09-30
SYNOPSIS:We begin with an
admonition from the Apostle Paul, in the selection read on the
17th Sunday after Pentecost:
"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us
cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the
fear of God." This is
the what, but most of a pastor's life is spent explaining the
how, which the readings for
the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Precious cross do very
well. The Epistle ends with
the stirring words " I am crucified with Christ:
neverthless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me...", and the Gospel tells us that
"Whosoever will save his
life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my
sake and the gospel's, the same
shall save it ". These describe an attitude, a way of
living. Without this attitude, we
will not be able to make our way and be "perfecting
holiness". One way to explain
this attitude is to elucidate the uniquely ascetic and Orthodox
understanding of the
"remembrance of death"; this is CRITICAL stuff! We
must understand this way of
life, the ONLY way of life, which starts with baptism and the
cross, and must continue in
the way of the cross.
-
"God
forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom the
world is crucified
unto me, and I unto the world." What does the world vs. Christians glory in?
(mp3
format)
Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross
Galatians
6:11-18
2013-09-22
SYNOPSIS:"But God forbid that I should
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." The
world
and true
Christians "glory" in different things. What does a Christian
"glory" in, how does
he cultivate the proper things to "glory" in and what does this mean: "by
whom the world
is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."?
-
Jesus
connects the cross to love by saying "He that taketh not his cross, and
followeth
after me, is not
worthy of me." followed immediately by "whosoever shall give to drink unto
one
of these little
ones a cup of cold water ...shall in no wise lose his reward." (mp3 format)
Saturday before the Exaltation of the Cross
Matthew
10:37-11-1
2013-09-26
SYNOPSIS:The way of the Cross is to love.
Jesus makes this connection, not in so many words,
but nonetheless, emphatically for those who understand by stating quot;He
that taketh
not his cross, and
followeth after me, is not worthy of me." followed immediately by "Whosoever
shall give to
drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water ...shall in no wise
lose his
reward." The
giving of water is symbolic for a particular kind of love that a Christian
must have if
he is to truly a
Christian.
-
"I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth
in me:" The way of the cross is to choose to not make a choice! It is the
easy and
light way! (mp3
format)
Sunday after the Exaltaiton of the Holy Cross.
"The things I used to do, I
don't do
no more"
Galatians 2:16-20
2013-09-29
SYNOPSIS:When the
Apostle Paul
exclaims extravagantly: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;
yet not
I, but Christ
liveth in me:", he is teaching us how to think, and how we think determine
what we
become. If we
live by this amazing statement. we choose to give up our will, and therefore
refuse to
choose to sin.
This is the light and easy way compared to the way of the world. The cross
is not an
instrument of
suffering and the way of the cross is the only way that leads to happiness.
We must
understand the words
of the apostle if we are to fully give up our will to this way. In so
explaining, we
even quote an old
Blues song, whose secular wisdom directly applies to our choosing to be
crucified with
Christ: "The
things I used to do, I don't do no more"
-
Exaltation of the Holy Cross: The way of the cross is
not suffering; It
is love without limits. (mp3 format)
2014-09-27
SYNOPSIS:The Orthodox understanding of the Cross is
not like
the view of the West. We see victory, and resurrection, and healing. There
is suffering
when one follows
the way of the cross, but suffering in and of itself is not the way of the
cross! Our
Lord said:
"If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." His purpose
to
get on the cross
was to draw all men to Him, and not to be punished. How does He draw us?
Love without
limits. We even
work in an old Hollies Song to illustrate the point, and reword it a little
from its
original: "He
ain't heavy, he's my brother"
-
"I
am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me: and
the life which I
now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me,
and gave
himself for
me." (mp3 format)
Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross
Galatians
2:16-20
2014-09-28
SYNOPSIS:On the Sunday after the exaltation of
the Holy Cross, we read these words of St
Paul: "I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth
in me: and the
life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me,
and gave himself
for me." What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? this is a voluntary
act of
the will, since
Christ voluntarily went to the cross. The West thinks of the cross as
punishment, but if
we ascend the
cross with Christ, and Christ is punished in our place, our presence on the
cross is
superfluous! This
is not why we put ourselves on the cross. We must understand this doctrine,
and the
cross is not about
punishment, or even, primarily, suffering; it is because of voluntary love
and the
giving of ourselves
to others. This is the good news! Let us understand it and rejoice in it!
-
Exaltation
of the Holy Cross. What is the Preaching of the Cross, which is foolishness
to them that
are perishing,
but for us is the power of God? (mp3 format)
1 Corinthians 1:18-24
2015
SYNOPSIS:Exaltation of the Holy
Cross.
What is the Preaching of the Cross, which is foolishness to them that are
perishing, but
for us is the
power of God? We look a little at what happened on the cross, a subject
which our minds
are to feeble to
fully understand, and more at how we should live because of the cross. This
is something
we can
understand by experience.
-
The connection
between the Transfiguration, the Kingdom and the Cross (mp3 format)
Galations 2:20 : Mark 8:34-9:1 : 2 Corinthians 9:8
2015
SYNOPSIS:The
Exaltation of the Cross and the Transfiguration of the Lord are linked
liturgically and
spiritually. The
linking verse is: "there be some of them that stand here, which shall not
taste of
death, till they
have seen the kingdom of God come with power.". We explain the most
important
phrase in our Lord's
command: "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up
his
cross, and follow me.
" and look at epistles which explain fully how to follow the Lord, and the
end
result of our labor.
"I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" "God is able to make all
grace abound toward
you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to
every good
work"
-
"
And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and
upon the
Israel of
God." (mp3 format)
Galations 6:11-18
2015-09-20
SYNOPSIS:The Sunday before the
Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we read from Galatians, and encounter this
verse: "
And as many as
walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the
Israel of
God." We talk
about what this "rule" is; it is an internal rule, a consequence of becoming
a
"new
creature" in baptism. Let us evaluate how much we walk according to this
rule.
-
We
cannot have the earnest of the Holy Spirit unless we glory in the cross!
(HTML
format)
Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross
2 Corinthians 1:21-2:4 : Galatians
6:11-18 : 2
Corinthians 1:22 : Galations 6:14
2016-09-24
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:A serendipitous combination (not!) of the Epistle for the
Sunday before the
Exaltation of the Cross, and the Epistle read on the 14th Sunday after
Pentecost. We
define the
"earnest of the Holy Spirit". This experience of God cannot be obtained
unless
we live
according to the words of the apostle: "God forbid that I should glory, save
in the
cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the
world."
Just 6 minutes,
but very important.
-
Because
we are new creature, our belief in Christ is not cheap. Sunday before the
Exaltation of
the Cross (HTML
format)
Matthew 22:1-14 : Galatians 6:11-18 : John 3:13-17
2016-09-25
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:Sunday before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. First a quick
summary about
the Parable to the Wedding Feast, so that we can discuss the concept of the
wedding
garment in the
context of the pre-festal scripture read: "For in Christ Jesus neither
circumcision
availeth
anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature" and "For God so loved the
world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have
everlasting
life." This latter scripture, so well known, but not well understood, tells
us that
salvation is
through belief in Christ. If we understand what a "new creature" is, and the
implications
regarding our wedding garment, we will understand what "belief" in Christ.
Our
belief is not
cheap, or malleable to whatever whim and fashion of the day holds sway, as
in our day.
It is wholly a
product of us becoming new creatures and glorying in the cross. Matthew
22:1-14
Galations 6:15 John
3:13-17
-
I
am crucified with Christ! We must live according to these words in order to
understand
or follow any
command that leads to life (HTML format)
Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross
Galatians 2:16-20 Mark
8:34-9:1
2016-10-02
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:Homily on the Galatians 2:16-20, read on the Sunday after the
Exaltation of
the Cross, particularly: "I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live;
yet not
I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith
of the Son
of God" We
will not understand the purpose or meaning of all the commands God gives us,
nor be able
to follow them
if we do not understand and embrace the meaning of being crucified with
Christ. This is
not merely
theological triva; it is the only way to live that gives life.
-
Symbolism
of the cross, as it pertains to our relationship with Christ. The Good
Thief.
Reconciliation. (mp3
format)
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
2017
SYNOPSIS:The Symbolism of
the
cross, as it pertains to our relationship with Christ. The Good thief
Dismas. Man is
reconciled to God
on the Cross, and not God to man, as the Western heresy believes.
-
Exaltation of the
Cross
(mp3 format)
Fear Of Death Vs Preaching Of The Cross
1 Cor 1-18-24
2017
SYNOPSIS:Exaltation of the Cross
-
The
symbol of the cross, and fulfilling the words: "I am crucified with Christ"
(mp3 format)
Galations 2:16-20
2017-10-01
SYNOPSIS:On the Sunday after
the
Exaltation of the Cross, we look at the cross as a symbol, in order to
change our
behavior. There are
practical ways to put into practice the statement of St Paul, which
describes the
practical Christian
life: "I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth
in me: and the
life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God"
-
Exaltation
of the
Cross (mp3 format)
Sunday After Exaltation
Sophia-Faith-Hope-Love
2018
-
"As
many as walk according to this rule..." Why the cross? What was accomplished
on the
cross? (mp3
format)
Galatians 6:11-18 : John 3:13-17
2018-09-22
SYNOPSIS:On the
Sunday
before the Exaltation of the Cross, the Epistle and Gospel readings tell us
why the
cross, what Jesus
did on the cross, and what we must do because of the cross.
-
What
is glorying in the cross, and being crucified to the world? It is living as
a new
creature, and
according to the only rule that brings us peace and grace. (mp3 format)
Sunday before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Galatians
6:11-18
2019-09-22
SYNOPSIS:The cross and baptism are linked. One
cannot talk about one without the other. In
the epistle today, the Apostle Paul shows this link. We also talk about what
glorying in
the cross is,
and what he means when he says: "God forbid that I should glory, save in the
cross
of our Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world"
and
"I bear in my
body the marks of the Lord Jesus". All of us must also glory in the cross,
and bear
these marks,
and the promise will apply to us: "as many as walk according to this rule,
peace be
on them, and
mercy"
-
The
fear of death is the reason why the preaching of the cross is foolishness to
the world.
(mp3 format)
1 Corinthians 1:18-24
2019-09-27
SYNOPSIS:Exegesis of the
Epistle of
St Paul, read on the day of the Exaltation of the Cross. In the midst of our
discussion,
we explain why
the world sees the way of the cross as foolish, and also describe how a
Christian will
preach
Christ crucified – this is not so much with words as by fulfilling the
Christian
dogma of giving
up our life for another.
-
Why
is the way of Christ the way of the Cross? (mp3 format)
Galatians 2:16-20 Mark 8:34-9:1
2019-09-29
SYNOPSIS:The
Readings on
the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross are all about following Christ.
Fr Nicholas
discusses
exactly what this is, and how we must do it, and why the world hates it. In
so doing, he
conducts a
primer on basic Christological concepts, and answers the important question:
"Why
is the way of
Christ the way of the Cross?". A shorter version of this homily, in Russian,
is
at:https://www.orthodox.net//sermons/exaltation-03_2019+the-way-of-christ+way-of-the-cross_russian.mp3
-
Why
is the way of Christ the way of the Cross? - in Russian (mp3 format)
Galatians 2:16-20 : Mark 8:34-9:1
2019-09-29
SYNOPSIS:The
Readings
on the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross are all about following
Christ. Fr
Nicholas discusses
exactly what this is, and how we must do it, and why the world hates it. In
so doing, he
conducts a
primer on basic Christological concepts, and answers the important question:
"Why
is the way of
Christ the way of the Cross?". A longer version of this homily, in English,
is
at:https://www.orthodox.net//sermons/exaltation-03_2019+the-way-of-christ+way-of-the-cross_gal2-16-20-mark8-34-9-1.mp3
-
And
I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. (mp3 format)
John 12:28-36
2020-09-27
SYNOPSIS:On the Feast of the
Exaltation of
the Holy Cross, we read the words of Jesus Christ, which predicted His death
on the
cross: "And I,
if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." We talk about
how
Jesus on the cross
draws all men to Himself. The answer is very simple, and is the open
"secret"
to victorious
living and understanding the power of the cross and the way of the cross.
-
And
I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. (mp3 format)
John 12:28-36
2020-09-27
SYNOPSIS:On the Feast of the
Exaltation of
the Holy Cross, we read the words of Jesus Christ, which predicted His death
on the
cross: "And I,
if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." We talk about
how
Jesus on the cross
draws all men to Himself. The answer is very simple, and is the open
"secret"
to victorious
living and understanding the power of the cross and the way of the cross.
