St Peters Orthodox Church

In the Gospel of St. John 16, Jesus prepares His disciples for His Ascension, saying that He is returning to the Father. Knowing that they had sorrow over what He had said, our Lord encourages them by telling them that it is to their advantage that He leave them. For if He leaves them, He will send the Paraclete to them. That word Paraclete describing the Holy Spirit means comforter, helper, and advocate. It is the Holy Spirit that takes what is Christ's and gives it to us. God the Holy Spirit is such a source of illumination that shines into our souls. That illumination transforms our whole being giving us great comfort and bringing rest to our soul.

In John 16, our Lord Jesus Christ tells prepares His disciples for the time He will be betrayed and taken from them. He gives them hope of the joy that they will experience when they see Him again. At the same time, He is speaking to them and us of the last days between His Ascension and His second and final coming; we will call it today the age of the in between. What encouragement can we draw from our Lord's words in this passage? Our Lord teaches us in this reading how we should live in and from Him in the midst of the sufferings of this age.

The second Sunday after Pascha is the Sunday of Christ the Good Shepherd. In the Gospel of St. John 10, Jesus says "I am the Good Shepherd. I am the door of my sheep. I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father." Today we look at two aspects of the Nature of Christ our Good Shepherd. His Nature is to bind us up and heal us through Himself within Himself. And His Nature is that of a gatherer Who gives life as opposed to our enemy whose nature is to scatter and destroy.

Today on the first day after Pascha, we have the testimony of the faith of Thomas. Thomas, one who would be an Apostle and later a Saint, is given too often a bad wrap in some circles being referred to as "doubting Thomas." If Thomas was "doubting Thomas" then all of Christ's disciples were "doubting disciples." And we, His adopted sons and daughters must be labeled the same. The Christian journey is one from unbelief to belief every day. The key to our faith maturing and our believing is by placing ourselves in a position of encountering our risen Savior daily. For it is only the very real experience of the Living Christ that grants faith and heals the human soul.

As is tradition each year in the Orthodox Church, on this day we hear the blessed Paschal homily once preached by St. John Chrysostom.

As the Paschal Candle is first lit from the first fire struck of the Resurrection, we pray "May the light of Christ gloriously rising scatter the darkness of heart and mind." When Christ our God willingly gave up His ghost on the Cross, He immediately descended into the dark prison of Hades where every soul from Adam and Eve to that moment were held captive. He broke the gates of Hades open and bound Satan, crushing the serpent's head as prophesied in Genesis. There He revealed Himself in all of His glory and preached to all of those souls. The light dispelled the darkness. When light meets darkness, light always wins. If the light of Christ our God did this in Hades, do we not see what He can do in each and every soul He created? His light has descended into our Hades so that we may see Him and ascend with Him as well.

The death of our Lord Jesus Christ preceded His Resurrection. As Christ our God said in the Gospels, "Only when a grain of wheat falls in the ground and dies does it produce many seeds." Our fallenness must die with Christ and by His grace upon the Cross we have been commanded to take up as we live a life to follow Jesus. Only through that life of blessed repentance do we experience the wonder of the healing power of Christ that comes through the Cross granting us the experience of the Resurrection.

At the Mass of Maundy Thursday, two critical events done very intentionally by Christ our God are set before us to behold: Jesus' institution of the Eucharist with His disciples and His washing of their feet. In both, Jesus reveals to us His very Nature; a nature that by His grace we can now ascend to become. Tonight we gaze upon the love of God that we will eternally grow to comprehend, that we might be transformed into what we see in Christ our God.

The Orthodox Faith has a word describing the Incarnation that saves us all. That word is kenosis which is the self-lowering of the Word of God, by His own will entirely, that we may be raised up again. As we once again set the eyes of our soul to see Him in His Passion tonight, we consider many of the wondrous revelations from the prayer service of the Stations of the Cross showing forth just how far Christ our God lowered himself so that we might Ascend.

In the Orthodox Faith, we are taught that when we see the Cross we see our Deliverer and the instrument of our deliverance. Yes, our Lord suffered and was in agony upon the Cross. His suffering shows forth His unfathomable love for every soul. But, as St. Paul says, the Christian is to glory in the Cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is the wood of Aaron's rod that budded with life. It is the tree that made the bitter and harmful waters of Marah sweet and life-giving. As the Introit of this Mass reveals, "But as for us, it behoveth us to glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is our salvation, our life, and resurrection; by whom we were saved and obtained our freedom."

