Redeeming the Time

The parable of the good Samaritan answers the question who is my neighbor. It also is the most perfect description of the incarnation in the Scriptures if the incarnation resonates in our hearts, there is no need to ask who our neighbor is.

We must encounter *everything* in our lives spiritually, or else we may miss a life-changing moment. We discuss two moments in the life of the people of the Gadarenes and the Monk-Martyr James (+Nov 1,1520). Their reaction to them was completely different. The people of the Gadarenes had no idea that they turned down an opportunity to have the light live within them. After a chance conversation, which he thought about spiritually, James became a vessel of light.

St. Paul teaches us how to think about ourselves, which completely determines how we live. The pastoral letter referred to in the homily is at orthodox.net/announcements/pastoral-letter_2020-11-08.html

What made the saints who they are? It was the true Christian faith that they kept, and held on to, and had the power to transform their lives. Not so the “various and strange doctrines” that St. Paul warns us about — the corrupting “gospel” of the world, so prevalent in modern culture. Know your faith so you can be on guard against the lies of this world.

Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain because He arranged everything toward this purpose. We do not know her name or the name of her son. We discuss this and bring in the book called The Bronze Bow which also depicts Jesus visiting an unknown person and completely changing their life. Although the book is fiction, it depicts something is happening every day for everyone. We are significant! If we understand this in the Christian way, not the way of the world, we will live with patience, without confusion, in a victorious and transcendent way.

Everyone knows the “Golden rule,” but very few understand the exact why we should follow it. As soon as the Lord gives this instruction, He explains the reason why. If we understand this reason is that we are children of the Highest and therefore it is absolutely and exclusively our nature to be merciful as our Father is merciful, we are not far from the kingdom of God, in fact, so very close that we are entering it, on the very threshold.

What is the key to having a fulfilled, happy life? Most people in the world don’t know. Most Christians in the world don’t know. St. Paul knows, and he explains it this portion of his epistle to the Corinthians. When we act according to who we are, we are happy. Therefore, person must know himself, and he will know himself if God abides in him. God made man in a specific way for a specific purpose. St. Paul talks about every man living according as the purpose of in his heart, and that is indeed the reason why we sow bountifully and reap bountifully, and abound in every good work. An exegesis of this passage from Corinthians makes it very clear why we do what we do and how beautiful it is.

On the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross the Gospel includes the Lord's invitation, ”Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” In order to make a voluntary decision to deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow Jesus, we must know enough about life, and what is good and what is bad in order to make an informed decision. This knowledge must include understanding what is to save one’s life and what it is to lose it, and the answers to the questions: ”For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Near the end of the sermon, there was the patter of little feet and the distraction of the children caused a very important conversation about the importance of children in the church, and the admonition that all Christians in the church must consider all children to be their responsibility and their joy, and the absolute necessity of praying for one another.

On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we read the words of Jesus Christ, which predicted His death on the cross: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” We talk about how Jesus on the cross draws all men to Himself. The answer is very simple, and is the open “secret” to victorious living and understanding the power of the cross and the way of the cross.

The celebration of the Nativity of the Theotokos is just before the Exaltation of the Cross, and these two feasts at the beginning of the liturgical year are two different kinds of beginnings. We also explain the Troparion and the Kontakion for the feast, why we say “Most Holy Theotokos save us," why we venerate the Theotokos so highly, and that we always think of the Theotokos in the context of her great ministry to humankind, being the birthgiver of God, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

St. Paul tells us that Christians have been “given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” What is the meaning of this “earnest.” how to we obtain it, and how do we keep it? The parable of the wedding feast, read also today, teaches us.

The rich young ruler called Jesus Christ good, but he did not know what “good” is. Christians must know who is good and why we should try to do good things. There is a simple reason, misunderstood by most. We also discussed other words that are misunderstood in today’s society, such as suffering and regarding things that are possible or impossible.

We tell the story of the Dormition of the Theotokos, with emphasis on why it is the last Great Feast of the Church year, and discuss very important dogmas regarding her conception, the Annunciation, her giving birth to Christ, and her Dormition.

We look more deeply at the inner spiritual meaning of the Parable of the Unmerciful Debtor. Everyone knows the story, and the stern admonition at the end of it; the Lord tells us that if we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven. The reason why that admonition is given is because if we receive the love of God in our hearts, we will love and we will forgive. This is obvious and natural. The absence of love and forgiveness of others is a sign that the heart has not received the love of God experienced Him. This is not a matter of: we *must* do certain works such as love and forgive others; it is a matter of our hearts being changed by the love of God so that we naturally will love and forgive. Whether or not the heart is changing is the greatest litmus test for whether or not a person is really a Christian. This is not works based religion. This is the way of life.