-
We must know
what is
life and death in everything in order to take up the cross. (mp3 format)
Mark 8:4-9-1
2020-10-04
SYNOPSIS:On the Sunday after the
Exaltation
of the Cross the Gospel includes the Lords invitation" Whosoever will come
after
me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.". in order to make a
voluntary
decision to deny
ourselves and take up the cross and follow Jesus, we must know enough about
life, and
what is good and
what is bad in order to make an informed decision. This knowledge must
include
understanding what is to
save one’s life and what it is to lose it, and the answers to the
questions:" For
what shall it
profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or
what shall a
man give in
exchange for his soul?" At the end of the sermon (18:38), since it was not
given in
the studio,
there was the patter of little feet and the distraction of the children
caused a very
important
conversation about the importance of children in the church, and the
admonition that all
Christians in
the church must consider all children to be their responsibility and their
joy, and the
absolute
necessity of praying for one another.
-
Exaltation of the Cross (mp3
format)
Sunday Before Exaltation Of The Cross
2021
-
The most pressing
problem for
everyone in the world, and how baptism and the cross solves it (mp3 format)
_2021+-cross-baptism+new-creature-seal-pledge-rule Cross Baptism
New Creature Seal
Pledge
Rule
John 3:12, 2 Corinthians 1:21-2:4, Galatians 6:11-18, Matthew 22:1-14
2021-09-27
SYNOPSIS:On the Sunday before the Exaltation of the
Cross, we read "John 3:16 " –
"For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever
believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life, ", and explain what famous
verse
really means, in the
context of the seven newly baptized we received before liturgy today and how
baptism in
the cross are
intimately related, and how becoming a new creature in baptism and acquiring
the seal of
the Holy Spirit
and a mark upon us enables us to walk according to a new rule which is the
only way of
life.
Feasts of the Theotokos
-
Feasts of the
Theotokos
(HTML format)
Annunciation
A Homily By Saint Proclus
-
Feasts
of the
Theotokos (HTML format)
Entry Of The Theotokos
By Saint Gregory Palamas
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
-
Feasts
of the Theotokos (HTML format)
Nativity Of The Theotokos
A Homily By Saint Andrew Of Crete
-
Feasts of the
Theotokos
(HTML format)
Nativity of the Theotokos, Sep 8/21
"Let this mind be in you, which
was also in
Christ Jesus"
Philippians 2:5-11
2008-09-21
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:Before the homily, a little bit about those special
"moments of
clarity" and what we should expect each time in the holy services. The
homily addresses the
Epistle reading, where the Apostle tells us: "Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ
Jesus." This is the totality of the Gospel, just as the two great
commandments are the totality
of the law. If we fulfilled this command, we would never sin! Let us explore
how
to attain this
"mind". Everything we do or think of doing should be evaluated in the
light of this
command. tag1:Philippians
-
Feasts
of the Theotokos (HTML format)
Dormition
Explanation Of The Dormition Troparion
2009-08-28
Also
in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:We can learn what the church values most about the
Theotokos from the
Dormition Troparion: In giving birth thou didst preserve thy virginity, / in
thy
dormition thou
didst not forsake the world, O Theotokos. / Thou wast translated unto life,
/
thou who art the
Mother of Life. // And by thine intercessions dost thou redeem our souls
from
death
COMMENT:You can watch this sermon on the
following video
platforms:
YouTube
,
Yahoo
,
MySpace
,
Metacafe
,
DailyMotion
,
Blip.tv
and
Veoh
-
Feasts
of the
Theotokos (mp3 format)
Dormition
After Liturgy Short Talk
2010-08-28
-
Entry
of the Theotokos (Nov 21). One of the "Great Forgotten Feasts" because
of our pride in
this egalitarian age. Let us explore holiness; we are called to it also!
(HTML
format)
Luke 10:38-42: 11:27-28
2010-12-04
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:The Entry of the Theotokos is one of the "great
forgotten
feasts" in the church calendar, even though it is one of the "12 great
feasts". There
are good reasons for this - this feast is especially about holiness,
humility
and submission, which
our modern egalitarian world does not understand. The Theotokos is holy
because
she chose to be
holy, of her own free will. We do not denigrate her by thinking that God in
any
way made her holy by
making her different in some way from the rest of humanity. The Gospel
reading
for this feast (and
all feasts of the Theotokos) is explained in detail. It is a peculiar
reading,
because the Mary in
the reading is not the Theotokos, and it is also a concatenation of two
sections
of Scripture that
are not related in time to each other, but it describes fully the virtue of
the
Theotokos, which we
must emulate. Let us be in awe of the holiness of the Theotokos and all the
Saints, and see our
destiny in them. Let us explore holiness in this arrogant and egalitarian
age.
-
Feasts
of the Theotokos (mp3 format)
_2011-08-14+-pilate-and-govern-me-into-thy-sheltered-port-for-thou-art-author-of-good-things-and-staff-of-the-faithful_small-paraklesis-canon-ode-3-irmos
Pilate And Govern Me Into Thy Sheltered Port For Thou Art Author Of Good Things
And
Staff Of The
Faithful
Small-Paraklesis-Canon-Ode-3-Irmos
2011-08-14
-
Feasts
of the Theotokos (mp3 format)
I Came To Knowledge Of Thy
Works
Small-Paraklesis-Canon-Ode-4-Irmos
2011-08-14
-
Feasts
of the Theotokos (mp3 format)
Law Of God Understood In The Orthodox
Way
Small-Paraklesis-Canon-Ode-5
2011-08-23
-
Feasts
of the Theotokos (mp3 format)
Human Condition,elias,job,jonas,moses,david,peter Recognized Their
Corruption
Demonic
Audacity
Small-Paraklesis-Canon-Ode-6
2011-08-24
-
Feasts
of the Theotokos (mp3 format)
From My Youth Do Many Passions War Against
Me
Hymns-Of-Ascent-Tone-4
2011-08-25
-
Feasts
of the Theotokos (mp3 format)
I Shall Commemorate Thy Name In Every Generation And Generation
The True
Church
Remembers The Theotokos
Prokeimenon
2011-08-27
-
Feasts
of the Theotokos (mp3 format)
Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos
"Mary hath chosen that good
part" and
"blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it."
Luke
10:38-42,11:27-28
2011-08-28
SYNOPSIS:The usual reading for
feasts of the
Mother of God is actually a composite reading in which she does not appear
at
all, but another
"Mary" (the sister of Lazarus) is mentioned, who shares her name. The
reason why is
because this selection, coupled with a later part of the same Gospel
succinctly
sums up the virtues
of the Theotokos: "Mary hath chosen that good part" and "blessed
are they that hear
the word of God and keep it." On this great day, let us examine ourselves,
as to whether we
have also chosen that good part, and kept the word of God. This is why we
venerate the Most Holy
Theotokos with such love; our veneration is in vain if we do not also
emulate!
Let us examine how we
can accomplish this.
-
Feasts
of the Theotokos (mp3 format)
Exegesis Of Gospel For The Theotokos
Small-Paraklesis-Gospel-Reading-Luke
1-39-49
2011-08-29
-
Feasts
of the Theotokos (mp3 format)
Godly Sorrow
Small-Paraklesis-Canon-Hymns-After-The-Gospel
2011-09-03
-
Dormition: Children's
sermon (mp3
format)
Dormition
2012-08-28
SYNOPSIS:A homily/talk with the
children
about Dormition.
-
The
Meeting of the Lord: The Song of Symeon must be our song at the end. (Adobe
PDF
format)
Meeting of the Lord
2014-02-15
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
Dormition.
Why do we know that the Theotokos is Ever-Virgin? (mp3 format)
Dormition
2014-08-288
SYNOPSIS:We venerate the
Theotokos because
of her great, voluntary holiness. Many people are not comfortable with this
level of holiness. Many
others, who read the Scripture without deep understanding, or think in
secular
ways, do not believe
that the Theotokos was virgin before, during and after giving birth. The
unanimous witness of the
church on this dogma is clear to those who know such things scholastically,
and
our God-inspired
services mention it often and scripture speaks of it in a type shrouded, and
mystical way. There is
however, one clear witness to her virginity that is not in books, but is in
the
heart, if it
experiences even a little bit of holiness. We discuss this important
witness,
and also ways to learn
of it.
-
Nativity
of the Theotokos: Exegesis of the Old Testament Readings for the Feast. (mp3
format)
Nativity of the Theotokos
Genesis 28:10-17 Ezekiel 43:27-44:4 Proverbs
9:1-11
2014-09-20
SYNOPSIS:Nativity of the Theotokos:
Exegesis of the Old
Testament Readings for the Feast. We learn about the ladder reaching from
earth
to heaven, the
ever-virginity of the Theotokos which was prophesied, and about the house
which
wisdom hath builded
for herself.
-
Nativity
of the Theotokos: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus." The Jesus
Prayer (mp3 format)
Nativity of the Theotokos
The Jesus Prayer
Philippians
2:5-11
2014-09-21
SYNOPSIS:The epistle for feasts of the
Theotokos is from
Philippians, and contains this theologically rich command: "Let this mind
be in you, which was
also in Christ Jesus." Paul brackets this command with an explanation of
the moral life we are
to lead, and the theological significance of the incarnation. All this is
good
to know, but the most
important thing to learn is how do we develop this mind in Christ Jesus. On
the
Nativity of the
Mother of God, we contemplate the example of the Theotokos, who developed
this
mind. We look at how
she did it, and give the most important practical advice that we MUST follow
if
we are to develop
this mind.
-
Blessed
are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. Entrance of the Theotokos.
(mp3
format)
Luke 10:38-42:11:27-28
2014-12-04
SYNOPSIS:The
typical reading
at liturgy for feasts of the Theotokos us a curious composite selection of
two
events that did not
occur in close proximity to one-another. This fact must mean that the
selection
is teaching us
something important about the Theotokos. We discuss the reading, which
beings
with the story of Mary
and Martha, and the complaints of Martha and the answer of Jesus, then
segues to
the cry of a woman
in the crowd, and the answer of Jesus (usually not translated correctly):
"Yea indeed, blessed
are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." We discuss why the
Theotokos is so-called,
and why we say "Most Holy Theotokos save us." It is all about the
incarnation, and
obedience, and the striving for holiness. We also discuss why veneration of
the
Theotokos is very
important in our increasingly impure society.
COMMENT:Also on the
Ancient Faith Radio Audio Blog
"Redeeming
the Time"
playable
here
or
downloadable
here
-
Why
are we here today celebrating Dormition? A spiritual answer. (mp3 format)
Dormition
Luke 1:39-49,56
2015
SYNOPSIS:We ask
on the feast
of Dormition, what is the purpose of this feast. This is a general question,
and
not about the
theology of the feast and the historical event. It deserves a spiritual
answer.
Why do we come to
church today? We have just finished reading the selection from the Gospel of
Luke, about Mary Going
into the Hill country and greeting Elizabeth, 14 days in a row, since it is
part
of the Paraclesis
service (Service of supplication, when the supplicatory canon to the
Theotokos
is swung in sweet
melody; we serve it every day during the Dormition fast). We also read it
during
matins for the
feast, as we do for all the feasts of the Mother of God. It tells us of a
holy
moment, which should
be our ultimate goal. Let us meditate for a little while in wonder, mixed
with
desire and regret, on
the important words from Luke: "And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth
heard the salutation
of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit".
-
Feasts
of the
Theotokos (mp3 format)
Nativity Of The Theotokos
The Closed Gate
Ezekiel 43-27-44-4
2015
-
Feasts
of
the Theotokos (mp3 format)
Nativity Of The Theotokos
The Spiritual Ladder
Genesis
28-10-17
2015
-
"Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus..." Why is this read on
Feasts of the
Theotokos? How to change the mind. All theology is moral. (mp3 format)
Dormition
Philippians 2:5-11
2015-08-30
SYNOPSIS:Philippians 2:5-11 is read on feasts of the Theotokos. We
ask why. This is one
of the most important Christological passages in the Scripture. We do an
exegesis of it, emphasizing
two points. 1. We must continually be changing and renewing our mind. How is
this done? This is a
skill that all Christians must learn, or else they are not really
Christians. 2.
All theology, all
dogma is moral. That is, if your knowledge does not directly affect the way
you
live, and
continually change the way you live, it is useless for the salvation of your
soul.
