Today is a feast day for all of us paralytics. Today, brothers and sisters, we to a certain degree are meeting our name-day, our feast day. Who among us can boast that he is strong, courageous, bearing all the misfortunes of this age, fulfilling all of Christ?s commandments? Deliver us, O Lord, if such a person stands in our midst — one cannot imagine a worse righteous or strong man! The Apostle Paul says: Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ?s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong (2 Cor 12:10). But the Apostle did not deprive himself of one thing: strong faith and undoubting hope in the Savior.
Category: Homilies
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.
Sunday of the Holy Myrhbearers. Homilies in Text, audio, and questions and answers
Today is the third Sunday after Pascha, and it is the Sunday of the myrrh-bearing women. And it is quite an interesting reading which we have because these women and these men, Joseph of Arimathaea, who is mentioned today, and also Nicodemus, who acted with great love, but also in great ignorance. They were trying to do something that they were not going to be able to accomplish. These women wanted to anoint the Lord with myrrh, and Joseph and Nicodemus had prepared the Lord’s body so carefully, wrapping it in clean, fine linen. Myrrh and aloes had been applied, according to the custom of the Jews. All this they did in ignorance. They acted without full knowledge, but with great desire and with great love.
There is a lesson for us. Pascha is God making man able to know God. This is really what Pascha is. It is not an event only; it is a fundamental change in human nature. The God-man becoming incarnate made us able to live. He accomplished our salvation by His death and His resurrection, and basically all of the period from Pascha to Pentecost we think about how He enlightens us and the practical ramifications of what Pascha means for the soul. In essence, it means enlightenment. It means to know God. But to know God you have to be able to live like God, and you must live in virtue before you have full enlightenment. ? (text homily)
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The story of the myrhhbearers is like ours, in microcosm. Life is full of moments when we must “become bold” as Joseph (and the myrhhbearers) did, and do what is right, even if we do not how we can accomplish the task (roll away the stone and deal with the armed guards) or what will come of it. Even when we have accomplished something, or grace visits us, we may not recognize it or understand it, just like the myrrhbearers, who were afraid after hearing the announcement of the resurrection from the angel. The myrhhbearers who us the way – do what is right, or even what we think is right, no matter ho “possible” it seems or how likely that the outcome will be pleasing, and in time, all will be revealed to us. This Gospel continues the theme of how the enlightenment of the resurrection is actualized in us (audio homily)
Plus more homilies and questions & answers about the myrhhbearers
a few examples:
* Where was Jesus buried? Is there any significant meaning to this place?
* The Gospel reading for the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing women includes the name of one man. There was another man also involved who was mentioned in another place. Describe who they were and what they did. Don’t just describe cold historical facts – what do their actions mean?
* A great stone was rolled across the entrance to the sepulchre, sealing it. Can we understand anything from this?
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.
also:
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.
Sunday of Pascha Agape Vespers. Paschal instructions
Lots of instructions about Pascha and Bright week, covering fasting, O Heavenly King, the Paschal hours, making sure we pray and not just eat sausage, and lots of other stuff. In Text, Audio available.
Bright Thursday. The Encounter with Nicodemus. Two homilies.
A new homily about the encounter of Jesus with Nicodemus, which is an exegesis of the entire passage.
Another homily on this encounter is available also:
The story of Nicodemus meeting with Christ is our story. We are Nicodemus, and Peter, and Mary Magdalene, and Thomas, and the Blind man, and the Paralytic, and all the rest, whom we have read about or will read about in this season; for them and us, illumination comes over time, and always with great effort and waiting on our part.
There is a constant theme throughout this Paschal period, up to and including Pentecost. It is the sure and certain aspect of everyone?s life ? we come to an understanding of holy things slowly, and only if we struggle and endure. …
Bright Monday: Important truths are rarely said absolutely unambiguously. “No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him”, and “Make straight the way of the lord.”
The effect of the incarnation and the absolute necessity for a moral life is declared inn the Gospel for Bright Monday. As is the usual case, profound truths about the Christian life are stated, but not with absolute clarity. The fullness of the meaning of Scripture is not apparent to the casual observer, but only to those who struggle foe righteousness. We look at the whole passage, but particularly the two phrases: “No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him”, and “Make straight the way of the Lord.”
The Sunamite woman, Abraham and Ezekiel proclaim the resurrection Holy Saturday Liturgy 2 Kings 4:8-37 Genesis 22:1-18 Ezekiel 37:1-14
We proclaim the resurrection every week in the scriptures read in matins on Sunday. The resurrection is also declared in a hidden way in the OT. On this Holy Saturday, after we have read the Gospel of Matthew in front of the tomb which proclaims the resurrection, let us see how three of the readings we have recently read from the OT proclaim it in a mystical and beautiful way, with examples including Abraham, Ezekiel, and the Sunamite woman.
Homily before the shroud. Three reactions to Christ: hate, love, indifference.
he readings of the narrative of the passion of our Lord give us an understanding of the character of our Lord and our our character. I found, and I am sure many of you found this as well, that last night and this morning as Father was reading, as the Lord stood before Pilate, that my heart was often cold, and my mind wandered. The words from St Ephrem the Syrian really resonate: “All creation was in fear and trembling when the King of Heaven, the Savior, suffered, while we sinners, for whom the Only immortal was given up ever treat this with contempt” What follows is a short discussion of the responses to our Lord during His passion, and at all times: devotion, hatred, and indifference. By Deacon Nicholas Park.