Category Archives: Readings

Mark 9: 17-31

As Christians, thoughtfully done prayers and fasts can help us realize our impact on the salvation of the world; Jesus has made it clear that believers can achieve anything they want. In these times when the certainties and great world theories have all failed, it just may be time to try the answer provided by Jesus. “Lord, help my unbelief,” the cry of the father in the gospel below, serves as a lesson for us all. Continue reading →

3rd Sunday of Lent, Veneration of the Holy Cross, Mark 8:34 –9:1

When was the last time you took a road trip – a long car ride for several hours? Did you drive straight through? Not likely. Probably you stopped somewhere along the way. A truck stop, a convenience store, a restaurant or an interstate rest stop or rest area are the most likely places. Our own group of families here at St. George have done it many times traveling to and from basketball tournaments. Why did we break up the long trip with stops along the way? Many reasons actually – besides the obvious “going to the bathroom,” perhaps we’re tired and we need some fresh air or coffee to wake us up; maybe we get sore sitting for so long in our automobile and we need to stretch and walk and get the blood flowing to our extremities; if the trip takes us past noon or 6pm, we’ll stop for lunch or dinner. If traveling the interstate, and you exit to a designated rest area, what’s one of the common rituals, even if you have GPS on your phone or navigator? It’s looking at the big map on the wall and finding the spot or location that is labeled “You Are Here.” We do this because we can get the whole picture of where we’ve been, where we are, and where we are going. Continue reading →

2nd Sunday of Lent, St Gregory Palamas, Mark 2:1-12

“And though every day a man lives may rightly be a day of repentance, yet is it in these days more becoming, more appropriate, to confess our sins, to fast, and to give alms to the poor; since in these days you may wash clean the sins of the whole year.” – St. John Chrysostom, “The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers”

If we were not aware already that we have much in common with the paralysed man in today’s gospel reading, the first two weeks of Lent have surely opened our eyes a bit to that truth. The struggle to embrace spiritual disciplines quickly shows us that we typically do not control ourselves very well at all. We find it so hard to turn away from our usual self-centred habits when we seek to give more attention to prayer, fasting, and generosity. We are so weak in our ability to stay focused in opening our hearts to the Lord and guarding them from evil thoughts. We have so little strength to resist our addiction to our stomachs and taste buds, and basically to indulging our desires for pleasure in whatever form we want it. We often feel powerless in our struggle to forgive others and mend broken relationships. Taking even small steps to reorient our lives to God through spiritual disciplines should open our eyes to the paralysis of our souls. Continue reading →