-
But
one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part. (mp3 format)
Entry of the Theotokos
Luke 10:42
2016-11-21
SYNOPSIS:On
feasts of the Theotokos, such as her Entrance, which we celebrate today, we
read
a concatenated
reading from Saint Luke (Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28). Information is USELESS
unless
it changes the way
you live. We will talk about her great virtue: "But one thing is needful:
and Mary hath chosen
that good part". We MUST choose this good part to be saved, and it is
actually a choice between
life and death, moment by moment
-
The
Mystery before time began explained, and how man can become a god explained
- in
one hymn. (mp3
format)
Annunciation
Lazarus Saturday
Doxasticon For The Feast Of The
Annunciation, The
Composition Of Theophanes, In Tone II
2017-04-07
SYNOPSIS:Exegesis of a
Doxastikon (theological hymn of praise about the Theotokos and the
incarnation)
for the feast of the
Annunciation, which was sung on the Eve of the Saturday of Lazarus. This
hymn
links the two feasts,
and all the great feasts. It is the "mystery hidden from before time
began", and explain
exactly what the incarnation accomplished. We never think of the Theotokos
without the incarnation,
and what the incarnation consisted of and what it accomplished - sinful man
can
become a god! We
explain this audacious, but scriptural transformation - from a deceived man,
a
failure, to a god.
This hymn is one of the best examples, but still only one of hundreds which
explain the incarnation
and salvation to the faithful who read the services and are zealous to hear
the
hymns, interrupting
their daily routines in order to hear about the bread from heaven.
-
Dormition
Scriptures. The point is the mind of Christ and the good part, and how to
acquire them. (mp3
format)
Dormition
Phillipians 2:5-11 : Luke
10:38-42,11:27-28
2017-08-28
SYNOPSIS:On the Dormition, an
exegesis of the readings for the feast, with an emphasis
on the mind of the Theotokos and the mind of Christ and how to aquire this
mind
- that is point of
Christian life! - and why we venerate her so highly.
-
Meeting
of the Lord: The Song of Symeon and the only way to pursue peace,
personally, or
in society. (mp3
format)
Meeting of the Lord Feb 2/15
2018-02-15
SYNOPSIS:The
reason why
the sinless Lord Jesus Christ gave a sin offering. The song of Symeon, and
the
reason why Symeon was
waiting over 200 years for the Messiah. Commentary about the recent tragic
shooting in a school in
Florida, and the beginning of the song: "Lord, now lettest Thy servant
depart in
***peace***." About the search for peace, and the turmoil in the world.
Only in Christ we will
find peace, or even pursue peace in society.
COMMENT:The school
shooting referred to occured 2/14/2018 (ns), in Parkland Florida. An
expelled
student came to his
former school, and apparently indiscriminately shot people in the school.
Some
general categories
for prayer (which were mentioned in the homily) are online at
https://www.orthodox.net//trebnic/general-categories-for-personal-prayer.doc
&
https://www.orthodox.net//trebnic/general-categories-for-personal-prayer.pdf
-
The
Dormition Troparion and Kontakion explained (mp3 format)
Dormition of the Theotokos
2018-09-01
SYNOPSIS:The
purpose and
general content of the Troparion and Kontakion and explanation of the ones
sung
on the Dormition of
the Theotokos.
-
The
Nativity of the Theotokos. Because of her, we are no-longer barren, nor
aliens.
(mp3 format)
Nativity of the Theotokos.
2018-09-21
SYNOPSIS:The
Nativity of
the Theotokos. Because of her, we are no-longer barren, or aliens. Exegesis
of a
hymn from the
Vespers service: "Today is the pronouncement of universal joy! Today the
winds have blown which
herald salvation, and our nature is released from barrenness! For the barren
woman is shown to be
the mother of her who remaineth virgin even after giving birth to the
Creator,
from whom God taketh
to Himself that which is alien to Him by nature, and Christ, the Deliverer
of
our souls, Who loveth
mankind, doth accomplish salvation for the lost by means of flesh. "
-
The
Annunciation and the connection between belief and obedience. (mp3 format)
The Annunciation and 4th Sunday of Great Lent the exorcism of the demoniac
son.
Luke
1:39-49, 56 Mark 9:17-31 Hebrews 2:11-18
2019-04-07
SYNOPSIS:The Discussion
of the obedience of the Theotokos and how without obedience we have nothing.
This is juxtaposed to
the statement and lament of the man who had a child who was demon possessed:
"Lord I believe,
help my unbelief". Before belief is obedience. Before understanding is
obedience. Before peace
is obedience. We also talk about the Epistle to the Hebrews which discusses
the
incarnation, and the
scriptural account of the Annunciation. It is impossible to speak of the
Theotokos without speaking
of the incarnation.
-
Dormition
and our pursuit of holiness (Adobe PDF format)
Dormition
Luke 1:39-49,56
2019-08-16
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:During two prison visits on the 2nd day of the
Dormition fast, I sang
the Small Pareklesis and preached on the Gospel from Luke appointed for it,
about the Theotokos and
holiness. Christians should pursue holiness. It is the entire goal of our
life,
because God is Holy.
We discuss the difference in the understanding of what salvation is for an
Orthodox Christian vs.
other Christian faiths, and about the pursuit of holiness and how the
Theotokos
is an example of
holiness, and why we talk so much about her. Since our goal is to become
holy,
we come up with a
"rule of thumb" to evaluation everything we do in life.
-
Dormition.
The Good part, the mind of the church, and holiness (mp3 format)
Dormition
Philippians 2x:5-11 Luke 10:38-42:
11:27-28
2019-08-28
SYNOPSIS:Explanation of the Gospel and
the Epistle read on a feast of the Dormition of
the Theotokos. We emphasize the good part, the mind of the church, and
holiness.
-
Celebrating
barrenness beginning to become fruitfulness. The Nativity of the Theotokos.
(mp3
format)
Nativity of the Theotokos September 8
2019-09-21
SYNOPSIS:We
look at the hymns from Vespers for the Nativity of the Theotokos, which are
especially about the
theme of barrenness coming fruitfulness. There are actually three ways in
which
the birth of the
Theotokos was or began the process of barrenness becoming fruitfulness.
-
Feasts of the Theotokos (mp3 format)
Meeting Of The Lord
2020
-
Dormition
story with
important dogmas regarding the Theotokos. (mp3 format)
2020-08-15
SYNOPSIS:We tell the story of the Dormition of
the
Theotokos, with emphasis on why it is the last Great Feast of the Church
year,
and discuss very
important dogmas regarding her conception, the Annunciation, her giving
birth to
Christ, and her
Dormition.
-
Nativity
of the Theotokos:2 feasts, 2 beginnings,and exegesis of the Troparion and
Kontakion (RTF format)
2020-09-21
Also in Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:The celebration of the Nativity of the Theotokos is
just before the
Exaltation of the Cross, and these two feasts at the beginning of the
liturgical
year are two
different kinds of beginnings. We also explain the Troparion and the
Kontakion
for the feast, and
why we say “Most Holy Theotokos” save us, and why we venerate the Theotokos
so
highly, and that we
always think of the Theotokos in the context of her great ministry to
mankind,
being the birthgiver
of God, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Christ.
-
The
Power of
the Most High shall overshadow thee. The Annunciation and our future. (mp3
format)
Annunciation,
The-Power-Of-The-Highest-Shall-Overshadow-Thee
2021-03-25
SYNOPSIS:The
Archangel Gabriel told the Mother of God that the power
of the Most High
would overshadow her, and then that which would be conceived in her would be
by
the Holy Spirit. Was
this just a one off? Or can the Holy Spirit overshadow us, and can we have
anything in us it is
conceived by the Holy Spirit? The Annunciation is the perfect example of a
mere
mortal human being
overshadowed by God, but a similar future is ours if we want to struggle for
it.
-
Dormition. The Life of the Theotokos
is filled
with mysteries and prophesies. (mp3 format)
Mysteries And Prophesies
2021-08-28
SYNOPSIS:The
Dormition of
the Theotokos, and her entire life, is filled with mysteries and prophesies.
We
begin by singing in
a very unsophisticated way, the troparion of the dormition, then explaining
two
of its mysteries and
prophecies, and then discuss other mysteries in her life. These prophecies
are
about us! Looking at
the life of the Theotokos we can easily understand why her Dormition and
translation into heaven,
body and soul, is in obvious fact. We must apply these mysteries to our
lives
and we talk about
practical things we should be doing.
-
Nativity
of the
Theotokos. Deliverance will always come quickly. (mp3 format)
2021-09-21
SYNOPSIS:The Nativity of the Theotokos is the
first feast
of the church year, and her Dormition is the last. We reflect on how these
"bookends" can
point to the beginning and the end of our salvation. The “beginning” of the
gospel began with Jesus
Christ but Jesus Christ the man began with the Theotokos, and the Theotokos
was
born in time, an
obscure holy girl, and only 15 years later, the Lord Jesus Christ would be
born
in only a short time
after that He would select His disciples, and preach and heal, and die on
the
cross and resurrect
Himself, and ascend to heaven and send the Holy Spirit to us. And we see the
end
result of all this
in the Dormition of the Theotokos when a mere dead human being, is brought
to
heaven, with a
perfected body and soul. We also reflect on how the deliverance of God will
not
be denied.
Everything will happen in the right time, and will not be slow according to
God’s plan although
sometimes we think deliverance is coming slowly. It is not coming slowly,
and it
is coming
Feasts of the Saints
June 29
July 04
July 13
August 29
July 21
June 24
-
Nativity
of John the Baptist. Exegesis of Vespers Parablestag1:Genesis (mp3
format)
Genesis 17:15-17, 19: 18:11-14: 21:1-8 : Judges 13:2-8, 13-14, 17-18, 21
: Isaiah
40:1-3, 9: 41:17-18: 45:8: 48:20-21: 54:1
2011-07-06
SYNOPSIS:The
Vespers parables for the Nativity of St John are what we might expect:
the stories of barren
women who bare children (notable Sarah, who bore Isaac, and the unnamed
mother of Sampson, wife
of Manoah) and the seminal passage from Isaiah which prophesies the
coming of the Forerunner,
with the memorable line "The voice of one crying in the desert:
Prepare ye the way of the
Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God"). What
is important about these
readings? Since the whole of the teaching of the Baptist was preparation
via morality, we can
expect there to be a heavy emphasis on how we should live. By the way,
astute listeners will
recognize that the second reading was incorrectly identified as
referring to Hanna, the mother
of Samuel, when actually the reading is about Sampson. Of course, Hannah
was another barren
woman who bore a child. Ooops.
-
Nativity
of John the Baptist. The Teaching of John the Baptist Explained by St
Paultag1:Romans (mp3
format)
Romans 13:11-14:4
2011-07-07
SYNOPSIS:The
selection from
Romans read for the Nativity of the Forerunner is a remarkable summary
of the core teaching of
St John the Baptist. Note that "teaching" is not plural,
because, primarily, the Holy
Forerunner was concerned with only one thing - preparing the way for the
immanent appearance in
the world of Jesus Christ, and he could only see one way to do this:
"make his paths
straight" We discuss how St Paul summarizes this teaching and also
the wonderful assertion
that " now is our salvation nearer than when we believed",
which also applies very
much to the ministry of St John, and should be realized by us each
succeeding day of our life.
June 29
-
Two
things that made the apostles great: "Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the Living God"
& "therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities" (mp3
format)
Two things that made the apostles great.
"Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the
Living God" & "therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities"
Matthew
16:13-19 : 2 Corinthians 11:21-12:9
2011-07-12
SYNOPSIS:Our Lord asked
two questions of His followers - one completely unimportant, and takes
up too much of our time,
and the other is of priceless important and should take up all of our
time. St Peter answered
correctly, with conviction: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
Living God." &
This confession is part of what made the Apostles great. It is not a
one-time answer, but must
be answered with conviction, in all that we do. Our Lord told Peter that
because of this
confession, the gates of Hell would not prevail against the church. We
examine this confession,
and how the church endures. Part if the reason why the church endures is
because of those who
hold to the inner conviction the Apostle Paul had (and we must have):
"Most gladly
therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon
me."