On Palm Sunday, God's people rejoiced in the coming of their Savior with palm branches and crying out, "Hosanna," which means Lord save! These same people days later would reject Him shouting "Crucify Him!" While we might see them with great disdain, we should consider the ways in our lives we tend to reject Christ without even knowing we are doing so; the ways we separate ourselves from Him and turn away from Him. Today these ways are examined along with helpful guidance as to how we might grow out of these patterns in our lives.

A sinful woman comes to Christ our God in Bethany. She breaks open an alabaster jar of precious oil and anoints Jesus with the oil and her tears. Jesus says that wherever this Gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will be told as a memorial to her." The Church Fathers teach us that one of the interpretations we must know is that the very valuable alabaster jar of oil represents the soul. True repentance is the broken soul poured out upon Jesus in blessed repentance. In return, Christ our God pours out the oil of His mercy and healing restoring the condition of the souls of mankind.

Today is Passion Sunday. As our Lord Jesus Christ declares Himself publically to be the "I AM" in the Gospel of St. John 8, they took up stones to kill Him for His blasphemy. We are told that Jesus hid from them and passed right through the crowd without them seeing Him. Jesus was hidden from those who had set themselves by their own will against Him, not wanting to see Him for His true identity. But to those who came to Jesus with an open soul knowing their need and crying out for mercy, to them He revealed Himself and healed them. The damage done to the human person from hiding from God goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Today we explore the great downfall of hiding from Christ our God compared to the great blessing of presenting ourselves in all of our brokenness to Him.

Today's Mass is entitled and bears the theme, "Rejoice!" Here in the middle of Lent we are reminded that the life of the Christian is a life of rejoicing in the good works of Christ our God. With this theme, today we consider the role we play in one another's lives by lifting one another up as we share all that God is doing for us. The community of faith, most certainly, shares struggles and bears one another up during times of hardship. But it must equally strengthen each member of the Body of Christ by sharing the wonders God is doing in our lives out of His great love for us.

Every year on March 25th, the Orthodox Church all around the world celebrates the Feast of the Annunciation, for in nine months we will all join together celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ conceived this day. Today we focus on three aspects of the wonder of the Annunciation. We see an Archangel in awe and wonder at the Blessed Virgin Mary. We behold our recreation in the waters of Baptism prefigured this day. And, we see the salvation that occurs as the will of a human is joined to the divine will of God.

In Luke 11, after Jesus casts out a demon that had rendered a man mute, He taught "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils." Jesus was speaking of Satan being the strong man. Then our Lord speaks of Himself as the stronger man that breaks in and steals what the strong man had. From the Fall of mankind to the Incarnation, Satan had been robbing God of what belonged to Him; all of us. But when Jesus came, He rendered the strong man powerless and robbed the robber of what rightfully belonged to God from the beginning. He continues to do this in the soul of everyone who welcomes Christ there. And He let's us be joined to Him and participate in His robbing the robber.

In Lent, as we fast from food we are to also fast with the assistance of God's grace from the sin that so easily entangles us. St. Paul communicates in 1 Thessalonians 4 that the will of God is our sanctification. His paramount will for each of us is that we are transformed, becoming holy as He is holy. As we seek to fast from our sin, how do we approach moments of temptation by Satan and the demonic? Why do we so easily fall when Satan has been robbed of his power and we have been endued with power from on high? Today we reflect upon these matters.

We consider two teachings from the Rule of St. Benedict today, on the first Sunday of Lent. First, "All of our life should be a continual Lent." Secondly, "Practice now the virtues that will serve thee for all eternity." In Lent we strive to simplify our lives and get back to the basics. So many distractions have limited the greatest experience of fellowship we are offered with the Lord our God. And, so, in Lent we allow God to reorder our lives so that our souls may be reordered toward our Savior. We do this so that, after Lent, our lives will continue to ascend out of our disorders and into the blessed order of God that He has truly created us to enjoy.

Today we begin the 40-day fast of Great Lent. But what is the fullness of the fasting that our Lord has prescribed for us. Is it just to limit our food intake and abstain from types of foods? Today we look to the repentance of the people of Nineveh as they put on sackcloth and ashes. But these physical actions were accompanied by turning away from their wicked ways and turning to God. This is true repentance. And the result is that they were spared what they truly deserved and given what they could never earn; the mercy of God. The fullness of Christian fasting is the same. We fast from food, yes. But at the same time we turn from our fallen ways and put on Christ to be about His good works of righteousness. And in that fullness of the fast, He grants His Divine mercy and heals the souls of HIs beloved.