In the Gospel today, the disciples could not cast out a demon and asked why. The Lord told them that it was because of their unbelief. Unbelief is nothing, it will die and not endure. Let us learn how to believe, by looking at the luminous example of the Holy Maccabean Martyrs, celebrated on the first day of the Dormition fast. Their martyrdom was possible because they knew who they were. In our age, there is a crisis of identity. Let us explore how to find out who we are (or should be) by examine the witness of the Holy Maccabean Martyrs.

We all need encouragement, and we also need to be reminded of what our duties are. St. Paul’s epistle today accomplishes both of these tasks. We explore the deep spiritual meaning and comfort of the apostle’s words: “For we are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building” and “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”

Today we celebrated the Prophet Elias and the new martyr Lidia and read about the feeding of the 5000, and also how the ministry of Elias and Elisha was sometimes selective to only one person. The Christian never complains that his life is not fair. A synthesis of all these things should teach us how to obtain this high and lofty virtue.

The healing of the two blind men, and of the man struck dumb by a demon, combined with teaching of the Apostle Paul about the strong bearing the infirmities of the weak all teaches how to live with faith in a practical and a spiritual way.

The healing of the paralytic is a true story, however it can also be thought of as a parable that reveals the purpose of our life and how to achieve it. There were three healings in the story, one from sin and another from paralysis, and another that enables us to obtain our purpose, which is much deeper and beautiful than just fighting sin. In this homily, we read a letter from a prisoner which illustrates the great beauty, our purpose. Fr. Seraphim ends with an addendum, to clarify some of his comments.

On the feast day of St. Peter and Paul, a short exposition of two of the readings from Vespers from the epistles of St. Peter. He talks about a lively hope, and he also talks about bearing persecution and bearing wrongs. We are in a day when life is changing rapidly and there is much uncertainty. How are we to have a "lively hope"? The apostle teaches us.

On the 4th Sunday after Pentecost, we explain the meaning of the words of St Paul: “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” These words define the only problem of human life, the solution, and the promise. Furthermore, the words of the centurion, whose servant was sick tell us the way to obtain this freedom, in which we are no longer compelled to sin, and can easily be righteous. It is from experience and activity, with the grace of God helping us.

In this Third Sunday after Pentecost when we also celebrate the New Martyrs of the Turkish yoke, the Gospels, although they are from Matthew and Luke, are very much connected. We describe our greatest problem, that which brings us the most dissatisfaction and unhappiness in the world and how these Gospels describe how we can have a heart that is settled, always at peace.

This Sunday we are celebrating All Saints of Russia as we always do on the second Sunday after Pentecost. The end of the troparion says: “By their prayers keep the Church and the world in profound peace.“ Russia and the world are not peaceful and never have been. What is this peace that we are asking for? It is the same peace that it is in the heart of every saint. We look at the first two Beatitudes (poverty of spirit and mourning) to see how to achieve this peace in the midst of the world that is ever becoming less peaceful.

Why do we celebrate all of the saints the Sunday after Pentecost? It is because the gift of the Holy Spirit makes everyone capable of becoming saint. There is only one thing that can keep us from becoming saint. Let us learn the lay aside every weight of sin, even if only a little bit at a time and we will become saints.

Because of the Holy Spirit, we are able to put on Christ and after baptism begin the process become perfected human being in the likeness of God. This is the primary reason for celebrating the giving of the Holy Spirit to Christians. Until that time, how do we live spiritually in such times as pandemics and civil unrest, protests, anger and violence which have occurred after the death of George Floyd? The Christian answer is not political.

Homily on the Gospel for the 6th Saturday of Pascha, in which the Gospel perfectly describes the fruits of baptism. Our baptism gives us a great gift - the ability to find the truth, to live according to the truth, to expunge all that is not the truth from our life, and to be the truth. Do not be afraid of learning the truth about yourself. It is part of your healing, and your eventual perfection. This homily was given during the liturgy before the baptism of James, Agapia, and Joanna.

On the 5th Saturday of Pascha and the day of the baptism of Panteleimon, a discourse about the Gospel read on the feast day of the Apostle Simon the zealot, when the Lord Jesus Christ performed His first sign, and the Gospel of the day (“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”). Because of baptism we can know by experience the voice of Jesus, and become the good wine. The whole purpose of baptism it so that we are enabled to become perfected. Do not let any part of your life be a dark recess where Christ is not, and you will know him completely and be perfected and you will be very good wine in the end.

The Samaritan woman, whom Jesus Christ met at the well, became equal to the apostles Photini (Svetlana, Claire, Clara). She was not living a righteous life, but that is not the most important prerequisite for finding salvation. The most necessary thing is to have a heart that is able to open to God, with holy desire, honesty, humility, and zeal. St. Photini demonstrates to us principal personality traits that are necessary for salvation. Her conversation with Christ and her actions thereafter are like a textbook teaching us how we should live.