-
Exegesis
of Vespers readings for the Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul and
Differences between Peter
and Paultag1:1 Peter (HTML format)
1 Peter 1:3-9 : 1 Peter 1:13-19 : 1 Peter
2:11-24
2011-07-12
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:A short exegesis of the 3 selections from the
Epistles of the
Apostle Peter, read at the Vespers for the feast of the Apostles Peter
and Paul. The difference
between their writings is explored. The Apostle Peter writes with
simplicity and the conviction
and wisdom that can only be gained by a life lived well, with many moral
admonitions, based upon
a deep understanding of what the God-man has done for us. It is like
listening to your wise
grandfather imparting his wisdom at the end of his life. He does not
feel compelled to give
detailed proofs, but he merely speaks with overpowering conviction
because of experience. A few
of verses from the selections are explored to illustrate this kind of
"fireside chat"
character of his writings. Those who are temped to call themselves
Christians and still not heed
the words of the Apostle " abstain from fleshly lusts, which war
against the soul"
should read the Apostle with greater care and humility. We are in an age
that very much needs to
heed the words of the Apostle Peter. There is also a short excursus into
Peter's restoration and
how he was able eventually to say to His Lord, not only did he have
affection for Him, but that
He loved him with an all consuming, perfect love. This love is only
possible if the admonitions
of Peter are heeded.
August 01
August 29
-
Beheading
of The Glorious Prophet Forerunner and Baptist John. Exegesis of Vespers
Readings.tag1:Isaiah
(mp3 format)
Isaiah,Malachi,Wisdom
2011-09-11
-
Feasts
of the Saints (mp3 format)
Beheading Of The Glorious Prophet Forerunner And Baptist
John
Hidden Addictions And
Passions Kill.
Mark 6:14-30
2011-09-11
SYNOPSIS:The story of the
beheading of John the Baptist shows us how an ordinary life ends in
death. Herod was an ordinary
man, since he was ruled by his passions and sins
(lust,adultery,ambition,drunkeness) and because
of his indulgence in his passions, most if which he was not aware of, he
was also a coward, and
when he made an unwise oath, he was unwilling to renege on it to save
face. Therefore, he had
Saint john beheaded, who then passed into eternal life, and Herod
continued his descent into
eternal death. We explore especially how hidden passions (present in all
of us!) can kill the
soul.
September 23
September 26
-
Feasts
of the Saints (mp3 format)
Apostle John The Theologian Showed Perfect Love With A
Robber
Exegesis Of Vespers
Readings Especially The Heart And Love
2011-10-08
December 06
January 24
August 20
-
Holy
Prophet Samuel: Behold, here am I. Speak, for thy servant hears. (mp3
format)
Prophet Samuel
2012-09-01
SYNOPSIS:The Holy
Prophet Samuel
teaches us how to approach EVERYTHING in life. The manner of the birth
and calling of Samuel is
also mentioned.
-
Great
Martyr Phanurios of Rhodes. (mp3 format)
Great Martyr Phanurios Of Rhodes
2012-09-08
SYNOPSIS:Talk on
Great Martyr Phanutios of Rhodes, including details about his icon, his
known ability to help
people find things, and his request that people pray for the soul of his
sinful mother, and
phanuropita. There is also a lesson to learn in how and when Holy
Phanurios was revealled to the
world - this has DIRECT application to our lives.
November 16
-
"Go and
learn what this
means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call
the righteous, but
sinners, to repentance." The Parable of the unjust steward explains
how to fulfil this
commandment. (mp3 format)
Holy Apostle And Evangelist Matthew
Parable Of The Unjust
Steward
Matthew
9:9-13, Luke 16:1-9
2012-11-29
SYNOPSIS:The Gospels
read today, for the
Evangelist Matthew & the Parable of the unjust steward, are
perfectly compatible, and the
parable gives us some insight into how we must fulfill the solemn
commandment of our Lord, given
after the calling of the Evangelist. In the exegesis of these passages,
several anecdotes from
Archimandrite
Demetrius Carellas' talks
, which were included the night
before, are mentioned, because
we must be a zealous in taming our will as the unjust steward was in
taking care of himself, in
order to fulfill the commandment: "Go and learn what this means: 'I
desire mercy and not
sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to
repentance."
January 22
March 09
-
Feasts
of the Saints (mp3 format)
Forty Martyrs Of Sebaste
Matthew 20-1-16
2013-03-20
-
Forty
Martyrs of Sebaste. "For ye have need of patience." (mp3
format)
Hebrews 10:32-38 Matthew 20:1-16
2014-03-22
SYNOPSIS:The
Forty Martys of Sebaste are a fantastic example of patience. This year,
their feast was on the
3rd Saturday of Great Lent, which has an epistle the says in part
"For ye have need of
patience." Such simple words, and so true for each of us! Let us
see how their martyrdom
exemplifies patience. Depending on God with patience will always turn
out well. We also explain
why the Gospel of the workers of the vineyard is read for their feast.
October 28
August 29
September 01
-
3
honorable estates in life. Purpose of marriage, & example of Saints
Peter & Fevronia of
Murom. Prayer in marriage. (mp3 format)
Peter And Fevronia Of Murom
2014-09-14
SYNOPSIS:On the feast
of Saint Peter and Fevronia of Murom, we speak about the example of
their life, and the purpose
of life in general and the three God pleasing states of life. All have
the same aim and purpose,
and most choose marriage. We concentrate on the state of marriage,
noting its core agreement
with monasticism, and its purpose, and how those who enter into it
should view it and therefore
prosper. This great mystery of Christ and the church is the first
sacrament mentioned in the
Bible, even before the incarnation and baptism: " Therefore shall a
man leave his father
and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one
flesh." The purpose
of marriage and how it is lived flows directly out of the nature of Who
God is. After discussing
the theology of marriage, then we have practical advice, since theology
without practice is
useless. The most important practical advice for those who are married
is to pray with and
especially for each other. This may seem obvious, but it is not easy,
and alas, not common
enough. Let us come us with a plan, and with the help of God, follow
it.
September 26
-
Apostle
John the Theologian: Love is simple in practice. (mp3 format)
Apostle John The Theologian
1 John
4:12-19
2014-10-08
SYNOPSIS:On this feast day of the
Holy Apostle John the Theologian, we discuss a
little of the Gospel for his day, specifically the significance of the
command of Jesus to take
care of His mother. Stuff like this happens all the time to us. Love is
simple in practice. We
also discuss his confident claim that regarding his Gospel: "We
know that his testimony is
true". Very few people know something is true. How do we gain this
knowledge? His first
epistle explains. It is love. We do a leisurely exegesis of the Epistle
reading for his day,
with plenty of stories - from the Desert Fathers, the life of the
apostle, and even a few from
the reflections of Fr Moses Berry, from his talks in the 21st annual St
Moses the Black
Conference.
October 15
-
Hieromartyr
Lucian Presbyter of Antioch +312, A Living Antimension (mp3 format)
2014-10-28
SYNOPSIS:On Oct 15, we celebrate the
memory of the
holy Hieromartyr Lucian, Presbyter of Antioch (+312). He was tortured
for 9 years in Syria, no
doubt in some of the same ways people are being tortured today in that
besieged part of the
world. He did something remarkable in prison. He became a living
Antimension. We explain what an
Antimension
June 29
January 22
July 20
November 30
January 02
March 09
-
Martyrdom
of the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste explained. Martyrdom, or the cross is not
suffering, it is the way
of life. (mp3 format)
2015-03-21
SYNOPSIS:The Martyrdom of the 40
martyrs is described
in detail along with an explanation of what "sacrificing to the
emperor" entailed.
Many Christians did this, and went back to their business, unhindered.
These martyrs teach us
how to look at life and make choices. Also discussion of the sticheron :
"Valiantly
enduring the present torments,/ rejoicing in that for which they
longed,/ the holy martyrs said
one to another:/ If we do not shed our garments, we shall not put off
the old man./ Winter is
cruel, but paradise is sweet;/ the ice is painful, but the acquisition
of the Kingdom is
delightful./ Then, let us not give way, O warriors!/ Let us endure but a
little while,/ that we
may be crowned with crowns of victory by Christ God,// the Savior of our
souls." Also an
important point. The way of the cross, just like that of martyrdom
should not be described as
the way of suffering. Both are the way to life, even if they involve
suffering.
-
"Let
us lay aside every weight" The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste teach us to
make a choice! (mp3
format)
Hebrews 12:1-10
2015-03-22
SYNOPSIS:The
Forty Martyrs of
Sebaste are highly celebrated during Great Lent. Truly they fulfilled
the instruction of St Paul
in the epistle from the Hebrews appointed for them: "Let us lay
aside every weight, and the
sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race
that is set before
us" To be a Christian is a choice. They gave their blood, that is
their entire life to
Christ BEFORE their martyric struggle began. We must give our blood, so
that we are not guilty
of the accusation: "Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving
against sin." What
does this implicit command mean? It is not just about martyrs who are
killed for Christ; it is a
command we must understand and follow.
July 02
-
Personal
reflections on the life of Saint John Maximovich. His prayer,
liturgizing, boldness. (mp3
format)
Saint John Maximovich
Prayer Boldness
Liturgy
2015-07-03
SYNOPSIS:When we read the life of
a Saint, it should be a very personal experience.
Here are the things about St John that have touched a particular sinner
and priest, who began
his ministry in Texas 21 years ago on the day of the glorification of St
John, July 3, 1994. St
John always prayed and never "prepared" for prayer. He prayed
for everyone he
ministered to, often late into the night as they slept. St John loved
the Liturgy and served it
everyday. He derived great power from this. St John was bold, in ways we
who pray little and
sleep much cannot understand. One example is the famous story about him
trading vodka for an
orphan who otherwise would have been sold into slavery, in the slums of
Shanghai.
-
The
Life of St John Maximovich compared to the "Shepherd" Gospels.
(mp3 format)
Saint John Maximovich
John 10:1-16
2015-07-04
SYNOPSIS:The "Shepherd"Gospels are read for most
hierarchs, and encompass
John 10:1-16. We compare these Gospels to the life of St John, and to
what should also be our
life.
June 29
July 13
August 01
October 19
-
The
Apostle of love teaches us why we must love. (mp3 format)
St John of Kronstadt
1 John 4:7-11
2016
SYNOPSIS:The
Epistle for St John of Kronstadt is from the first letter of John (1
John 4:7-11). The Apostle
of love teaches us WHY we must love. This is not because of an external
law, but is because of
Who God is. He made us to be like Him.
August 01
June 24
-
Birth
of John the Baptist.
"Now it is high time to awake out of sleep" (mp3 format)
Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Romans
13:11-14:4
2017-07-07
SYNOPSIS:On the birth of Saint
Baptist, we celebrate, perhaps, the most dedicated
and ascetical mortal human being to ever live. He did not waste time; we
waste so much time. The
Epistle says: "that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for
now is our salvation
nearer than when we believed". We must have purpose and resolve or
we are nothing. Since
this feast occurs within the 40 days for my son +Daniel, I see all
things in relation to him,
and a great blessing of his passing is that we have reports that many
have awoken out of sleep.
Let us talk about purpose, and asceticism and personal change. A son's
death is an expensive
price, but the gifts given are very dear.
August 20
-
"Here am I" -
the answer to almost every question. The Holy
Prophet Samuel. (mp3 format)
Prophet Samuel
Samuel(1 Kings)3:1-10
2017-09-03
SYNOPSIS:God called the holy Prophet Samuel simply by
speaking his name:
"Samuel". The young man answered 3 times "Here am
I", and a 4th
time:"Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. " This is enough
to know about the
prophet’s life, it we apply it to our own. His answeres are the answers
we should give to almost
every question and encounter we have in life. We give a few examples
from Samuel's life, and
also practical examples, because it is useless to know about Samuel's
virtues unless we also
emulate them.
October 30
August 28
-
Applying
the life of St Moses the Ethiopian to our life. (mp3 format)
Saint Moses the Ethiopian
How To Read Lives Of
Saints
2017-9-10
SYNOPSIS:The life of Saint Moses
the Ethiopian, and some of his sayings, APPLIED to
our life. We focus on his humility and perseverance, and his fasting. We
need not fast as
strictly as Moses to benefit - in fact, fasting can benefit us greatly
if we do it well AND if
we do it poorly. It all depends on our disposition and how much we try.
We must be more serious
about the salvation of our soul; this is one of the main messages of the
life of this great man.
October 29
October 08
-
The
lives of the Former Harlots Pelagia and Thais teach, inspire us, and
REBUKE us. (mp3 format)
2018-10-21
SYNOPSIS:On the Sunday that we
commemorated the
Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council which restored the veneration
of icons, we also
remembered the former harlots Pelagia and Thais. When we look upon an
icon we see holiness, and
struggle and integrity and repentance. We see this also in these former
harlots who became great
strugglers. Their lives should inspire, encourage and rebuke us. What
image do we see when we
look in the mirror?
November 27
November 28
March 09
-
The
holy 40 martyrs of Sebaste, and the 11th hour, and the agenda of love.
