There are two things priests can talk about that are pretty much guaranteed to either get filtered out (ignored/missed) or opposed with varying levels of indignation: sex and money. The problem is that our scriptures – and Christ Himself – spend a lot of time on that subject. This means that the Church and her […]
Day Fourteen: Giving Thanks to Our God as a Nation
November 28, 2013 By
Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA Archpastoral Message for 2013 Thanksgiving Day:We Offer Praise and Thanksgiving Once again, our nation pauses to celebrate Thanksgiving. Our tables will be spilling over with food and our homes will resonate with laughter and conversation as we gather to celebrate this special day. Thanksgiving […]
Homily – The Good Samaritan as a Lesson of Love
November 24, 2013 By
Homily – The Good SamaritanSt. Luke 10:25-37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. The lawyer wanted to test Jesus, thinking that Jesus would condemn Himself by dismissing the Jewish Law. […]
Day Seven – The Holy of Holies
November 22, 2013 By
Our parish has been holding services in the hall for the past year. Not an easy thing to deal with, especially for those who grew up in our old building, with its wonderful acoustics, iconography, and architecture. It is hard for some people to feel the presence of God in the hall. I sympathize with […]
Day Three – Homily on Jarius’ Daughter
November 18, 2013 By
Homily: The Raising of Jarius’ DaughterSt. Luke 8:41-56 What do we learn from today’s Gospel lesson? 1. The effect of Christ’s perfect love and power on this world. The role of belief. Many “touched” Him, but this woman was healed – why? Why not everyone? Everyone is suffering. We are suffering. Will we be healed? […]
Homily: The Demoniac at Gardenes
November 10, 2013 By
Introduction – the context of the story Our Lord had just come across the water with his disciples. They had faced one kind of fear when they were on the water: a fear of the chaos of a storm. A great wind had come up while Jesus slept, and the disciples panicked. They woke Jesus […]
Homily – Lazarus and the Rich Man (i.e. Us)
November 4, 2013 By
Homily on Lazarus and the Rich Man St. Luke 16:19-31 [Bottom line up front: actions have consequences; when we do something less than God’s complete will, we suffer. Not because God wants to punish us, but because love is the foundation of all creation and the plan for redemption; when we work against this plan, […]
Homily: The Sower – Surviving the Coming Storm
October 27, 2013 By
Homily on the Sower: Surviving the coming stormSt. Luke 8:5-15 There is a storm coming and I am not sure we are ready. God sowed His seed here in the Blackstone Valley. It grows within the heart of everyone here. Like a garden in the spring, there are beautiful shoots waking up to the possibilities […]
Homily: Loving vs. Commodifying (St. Luke 6:31-36)
October 13, 2013 By
Summary of the Gospel (“The Rules”) Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Offer yourself without expecting anything in return. Love your enemies. This is the way God is (and you should be thankful for that!). Introduction: missing the point It is hard for us to live the way we should. From […]
Homily: Why is it so hard to build a good marriage (and parish)?
October 7, 2013 By
Homily on Saint Luke 5:1-11; Fishers of Men So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into […]
