Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church – Page 23 – McKinney TX Homilies, scripture commentary, spiritual reflections

Again and again in peace…

Our services – Vespers, Matins, and portions of the Divine Liturgy and the services of need – are punctuated in many places by the so-called “Small Litany.” What is this Litany, and what is it for?

Children’s homily (and some family history). Fear not them which kill the body. Matthew 10:23-31

A homily for the children most of whom were the grandchildren of the priest, who reminisced with them about how their mother loved the verse “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul”, and would emphatically state this in her squeaky little girl voice. We discuss trust and how God is always with us, and knows everything about us – even the number of hairs on our head, as usual, with the children seated “in the round” and with audience participation.

Groaning, Hope and Prayer. The Spirit Itself maketh intercession for us. Romans 8:22-27

Synopsis: Exegesis of Romans 8:22-27 which contains the very good news that we are not responsible for competence in our prayer, but rather, if we provide the desire and compunction (described by St Paul as to “groan within ourselves”), “helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”. The very important and misunderstood word “hope” is also defined, and we investigate what “groaning within ourselves” should be. St Paul is often very technical and complicated in his writing, but this passage is among his most comforting – it is truly the “Gospel” (good news) for those who have the proper disposition regarding themselves and the world.

Scripture for Orthodox Christians to memorize

We have started a new routine at St Nicholas. I want my flock to be more scripturally literate. I am taking a page from the Protestants, who memorize the bible frequently. They memorize things they often do not completely understand – we have the true faith, and the precise exposition of the bible is present in all our (often neglected by the majority) services, and yet, as a people, many of our bibles are dusty! This should not be.

Here is the first scripture I chose. I have no idea how I am going to choose scripture to memorize. I have a zillion favorites, and there are are zillion important scriptures. I will probably use the church year as a guide, so for our first scripture,. I chose something from the Apostle Peter, since we are in the Apostle’s fast. I hope we can get something from St Paul memorized before the end of the fast.

All scripture will be at http://www./orthodox.net/scripture-memory

It will be in PDF and Word fornats, suitable for printing, and dividing into quarters.

A good beginning. We all must leave our nets or we will never come close to fulfilling the beatititudes. 2nd /Sunday after Pentecost

On this day, commemorating All Saints of Russia on the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, we read the beatitudes, and the first Gospel tells us what we MUST do it we are to have any chance whatsoever to fulfil the beatitudes (and we are called to do this!). The calling of the apostles Peter ans Andrew and James and John is recounted. The Gospel is short, but very specific: both pairs left their nets, that is, left everything, and followed Jesus. We must have this sort of dedicated beginning in order to endure to the end. It gets hard in the middle, and if we do not begin with dedication, and constantly remember our original dedication, we will never make it to salvation. What does “leaving their nets” mean for us and how can this resolute act help us?

Celebrating Sanctity. How To Become A Saint. Sunday of All Saints 2011

It is apropos to celebrate All Saints on the Sunday after Pentecost, because with the coming of the Holy Spirit, coupled with all the effects of the incarnation, we have the ability to become holy – in fact we are commanded to become holy (“saint” means “holy one”). The readings today focus on how we can become holy. We must have true, living faith – we discuss what faith is (it is not mere belief in something!), and confess the Lord Jesus Christ before men (we discuss what “confession” is – it is not just what we say, but also what we do and who we are – and it is especially difficult in our day, because the spirit of the age permeates and pollutes everything). We also discuss what it means to “take up our cross”, and “run with patience the race that is set before us”.

Exegesis Of Sunday Of All Saints Vespers Parables.

The “parables” of Vespers are OT or sometimes, NT readings, which elucidate the meaning of the feast. Since this is the Sunday of All Saints, these 3 OT readings describe sanctity – holiness (the word “Saint” means “holy one”). Saints, which we are also called to be, are witnesses who are misunderstood by the world of sinners, and their virtues are described, much like the apostle Paul described virtues in the passage in Ephesians which described the armor of faith (Ephesians 6:13-17)