(mp3 format)
40 Martyrs Of Sebaste
Matthew 20:1-16
2019-03-22
SYNOPSIS:Why do we read the Gospel about the vineyard and
the workers who came at
the 11th hour for the 40 martyrs of Sebaste? Those workers can mean two
things for us. One is a
very comforting thought, and one is a frightening and realistic thought.
Also, comments about
the agenda of love, and the workers of the 11th hour.
June 24
June 29
July 27
-
Great
Martyr and Healer Panteleimon: In a good heart, grace will always
accomplish its desire. (mp3
format)
Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon July 27
2019-08-09
SYNOPSIS:The life of St. Panteleimon shows that in a good
heart, grace will never be
denied. His mother was Christian and his father pagan, and he told him
about the faith but then
she died and his father deeply educated him in pagan ways. But grace
cannot be denied. He had a
good heart, and grace will always find a way in a good heart. There are
many examples in the
life of the great martyr Panteleimon in which things were not done quite
"correctly"
but grace will never be denied.
August 26
-
The
Martyrs Adrian and Natalia. Not a perfect life! Pray for Everyone!
(Adobe PDF format)
2019-09-07
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:The martyrdom of Adrian and Natalia
demonstrates that the matter
what we do in life, when God calls us, if our heart is open to him, we
will be saved. They
didn’t do everything right. Natalia was a secret Christian, and Adrian
was a pagan. But God did
not abandon them, and Natalia became a confessor and martyr and assisted
her husband Adrian in a
feat of incredible martyrdom.
September 23
-
Conception
of the Baptist vs the Annunciation: One angel, two messages, two
different responses, 1 with
faith, 1 asking for a sign. (mp3 format)
Luke 1:5-25
2019-10-05
SYNOPSIS:The
difference between the
responses of Zacharias when he was told that he and his wife would bear
John the Baptist and,
Mary the Theotokos, when she was told that she would bear Jesus Christ
as a virgin. In the midst
of explaining this, we see it is clear that we should never look for a
sign, and we also talk
about deception and how we should react when we see an angel, and that
Satan can never perfectly
mimic holiness. There is one personal anecdote at the end when someone
who loved my son +Daniel
looked for a sign and I’m very glad she did. So, signs may be good, but
we should not look for
them.
April 23
June 29
-
The Apostles Peter
and Paul. A
LIVELY HOPE. (mp3 format)
1 Peter 1:3-9, 1 Peter 2:11-24
2020-07-12
SYNOPSIS:On the
feast day of St. Peter and Paul, a short exposition of two of the
readings from Vespers from the
epistles of St. Peter. He talks about a lively hope, and he also talks
about bearing persecution
and bearing wrongs. We are in a day when life is changing rapidly and
there is much uncertainty.
How are we to have a "lively hope"? The apostle teaches
us.
August 01
-
The Holy maccabean-martyrs teach
us in what our
identity should rest. (mp3 format)
2 Maccabees 6,7 Matthew 17:14-23
2020-08-16
SYNOPSIS:In the
Gospel today, the disciples could not cast out a demon and asked why.
The Lord told them that it
was because of their unbelief. Unbelief is nothing, it will die and not
endure. Let us learn how
to believe, by looking at the luminous example of the Holy
maccabean-martyrs, celebrated on the
first day of the Dormition fast. Their martyrdom was possible because
THEY KNEW WHO THEY WERE.
In our age, there is a crisis of identity. Let us explore how to find
out who we are (or should
be) by examine the witness of the Holy maccabean-martyrs.
October 08
-
Fathers
of the
7th Council. The Gospel vs Various and Strange Doctrines (mp3
format)
Hebrews 13:7–16
2020-10-25
SYNOPSIS:What
made the saints who
they are? It was the true Christian faith that they kept, and held on
to, and had the power to
transform their lives. Not so the “various and strange doctrines” that
St. Paul warns us about —
the corrupting “gospel” of the world, so prevalent in modern culture.
Know your faith so you can
be on guard against the lies of this world. Also in video
at:https://youtu.be/WOesx8mX0vs
November 27
-
Great
Martyr
James the Persian. A saint for our difficult days. (mp3 format)
2020-12-10
SYNOPSIS:The Great-Martyr James is the
best kind of
martyr for our day because we will soon be sorely tested. He apostatized
because of vanity and
would have lived an empty and luxurious life, and then descended into
the bowels of Hell, except
that he had someone behind him. His wife gave him "tough
love," and her rebuke and
prayers jarred him to his senses, and he endured one of the most
fantastic martyrdoms recorded.
We also mention Martyr George of Chios, who also apostatized for flimsy
reasons and eventually,
with the entire local church praying for him, accomplished a glorious
martyrdom. We all need to
be strong, and there must be interior work, but it could be that any of
us might have a time of
weakness; therefore, we need people of courage, faith, and prayer behind
us to pick us up when
we fall.
January 22
June 19
-
The
apostle
Jude. How to dispute with evil and how to live after blessings. (mp3
format)
Jude
2021-07-02
SYNOPSIS:The feast day of
the Apostle Jude
(6/19). We explain why he called himself the brother of James, and do a
partial exegesis of his
letter which is very timely for our day. We must learn to strike a
balance of humility and also
standing up against evil. Jude’s epistle is one of the best examples of
how to strike that
balance. Even after quoting an apocryphal text about the Satan disputing
with St. Michael the
Archangel regarding the relics of Moses, Jude teaches by his fiery words
(He goes so far as to
call them clouds without water) that we should have no patience with
heretical and worldly
pronunciations of religious leaders. He also teaches that when we have
received a blessing of
God we are responsible for our actions afterwards and we can be judged
if we do not live
worthily of them. We go into a lot of detail about this verse: quot;I
will therefore put you in
remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved
the people out of the
land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not." (Jude
1:5)
June 29
-
The Apostles and
Peter and Paul. A
lively hope. (mp3 format)
A Lively Hope
1 Peter 1:3-9 : 1 Peter 2:11-24 :
21:15-25
2021-07-12
SYNOPSIS:The Apostle Peter wrote
about a "lively hope" and then, with the
Apostle Paul, showed abundantly by his life story what this hope is and
how to attain it. We
discuss the restoration of Peter after the catching fish and how this
restoration also applies
to us and also Paul’s autobiography of his struggles which shows how we
must react to the Lord’s
consolation. We also discuss Peter’s admonition that we must bear wrongs
that we do not deserve
and if we do, we will learn about the lively hope that the apostles
Peter and Paul
embody.
July 27
-
Saint Panteleimon and
the Golden
Thread (mp3 format)
2021-08-09
SYNOPSIS:On the great Feast of the
Holy Unmercenary
Healer Panteleimon, we investigate WHY he became a great Saint. He had a
good heart, but he was
very much a pagan, and likely would have remained so, except that a
priest in hiding (from
pagans!) saw something in him. There is a "Golden Thread",
invisible to us most of the
time, that connects us to others. God gives His grace to us through a
*few* others who take an
interest in us. We look at the influence of the Holy Priest Hermolaus,
the mentor of
Panteleimon. We *must* also be a "Hermolaus" to others whom we
meet.
August 01
-
The Maccabean
Martyrs. What is life?
(mp3 format)
2021-08-16
SYNOPSIS:The martyrdom of the
Maccabean martyrs
illustrates the perfect answer to the question: "what is
life?". In our day, people
are very confused about what is life and what is death, so let us look
to the holy Priest
Eliezer to answer this primary question. This question has always
applied in every age but in
our age even within the church, life is being confused with death and
death is being called
life. If we follow Eliezer’s example we will experience life and
therefore always choose it
instead of death.
August 29
-
Beheading
of
the Baptist. A lesson about the way of life and death. (mp3 format)
2021-09-11
SYNOPSIS:On the day we celebrate the
beheading of St.
John the Baptist with a mixture of joy and sorrow and all we consider a
day that is a day of
death and life and way of life that is of life and way of life that is
of death. Because of the
times we are in when people are calling death life and life death, we
make comments about the
pandemic and mandates and how we are to live in such times if we want to
follow the way of
life.
June 29
Weeks before Great Lent
-
Week
before Sunday of the Prodigal Son;Monday (mp3 format)
No Prophecy Of The Scripture Is Of Any Private Interpretation
2 Peter
1:20-2:9
2008-02-18
-
Purpose
of Life (and
Great Lent) to see things as they really are. (mp3 format)
1 John 2:18-3:10
2020-02-17
SYNOPSIS:We are
preparing for Great
Lent, and to what end? It is to realize exactly what the Apostle of Love
speaks
about in the epistle
today: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be: but
we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see
him
as he is. " This
is tantamount to knowing the truth about everything, and being true, in
everything.
-
Week
before Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare);Thursday (mp3 format)
If A Man Say I Love God And Hateth His Brother He Is A Liar
If You Cannot
Stop Sinning
At Least Be Kind
1 John 4-20-5-21
2011-02-25
-
Week
before Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare);Thursday (mp3 format)
If We Confess Our Sins He Is Faithful And Just To Forgive Us Our Sins And To
Cleanse Us From
All Unrighteousness
1 John 1-8-2-6
2012-02-09
-
Week
before Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare);Saturday (mp3 format)
Saturday Of The Dead
1 Thessalonians 4-13-17-John 5-24-30
2011-02-26
-
Week
before Sunday of Forgiveness Sunday Cheesfare);Thursday (mp3 format)
_2012-02-16+-if-a-man-say-i-love-god-and-hateth-his-brother-he-is-a-liar+learn-to-love-god-by-loving-neighbor_1john4-20-5-21
If A Man Say I Love God And Hateth His Brother He Is A Liar
Learn To Love God By
Loving
Neighbor
1 John 4-20-5-21
2012-02-16
-
Praying for the
dead shows
that we look to the heavenly world and not earthly things. (mp3 format)
Commemoration of the Departed Maetfare Saturday
2019
SYNOPSIS:Some reflections on one of the hymns for Meatfare Saturday,
and the selection
from 1 Thessalonians which talks about us being with the Lord after the
second
coming, and prayer
for the dead.
The hymn which I refer to, which I could not remember the exact
words to is this:
"Why does man deceive himself and boast? / Why does he trouble
himself in vain? / For he is
earth, and soon to the earth he will return. / Why does the dust not
reflect that it is formed
from clay, / and cast out as rottenness and corruption? / Yet though we
men are clay, why do we
cling so closely to the earth? / For if we are Christ’s kindred, /
should we not run to Him, /
leaving all this mortal and fleeting life, / and seeking the life
incorruptible, / which is
Christ Himself, // the illumination of our souls?" (From the
Praises, Tone 8, Meatfare
Saturday)
-
Great
Lent Week Before Great Lent 06 Thursday;Thursday (mp3 format)
Do Not Make Friends Because Of Evil
Father Forgive Them For They Know Not
What They
Do
Luke 23-2-34,44-56
2012-02-23
Sundays before Great Lent
Sunday of Zacchaeus
-
1st
Sunday before Great Lent (Word DOC format)
Sunday Of Zacchaeus
1 Tim:4-9-15, Luke 19:1-10
1999
-
1st
Sunday before
Great Lent (HTML format)
Sunday Of Zacchaeus
2001
-
1st
Sunday before Great
Lent (Word DOC format)
Zacchaeus Sunday
2002
-
1st
Sunday
before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of Zaccheaus
2007-01-21
-
1st
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of Zaccheaus
Encouragement
2008-02-10
-
1st
Sunday
before Great Lent (HTML format)
Sunday Of Zacchaeus
2009-02-01
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
1st
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of Zacchaeus
Luke 19-1-10
2010-01-17
-
1st
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of Zacchaeus
He Sought To See Jesus Who He Was
Luke
19-1-10
2011--02-06
-
1st
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of Zacchaeus
Process Of Repentance
2012-01-29
-
1st
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of Zacchaeus
Zacchaeus Make Haste And Come Down For To Day I
Must Abide At
Thy House
2012-02-17
-
1st
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of Zacchaeus
Make Haste
Luke 19-1-10
2014-02-02
-
1st
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Repentance 101
Little Run Climb Make Haste
Luke
19-1-10
2015-01-25
-
"Zacchaeus
moments". We have them too. Great Lent is the best time of the year
to learn to listen for
them. (mp3 format)
Zacchaeus Sunday
Luke 19:1-10
2016-02-14
SYNOPSIS:There
is a grave marker in a Utah cemetery showing a boy standing from his
wheelchair and reaching
towards the heavens. His paralysis is over now. This image is an apt
metaphor for the purpose of
Great Lent. Since Zacchaeus Sunday is the unofficial beginning of the
preparation period for
Great Lent, we discuss the purpose of Great Lent in the context of his
"Zacchaeus
moment". The church will talk about many such moments in the coming
weeks and all of Great
Lent - with Gospels on the Publican and the Pharisee, the Prodigal son,
and much about St Mary
of Egypt in the 5th week. All of these had "Zacchaeus
moments". We do too, and we must
learn to listen for them and "make haste" when we hear them.
