The Return to God

Sunday of the Prodigal Son, 2012 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. One of the principal themes that we meditate upon during these weeks that precede Great Lent and during the Fast itself is forgiveness. And it’s no wonder, because the Christian Church is really the only place in which forgiveness makes…

Abdication in the Soul

December 11, 2011 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. On this day in 1936, exactly seventy-five years ago, His Majesty, Edward the Eighth, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland, and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India, abdicated his throne and…

“We have to begin building our own institutions.”

October 9, 2011 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. I have a friend who is a Ph.D. student at a university in New York City. He is a brilliant, traditional Orthodox Christian who is serious about his faith in Christ and also serious about doing real scholarly work. He is also possibly…

Orthodox Christians and 9/11: We wrestle not against flesh and blood

Sunday before the Elevation of the Cross, September 11, 2011 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. “Nothing will ever be the same.” So went the refrain again and again and again on September 11, 2001, and for weeks and now years following. I also clearly remember Dan Rather just saying over and…

Humanity, Unplugged

The Third Sunday after Pentecost, July 3, 2011 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today, let’s talk about sin. Yes, of course, almost all sermons are in some sense about sin, and sin is certainly mentioned a great deal in the hymns and readings of the Church. But let’s take a moment…

Consumption, the Ascension and the Dignity of Man

The following sermon was preached on the Sunday after Theophany 2009. As we continue in the economic mess that was so fresh in that January of a little over two years ago, I think this still very much applies, especially as the referenced epistle reading makes mention of the Ascension of Christ, which is celebrated today. Our fundamental economic problem is still fundamentally a…