Today's Gospel reading from St. Luke 18 shares the testimony of Christ our God healing the blind man, Bartimaeus, near Jericho. As our Lord approaches Jericho, Bartimaeus cries out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Some in the crowd tried to quiet him, so he cried out even louder, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Bartimaeus would not let this moment go wasted where the only One who could heal was passing by. We must learn something so important from Bartimaeus. The prayer he prayed was is known as the Jesus Prayer. Today we examine both this prayer and the disposition of this blessed man who needed Christ's help and mercy. It is the authentic cry for mercy from the heart of God's children that attracts our Lord; a very real need that He is delighted to fulfill.

In agriculture, we know that the success or failure of a harvest is largely dependent on the health of the soil into which seeds are planted. Our Lord Jesus Christ uses this very truth when He tells the Parable of the Sower in the Gospel of St. Luke 8. Jesus sows seeds of His life and salvation. But He mentions three types of soil that prevented the seed from blossoming to life and growing the intended harvest. Today, as we continue in our weeks of preparation for Great Lent, we inspect the soil of our soul. What is it in us that stands in the way of the seed planted by Christ growing into the harvest of His life and salvation within our soul? It is time for us to seek the Lord so that we may join ourselves to Him in cultivating healthy soil within our soul.

Three to four years after Pentecost, the Apostle St. Peter left Jerusalem to go to Antioch. There he would oversee churches of that region for seven years. St. Peter was the first Bishop and Patriarch of the Antioch as he sat upon the "cathedra", the chair, in Antioch. Today we remember the Icon that the chair is to us and what it reveals to us. But as we are in the weeks of preparation for Great Lent, we look at the life of St. Peter to see true Christian repentance; the repentance that brings us to the mercy and restoration of Christ our God.

In the Gospel of St. Matthew 20, we hear Jesus tell the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. Jesus tells us that the landowner comes to those in 11th hour and asks, "Why do you stand here idle all day?" And he calls them to labor in the vineyard. All who are in Christ are called to labor in His vineyard to produce a great harvest. But what is this labor? We are not called to labor so that we earn our salvation. No, our labor is both a labor within our own souls; a constant movement toward Christ and to cast away all things that stand in the way of our relationship with Him. So, here in the 11th hour, why do we stand in the vineyard idle all day?

In our Gospel reading from St. Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of the wheat and the tares. It is a parable teaching us about the last days, the days from Christ's Incarnation until He comes again at His 2nd coming. And it also reveals an eschatological reality, a revelation of that 2nd coming and what Christ will do. Our focus today is learning what Christ through His Church has taught about living in this last age as wheat among the tares of this world.

Today is the Feast of the Presentation of Christ to the Temple/The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this day, according to God's Law, Joseph and Mary present Christ to the priest in the Temple. There, Simeon who was told he would not die until He had seen the Lord's Christ, takes Jesus into His arms. In that moment, Simeon held in His arms the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What a wonder this is to consider. That which was invisible could now be seen. And He Who was untouchable could not be touched and touch humanity. From the Incarnation forward, God has come to be experienced and known by all.

Jesus first miracle was the miraculous transformation of water into wine in the jars of clay at the wedding feast in Cana. The Early Church Fathers teach us that this miracle done in the presence of His disciples showed the reason for the Incarnation. That we, the jars of clay as St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, are so completely transformed within by the healing work of Christ that we become earthen vessels distributing the blessedness of Christ to every soul around us.

Last week we considered this truth: by the wisdom and power of Christ, the Church has become the continuing Epiphany of God to mankind for the salvation of souls. How is this possible? How does God manifest Himself through us? Today we consider these two questions.

As we are in the Octave of Epiphany, we remember that Epiphany means the revelation or manifestation of God to man; in this case through the Christ child. St. Paul teaches something profound in Ephesians 3 when he says that the manifold wisdom of God is now made known through the Church. By God's wisdom, from Pentecost to the end of this age, we are the continuing Epiphany of God to this world and to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. What an incredible thought. So how shall we live in order that God's will be done through us. We present ourselves to God and we offer ourselves to God. There we see Him and know Him and are transformed into His likeness for the world to see.

Naming was very important both among the Hebrew people of the Old Covenant as well as those in the secular world outside of God's covenant. The Name reveals the identity of a person. The Name of Jesus literally means deliverer and Savior. Here at the turn of both the calendar year and near the beginning of the liturgical year, the Name of Jesus is set before us. Will we receive the revelation of Who He really is into our lives? Those who do so will find transformation throughout their lives.

The Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord celebrates the 8th day of our Lord's life. On that day He is obedient to the Law of Moses in being circumcised. It is also on that day that the father was to give the child a name. Joseph gives Him the Name that is above all other names. He names Him Jesus in obedience to God through the message of an angel. Circumcision is fulfilled by Baptism in the new and eternal covenant. When we are Baptized, we are both washed clean and given a new name. Our new name is an adopted child of God.

When the world was in darkness, Christ our God leaped down from His throne and came to us. He leaped down so that we may rise up. St. Paul, in Galatians 4, tells us that by His coming to us we have become adopted sons and daughters of God. We have been brought through Christ into a family order here on earth established by God to heal and transform all of us. As we live in that order, we become the nature of the God Who ordered it all. Today we look at the virtue of God's humility. We grow in this virtue of humility as we live life in this blessed family. And, the practice of this virtue changes us as we become the love of our Heavenly Father.

We say as a foundational point of the Christian faith, "God became man and dwelled among us." But do take moments to consider the realities of what it truly means that God became man. At ever point of His life, from His conception to His death, He entered into every suffering of fallen mankind. He willed Himself to suffer our entire existence that He might relieve us of our sufferings from the fall of man. Tonight, at the First Mass of Christmas, we ask God to reveal to us just how far He lowered Himself so that we may be raised up.

From our Introit in the Mass this day, "Let the earth open and bring forth a Savior. O Lord, raise up, we pray Thee Thy power, and with great might succor us." That word succor means this, "Lord, come with your strength to aid we who are so weak and in need. Come and help us." The Prophet Isaiah in chapter 40 says that this help and strength comes to those who wait upon the Lord. But what does it mean to wait upon the Lord? It does not mean that, in time, we wait for a God who is distant from our moments to come from afar to us to help us. It means, that He has already joined Himself to us and His strength is ever-present.

The Mass for the Third Sunday of Advent is given the title rejoice. It is a day to remember the great works of Christ our God on our behalf. And, as we do, it is a day for our souls to be lightened and lifted as we offer thanksgiving to our God. Praise, thanksgiving to God, is most certainly a spiritual discipline; one through which Christ our God reveals Himself to us and lets us know just how close He is to us at all times. Today we consider how the discipline of rejoicing in God is a path for our soul to open and encounter Him. Every encounter with God, ever Divine revelation of Himself to us is indeed a path to experience true joy.

Saints Joachim & Anna lived their entire adult life bearing the shame of barrenness as they could not conceive a child. Daily they asked God to grant them mercy by providing them a child. God gave them beyond what they could ever ask or imagine. He not only gave them a child, but their child would be the Mother of Christ our God. They were given mercy beyond all hope as St. Anna became pregnant at such an old age. We are all given mercy and being granted salvation beyond all hope.

We often think that our greatest problem is that we are filled with sin which is the source of our addictions, idolatries, and disorders. While sin is a problem that creates a great deal of suffering in our lives, it is not the problem. The problem is that our lives are not filled with Christ. Today we go back to the basics of salvation. We need mercy and healing. Jesus has come to grant both and is the only One Who can do so. If we would only live a life that allows Christ to fill it. All things, then, would be made new.

Advent is a season of preparation. But what is Christian preparation? Today we see the truth that everything our Lord has called us to do in order to prepare ourselves for His coming is truly the preparation of the soul to open itself to the Divine experience of Christ our God.

Today is the Sunday Next Before Advent, the one week we prepare to enter into this blessed season. In Advent, we prepare for the coming of Christ both at His birth and at His second and final coming where every soul will be brought before Him. It seems appropriate that we consider the nature of the One Who comes to delivers us. What is the heart of our Savior toward all of us who are oppressed by the results of the fall of mankind? If we saw clearly Christ's disposition toward us, we would run to Him for our healing, renewal, and relief.

How distracted we get by the non-eternal things of this world when joys beyond compare are there to be had by all in Christ our God and His Kingdom now manifest to us in the earth. The contentment to our discontent lies only in one place; making our dwelling place under His wings where we find our refuge. Today we are reminded that when we take our eyes off of Christ, we descend into the madness of the world and manifest our own brokenness therein. But when we pursue Christ and make Him that dwelling place, we ascend by His Divine grace where to see Him and come to know Him. And as we do, we manifest Christ and His Kingdom in the world around us.

In the Gospel of St. John 5, our Lord comes to the Pool of Bethesda. Many who were blind, lame, or paralyzed came to this pool to be healed; for every so often the waters would be stirred and the first one to enter the waters would be healed. Jesus comes up to a man paralyzed for 38 years and asks him a most interesting question, "Do you want to be healed?" What an important question He asks the man. It is a question our Lord poses to us every day of our lives.

