Category: Audio homilies

Ascension – 11 questions and answers, and The whole of our faith is Jesus Christ. Two prophesies, one fulfilled, one being fulfilled.

hat significance does the event of the Ascension of Jesus Christ have for the Christian? We should understand why we celebrate any feast, and its inner meaning. In the gospel reading for liturgy on the Ascension, two gifts are mentioned by Christ. One is given and one is promised. What are they? Comment on their… Continue reading Ascension – 11 questions and answers, and The whole of our faith is Jesus Christ. Two prophesies, one fulfilled, one being fulfilled.

The Sunday of the Blind Man. What must I do to be saved?

The story of the healing of the blind man who washed in the pool of Siloam is a primer on what we must do and must not do – to be saved. We discuss some very important dogma presented at the beginning of the reading (what does it mean when is says Jesus “passed by” – it is something very specific, personal and important, questions abut sin, what our Lord’s important statement about work during the day means), and then we look at the character of the blind man, and the ruling Jewish elite. A clear pattern emerges of the things WE must do, and the things that God will do it we do these necessary things.

You can’t be saved unless you have character. God will not give it to you. Text/Audio. Sunday of the Blind Man.

Today, brothers and sisters, it’s already the fifth Sunday of Pascha and the Sunday of the blind man, and in keeping with all the other Sundays it is a day in which we read about someone who is enlightened and the process of their enlightenment, and we have another important characteristic of enlightenment especially shown today. It is shown in some of the others too, in St. Thomas, in the Samaritan Woman, but especially here we see incredible courage; we see incredible character. You can’t be saved unless you have character. God’s not going to give it to you. You can’t be saved unless in your heart you want to be honest and in your heart you want to be courageous. You won’t be saved unless you have good character. Don’t depend on God to give it to you. You have to have it. You have to have a desire to be good. This is good character. Whether or not you make mistakes and you have sins – that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about what is it that you desire and what is it that you value and how do you order your life? …

5th Sunday of Pascha – The Samaritan Woman. Literacy, thirst, humility. zeal.

he story of the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman, Photini, must be understood in a historical, theological, mystical and practical context. She said “the well is deep”, and this story can be discussed from many perspectives, many of which are, alas, unintelligible to most because of their low level of theological knowledge and interest. The most important one for us is what we must do do get the living water, the Holy Spirit. Saint Photini shows us several things that we MUST be if we are to be saved – theologically literate, having thirst for righteousness, humility, and zeal. Her conversation with the Lord and subsequent actions show all these things. Audio also available.

The doctrine of the cross in the hymns of the Octoechos Victory over death and healing. Sunday Octoechos Tone 3

The Orthodox dogma about the cross is often displayed in the Sunday hymns for Vespers and Matins. Many or even most who identify with Christianity and are not Orthodox only have a legal view of what happened on the cross. For us Orthodox, what happened on the cross was the destruction of death, and our healing. We have a relational view. What good is it to be forgiven and not also healed? Two hymns from the Sunday Octoechos help illustrate a part of our understanding of the significance of the cross: “By Thy cross, O Christ our Savior, the dominion of death hath been destroyed, and the deception of the devil hath been abolished; and the race of man, having been saved by faith, doth ever offer praise to Thee” (Lord I have cried, Sunday Octoechos, Tone 3), “Thy precious cross do we worship O Christ, and Thy resurrection do we praise and glorify, for by Thy wounding are we all healed.” (Lord I have cried, Sunday Octoechos, Tone 3)

4th Sunday of Pascha – The Paralytic “Wilt thou be made whole??” – 3 ways we must answer this question. John 5:1-15.

Today, brothers and sisters, we continue on the Paschal theme, which is the enlightenment of the Resurrection and how it occurs in real life, not in our fantasy, but how it really occurs. In this story there are basically three things that the Lord is teaching to be made whole. It all depends how we answer the question "Wilt thou be made whole?". We must learn to hear this question reverberating in us ALL THE TIME, and answer it in three ways EVERY TIME.

The Myrrhbearing Women. Joseph became bold and who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?

The most important parts of the reading for the Holy Myrhhbearers are the actions of Joseph and the myrhhbearers. We are told that “Joseph became bold” – the same man who had been a secret follower of Christ because of fear. Why did he become bold? This is very important. Three of the myrhhbearers observed the burial of Jesus. Why is this important? Life is full of ordinary things,. but sometimes when we do them, they are extraordinary,. We must do ordinary things in an extraordinary way, as did Joseph and Nicodemus and the Holy Myrhhbearers. In doing these things, we will encounter obstacles, and ask like the myrhhbearers “who shall roll away the stone”, and if have fidelity to Christ as they had, the stone will always be rolled away.

Thomas Sunday – “Believing disbelief” is the most important part of the story. and Why are the altar doors open on pascha? When are they closed and what does it mean? – 2 homilies

There are several important parts to the story of the encounter of the Apostle Thomas with the risen Lord, such as why the first words Jesus spoke to the assembled apostles were “Peace be unto you”, the promise of the sending of the Holy Spirit and the power that Jesus gave to His Apostles to remit sins. The most important gleaning from the reading is none of these, but is understood in the blunder of St Thomas, and his subsequent behavior, which led to his full enlightenment, and gave him the privilege to be the first to proclaim in the scripture that Jesus is fully God and man. We are all much like Thomas in his mistakes; let us also investigate his great virtue, which the church calls “believing disbelief”, without which, scarcely one would be saved.

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Five minutes in between Vespers and Matins at the Vigil for Thomas Sunday about the closing of the altar doors, which have been open all of Bright week. There is profound and sobering symbolism concering the closing of the doors which we should understand.