Homily 245 – Thirty-first Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa January 22, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. In his commentary on this passage, Blessed Theophylact notes that this is a rather mundane setting for a miracle. Jesus and the…

Homily 244 – Thirtieth Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa January 15, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. This encounter is fairly well known to us, and the interpretations also. We often hear of the commandment to sell everything, give…

Homily 242 –The Circumcision of Christ, Twenty-eighth Sunday after Pentecost St. John the Theologian Orthodox Church, Rapid City, South Dakota January 1, 2017 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Obviously, our Lord loved the Temple. So much so that as a lad of only…

Homily 240 –Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa December 11, 2016 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Many are called – and many are the excuses. What are we called to? The Gospel tells us we are called to something…

Homily 239 –Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa December 4, 2016 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Sometimes, like today, we read two readings from the Epistle and the Gospel. Those readings are outlined in the typikon, the book that…

Homily 238 –Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa November 27, 2016 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. The ruler of the synagogue was only doing his job. The rules were clear. The sabbath was no time for work. Work was…

Homily 237 –Twentiy-second Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa November 20, 2016 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. One of the definitive messages of the New Testament is found in today’s Gospel reading. That message is that our wealth, our possessions,…

Homily 236 –Twentiy-first Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa November 13, 2016 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. So, a rabbi, a priest, and a minister walk into a bar. That has nothing to do with the homily this morning, I…

Homily 234 –Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa October 30, 2016 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. We’ve talked before about this passage. About how the uncontrollable was controllable by Christ, how the holiness of Christ prompted the people to…

Homily 233 – Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa October 16, 2016 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. We live in a world obsessed with outcomes. Winning – regardless of the methods, regardless of the means – counts. Nothing else.…