(The statue is worth
seeing, and reading about the memorable child Matthew Stafford is also
worthwhile, at
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7140314
-
Overview
of the common theme in the Gospels for the 5 Sundays preceding Great
Lent. (mp3 format)
2017
SYNOPSIS:Simply put, for the Christian who
has faith and
EFFORT, even his small amount of good will always beat bad.
-
Zacchaeus
Sunday: A little good always wins over bad. (mp3 format)
Luke 19:1-10
2017
SYNOPSIS:Learning from the
bad and the
good in the Gospels. What is the purpose of Great Lent, and how do we go
about achieving it? The
story of Zacchaeus (this is OUR story!), along with all the other
Gospels on the Sundays before
Great Lent teaches that we can only give a little bit of good to God,
but if we give what we
have (with faith and of course, effort), He will magnify our small
effort, and it will always be
greater than the bad we do. We must give *something*. We also take note
of the sin of the
Pharisees and how it makes a person unable to be saved, not matter
whatever good or bad they
do.
-
Sunday
of Zacchaeus and the New Martyrs of Russia. Repentance and Witness. (mp3
format)
Luke 19:1-10
2019-02-10
SYNOPSIS:A sermon by
Priest Nicholas
Park, fusing the "Witness" ("Martyr" means witness)
of Zacchaeus the
publican and the New Martyrs of Russia.
-
Zacchaeus
Sunday. How to live to maintain the moment. (RTF format)
Zacchaeus Sunday
How To Maintain The Moment
Luke
19:1-10
2021-02-14
Also in Format:
mp3
Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee
-
2nd
Sunday before Great Lent (Word DOC format)
Sunday Of The Publican And Pharisee
1999
-
2nd
Sunday
before Great Lent (mp3 format)
The Publican And Pharisee
2007-01-28
-
2nd
Sunday
before Great Lent (mp3 format)
The Publican And Pharisee
2009-02-08
-
2nd
Sunday before Great Lent (HTML format)
Sunday Of The Publican And Pharisee
Theme Of Great
Lent
2010-01-24
Also
in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
2nd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Publican And Pharisee
2011-02-13
SYNOPSIS:2nd
Sunday before Great Lent
-
2nd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Publican And Pharisee
Do Not Judge
Luke
18-10-14
2011-02-13
-
2nd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
By The Waters Of Babylon
Dashing The Infants Against The
Rock
Psalm-136
2011-02-20
-
2nd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Publican And Pharisee
He Came To Himself
Luke
15-11-32
2011-02-20
-
2nd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Pride Humility Boasting Self Condemnation Tears
Our Example Expect
Persecution
Power Of Scripture
2 Timothy 3-10-15
2012-02-05
-
2nd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Process Of Repentance
God Be Merciful Merciful To Me A Sinner The
Jesus
Prayer
Luke 18-10-14
2012-02-05
-
2nd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Publican And Pharisee
Open Unto Me O Giver Of Life
The Gates Of
Repentance
Triodion-Hymns-After-The-Gospel
2013-02-23
-
2nd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Publican And Pharisee
This Man Went Down To His House
Justified
Rather Than The Other
Luke 15-11-32
2013-02-24
-
2nd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Publican And Pharisee
Spiritual And Psychological
Pain
2014-02-08
-
2nd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Publican And Pharisee
This Man Went Down To His House
Justified
Luke 18-10-14
2014-02-09
-
2nd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Publican And Pharisee
Orthodox Way To Pray For The
Deep
Heart
Luke 15-11-32
2015-02-01
-
Humility
comes about through a relationship: the Parable of the Publican and the
Pharisee. (mp3
format)
Parable of the Publican and Pharisee
Luke
18:10-14
2016
SYNOPSIS:The external teaching of the
Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee is a
warning against pride and an example of humility. There much more. We
discuss what humility is.
It is not trying to not be proud! it is a relationship. the prayer of
the publican illustrates
this relationship. in the midst of our discussion, we define some
important words which are not
well understood - "hope" and "justified", and
"humility".
-
The
way of Life is simple. Sin is complex. Parable of the Publican and the
Pharisee. (mp3
format)
Luke 18:10-14
20176
SYNOPSIS:The parable of
the Publican and
the Pharisee. Life is simple. If you know a few simple things, and do
them, you will be saved. A
description of the complex ways of sin, modeled by the verbosity and
judgment of the Pharisee,
and the simplicity of righteousness, as shown by the publican.
-
Parable
of the Publican and Pharisee - the power of "Lord have mercy".
(mp3 format)
Parable of the Publican and Pharisee
Luke
18:10-14
2018
SYNOPSIS:A little story, from my life,
to illustrate the power of the simple prayer,
"Lord have mercy". We leave behind the Pharisee, who did not
think he needed mercy,
and therefore prayed not to God, but to himself only, and wend our way
through my seeking
college days, Protestant Theology and the group "Campus Crusade for
Christ", and end
up in the church, which understands mercy, and experiences mercy, and
therefore, says the prayer
"Lord have mercy", and variations thereof, more than any other
prayer.
-
Sunday
of the Publican & Pharisee. Pride - the worst master. (mp3
format)
Luke 15:11-32
2019-02-17
SYNOPSIS:Sermon
about "Pride -
the worst master" by Priest Nicholas Park on the Sunday of the
Publican and Pharisee.
-
Sunday
of the
Publican and Pharisee - It is going to be ok, and you must do two
things. (mp3 format)
Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee
Luke
18:10-14
2020-02-09
SYNOPSIS:The most beautiful
message of the parable of the Publican and Pharisee is
that the publican went back to his house justified. We examine what this
word means. The world
doesn’t understand this word. The Christian does, because he knows two
things. He knows
repentance and compunction, which he couples with action, and he also
feels the hand of God
telling them it’s going to be okay. We discuss these two things that the
publican did, and also
compare this parable with the former publican Zacchaeus, who made
wonderful promises on the day
His Lord received his repentance, but then tomorrow came. Since it is
also the Sunday of the
commemoration of the New Martyrs of Russia, we discuss very briefly
events in the lives of three
of these martyrs, and how they illustrate something that we must do
along with asking the Lord
for mercy if we are to really know that everything is going to be all
right.
-
The
Publican and the Pharisee. How *not* to prayer within ourselves. (mp3
format)
2021-02-21
Sunday of the Prodigal Son
-
3rd Sunday
before Great
Lent (Word DOC format)
Notes
Luke 15-11-32
-
3rd
Sunday
before Great Lent (HTML format)
Sunday Of The Prodigal Son
1997
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
-
3rd
Sunday before
Great Lent (mp3 format)
The Prodigal Son
2007-02-04
-
3rd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Prodigal Son
2009-02-16
-
3rd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Prodigal Son
2010-01-31
-
3rd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
The Prodigal Son
The Process Of Repentance
Luke
12-11-32
2012-02-12
-
3rd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
The Prodigal Son
The Elder Son
Luke 12-11-32
2013-03-02
-
3rd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
The Prodigal Son
And When He Had Spent All He Came To Himself I
Will Arise And
Go
Luke 12-11-32
2013-03-03
-
3rd
Sunday before Great Lent (HTML format)
The Prodigal Son
How Shall We Sing The Lords Song In A Strange
Land
Luke
12-11-32-Psalm-136-By-The-Waters-Of-Babylon
2014-02-16
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
3rd
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Parable Of The Prodigal Son
And By The Waters Of Babylon
Compared
Luke
12-11-32-Psalm-136
2015-02-09
-
Parable
of the Prodigal son. Outside the heart is the far country. (mp3
format)
Luke 15:11-32
2016
SYNOPSIS:The parable of
the Prodigal Son
vividly shows us the immediately apparent teaching that there is nothing
that God will not
forgive, and we can never be too weak to begin repentance, which God
will always react to and
make us stronger. It also teaches, less obviously, but more importantly,
the consequences of
living outside the heart and how to live in the heart. As such, it is
part of the preparatory
sequence of Gospels for Great Lent, because all of Great Lent is a quest
to live more in the
heart.
-
Parable
of the Prodigal son - how to come to ourself and present ourselves
before God. (mp3 format)
Luke 15:11-32
2018-02-04
SYNOPSIS:The Sunday
of the Prodigal
Son presents us an instruction manual for how to live during Great Lent,
which is fast
approaching, and how to pray and present ourselves before God. We focus
on the parables teaching
about delusion and how to think of ourselves and pray to God.
-
We
must be as the Prodigal son - MANY TIMES - and learn to "Come to
ourselves" (mp3
format)
Luke 15:11-32
2019-02-24
SYNOPSIS:The
spiritual life of the
Prodigal Son began when he "came to himself", and recognized
his need for repentance.
The same applied to Zacchaeus, to the Publican, and to all of us. In
fact, the Christian life
begins and continues in that spirit for all eternity. Sin is a kind of
delusion, and coming to
yourself means seeing the truth about yourself; seeing through the masks
we put on to hide that
truth. Today, Priest Seraphim Holland of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in
McKinney Texas explains
the parable of the Prodigal Son. Visit us at orthodox.net
-
Parable
of the
Prodigal Son, and capturing the "moment" in Great Lent. (mp3
format)
Luke 15:11-32
2020-02-16
-
We
must
*continually* pursue the moment when the Prodigal Son came to himself.
(mp3 format)
Pursue Moments When You Come To Yourself
Luke
15:11-32
2021-02-28
SYNOPSIS:We talk about the
purpose of Lent, and the Gospels read in the Sundays
before Lent. Then we talk about the many teachings of the Parable of the
Prodigal Son, but all
of them are energized by the most golden truth in this parable: that the
prodigal son, after a
life of sin, came to himself. We talk about how to continually pursue
this moment.
Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare)
-
4th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Last Judgment Meatfare
2007-02-11
-
4th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Last Judgment
The Judgment Is All About
Love
Matthew
25:31-46
2008-03-02
-
4th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Last Judgment Meatfare
2009-02-22
-
4th
Sunday before Great Lent (HTML format)
Sunday Of The Last Judgment Meatfare
2010-02-07
Also in
Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
-
4th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Last Judgment Meatfare
The Services Teach Us How To
Pray
2011-02-27
-
4th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Last Judgment Meatfare
Things That Are Repeated Are
Important
Matthew 25-31-46
2011-02-27
-
4th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Meat Commendeth Us Not To God
1 Corinthians 8-8-9-2
2012-02-08
-
4th
Sunday before Great Lent (Word DOC format)
Sunday Of The Last Judgment
Matthew
25-31-46
2012-02-19
Also in Format:
mp3
-
4th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Last Judgment
Inherit The Kingdom Prepared For You
From The
Foundation Of The World
Matthew 25-31-46
2013-03-10
-
4th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Last Judgement
Do Not Judge Repent Be Kind
Forgive
Matthew
25-31-46
2014-02-23
SYNOPSIS:4th Sunday before Great
Lent
-
4th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Last Judgment
Do Not Judge Repent Be Kind
Forgive
Matthew
25-31-46
2014-02-23
-
4th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of The Last Judgment
Matthew 25-31-46-1corinthians
8-8-9-2
2015-02-15
-
Inner
meaning of the Last Judgment Gospel. (mp3 format)
Sunday of the Last Judgment
Matthew 25:31-46
2016
SYNOPSIS:First, and overview of all 5 Sunday Gospels in the
preparation period for
Great Lent, to see how they fit together. Then a discussion of the outer
vs. inner teaching of
this Gospel form Matthew about the Last judgment. Of course the
immediately apparent teaching of
this Gospel is that there will be a judgment and we will be judged if we
are not compassionate.
The inner meaning can be gleaned from understanding why the Lord
referred to the "young
kids" as being put on the left (the actual word means immature
goats - "young
kids", and His answer to the righteous when they question Him:
"Inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto
me." Putting these
things together we see with excitement the possibilities before us in
this upcoming fast: we are
to grow towards maturity, so that, as the image of God within us becomes
more apparent, we see
Christ in everyone else. Christianity is not rules, or exercises. It is
growth toward
perfection. We are not to be "young kids", who are immature,
foolish and selfish, but
mature sheep and even mature goats!
