The Podcast is here. Review: Ten (Eleven!) Commandments for Pastors New to a Congregation In a previous post and podcast, I reviewed Rev. Lawrence W. Farris’ book Ten Commandments for Pastors Leaving a Congregation. It was full of good advice to help set your successor and the parish you are leaving up for success and ensure […]
ON THE FIRST SUNDAY of the Great Fast our Church celebrates the triumph of Orthodoxy, the victory of true Christian teaching over all perversions and distortions thereof—heresies and false teachings. On the second Sunday of the Great Fast it is as though this triumph of Orthodoxy is repeated and deepened in connection with the celebration of the memory of one of the greatest pillars of Orthodoxy, the hierarch Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica, who by his grace-bearing eloquence and the example of his highly ascetic private life put to shame the teachers of falsehood who dared reject the very essence of.Orthodoxy, the podvig of prayer and fasting, which enlightens the human mind with the light of grace and makes it a communicant of the divine glory.
A Homily on the Last Judgment
March 6, 2016 By
Homily on the Last Judgment Matthew 6:14-21 Our actions have consequences. Everything we do affects both ourselves and our environment, to include the people around us. This is a simple fact of nature: our lives are intertwined with those of our families, our friends, our enemies… indeed with all of creation. There is no buffer […]
Homily of the Prodigal Son – The Metaphor of Food
February 28, 2016 By
Homily on the Prodigal Son: A Metaphor on FoodSt. Luke 15:11-321 Corinthians 6:12-20 Introduction Some people think of sin, judgment, and salvation as a courthouse: God gave us rules we have to follow. Because we fail to follow the rules, God must condemn us at the Great Judgment. The only thing that keeps this from […]
Homily Notes: Publican and Pharisee
February 21, 2016 By
Big problem: the deep-rooted temptation/sin of self-justification. Justifying by religion – especially by religious leaders. Hypocrites are the worse. Priests and bishops really do have to set a good example The news gives us constant reports of clergy who make a mockery of the faith with their lifestyles; I always wonder why they didn’t get […]
Homily: Evangelism was messy then, too (so what!?)
February 7, 2016 By
Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Then […]
Homily: How to Live the Good Life (forever!)
January 31, 2016 By
Homily – The Requirements of Eternal Life 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (Epistle) St. Matthew 19:16-26 “How must I live to enjoy eternal life?” Let’s be honest, this is not the kind of question people ask Christ or His Church much anymore. And it’s not because people don’t care about life after death. Based on the […]
A Meditation on MLK Jr and Our Own Cowardice
January 17, 2016 By
The Lord God stands in the midst of the Divine Council and judges among the gods.”How long will you rule unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?Defend the poor and fatherless, maintain the rights of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Psalm 81/82:1-4) One […]
J.R.R. Tolkein on Mythopoeia
December 28, 2015 By
From http://home.ccil.org/~cowan/mythopoeia.html To one [C.S. Lewis] who said that myths were lies and therefore worthless, even though ‘breathed through silver’. Philomythus to Misomythus You look at trees and label them just so,(for trees are ‘trees’, and growing is ‘to grow’);you walk the earth and tread with solemn paceone of the many minor globes of Space:a star’s […]
Homily – The Hypocrisy of Defending Bad Habits and Rules
December 13, 2015 By
Homily – The Hypocrisy of Defending Bad Habits and RulesSt. Luke 13: 10-17 This Gospel lesson is profound, teaching us many things about the nature of healing, hypocrisy, and thanksgiving. Today I would like to focus on three of the things that it teaches us. One: We Really Should Come to Church The first has […]
