1 APR 2024 · This Sunday, His Grace Bishop Neophytos Kongai, Bishop of Kenya, shares about Orthodoxy in Kenya and what we can do to support his diocese. In today’s Gospel reading, we hear about the men who lowered the paralyzed man through a roof to be healed by Christ. His Grace Bishop Neophytos Kongai encourages us to be like those men, showing the love of Christ to the helpless and carrying them to healing. He shares the struggles of those in Kenya, and asks us to support his diocese in providing food, shelter, clothing, education, and a place of worship for the people there.

25 MAR 2024 · This Sunday we celebrate the Sunday of Orthodoxy, which commemorates the restoration of the use and veneration of icons in the church after a period of over 100 years of it being forbidden. This Sunday is also the Triumph of Orthodoxy, which recognizes universality of our faith, a faith that has spread throughout the world across 2,000 years. In this week's sermon, Fr. Gregory presents two main points related to the Sunday of Orthodoxy and the Triumph of Orthodoxy. First, he emphasizes that every human being is created in the image of God; that is, we are icons of God. Second, he expounds on Jesus' invitation to Nathanael in today's gospel reading: "Come and see." He points out that, if God wills that all men be saved, we should be willing too. We should not fall into the dangers of nationalism and parochialism, which counteract the universal nature of our faith. Since every person is an icon of God and since we've been directed by Christ to preach the Gospel to all nations, Fr. Gregory challenges us to ask ourselves, "What is my part in this universal faith?" We invite the world to, "Come and see."

18 MAR 2024 · In today’s Gospel reading, our Lord speaks to us about fasting. Fr. Micah shows us what fasting is truly about and shares practical advice as we enter into the season of Lent. First, Fr. Micah points out that fasting is not an individual endeavor, but it is about communion with one another and Christ. The Church has been fasting together for millennia, and it continues to connect the faithful all over the world. Fasting is also about freedom. If we deny our impulses, struggling against our desire to consume, we will slowly experience a childlike freedom. In addition, Fr. Micah explains that fasting is about death and life. During Lent, the Church teaches us to avoid eating anything pertaining to animals, because these things are associated with death. We live by the death of others; but through fasting, we can step outside this cycle. We fast on Sunday that the first thing to touch our lips is the body and blood of Christ. In this we learn that life does not come from food, but rather everlasting life comes from Christ. Finally, Fr. Micah shares two pieces of advice for fasting. First, our fasting must be done in secret. Not only is fasting about what we eat, but also about how we eat. Second, our fasting should be accompanied by hunger, which can be transformed into a hunger for Christ. Fr. Micah concludes with the words of a priest who said, “Fasting is to be so in love with God that we do not even remember to eat.”

10 MAR 2024 · On this Sunday of the Last Judgment, Fr. Stephen Freeman discusses how we should view Christ’s judgment. He first expounds on the parable of the sheep and the goats from today’s Gospel reading. He explains that, within each of us, there is both sheep (the good) and goat (the bad). They are mixed within our hearts, and the judgment separates the two. In the second part of today’s Gospel reading, Christ says that whatever we do for the hungry, the naked, the imprisoned, and the sick, we do for him. “In all human suffering, Jesus is there on the cross,” Fr. Stephen says. He shows us how the cross is the judgment seat of Christ, and this judgment is all around us in our fellow humans’ suffering. Therefore, we do not have to fear his judgment but can welcome it as an opportunity to serve him everywhere and in all people.

4 MAR 2024 · This Sunday is the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, during which we hear the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Fr. Gregory expounds on the parable, showing us how we are like the prodigal son and must return to our Father. We, like the prodigal son, stray far from our Father’s house and what God intended for our lives. However, we, like the prodigal son, can make a decision to return to our Father’s house. We, like the prodigal son can confess, saying, “I have sinned,” realizing how far from home we’ve strayed. We, like the prodigal son, can get up and begin the journey home. And our Father, like the compassionate father, waits for us and rejoices at our return with unconditional love. As we approach the Lenten season, Fr. Gregory emphasizes that we too can return to our Father’s house through confession, coming to church, and celebrating the Eucharist.

25 FEB 2024 · Today is the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, which comes from the Gospel reading in Luke 18. In the passage, Jesus gives a parable about a tax collector and a Pharisee who offered prayers to God. The Pharisee’s prayer lacked humility, whereas the tax collector's was full of humility. Jesus tells us that the tax collector was the one who went back to his house justified, rather than the other. In this week’s sermon, Fr. Paul emphasizes the tax collector's humility and urges us to likewise be humble through three actions. First is contemplation of Christ—going to church, praying, and reading the scriptures. Second is imitation of Christ. As he was meek and lowly of heart, we too must be meek. Third is adopting a proper attitude, thinking of oneself as less than others. Through these three actions, we can actualize humility as the tax collector did.

