Today, St. Paul challenges us with this elemental truth of the Gospel—that “he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.” We’re presented today with an opportunity to consider our attitude toward giving of ourselves, our resources, to consider how much we give back to God from that which He’s so greatly blessed us. St. Paul […]
17th Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on the Rich Man and Lazarus
We’ve all met people who think that the Kingdom of Heaven is cherubim sitting about on fluffy white clouds strumming harps. If this is your image of heaven too, well, I’m sorry to break it to you… We live in an age where almost everyone assumes they’re good and automatically going to heaven. Misconceptions about […]
16th Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on the Parable of the Seeds
Our Lord presents to us today in vivid terms a parable about us. He compares us to the seeds sown here in this parable. Now, I’m an avid gardener, so when I hear this parable it brings to mind all kinds of practical triumphs and pitfalls of gardening and I say to myself, that sounds […]
15th Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on St. Innocent
Today, we remember St. Innocent, Enlightener of North America, the first bishop in this land, a lover of the native American peoples of Alaska, planter of the True Faith on these shores, a tireless evangelist, pastor, and spiritual father to his flock and forebear of our Church. Christ our Great High Priest has left us […]
14th Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on Loving Your Enemies
Christ challenges us today to examine how we love. And this challenge comes to us in the context of a culture that’s confused about what love is. While everyone recognizes that love is good, what often passes for love is not necessarily what God, as the Author of love, has revealed to His Church. We […]
13th Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on Being Fishers of Men
We see before us today another miracle of Jesus Christ that bears particularly and personally on your faith, on my faith, and on our church. Christ once again reveals Himself as God incarnate. The Gospel is opened for us today to reveal the calling of Christ’s foremost disciples: Peter, James, and John. Christ doesn’t call […]
12th Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on The Elevation of the Cross
Brothers and sisters, we’re confronted today with the paradox of our salvation: the instrument of Christ’s death has become the means of His victory over sin and death. The cross is, in the theology of the Church, “the trophy invincible, the weapon of peace.” The instrument of Roman torture, laid upon Christ, has become the […]
11th Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on The New Church Year
Brothers and sisters, I proclaim that today is a new beginning. Having begun the new Church year last week, we celebrate this day the first Great Feast of the ecclesiastical year, the Nativity of the Most-Holy Theotokos. And so, we’re presented by God’s grace with an opportunity this day even as her birth brings about […]
9th Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on Christ Walking on Water
Often, we think of God’s will as some overarching plan for our lives. We tend to focus on the big picture and forget that God’s will for us is revealed every day; it’s discerned through a daily, if not moment by moment relationship and participation in the life of the Holy Trinity through His Church. […]
8th Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on the Unity of the Church
St. Paul speaks to us today about unity and schism in the Church. How is this relevant to us? Increasingly, we see our society is polarized, that there are many things that divide us on moral and political grounds. Sadly, this is true even in the Church, where other sources of our identity, be they […]