Redeeming The Time

There is a link between bad desires, and weak faith and anxiety. Exposition of Matthew 6:22-33 and Romans 5:1, particularly: "The light of the body is the eye," "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you," and "being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." As in any short talk, all solutions are not discussed. There is an organic cause for anxiety, but no more common cause for it is a problem with the "eyes."

A talk about the soul, which leads us to many things. We talk about how man was created and why, the purpose of life, the attributes of the soul, the image of God in man, remembrance of death, and prayer of the heart, and intercessory prayer, with lots of practical advice about prayer. This all fits together.

We are all called to be saints, therefore, we should be able to say what Peter said, without being a liar: "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" What does this mean? Can we say this? What must we do to be able to say this? Full disclosure: the text selected was actually read on the Sunday of All Saints, and accidentally used again on the Sunday of All Saints of Russia, the following Sunday. Mistakes happen, but the sermon still applies to saints, and therefore, to us, since we are called to be saints. (Matthew 19:27)

What is a synaxis of All Saints, and why do we celebrate them the Sunday after Pentecost? It is rare to be a saint, but we are all called to be saints! How are we going to become saints, even though we have sins, some of which we cannot overcome? This starts with how we identify ourselves and the things we, in our heart of hearts, really value. In our modern, sin loving and excusing age, we must take a stand for who we are. This is true confession. In this context, we examine the verses read today: "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:32-33, 37-38)

We talk about the prayer “O Heavenly King” line by line. We explain why it was omitted the last 50 days. We introduce this prayer, which every Christian should know by heart, by talking about thirst. There are many kinds of thirst, but only one kind that leads to salvation.

A rousing discussion with the children about the Pentecost icon, including a great explanation about King Cosmas (the man at the bottom middle of the icon). Also a discussion of the various symbols for the Holy Spirit. Lots of participation by lots of very bright children. We end with them reciting the prayer "O Heavenly King." We try to do something for the children after the prayer behind the amvon in each liturgy. They like it, and I think, just possibly, some of the adults learn something too!

First we explain why the Fathers of the First Ecumenical council are remembered on the Sunday preceding Pentecost. There is a very good reason. What follows is important for all Christians to know and live by - an exegesis of the beginning of the High priestly prayer of Jesus - John 17:1-13. Let us especially understand the promise: "Keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are."

The Ascension of Jesus Christ teaches emphatically three main dogmas. They are important to know, but more important to live by. They must abide in our heart. We describe these dogmas in detail: about the ascension of our flesh, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the Second coming of Christ. Acts 1:1-12

Fr. Seraphim shares an exegesis of Scripture read in the baptism service, Romans 6:3-11 and Matthew 28:16-20: be dead to the things that are dead, and alive to the things that are alive. We must understand the purpose of baptism and what we must do after baptism. In the homily given after the baptism of Marie, all scripture read in the service is thoroughly explained, with this command always in mind: Be dead to the things that are dead, and alive to the things that are alive.

Fr. Seraphim shares about the parable of the blind man and the reason for his healing, that "the works of God should be made manifest in him."

Exegesis of John 3:16-21, read on the 2nd Tuesday after Pascha. Particular emphasis on darkness and light. In our day, darkness is called light and light is called darkness. A Christian must know and follow only what is light.

An exegesis of 10 aspects of the Gospel account of John about Thomas and his encounter with the risen Christ. There is a little bit of everything here, but the most important part is: what will we do with our lives because of the resurrection? Jesus tells Thomas and us: "Be not faithless, but believing." There is also much about Christology, the authority of the church, confession, the reason for the priesthood, the purpose of life and what salvation is, and in general, more practical theology in 20 minutes than you will hear on any talk radio station!

Why do we read from Luke (the Road to Emmaus) during Bright Week? This Gospel shows that the Lord will meet us, where we are, in the midst of our weakness. You do not need to be strong; the Lord will make you strong. You do not need to be smart; the Lord will make you smart. You do need to be faithful; the Lord will not make you faithful. You must have a burning heart. We discuss what a burning heart is, and how to attain it, and also how God opens eyes. Luke 24:12-35

The primary message of the Gospel of John is the person:Jesus. We must be theologically literate and understand Who Jesus is. This does not require a high IQ, but it does require us to know without hesitation the answer to the question "Who are you?"

Fr. Seraphim shares a homily before the shroud after Good Friday Vespers, "Things are not as they seem."

The life of St Mary of Egypt is real history, and every word of it is true, how never it has striking parallels and important differences with the parable of the prodigal son. Why do we tell and hear parables? In order to improve! We have much to get better at, and the life of St. Mary gives us great encouragement and a great rebuke. We tell it in the context of the parable of the prodigal son, so that we can get better.

The Ladder puts things in perspective by making connections we would not otherwise make. Remembrance of wrongs causes untimely labors," and these are more labors than are spent on remembering the wrong! Also, it gives sharp instruction. We must BANISH revenge, and not just let it fade away with time. Forgiveness is action.

Remembrance of wrongs warps our reality. We can fight it with the Jesus prayer.

We have a workable plan! "The beginning of freedom from anger is silence of the lips when the heart is agitated; the middle is silence of the thoughts when there is a mere disturbance of soul; and the end is an imperturbable calm under the breath of unclean winds."

On the 4th Sunday of Great Lent, we read about the exorcism of the demoniac son. Although this is a historical event, it can also be very beneficial to read it like a Scriptural parable. It has very good news for us, but not pie in the sky good news. It tells us what we must do, and what God will do, honestly talks about the process, and that things are going to be all right, even though we do not have the power to do the stuff we must do. This homily was the best answer I could give to someone who said that everyone is tired and needs a "pep talk." Mark 9:17-31