Category Archives: Sunday Homilies

The Reading is from Mark 15:43-47; 16:1-8

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is Risen!

The Gospel reading today should be familiar to you. The verses from chapter 16:1-8 comprise the reading before the closed doors of the Church on the night of Holy Pascha. According to most Biblical scholars St. Mark’s Gospel originally ended here on a dramatic note. The Angel asks the Myrrh-bearing women to go tell the disciples (and Peter in particular) the news that they would meet the risen Lord in Galilee, but according to this Gospel the women do not do as commanded. Instead they flee from the tomb: “for trembling and astonishment had come upon them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” We must not be too hard on them. Put yourself in their place. How would we respond to such a startling scene? A redactor, or perhaps an editor added what we know are two alternative endings to complete the story. This doesn’t bother us at all. We have known all along that the Gospels are the collected memories of the communities that gathered around the Apostles. They are the product of the Church rather than single individuals. Continue reading →

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 →

~ Matthew 25:31-46
~ “When the Son of Man shall come” Matthew 21:31-46

Dear brethren, today’s gospel reading tells us about the Second Coming of Jesus. When Christ came the first time, He came as a very humble infant to the stable of Bethlehem. The second time He will come in His glory and in His dignity. The first time He came, many people did not notice His arrival and instead of giving Him a throne to sit on they put Him on the cross. Next time He will come sitting on the throne of His glory to judge the living and the dead. Upon His first arrival angels escorted His entrance into the world. Upon His second coming angels will accompany Him again, “And all the angels with Him”. Continue reading →

Matthew 4:12-17

Last week we talked about the power of the Holy Spirit. We also mentioned the power of electricity. Electricity is what gives us light when it is dark. In the natural world, light is like water. It is one of our basic necessities. Without the light of the sun, nothing would grow. We would have no plants and therefore, we would have no food. When it is cloudy all day, we humans may become a little melancholy. When it’s cloudy for several days, we can get depressed. Our bodies need light. Without out it we produce less serotonin, a internal biochemical that soothes us and makes us happy. It is no wonder that primitive people worshiped the sun and the stars that were the main sources of light in ancient times. Continue reading →

St. John of Kronstadt

We are approaching, beloved brethren, the world-saving feast of the birth in the flesh of our Lord God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. For several days before the feast, the holy Church will celebrate this wondrous mystery in the spiritual hymns of her daily services. These hymns remind us of our divine birthright, and the squandering of our sonship through sin; of its restoration through repentance of our common spiritual kinship and of the spirit of love and care for one another. Continue reading →