Category: Homilies

The story of the exorcism of the lunatic son contains a very important question that all of us ask everyday – “Why?” We ask this question consciously and unconsciously and even dissatisfaction, confusion and ignorance are forms of this question. The solution is given in two parts. Firstly, our Lord tells us but we asked this question because of our unbelief, and the solution to this unbelief is given; prayer and fasting, and, very importantly, our admission of our unbelief and prayer that the Lord will help us to believe.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand has many truths that we must learn. Some are apparently obvious, but still we should take note of them, since we do not do them enough: We must cultivate compassion for everyone, give thanks for all things, and trust our Lord Jesus Christ in all things and in all circumstances. The powerful truths of this miracle can be thought of as deeper layers. They are not immediately apparent from a surface interpretation of the text. Let us look especially at these truths as the Lord teaches us about true compassion, and trust in all circumstances. Another layer of truth in this event regarding the ministry of the twelve apostles, and the government of the apostolic church.

This Sunday the 1st Gospel reading was about the Healing of the Demoniac of the Gergesenes, and the 2nd Epistle, for the Royal Martyrs of Russia, from Romans. A general principle of scriptural exegesis is that we must answer all questions! St Paul asks: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” and then gives a long list of things that will not separate us – tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or the sword. The demons who inhabited the man of the Gergesenes also asked a question :”What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?”, and in so doing, together with the people of the Gergesenes, provided an terrible “answer” to Paul’s question. Their reaction showed that how we react to Jesus is the only thing that can separate us from the love of Christ. These questions are of critical importance, and apply to us daily, moment by moment, whether we acknowledge them or not.

In text format, also avail in Audio. 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.

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.”

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.

We must understand what happened in baptism and what we are able to do and MUST do because of it. In finishing his classic treatise on baptism, in Romans Chapter 6, St Paul explains what true freedom is and what good and bad slavery is. There are two kinds of freedom and two kinds of slavery. We must be free regarding sin, but slaves to righteousness. This cannot be emphasized enough in our life, and must become a kind of mnemonic, to guide us in all of our decisions. The actions of the Centurion perfectly illustrate the proper kind of freedom and slavery to possess.

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.

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