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.…

Homily 232 – Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa October 9, 2016 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. The people of the city of Nain made two observations when the young man, the only son of a widow, was raised…

Homily 231 – Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa October 2, 2016 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. The Gospel passage this morning is one of the shortest we read for a Sunday. Perhaps that means the homily should be…

Homily 228 – Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa September 11, 2016 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. The question the rich young ruler asks this morning is one that I suspect we all ask on a fairly regular basis.…