Category Archives: Sunday Homilies

November 23, 2020 · 8:41 am

The limits of being rich – On the parable in Luke 12: 16-21

 

Many believers wish that God would at some point in their lives speak to them – if for no other reason than to know for sure that He existed.

In Luke 12:16-21, we are presented the story of a man to whom God spoke directly. Unfortunately, God’s words to the man were “You fool!” It certainly would be a rude awakening for any of us believers if when God finally spoke to us, first words were to call us a fool! We might then wish that God had never spoken to us, for such a judgment by God would not be a welcomed word by us.

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November 8, 2020 · 9:25 am

Healing of Jairus’ Daughter

7th Sunday of Luke, Luke 8: 41-56

In today’s Holy Gospel we hear of the healing of Jairus’ daughter… and not just a healing from sickness, but a much more radical healing… her resurrection from the dead. Continue reading →

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November 1, 2020 · 8:13 am

Learning to see and Serve Christ in Poor Lazarus

5th Sunday of Luke, Luke 16: 19-31

It is tempting to think that those who seem to have it all in this world are God’s favourites whose success is a reward for holiness and virtue. It is appealing to think that God’s kingdom is simply an eternal manifestation of the arrangements of this world, of life as we know it, where the powerful usually lord it over the weak and the rich almost always seem to get their way.

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October 25, 2020 · 10:30 am

The Gadarinene Demoniac – 6th Sunday of St Luke

Luke 8:26-39

As our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ visited the villages of Judaea, he met a man from the village of Gergeseen. Now, this particularly man few years ago became possessed by many demons, who made him suffer in many ways. The possessed man was in a wild condition, the result of the demons’ influence. He was ripping off his clothes and was living in the tombs of the dead. Although his relatives were tying him up with chains, in order that he will be unable to harm any other human being, he was breaking his chains and was led by the demons into the wilderness. Continue reading →

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October 18, 2020 · 9:03 am

St Luke the Evangelist

Commemorated October 18

The awesome figure of St Luke looms larger and larger out of both the New Testament and the pages of documented human history so that 2000 years after his death his image has no less been diminished by time than that of the Nazarene, Jesus Christ, whom he so nobly served. His fellow apostle St Paul called him the ‘glorious physician’, but that was only one of the many talents which this magnificent man applied in a service to God. Continue reading →

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October 11, 2020 · 8:44 am

The Parable of the Sower

Sunday of the 7th Ecumenical Council, Luke 8: 5-15

There is a beautiful story I read this week about a German scholar who once toured many monasteries throughout Asia Minor before eventually coming to the Monastery of the Holy Virgin of Soumela. As he was walking through the monastery, he noticed the beautiful and vibrant gardens of flowers that were spread out in front of the monastic cells. Anyone who has been to a monastery knows that this is a rather common sight – monasteries are truly “escapes into paradise” for us. They offer us the ability to run away from this darkened world and back into a “Garden of Eden.” Continue reading →

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October 4, 2020 · 10:33 am

“The Golden Rule” – What does this Rule say?

Second Sunday of Luke, Luke 6: 31-36

Our Lord Jesus Christ has revealed many wonderful truths, which until then were unknown. Many of these concern our relations with other people, either inside our homes or outside in society. Perhaps there is difficulty in remembering everything one has to observe in dealing with other people. For this reason, Jesus, as a wise Teacher, has today given us a Life Rule, named for its great value, “The Golden Rule.” What does this Rule say?

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September 27, 2020 · 10:54 am

What Catching Fish and Beholding the Divine Glory Have in Common

First Sunday of Luke, Luke 5: 1-11

One of the great blessings of children is to have a sense of wonder. Those of us who have been around the block a few times, however, easily fall into the mindset of taking things for granted, of thinking that we have seen it all before, and allowing nothing to shake us up. Consequently, we often shut our eyes to the great blessings all around us and even to the presence of the Lord in our lives. Continue reading →

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September 20, 2020 · 8:21 am

Sunday After Holy Cross, Mark 8:34 – 9:1

“He said unto them, ‘Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

The Sermon of Sermons… is the Sermon for the Cross, presented to us today by our Mother Church, on the Sunday after the elevation of the Honourable Cross. And we are all invited to offer to the Cross our hearts, instead of flowers and basils. The Church calls us to raise ourselves from the earth and our ordinary life, to gaze upon the brightness emanating from Christ and His Cross. The most central sign in the gospel is the sermon of the Cross of Christ: God on the Cross – incomprehensible and never understandable. Only men whose hearts pound with sincere feeling are capable of comprehending the meaning. Only those who love, only they can understand the Sacrifice of the Son of God. The rest will remain indifferent. But again there is no real measure by which we can compare the love between men and the love of God towards man.

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September 13, 2020 · 9:45 am

THE ELEVATION OF THE PRECIOUS AND LIFE-CREATING CROSS OF THE LORD

Sunday before Holy Cross, John 3: 13-17

For a long time the Cross served as the instrument of a shameful punishment, exciting fear and disgust among people, but from the time that Christ sanctified it by His Blood, it became an object of pious respect and veneration for all Christians. However, this did not become universal at once. The very life-bearing Tree on which the Lord was crucified laid in the ground for many years until it was revealed to the world in a miraculous manner.

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