Homily 393 – 32nd after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa January 26, 2020 Epistle: (280-ctr) 1 Timothy 1:15-17 Gospel: (62) Matthew 15:21-28 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Persistence is a virtue that doesn’t get mentioned a lot in the Gospels. We…

Homily 392 – 31st after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa January 19, 2020 Epistle: (280-ctr) 1 Timothy 1:15-17 Gospel: (93) Luke 18:35-43 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. What do we want Jesus to do? It is a fascinating question. On the…

Homily 391 – 30th after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa January 12, 2020 Epistle: (224-ctr) – Ephesians 4:7-13 Gospel: (10) – Matthew 4:12-17 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. St. Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians mentions something very important, that…

Homily 390 – 29th after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa January 5, 2020 Epistle: (298) 2 Timothy 4:5-8 Gospel: (1) Mark 1:1-8 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. The Forerunner preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. The Orthodox…

Homily 389 – Circumcision/St. Basil Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa January 1, 2020 Epistle: (254) Colossians 2:8-12 (Circumcision) and (318) Hebrews 7:26-8:2 (St Basil) Gospel: Luke 2:20-21, 40-52 (Circumcision, p 323) and (24) Luke 6:17-23 (St Basil, p 118) In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,…

Homily 388 – 28th after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa December 29, 2019 Epistle: (200) Galatians 1:11-19 (Sunday after the Nativity) Gospel: (4) Matthew 2:13-23 (Sunday after the Nativity) In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. In the middle of the Christmas season…

Homily 387 – 27th after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa December 22, 2019 Epistle: (328) Hebrews 11:9-10, 17-23, 32-40 Gospel: (1) Matthew 1:1-25 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. The Sunday of the Genealogy of Christ is always challenging for clergy and…

Homily 386 – 26th after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa December 15, 2019 Epistle: (257) – Colossians 3:4-11 Gospel: (76) – Luke 14:16-24 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. We live in a transactional society. Around this time of year, there are…

Homily 385 – 25th after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa December 8, 2019 Epistle: (224) Ephesians 4:1-6 Gospel: (85) Luke 17:12-19 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. We’ve just come through our annual Thanksgiving holiday. Most of us, I think quite sincerely,…

Homily 384 – 24th after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa December 1, 2019 Epistle: (221) Ephesians 2:14-22 Gospel: (91) Luke 18:18-27 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. The lesson of the rich ruler offers a sobering reminder that our belongings tend to…