SERMON ON THE WOMAN BENT EARTHWARD, Luke 13: 10-17

The Woman Bent Earthward 11/26/23

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ!

I hope you all had a wonderful and joy-filled Thanksgiving celebration! I don’t know about you, but for me, the glorious yet overwhelming Thanksgiving Dinner always inspires me to really get cracking on the Advent Fast afterwards. Do you know what I mean? The indignities and abuses suffered by the GI tract cause it to cry out for lighter fare, more digestible fare, fasting fare, and less fare. Right? Let’s begin again, with renewed vigour, and a deep commitment, to prepare ourselves, both physically and spiritually, for the coming Nativity of Christ.

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The Man Who Built Bigger Barns

THE MAN WHO BUILT BIGGER BARNS  11/19/23

Dear Ones,

The sin of avarice is an addiction to the fallen world, an apostacy from God, and death to the soul.

In the Old Testament, Yeshua Ben Sirach wrote:

“Nothing is more wicked than a covetous man. Why is earth and ashes proud? For such a one puts his own soul up for sale; because while he lives, he throws away the innermost depths of his being: compassion and mercy. The physician is troubled by a long-term illness, but a short illness he cures quickly, so also is he that is a King today tomorrow shall be dead. And when a man is dead, he shall only inherit maggots, vermin, and worms. The beginning of pride is when one turns away from God, and his heart departs from his Maker” (Sirach 10: 9-12).

St Theodore the Great Ascetic wrote: “Desire for material wealth must not lodge in the souls of those pursuing a spiritual path. For those (lit a monk) with many possessions are over-laden ships driven by the storm of cares and sinking in the deep waters of distress. Love of riches begets many passions and has aptly been called “the root of all evil” (1 Tim. 6:10).

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The Gadarene Demoniac

THE GADARENE DEMONIAC IN LUKE  10/29/23

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Dear Ones,

Today we heard the familiar story of the exorcism of demons out of the possessed man from Gadara. We are aware that in the Gospels, Jesus frequently casts demons out of people. He also shared this power with His disciples when He sent them out the spread the Good News. We don’t know precisely how many demons were cast out, because often multitudes of demons were expelled on a single day! We don’t even know exactly how many demons were expelled from this poor fellow in this morning’s Gospel. “Legion.” How many make a “legion?” At least 5,000! That’s the traditional number of soldiers in a Roman Legion at the time of Christ. 5,000! Five thousand demons!

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SERMON: MYRRHBEARERS SUNDAY

SERMON: HOLY MYRRHBEARERS, ST IGNATII BRIANCHANINOV

Very early in the morning, at the first sliver of dawn on that first Paschal morning, the Most-Holy Mother of God along with Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Salome, Mary the wife of Cleopas (mother of James), Susanna, Mary of Bethany (sister of Lazarus), and Martha of Bethany (sister of Lazarus), approached the tomb in order to complete the anointing of the body of Jesus with precious fragrant oils and spices. Their number, eight, is significant, because it represents the “eighth day,” eternity, and everlasting life! Today’s Gospel goes on to say, “And they said among themselves, ‘Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb for us?’ But when they got closer, they saw that the stone had already been rolled away – for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.”

Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb for us?” These words are so profound, so mystical, so full of meaning for us that we can’t ignore them! Why? Because it relates to us as much as it relates to those courageous and virtue-filled women. How so? St Ignatius Brianchaninov explains:

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The Prodigal Son

PRODIGAL SON SUNDAY (EPISTLE) 2023

Today is the Sunday of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. You heard Christ’s parable in the Gospel reading. But I want to take some time to look at this morning’s Epistle Reading. Why? Because they’re related!

“All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” (1 Cor. 6:1)

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LOVE & LENDING

HOMILY ON "LENDING & LOVE"

October 2, 2022, Luke 6: 31-36

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Dear Ones,

Today’s Gospel reading is familiar to all of us, isn’t it? But it still confuses many of us, doesn’t it, and the result is our focus can be derailed from the heart of the teaching and be reassigned to the distraction. And what is the distraction? It’s when the Lord says:

“And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But you should love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most-High.

What?? Lend money to your enemies and just expect to never see it again? Does that mean that Jesus expects us to continuously dole out money to our drug-addicted relative, or our prodigal former boss who treated us like dirt, or our antagonistic neighbor who harasses us night and day?? If that were the case it would appear to be, as Spock might say, “Illogical!” And it is. Doesn’t the Bible also talk about good stewardship of what God has given us? It sure does! The parable of the talents is certainly one example. The parable of the Evil Husbandmen is another. So, then, what does the Lord mean?

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