Homily 286 – 23rd Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa November 12, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. The Gospel asks a question – who is my neighbor. The Law, that is the requirements to be Jewish and part of…

Homily 285 – 22nd Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa November 5, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. We think we know everything. Modern society answers all our questions – life, death, growth, and everything surrounding. We define when life…

Homily 284 – 21st Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa October 29, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. We hear this morning of the Gadarene demoniac, delivered from his possession by Christ in a very visible manner. I venture to…

Homily 283 – 20th Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa October 22, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Blessed Theophylact was a Byzantine biblical commentator in the late 11th century. He was the Bishop of Ochrid, and Metropolitan of the…

Homily 282 – 19th Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa October 15, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Tilling soil is a violent act. Many of you know this better than I do, from study, and from life experience. The…

Homily 281 – 17th Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa October 1, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. What does it mean to be a sanctuary of the Living God? If what St. Paul writes is true, which it is,…

Homily 279 – 15th Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa September 17, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. St. Paul in his letters to the Corinthians and to the Romans offers us a strange encouragement. He tells them, and us,…

Homily 279 – 15th Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa September 17, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. The central practice of the Christian faith is this idea of denying ourselves, picking up our Cross, and following Christ. Our society…

Homily 278 – 14th Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa September 10, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. We hear of Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness. That account is from the Old Testament, from the Fourth Book…

Homily 277 – 13th Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa September 3, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. In the Parable Jesus tells this morning we hear the entire history of the people of Israel in one story. God planted…