This is what we are celebrating during the time of Pascha: “As One Who loveth Mankind, desiring to save from deception all whom Thou hast created, Thou didst endure to be nailed to the Cross, O Saviour, that by Thy flesh Thou mightest restore Thine image, which was buried under the passions; and having cast down hades, Thou didst arise, and the dead with Thee” (from the Canon of the Myrrh-Bearers, Ode VII). Understanding this hymn means applying it to everything in our daily life. Acting on this knowledge, with is resonating in the soul, will give us energy to overcome everything.

On the feast day of St. George, two stories that show that the saints intercede for us not only in a spiritual way it actually physically by appearing in carrying out different works. A story about the intervention of St. George to allow services in his church in Russia during the Khrushchev era. We also talk about the intervention of St. Nicholas who saved a man from execution by literally appearing to the leader of the execution brigade during the communist era in Russia. The Story about St George was read from https://orthodoxgladness.blogspot.com/2020/05/orthodox-parables-and-stories-today-you.html, and the St Nicholas incident is at: http://www.orthodox.net/saints/miracle-of-saint-nicholas-kiev-1920s.html.

In the world, people pursue happiness, mistaking it for joy. Joy is actually a condition in the human heart, when we are free of our passions. We can not have joy if we pursue only joy. We must pursue obedience, and struggle, and endure sadness in this life. The example of the myrrh-bearing women, the Apostle Thomas, the Apostle Peter, and many others that we read about both before and after the time of Pascha teach us this fundamental truth. Mark 15:43-16:8

On Bright Tuesday, we read the account in St. Luke of the road to Emmaus, when he and fellow disciple Cleopas encountered Jesus on the road and did not recognize Him but their hearts burned within them, and then they recognized Him in a moment of perfect clarity when they sat down to eat and He broke bread. We are on this road. This is how man encounters God. It would be good for us to learn from their experience.

In the Gospel on Bright Monday, St. John the Baptist described in a mystical way the incarnation when he said: “He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's thong I am not worthy to unloose.” These words describe the intimate love God has for man and we contrast them with the relatively recent heresy, somewhat more than 500 years old, in which God is described as a God of anger and judgment, and that the Son died on the cross to appease the anger of the Father. This Gospel refutes this heresy, which is completely foreign to Orthodox Christianity.

On the night of Pascha the Gospel reading is not about the resurrection but rather is from the beginning of the Gospel of John. Fr. Seraphim Holland explains why.

Homily before the tomb after reading of the Gospel which proclaimed the resurrection on Holy Saturday. All is well. These were the words of the Shunamite woman AFTER she had lost her son. We all have problems, sadness, regret, but if we are Christians who live according to the resurrection, all is well.

Many people are saying that it is a great deprivation to have the churches close to the public and therefore not be able to take holy Communion regularly, and others are citing the life of St. Mary of Egypt and her 47 year fast from holy Communion. They say that she did fine, and for the most part they are missing the point. We examine three paramount virtues of St. Mary’s life that are much more important than the historical fact that she did not have fully Communion for many years. Without these virtues, it doesn’t matter if you have only communion or not.

The Gospel about the woman who was a "sinner" is read for St. Mary of Egypt. The Lord said that this woman was forgiven because she loved much. We talk about this kind of love, which St. Mary showed so abundantly. This love compels a person to act in extravagant and wondrous ways. If we are not compelled to act, we don’t really love, and we are not forgiven. We cite many examples in the Scripture of this, and how this kind of love must be present during the time of calamities, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Great Lenten daily services of Typica and the Third Hour contain the Kontakion of the Feast of the Transfiguration, and the Troparion of the Feast of Pentecost, respectively. Why is this? It is for glorious reason. It is apropos that we think of these feasts during Great Lent because great Lent is preparing us for the things promised in them. We especially speak of the theological and practical, day-to-day significance of the Transfiguration, and what the reaction of a Christian to the novel coronavirus should be.

On the First Sunday of Great Lent we celebrate the restoration of the Holy icons, and also call this day the "Triumph of Orthodoxy." We discuss the most important parts of the encounter of Nathaniel with Jesus Christ, and the Kontakion for the feast, which perfectly describes what Philip told Nathaniel to "Come and see," why this is the "Triumph of Orthodoxy," and why this triumph is so closely associated with icons. "The uncircumscribable Word of the Father was circumscribed when he took flesh of thee, O Theotokos; and when He had restored the defiled image to its ancient state, He suffused it with divine beauty. As for us, confession our salvation, we record it in deed and word." Kontakion, Tone 6

A proposal to the parish of St Nicholas that during Great Lent, 2020, we agree to pray for everyone who signs an op-in list every day with a prostration, and an explanation of “how it works” and why we should do it. Perhaps another will be convinced and start this good work in their parish!

