Homily 264 – Sixth Sunday of Pascha (Man Born Blind) Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa May 21, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Christ is Risen! The Gospel goes to great lengths to tell us that the blind man, healed by our…

Homily 262 – Fifth Sunday of Pascha (Samaritan Woman) Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa May 14, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Christ is Risen! I’ve always been overwhelmed by this Gospel passage. There are so many things going on. Christ is…

Homily 262 – Fourth Sunday of Pascha (Paralytic) Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa May 7, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Christ is Risen! How long does it take before we give up? What is our patience tolerance level? Could we wait…

Homily 261 – Third Sunday of Pascha (Myrrhbearers) Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa April 30, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Christ is Risen! The Myrrhbearing Women had been with Christ virtually since the beginning of his ministry. The Mother of St.…

Homily 260 – Second Sunday of Pascha (Thomas Sunday) Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa April 23, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Christ is Risen! Sometimes Pascha brings a huge relief. We hear the sermon of St. John Chrysostom, extolling the triumph…

Homily 259 – Palm Sunday Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa April 9, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Palm Sunday, the Sunday called “The Triumphal Entry of our Lord into Jerusalem” can be baffling without a bit of context. The triumphal entry…

Homily 258 – Fifth Sunday of Great Lent – St. Mary of Egypt Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa April 2, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. On this Sunday we remember St. Mary of Egypt. The tradition of the Church is that…

Homily 256 – Annunciation Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa March 25, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. On this Sunday we remember St. John of the Ladder – but rarely, the remembrance of him is overshadowed by the Feast of the Annunciation.…

Homily 256 – Annunciation Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa March 25, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. We hear the story of the Theotokos and her encounter with the archangel Gabriel, and we hear the famous words. Behold, the handmaid of the…

Homily 255 – Third Sunday of Great Lent (Exaltation of the Cross) Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa March 19, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. What we hear today, what we honor and venerate today, began several weeks ago, in the last…