A Savior for Scandalous Sinners Like You and Me: Homily for the Sunday before Christmas in the Orthodox Church

  Epistle to the Hebrews 11:9-10, 17-23, 32-40 Gospel According to St. Matthew 1:1-25             Whether we like it or not, we all inherit a lot from our parents and pass a lot along to our children.  It may not be a lot of money, but from genetics to personalities to a thousand other details about what seems normal and natural, we all play our role in shaping humanity from generation to…

A Light in the Darkness: Homily for the Sunday of the Forefathers in the Orthodox Church in the Aftermath of the Tragic Shooting in Connecticut

    Gospel According to St. Luke 14: 16-24 St. Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians 3:4-11             This Friday’s unbelievably horrible school shooting reminds us of the depths of evil, wickedness, and pain that have corrupted and distorted our humanity.  It is difficult enough when our loved ones die of natural causes after a full life, but we do not even have the words or categories of thought to make sense of…

“Woman, You Are Loosed”: Homily for St. Anna’s Conception of the Theotokos

    Epistle to the Galatians 4:22-27 Gospel According to St. Luke 13:10-17             None of us likes to be sick.  It’s very frustrating to want to get up and do what you want to do and not to be able to do so.  Illness separates us from our usual activities and relationships, and even from our selves.  When our lives revolve around our own pain and disability, we aren’t really ourselves…

The Blind Beggar Receives His Sight: Homily for the 26th Sunday after Pentecost in the Orthodox Church

  St. Luke 18: 35-43 Ephesians 5: 8-19 We have probably all had moments in our lives when we couldn’t see very well.  Maybe the power went out at night at home, our eyes took a while to adjust after walking out of movie theater, we lost our glasses, or we were headed east or west at just the right time to be blinded by the light of the sun.   Unfortunately, we…

The Rich Young Ruler and the Nativity Fast: Homily for the 13th Sunday of Luke in the Orthodox Church

  St. Luke 18: 18-27 Epistle to the Galatians 3:23-4:5                 In order for me to remember to do much of anything, I usually have to write it down on a list.  If it’s not on the list, it usually doesn’t get done, and some tasks remain on the list for a very long time before I finally get around to them.  Maybe some of you are like that also.             …