-
The
sole criterion for Judgment. (mp3 format)
Last Judgment
How Are We Judged
Matthew
25:31-46
2018-02-11
SYNOPSIS:The message of the
Gospel for the Sunday of the Last Judgment is: (the
verb, the command, the only consequence which gives meaning to our life,
and the criterion by
which we are judged) - LOVE! . An exegesis of this Gospel,
taking into account the
other recent Sunday readings, and the two parables which precede it in
the 25th chapter of
Matthew - the Ten virgins, and the Talents. Considering all these
things, we see an instruction
book for how to approach great Lent.
-
The
Last Judgment and the border between incorruption and mortality. (mp3
format)
Last Judgement
Border Between Incorruption And
Mortality
2019-03-03
SYNOPSIS:The story of the Last
Judgment from Matthew 25 makes it very clear that if
we do not love we will not be saved. We will be helped to love if we
know who we are and where
we came from and where we are going. We look at two hymns from the
Saturday commemoration of
reposed which tell us these things, in particular, one which tells us
that we are "on the
border / between incorruption and mortality"Here are the hymns:
Thou hast formed Adam
with Thine hand, O Savior, / and set him on the border / between
incorruption and mortality;
/ Thou hast made him share in life through grace, / freeing him
from corruption / and
translating him to the life that he enjoyed at first. / Give
rest, O Master, to Thy servants
Thou hast taken from us; / may they dwell with the righteous in
the choir of the elect; /
write their names in the book of life; / raise them with the
sound of the Archangel’s trump,
// and count them worthy of Thy heavenly kingdom.
Christ is risen, / releasing from bondage Adam the first-formed man
/
and destroying the
power of hell. / Be of good courage, all ye dead, / for death is
slain and hell despoiled; /
the crucified and risen Christ is King. / He has given
incorruption to our flesh; / He
raises us and grants us resurrection, / and He counts worthy of
His joy and glory / all who,
with a faith that wavers not, // have trusted fervently in Him.
-
Sunday
of
the Last Judgment- We must find many ways to formally and informally
love. (mp3 format)
Matthew 25:31-46
2020-02-23
SYNOPSIS:On the
Sunday of the
Last Judgment, we read about the last judgment from the Gospel of St.
Matthew. This gospel
clearly teaches that the sole criterion by which we are judged is
whether or not we love. This
is the task of the Christian who wants to become a true human being, to
learn to love as God
loves. We explore formal and informal ways to learn to love and how
Great Lent should assist us
greatly on opening a small crack in our heart, so that God would come in
and teach us how to
love, and we would be changed.
-
The
Last
Judgment. Lent is to learn awareness, and stop indifference. (RTF
format)
1 Corinthians 8:8-9:2 Matthew 25:31-46
2021-03-07
Also in
Format:
mp3
SYNOPSIS:On the second is the last Sunday before we
begin Great Lent, we
read about the Last Judgment and about eating meat sacrificed to idols.
There is much to say
about the account of the Last Judgment in Matthew’s gospel, but we will
say something about it
that also applies to the epistle reading. The great sin of those who
were judged was that they
were indifferent to others around them, because of their passions and
distractions. St. Paul
teaches us that we should not do something that offends a brother, which
means we must be aware
of our brother and his needs. We learn awareness and love for others
especially during Great
Lent if we struggle in the correct way. The indifferent cannot be saved.
Great Lent is going to
teach us how to put off indifference.
Sunday of Forgiveness (Cheesefare)
-
5th
Sunday before
Great Lent (HTML format)
Sunday Of Forgiveness
1999
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
-
5th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Forgiveness Sunday And Cheesefare Sunday
2007-02-18
-
5th
Sunday
before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of Forgiveness
2009-03-01
-
5th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Forgiveness Sunday And Cheesefare Sunday
2010-02-14
-
5th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Forgiveness Sunday And Cheesefare Sunday
Triodion Teaches How To
Think
2011-03-05
-
5th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Forgiveness Sunday And Cheesefare Sunday
Instructions For Great
Lent
Romans
13-11-14-Matthew 6-14-21
2011-03-06
-
5th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of Forgiveness
Now It Is High Time To Awake Out Of
Sleep
Romans
13-11-14-4
2012-02-25
-
5th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of Forgiveness
How To Learn To Forgive
Matthew
6-14-21
2012-02-26
-
5th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of Forgiveness
Fasting And Forgiving
Matthew
6-14-21
2013-03-17
-
5th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of Forgiveness And The Casting Out Of Adam From
Paradise
Triodion Textbook
Of Repentance
2014-03-01
-
5th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Forgiveness Sunday
Now Is Our Salvation Nearer Than When We
Believed
Romans
13-11-14-4
2014-03-02
-
5th
Sunday before Great Lent (mp3 format)
Sunday Of Forgiveness
Why Great Lent Why Fast Why
Forgive
Romans
13-11-14-4-Matthew 6-14-21
2015-02-22
-
Now
is the time to awaken out of sleep ... and pursue paradise (mp3
format)
Romans 13:11-14:4
2016
SYNOPSIS:Today most
people know by
"Cheesefare" or "Forgiveness Sunday" , or the day we
eat blini, but the
liturgical theme of the day is the casting out of Adam and Eve from
paradise. Most people at
least acknowledge that we must forgive to be saved, but the hymns of
today teach another truth -
you will forgive if you are *being saved*. Today we lament about the
greatest catastrophe in
creation -- the fall of mankind in paradise -- and we enter into a
period when we lament the
loss of paradise and seek after it. Let us look at some of the hymns
from the Triodion from this
day, and the exciting call of the Apostle Paul to action: "Now it
is high time to awake out
of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed"
and "put ye on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh". All these
things teach us what
our goal should be in great Lent and that we can reach it - to regain
some of paradise.
-
Now
is our salvation nearer than when we believed. Exegesis of Romans
13:11-14 in regard to Great
Lent. (mp3 format)
Forgiveness Sunday
Romans 13:11-14
2017-02-25
SYNOPSIS:Great Lent almost upon us. Exegesis of Romans
13:11-14, with emphasis of
its application to the struggle and JOY of Great Lent. Some people say:
"Oh no Great Lent
is coming!" This is not the opinion of the Apostle Paul, or the
church. In Great Lent we
should feel *more* alive. It is a time of God entering into our hearts a
little more than other
times of the year, because of our greater focus and struggle. Expect God
to visit you during
Great Lent, and to change in some way. We learn to regard ourselves
correctly, to not think of
ourselves too highly.
-
An
Instruction Book for Great Lent with 3 topics: forgiveness, fasting
& treasure. Matthew
6:14-21 (mp3 format)
Forgiveness Sunday
Matthew 6:14-21
2017-02-26
SYNOPSIS:Why do we read this Gospel on the threshold of
Great Lent. Why do we have
Great Lent? What should be our goal? This Gospel is a type on
"Instruction Manual" for
Great Lent. There are 3 lessons. They incorporate fasting, forgiveness
and treasure. Why do we
fast. Why MUST we forgive? The answers may not be so obvious to some.
-
Expulsion
of Adam from Paradise, and By the Waters of Babylon (mp3 format)
Exile of Adam from Paradise
By the Waters of Babylon
Psalm
136
2018-02-18
SYNOPSIS:Explanation of the expulsion
of Adam and Eve
from paradise, and, how understanding and applying Psalm 136: "By
the Waters of
Babylon" will make us regain paradise.
-
Great
Lent is our
opportunity to return from our self-imposed exile. (mp3 format)
Romans 13:11-14:4
2020-03-02
SYNOPSIS:The
entire theme of
Great Lent that we are attempting to return from our self-imposed exile
is why the parable of
the Prodigal Son is mentioned in our services throughout Great Lent. The
last Sunday before
Great Lent is called by many names, but the best is the "Expulsion
of Adam from
Paradise". The fall of humanity began our exile. This was not
imposed by God, but a natural
result of passion and sin. During Great Lent we are trying to come back
home, speak about this
process the things we can do context up parable of the prodigal son. In
the end of the homily,
we also discuss something that we as parish can do, and any other parish
can do, to help return
from exile: Agree to pray with a prostration daily for each other,
making a prostration for
everyone with their name on an opt-in list. The beginning of our return
from exile is that we
acquire a sound mind, which is only possible if we pray and we love.
-
Forgiveness Sunday. Goals for
Lent. Practical
ways to forgive. (mp3 format)
Forgiveness Sunday
Romans 13:11-14:4 Matthew 6:14-21
2021-03-14
SYNOPSIS:Talking about the goals of
Great Lent, and that you should not want it to
be easy; you should want it to be amazing. We add in the necessity to
forgive, and VERY
PRACTICAL steps to be SURE that you forgive, or if forgiving is
difficult, that you are *trying*
to forgive.
Great Lent
First Sunday of Great Lent
-
1st Sunday of Great Lent
(HTML format)
Before Zacchaeus
2002
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
-
1st Sunday
of Great Lent
(HTML format)
Triumph Orthodoxy Come And See
2002
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
-
1st Sunday of Great
Lent (mp3
format)
Triumph Of Orthodoxy
2004
-
1st Sunday of Great Lent
(mp3 format)
Triumph Orthodoxy
2004
-
1st Sunday of
Great Lent (mp3
format)
Triumph Of Orthodoxy
2007-02-25
-
1st Sunday of
Great Lent (mp3
format)
Triumph Of Orthodoxy
How do *we* partake in the triumph of
Orthodoxy?
Hebrews
11:24-26, 32-12:2 John 1:43-51
2009-03-08
-
1st
Sunday of Great Lent (mp3 format)
Triumph Of Orthodocxy
Pleasures Of Sin For A Season
Hebrews
11:24-26, 32-12:2,
John 1:43-51
2010-02-21
SYNOPSIS:What is the triumph
of Orthodoxy? A
short synopsis of the historical background, then discussion of what
this triumph is for the
individual. It involves "faith", understanding that the
pleasures of sin are for a
season, and believing that a good thing CAN come out of Nazareth.
-
1st
Sunday of Great Lent (mp3 format)
The Uncircumscribed Word Of The Father Became Circumscribed
The
Meaning Of
Icons
2011-03-12
SYNOPSIS:The true meaning of icons
is proclaimed in the
Sunday of Orthodoxy Services. The "surface meaning" of an icon
is that we can depict
Jesus Christ as a man precisely because He became a man. We are not
satisfied with such a
shallow explanation, and the services delve much deeper into the meaning
of the incarnation. Two
examples, one from Vespers, and the other from matins, describe the
wonder of the incarnation.
Every time we gaze upon an icon, we must remember that we, who have
nothing in common with God,
can know God because He chose to have everything in common (one hymn,
below, describes this as
the God-man taking on all the "distinctive properties" of our
flesh), with us, save
sin.
Thou who art uncircumscribed, O Master, in Thy divine nature,
/ wast pleased in the
last times to take flesh and be circumscribed; / and in assuming flesh,
/ Thou hast also taken
on Thyself all its distinctive properties. / Therefore we depict the
likeness of Thine outward
form, / venerating it with an honor that is relative. / So we are
exalted to the love of Thee, /
and following the holy traditions handed down by the apostles // from
Thine icon we receive the
grace of healing. (Sunday of Orthodoxy, "Lord I have cried",
Tone VI, spec. mel.:
'Having set all your hope')
The uncircumscribed Word of the Father
became circumscribed,
taking flesh from thee, O Theotokos, and He restored the sullied image
to its ancient glory,
filling it with the divine beauty. This our salvation we confess in deed
and word, and we depict
it in the holy icons. (Sunday of Orthodoxy, Kontakion, Tone 8)
-
The
simplest and most important instructions to live according to the
Triumph of Orthodoxy. (mp3
format)
John 1:43-51
2011-03-13
SYNOPSIS:The
"Triumph of
Orthodoxy" is not only a historical event that we commemorate
today, but also applies to
every individual Christian. We spoke about the meaning of icons and the
incarnation last night -
the triumph of Orthodoxy for the individual is that, as one of the hymns
teaches, because of the
incarnation "the sullied image (of God, in us) has been restored to
its ancient glory and
filled with the divine beauty."
(https://www.orthodox.net//sermons/great-lent-sunday-01_2011-03-12+the-uncircumscribed-word-of-the-father-became-circumscribed+the-meaning-of-icons.mp3).
The readings today teach us how to realize in our lives this promise,
and the Gospel is short
and succinct - the Lord commands us to "Follow me" and
"Come and see" What
does this mean practically for us.?
