Author: Fr. Philip LeMasters

Pastor of St. Luke Orthodox Church in Abilene, Texas, Fr. Philip is also Professor of Religion at McMurry University and a member of the Board of Trustees of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York, where he holds an appointment as Professor of Christian Ethics. His most recent book is The Forgotten Faith: Ancient Insights for Contemporary Believers from Eastern Christianity (Cascade Books, 2013).

Overcoming the Paralysis of our Passions: Homily for the Sunday of the Paralytic in the Orthodox Church

· Fr. Philip LeMasters
Acts 9:32-42; John 5:1-15 Christ is Risen! During the season of Pascha, the Church calls our attention to how particular people responded to our Lord, Who rose from the dead on the third day. Thomas did not believe until he saw and touched the wounds of the Risen Savior.  Joseph of Arimathea took Christ’s body down from the Cross and, with the help of Nicodemus, buried Him.  The Myrrh-Bearing women went to…

Becoming Persons United to Christ in Love: Homily for the Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, Pious Joseph of Arimathea, and Righteous Nicodemus in the Orthodox Church

· Fr. Philip LeMasters
Mark 15: 43-16:8 Christ is Risen! As we continue to celebrate our Lord’s glorious resurrection on the third day and victory over Hades and the tomb, it should be obvious that we too often live as though death still reigned.  We do so especially when we fall prey to fear rooted in anxiety about how weak, insignificant, and insubstantial we are, especially in light of death.  We build ourselves up in our…

Living in “One Flesh” Union with the Risen Lord: Homily for the Sunday of Saint Thomas in the Orthodox Church

· Fr. Philip LeMasters
Acts 5:12-20; John 20:19-31 Christ is Risen!  Indeed, He is Risen! Today we continue to celebrate the most fundamental and joyful proclamation of our faith:  Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!  He is our Pascha, our Passover, from death to life, for Hades and the grave could not contain the God-Man Who shares with us His victory over corruption…

Entering Jerusalem to Liberate Us from Slavery to the Fear of Death: Homily for Palm Sunday in the Orthodox Church

· Fr. Philip LeMasters 2 Leave a Comment on %s
Philippians 4:4-9; John 12:1-18           No doubt, there are many obvious differences between the time and place of our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem on a donkey and our own circumstances.  It would be hard to confuse first-century Palestine with twenty-first century America.  Nonetheless, the charged setting of the days leading to the Savior’s Passion resonates with the challenges people face in every period of human history, including our…

Healing Comes Through Repentance, Not Through Seeking Earthly Glory: Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent and Commemoration of our Righteous Mother Mary of Egypt in the Orthodox Church

· Fr. Philip LeMasters 4 Leave a Comment on %s
Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 10:32-45           If we want a clear example of the difference between the character of our Lord and that of corrupt humanity, we need look no further than today’s gospel lesson. In response to the prediction of His Passion, the disciples James and John asked for an assurance that the Lord would give them privileged places of prominence in His Reign, which they imagined to…