In our Gospel reading from St. Matthew 2, Jesus gives the summary of the Law which is to "love God and love mankind." God is love and our salvation is the healing work He does deep within our soul, restoring us and redeeming us. The result is our becoming like our God. Today's message is a message of simplicity. We cannot become what we do not experience. Unless we allow Christ to love us and show us mercy all throughout our lives, we simply cannot respond to God with love nor love all of those around us with His love.

As we gather together as the Kingdom of Priests, today we pray for all souls. We pray for mercy, forgiveness, and the blessedness of paradise. And as we lift up each name, we visit those who have gone before us like the monastics visit their brother monastics who have gone before them. This remembrance places the gift of our mortality right before us. And mortality is a gift that thrusts us into the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today we celebrate All Saints. On this Feast Day we are given a wondrous picture of eternity with Christ for all those who are in Him. At the same time, we are given the teaching of Christ our God from St. Matthew 5. He led them up the mountain and taught them the Beatitudes which reveal to us what we were always created to be; for the Beatitudes show forth the very virtues of Christ our God. How do we become Saints? We allow Christ to transform us from within, healing us and redeeming us. For out of the transformed soul flows the virtues of God.

Today we open our eyes to have Jesus Christ as the King of Kings & Lord of Lords revealed to us. On this day, we look at three aspects of His Kingship: What is it that elevated Jesus Christ to the dignity of King of Kings & Lord of Lords? In this present age, this King has set Himself to be our deliverer. And, how will this King appear when He returns again on the last day?

In St. Luke 7, a multitude following Jesus comes to the gate of the city of Nain. At the same time, a funeral procession of a multitude of people for the burial of the dead son of a widow comes to the gate of Nain from within the city. There the procession of death is met with the procession of life, and life always wins. Our Lord is constantly the gate of our soul. Will we both come to the gate and let Him in so that He may raise us from our fallenness?

When the ten lepers came to Jesus crying out for mercy, our Lord sent them to show themselves to the priests. This is precisely what God in Leviticus 14 commanded lepers who had been healed of their leprosy to do. Today we look at the sacrifice to be done on behalf of the healed leper. We find that it is a "type" that is wonderfully fulfilled by the finished work of all. While the nine lepers who did not return had a "thankless forgetfulness" according to the Church Fathers, the one healed leper who returned had a "memory of Christ's mercy." Every liturgy done in the Church is the journey to Christ for the healing of the leprosy of our soul. We experience His healing again and again; and we keep returning to Christ living in the memory of His mercy.

Today is the Feast Day of the Dedication of St. Michael the Archangel and all Angels. Today we have revealed to us that the vastness of the Kingdom of God on earth contains both the seen and the unseen. The prayers Christ has given His Church to pray reveal truths to us; truths about God's Nature and truths about His Kingdom. Today we look at the prayers of the Church as well as Holy Scripture to see in part the angelic ministries God has ordained to assist us in our salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.

A deaf and mute man is brought to Christ our God. Jesus, with fingers that can be touched, touches the man's ears so that he could hear. Christ spat on the ground and touched his tongue so that it could speak the praises of the One Who had healed him. Our faith, our healing, our salvation only comes by encountering Christ with our whole being and not just with our intellect. Today we consider how the physical touch of Christ continues through bread and wine, His body and blood; so that we may encounter the Divine and be made like unto Him.

At the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we encounter the fullness of the sufferings she endured as the chosen Mother of Christ our God. Today puts the reality of human suffering right before us; something we will all endure in this life. And today we have great hope that because Christ joined Himself to our suffering, suffering (which our Lord never desired for us) becomes a means for us to encounter Him and know Him in ways we never could before.

In our Gospel reading from St. John 12, looking ahead to His Crucifixion our Lord says these words, "Now is the judgment of this world, now the ruler of this world will be cast out." What judgment of the world and its ruler is our Lord speaking about? The judgment of Satan who deceived and wronged every soul. Tonight we hear the Church Fathers speak about Christ on the Cross being both prosecuting attorney against Satan and for us. And we hear them speak also of Christ as the judge who condemns our enemy and grants us acquittal that we may be freed.

From the barrenness of Sts. Joachim & Anna came the conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the mercy God; prefiguring shame and sorrow being taken away by the Son she would bear and deliver into this world, our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, as always, as we gaze upon our Lord's Mother we see Christ and His salvation of us all. Our Lord came to us to remove our shame and grant us great joy.