Fifth Sunday After Pentecost St. Matthew 8:28-9:1 Epistle to the Romans 10:1-10 St. Luke Orthodox Church, Abilene, TX             It may be hard for us to relate to today’s gospel passage.  We are not possessed by demons, living in a cemetery, and so frightening that no one will come near us.  And probably none of us have ever seen a whole…

            Matthew 8: 5-13 I Cor. 12:27-13:8           So much in our world today seems to boil down to money and power.  So many will sacrifice everything for those false gods.  But today we are reminded that God’s ways are not our ways, that His love, mercy, and blessing are not the prisoners of the false boundaries that we have constructed between  ourselves and others—and between ourselves and Him.    That was…

Today we celebrate the birthday of one of the most unusual and important people in the history of our faith:  St. John the Baptist.  He has the titles of prophet, forerunner, and baptist because he fulfilled all three roles, speaking the word of the Lord as he prepared the way for the coming of Christ, calling God’s people to repentance and baptism, and even baptizing the incarnate Son of God at the…

                           I heard a radio report today that described single men becoming fathers through the services of surrogate mothers.  The report discussed the practice as though it were a perfectly normal and healthy way for a man to have his own biological children without the trouble of getting married.  On yet another issue involving the relationship between men and women,…

Homily for the Second Sunday After Pentecost Matthew 4: 18-23 St. Luke Orthodox Church, Abilene, TX             Sometimes we long for things to be crystal clear, cut and dried, totally black and white.  We think that it’s easier to decide what to do when the options are laid out before us with no ambiguity or confusion at all.  Unfortunately or not, life usually isn’t like that.  There are…