The entire theme of Great Lent that we are attempting to return from our self-imposed exile is why the parable of the Prodigal Son is mentioned in our services throughout Great Lent. The last Sunday before Great Lent is called by many names, but the best is the “Expulsion of Adam from Paradise.” The fall of humanity began our exile. This was not imposed by God, but a natural result of passion and sin. During Great Lent we are trying to come back home, speak about this process the things we can do context up parable of the prodigal son. In the end of the homily, we also discuss something that we as parish can do, and any other parish can do, to help return from exile: Agree to pray with a prostration daily for each other, making a prostration for everyone with their name on an opt-in list. The beginning of our return from exile is that we acquire a sound mind, which is only possible if we pray and we love.

On the Sunday of the Last Judgment, we read about the last judgment from the Gospel of St. Matthew. This gospel clearly teaches that the sole criterion by which we are judged is whether or not we love. This is the task of the Christian who wants to become a true human being, to learn to love as God loves. We explore formal and informal ways to learn to love and how Great Lent should assist us greatly on opening a small crack in our heart, so that God would come in and teach us how to love, and we would be changed.

Fr. Seraphim Holland talks about how the Prodigal Son came to himself and took action to go back to the Father.

The most beautiful message of the parable of the Publican and Pharisee is that the publican went back to his house justified. We examine what this word means. The world doesn’t understand this word. The Christian does, because he knows two things. He knows repentance and compunction, which he couples with action, and he also feels the hand of God telling them it’s going to be okay. We discuss these two things that the publican did, and also compare this parable with the former publican Zacchaeus, who made wonderful promises on the day His Lord received his repentance, but then tomorrow came. Since it is also the Sunday of the commemoration of the New Martyrs of Russia, we discuss very briefly events in the lives of three of these martyrs, and how they illustrate something that we must do along with asking the Lord for mercy if we are to really know that everything is going to be all right.

Fr. Seraphim Holland shares about why Christ was baptized, what happens to us when we are baptized. We also talk about the passage through the Red Sea, which points to baptism. Two kinds of people "passed" through the waters, but only one group was delivered. It is the same with Christian baptism, which has power, and purpose. If we do not live according to its purpose, we will not be delivered. If the words of the Apostle Titus, read today, which we discuss in detail, resonate in our hearts, nothing will keep us from our purpose and our deliverance.

A discussion of what we should do AFTER a feast (this is much more important than what we do on the feast itself!), with a recounting of the historical events of Nativity and the visit of the wise men, and the virtues of Joseph the betrothed; James, the brother of the Lord; and David, the Prophet and King.

Today we’re hearing Fr. Nicholas Park’s presentation at the recent St. Herman Youth Conference, held in Cincinnati, Ohio.

When Jesus healed the 10 lepers of their physical leprosy, only one, a Samaritan, returned to thank and worship Him. There is an important lesson here. Complete healing is always a process, and depends on us. What must we do to be completely healed?

Look to the services of the church to understand theology and the feasts of the church year. Many celebrate the Nativity of the Savior, but do not know exactly what its purpose was, and what it accomplished. We look at two hymns from the pre-festal services, which describe not only what happened, but also challenges us to tell (by our actions) what we are going to do about it. “Once Mary, being with child by a seedless conception, was registered in Bethlehem with the aged Joseph as being of the seed of David. The time came for the birth, and there was no room in the inn; but the cave proved a delightful palace for the Queen. Christ is born to raise the image that fell of old. (Troparion of the Eve of the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, in Tone IV) “What shall we offer Thee, O Christ, for Thou hast appeared on earth as a man for our sake? For every creature made by Thee doth offer Thee thanksgiving: the angels, a hymn; the heavens, a star; the Magi, gifts; the shepherds, their wonder; the earth, a cave; the wilderness, a manger; and we, the Virgin Mother. O God Who wast before the ages, have mercy on us.“ (The Vesperal Liturgy For The Nativity Of The Lord, Lord I have Cried, T2)

The Apostles did not understand the Lord when He told them, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod," and thought it was because they had not taken any bread with them. He reminded them of the two mass feedings He has conducted, and asked them why they did not understand. That is an excellent question for us also. Why do we not understand? Why do we make bad choices? Why is their ignorance? The answer is simple: we do not love enough. We reference a saying by Mother Gavrila, which sets our bar: " He who truly loves does not feel tired."

On the Sunday before Nativity, we read in the epistle of Hebrews about the patience and obedience of the Old Testament fathers. Some call this passage the hall of faith. It could just as well be called the hall of patience. Without patience, and its sister and mother, obedience, there is no faith. Because of the incarnation, we can work out our salvation with patience.