19 FEB 2024 · In this week’s Gospel reading, we hear of Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman. Through faith in God, her demon-possessed daughter was healed. Fr. Micah shares three key elements of the woman’s faith that we can emulate. First is prayer. This is not merely a few minutes of prayer in the morning or evening, but rather unceasing prayer. Further, our prayer must not be simply for the purpose of getting what we want. The power of prayer is in our being shaped and changed through communion with God. Second is love. True, selfless love lays down its life for its friends and thinks nothing of itself. This is the love we see the Canaanite woman exemplify, and it’s the love that pulls God down to Earth. Third is humility. We see great humility in the words of the Canaanite woman, and it was on account of this that her daughter was healed. Fr. Micah gives several examples from the desert fathers and saints who emphasized the power of humility, which brings clarity to our lives and causes the demons to flee. Prayer, selfless love, and humility—this is what we see in the Canaanite woman’s faith and in the example given to us from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. By fostering these three virtues, we too can have unshakeable faith.

11 FEB 2024 · In today’s Epistle reading, the Apostle Paul writes in 2nd Corinthians Chapter 6, “Working together with him, then, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain.” Foundationally, God’s grace and love is not a right that we are entitled to or deserving of. Instead, it is a gift that we receive freely. This is exemplified from the very beginning when God brings the world into his existence. He was not obligated to create the world, but he wants us to exist. Continuing on, this free gift of grace is shown when God comes in the person of Christ to eliminate our sins and when he gives us his Holy Spirit. With this understanding of the nature of God’s grace and love, we can begin to see how we might “accept the grace of God in vain.” When we reject God’s gift, when we believe that we deserve it, and when we don’t respond to God’s grace, we are accepting it in vain. Therefore, we must always be “Working together with him,” by identifying our own will with his own will and expressing our gratitude for his gifts. Fr. Gregory also addresses how, at certain times, God’s grace and love appears to withdraw from us. He explains that this apparent withdrawal is so that we can truly work together with God, accepting his love out of our own free will. In these times, God is allowing us to more freely come to him, making us feel the need for him who loves us. At all times, we can accept his grace with thanksgiving, not in vain.

5 FEB 2024 · In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus answers the question posed to him as a challenge from the Pharisees: “Which is the greatest commandment?” He says the greatest two commandments are to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. Fr. Gregory explains how we may fulfill these two commandments by referencing the Didache. This was a document from the early church, “the teaching of the twelve apostles,” written around the year 100 or even earlier. The Didache opens with Jesus’ saying from today’s Gospel reading: “There are two ways; one of life and one of death, and between the two ways there is a great difference. Now this is the way of life: first, you must love God who made you, and second, your neighbor as yourself.” This idea of the “two ways” has its origins in Deuteronomy, when Moses tells the Israelites, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life…” The Didache suggests three things we can do to live out these two greatest commandments, choosing the way of life. First, we can be humble. Second, we can give to those in need, praying for discernment in how to give. Third, we can come to church, confessing our sins and celebrating the Eucharist. Finally, Fr. Gregory concludes by emphasizing the teaching of the Didache that says, “If you can bear the Lord’s full yolk, you will be perfect. If you cannot, then do what you can.” The church and Jesus have set a very high bar, and the way of life is narrow. However, we must not despair if we cannot always live according to God’s commands. We must do what we can, being humble, giving with discernment, and going to church with a good conscience. This is the way of life.

29 JAN 2024 · In this week’s Gospel reading, we hear the story of Zacchaeus, the man who climbed a sycamore tree to behold Christ. Fr. Micah presents the question, “Do we see God?” Just as Zacchaeus was small of stature, causing him to have to climb a tree to see Christ, we too are small. We are sinful and must also climb trees to see the Lord, giving up our comfort and ease in the process. If it’s easy, Fr. Micah says, we’re missing something. To demonstrate this, he gives examples from the Old Testament. Abraham climbed the tree of hospitality, King David climbed the tree of repentance and humility, Elijah climbed the tree of silence and stillness, and King Josiah climbed the tree of struggling to obey God’s commandments. We, too, have many different trees that we can climb to behold God—to see his providence in our life, see his mercy in our hearts, and see him in the face of our neighbor.