-
The
Hymns of the Sunday of Orthodoxy proclaim the restoration of the ikons
and their most important
teaching - the Incarnation with all its implications, and the reason why
we fast. (mp3
format)
Vespers And Matins Hymns For The Sunday Of
Orthodoxy
2012-03-04
SYNOPSIS:The hymns for the
Sunday of Orthodoxy, which proclaim the restoration of
the icons, are a primer in Christology. Their most important teaching is
explained, using
examples from the services. Also the purpose of fasting, from a matins
hymn, is clearly
explained, and the importance of the hymnology of the church and how it
teaches us true theology
is discussed. Allthe following hymns are mentioned:
Thou who art
uncircumscribed, O Master, in
Thy divine nature, / wast pleased in the last times to take
flesh and be circumscribed; /
and in assuming flesh, / Thou hast also taken on Thyself all its
distinctive properties. /
Therefore we depict the likeness of Thine outward form, /
venerating it with an honor that
is relative. / So we are exalted to the love of Thee, / and
following the holy traditions
handed down by the apostles // from Thine icon we receive the
grace of healing. (Sunday of
Orthodoxy, Vespers, Lord I have cried)
We venerate Thy holy icon, loving Lord, / asking Thee to pardon our
transgressions, Christ
our God. / For Thou of Thine own will wast pleased in the flesh
to ascend upon the Cross, /
so to deliver from the bondage of the enemy those whom Thou hast
fashioned. / Therefore in
thanksgiving we cry aloud to Thee: // Thou hast filled all
things with joy, our Savior, when
Thou hast come to save the world. (Sunday of Orthodoxy,
Troparion, Tone II)
Depicting Thy divine form in ikons, O Christ, we openly proclaim Thy
Nativity, Thine
ineffable miracles and Thy voluntary Crucifixion. So the devils
are driven out in fear and
the heretics, their fellow workers, lament in shame and sorrow.
(Sunday of Orthodoxy,
Matins, Sessional Hymn)
Moses, in the season of abstinence, received the law and proclaimed
it to the people. Elijah
by fasting closed the heavens; and the three children of Abraham
through fasting overcame
the lawless tyrant. Count us worthy, O Christ, through fasting
to attain the Feast of the
Resurrection, as we cry aloud: "Holy God, Holy and Strong,
Holy and Immortal, have
mercy on us!" (Sunday of Orthodoxy, Matins, Praises)
-
The
Triumph of Orthodoxy must occur in the heart, and will be because of
doing simple things, as the
Gospel teaches today. (mp3 format)
Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?
Come and
see!
John
1:43-51
2012-03-05
SYNOPSIS:Orthodoxy and life is
very deep and complex,
but the essence of Christian life is simple. The Gospel today teaches us
a simple way, and if we
obey the simple apostolic command, we will not be confounded. If we
think too much, we will
always be confused. We look at the calling of Nathaniel and the simple
way he was told to
approach his doubts; this applies to EVERY doubt and difficulty in our
life. "Come and
see!" is the only door to the triumph of Orthodoxy, that is, the
fullness of the indwelling
of God, in our hearts.
-
1st
Sunday of Great Lent (mp3 format)
Can There Any Good Thing Come Out Of Nazareth
Come And
See
John
1-43-51
2013-03-24
-
"Follow
me" and &come and see", and you will know the Triumph of
Orthodoxy in your heart. (mp3
format)
Triumph Of Orthodoxy
John 1:43-51
2014-03-08
SYNOPSIS:Why is the encounter of Jesus with Philip and
Nathaniel the Gospel reading
for the first Sunday of Lent, the Triumph of Orthodoxy? It is because
this triumph is an
intensely personal one, with the Lord seeking our each of us, telling us
to follow Him. We must
heed the words of Philip (and those of a pastor, who says them daily),
"Come and see"
This is a process, and must be cultivated, and if we do, the
"greater things" that
Jesus promised to Nathaniel will be our as well, and the triumph of
Orthodoxy will be fully
energized in our heart - union with God and perfection.
-
Iconology
and Christology in the hymns from the Triodion for the Sunday of Triumph
of Orthodoxy (mp3
format)
2014-03-08
SYNOPSIS:The hymns from the Triodion
clearly show the
relationship between icons and the incarnation of Jesus Christ, and
explain the real triumph of
Orthodoxy that occurs in the human heart. We look at a few
representative hymns from the
Triodion:
Thou who art uncircumscribed, O Master, in Thy
divine nature, / wast
pleased in the last times to take flesh and be circumscribed; / and in
assuming flesh, / Thou
hast also taken on Thyself all its distinctive properties. / Therefore
we depict the likeness of
Thine outward form, / venerating it with an honor that is relative. / So
we are exalted to the
love of Thee, / and following the holy traditions handed down by the
apostles // from Thine icon
we receive the grace of healing. Sunday of Orthodoxy, Vespers, Lord I
have cried, Tone VI, spec.
mel.: #39;Having set all your hope#39;
We venerate Thy holy
icon, loving Lord, /
asking Thee to pardon our transgressions, Christ our God. / For Thou of
Thine own will wast
pleased in the flesh to ascend upon the Cross, / so to deliver from the
bondage of the enemy
those whom Thou hast fashioned. / Therefore in thanksgiving we cry aloud
to Thee: // Thou hast
filled all things with joy, our Savior, when Thou hast come to save the
world. Sunday of
Orthodoxy, Troparion Tone II:
The uncircumscribed Word of
the Father became
circumscribed taking flesh from thee, O Theotokos, / and He has restored
the sullied image to
its ancient glory, filling it with the divine beauty. / This our
salvation we confess in deed
and word, // and we depict it in the holy icons. Sunday of Orthodoxy,
Kontakion Tone VIII:
Depicting Thy divine form in icons, O Christ, we openly
proclaim Thy Nativity,
Thine ineffable miracles and Thy voluntary Crucifixion. So the devils
are driven out in fear and
the heretics, their fellow-workers, lament in shame and sorrow. Sunday
of Orthodoxy, Matins,
Sessional Hymn, tone 1
-
"Without
guile, and with patience, COME AND SEE, and thou shalt see greater
things than these".
Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy (mp3 format)
Without Guile And With Patience Come And See And Thou Shalt See Greater
Things Than
These
John 1-43-51-Hebrews 12-1
2015-03-01
SYNOPSIS:When you look
at an icon, you should understand what the triumph of Orthodoxy is. It
is not that we can
venerate icons freely. It is that God became man, and the image of the
icon tells us: "you
can become perfected" the Gospel and Epistle today give us the way
to perfection, if we
unpack the things said to the guiless Nathaniel and add an essential
ingredient from St Paul:
"Without guile, and with patience, COME AND SEE, and thou shalt see
greater things than
these".
-
"Thou
who art uncircumscribed, O Master, in Thy divine nature, / wast pleased
in the last times to
take flesh and be circumscribed..." The Triumph of Orthodox is only
understood by
understanding the Incarnation. (mp3 format)
Vespers For Sunday Of The Triumph Of
Orthodoxy
2016-03-19
SYNOPSIS:A very quick history
about Iconoclasm and the restoration of the Icons,
which we celebrate the first Sunday of Great Lent, and then an
explanation of what the
"Triumph of Orthodoxy" really is. It is VERY personal and is
well explained by one of
the hymns said at Vespers: "Thou who art uncircumscribed, O Master,
in Thy divine nature, /
wast pleased in the last times to take flesh and be circumscribed; / and
in assuming flesh, /
Thou hast also taken on Thyself all its distinctive properties. /
Therefore we depict the
likeness of Thine outward form, / venerating it with an honor that is
relative. / So we are
exalted to the love of Thee...". The significance is an idea,
unique to Orthodoxy, about
what salvation is. To explain it, we must give a short primer on the
Incarnation. At the end, an
exhortation to buy service books, and read them, along with a little
personal confession.
-
Why
icons? & "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth",
"Come and see." (mp3
format)
Sunday of Orthodoxy
First Sunday of Great Lent
John
1:43-51
2017
SYNOPSIS:The encounter between
Nathaniel and Jesus is read
on the Sunday of Orthodoxy. Why? To know this we must describe a little
bit about this Sunday
and why ikons are important and theologically correct, and the various
"senses" of
scripture - the theological, allegorical, instructional, practical and,
especially the moral
sense. If we do not know the moral sense of scripture, we have no
profit. We explore the
"moral sense" of the question "Can any good thing come
out of Nazareth", and
the encouraging answer: "Come and see." Great Lent is the time
when we struggle to
obey this command, with great expectation.
-
Sunday
of Orthodoxy. Why Icons? Why Iconoclasm? How do they differ from Western
Religious Pictures? Why
does it matter? (mp3 format)
Sunday of Orthodoxy
Theology of the icon
2017
SYNOPSIS:The Sunday of Orthodoxy explained. What is
iconoclasm? Where did it come
from and why? A description of the reasons for the iconoclasm of Islam.
What does the depiction
of Jesus Christ on an icon teach? Since we are spiritual and immaterial,
the fact that we can
depict the God-Man, Jesus Christ has enormous implications for our
salvation. Also, a discussion
of the critical artistic and theological difference between Western
religious pictures and
Orthodox icons. This homily is part of a catechetical series for
inquirers.
-
Icons
and the incarnation, and our salvation. (Adobe PDF format)
Triumph of Orthodoxy
2018-02-24
Also in Format:
Word
DOC
or
mp3
SYNOPSIS:Exegesis of two hymns from the Vespers service
for the Triumph of
Orthodoxy, which teach the core dogmas of icons, and the incarnation,
and how we are
saved.
COMMENT:
Thou who art
uncircumscribed, O Master, in
Thy divine nature, / wast pleased in the last times to take
flesh and be circumscribed; /
and in assuming flesh, / Thou hast also taken on Thyself all its
distinctive properties. /
Therefore we depict the likeness of Thine outward form, /
venerating it with an honor that
is relative. / So we are exalted to the love of Thee, / and
following the holy traditions
handed down by the apostles // from Thine icon we receive the
grace of healing.
We venerate Thy holy icon, loving Lord, / asking Thee to pardon our
transgressions, Christ
our God. / For Thou of Thine own will wast pleased in the flesh
to ascend upon the Cross, /
so to deliver from the bondage of the enemy those whom Thou hast
fashioned. / Therefore in
thanksgiving we cry aloud to Thee: // Thou hast filled all
things with joy, our Savior, when
Thou hast come to save the world.
-
Patience.
It is active, never passive. It is from faith, and work. It is from
knowledge, given by God to
those who labor. (mp3 format)
John 1:43-51 Hebrews 12:1
2018-02-25
SYNOPSIS:The readings
for the first Sunday of Great Lent are in an open and hidden way about
patience, without which,
we cannot be saved.
-
The Implication of
icons: He has restored the
sullied image to its ancient glory. (mp3 format)
The Triumph of Orthodoxy.
Hebrews 12:1
2019
SYNOPSIS:The Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy celebrates
the final restoration of
icons. The veneration of icons teaches us two important things about
Jesus and our faith — that
God who is infinite, in the incarnation took on our finite human nature;
and that in doing so,
he made it possible for us to be like Him. The fact of the Incarnation
leads us into an even
greater and more compelling truth — that like the icons of the ancient
Church, our human nature
has been restored by Christ. This reality makes it possible for us to do
what before was
impossible; to be like God, to perfect that icon of God planted in our
souls from the moment our
creation. The lives of the saints testify to the possibility that we can
become radically
better, radically closer to God. If we can, why don't we? What reason do
we have for not even
trying?
COMMENT:Also on
YouTube
: (orthodoxnet)
and Facebook, on our Church
Web page ():
https://www.facebook.com/orthodoxnet/videos/1927705570673670/
-
"He
restored the
defiled image to its ancient state ... and suffused it with Divine
beauty" This is the
Triumph of Orthodoxy. (mp3 format)
Sunday of Orthodoxy
2020-03-08
SYNOPSIS:On
the 1st Sunday of
Great Lent we celebrate the restoration of the Holy icons, and also call
this day the
"Triumph of Orthodoxy" We discuss the most important parts of
the encounter of
Nathaniel with Jesus Christ, and the Kontakion for the feast, which
perfectly describes what
Philip told Nathaniel to "Come and see", why this is the
"Triumph of
Orthodoxy", and why this triumph is so closely associated with
icons.
"The uncircumscribable Word of the Father was circumscribed when
he took flesh of thee,
O Theotokos; and when He had restored the defiled image to its
ancient state, He suffused it
with divine beauty. As for us, confession our salvation, we
record it in deed and
word." Kontakion, Tone 6
