St Peters Orthodox Church

Many people are apprehensive, fearful, or uneasy about the Sacrament of Confession/Absolution. Some question why even engage such a practice. I find that all of this is true mostly because of an honest lack of understanding regarding the profound ministry Christ Himself does for us actively in and through this blessed Sacrament. This teaching focuses on the very tangible ministry of Christ on our behalf in the Sacrament of Confession. If we only knew what Jesus desires to do and indeed does out of His immeasurable love for us through this Sacrament, that He ordained for the benefit of His beloved people, we truly would find ourselves rushing to Him.

March 8, 2020 - The 40 days of Lent is modeled after the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting. In the Gospel of St. Matthew chapter 4 we are told that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to fast for those 40 days and then be tempted by Satan. The fact that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to do all of this should be an indication to us that this was by the Divine will of God would forge something that would be beneficial to our lives and for our salvation. Today we look at this and discover that we are led by the same Holy Spirit into these 40 days of Lent that we might return to Christ Who is our victory over Satan and every temptation he throws our way.

March 4, 2020 - St. Paul teaches that each one of us has become the Temple of the Holy Spirit. But, my friends, throughout the days of our life each year the Temple becomes cluttered and filled with things worthless to our life in Christ and our Salvation; or worse, damaging to our souls. On this Ash Wednesday we are reminded that Lent is a time to simplify our lives and turn our attention so much more to the God of our salvation. It is a time to deliberately, by grace, rid ourselves of the clutter in our minds and hearts. It is a time to make room for God once again. Those who do so, to them He will come in and make His home.

March 1, 2020 - On this last Sunday before we enter into Lent, our Lord puts front and center before us the remembrance that He is our deliverer. But is the deliverance ministry of Christ our God? In our Gospel reading from St. Luke and chapter 18 we see Christ deliver the blind man on the road near Jericho from his infirmity as the blind man cried out desperately for mercy. When we reflect Christ's deliverance of this man as well as other examples, we find that His ministry of deliverance is one that takes His beloved people from a lesser state of existence (one of frailty, weakness, and oppression) to the other extreme; into an abundant life of joy, contentment, and all of the blessings of His Kingdom.

Today, as we are preparing to enter into the healing season of Great Lent, we put our focus on understanding why we fast with prayer and the benefits God offers us as we do so. The people of God have always had prayer and fasting as part of their living experience of God. Jesus taught "when you pray" and "when you fast" not "if you pray and fast." Today we remind ourselves that fasting accompanied by prayer is not something we do as some legalistic rule. It is a prescription that the Healer of our souls offers us, and has always offered His people, that grants us the greater experience of the God Who is our Life and our Salvation.

Feb. 23, 2020 - Today we are given the Parable of the Sower from the Gospel of St. Luke chapter 8. Jesus describes the different soils onto which the seed falls. One type of soil is the hard ground of the path and represents seed falling on hard hearts. Another type is the seed that falls on rocky ground and the seed cannot go deep in the soul. The third type of ground is filled with thorns and when the seed falls and begins to grow it is choked do death by the worries and distractions of life. The final soil is the good soil onto which the seed falls and bears a tremendous crop. Which of these is the soil of our soul. Perhaps it is a bit of each type of soil. Today we talk about the need to take the seed which is the grace of God unto salvation and cultivate by that grace the soil of our soul in order that all of the benefits of the Kingdom of God and His Salvation may blossom in our lives and for the life of all those around us.

Feb. 9, 2020 - In Colossians 3, St. Paul calls us to put on the virtues of Christ and ultimately to put on love which is the greatest of all virtues. But how do we become love? St. Basil the Great answers that question by teaching that we can only become love as we experience God and receive His love. This reflection shares the thoughts of St. Basil as to how we can live a life availing ourselves to the constant experience of the love of God.

The first Fall breeze after a hot Summer has always been so very refreshing to me. This instrumental expresses the feeling that I have when the first autumn breeze gently blows in. I pray this brings you to that moment and may this piece bless you and bring you peace. First Autumn Breeze by Father Mark McNary (c) 2020

Feb. 2, 2020 - The Gospel of St. Luke Chapter 2 gives us the story of St. Simeon receiving Jesus into his arms in the Holy Temple. God told St. Simeon that he would not die until he had seen His Savior. When He received Christ our God into his arms his soul was overwhelmed and he lifted up what we know as the Song of St. Simeon (Nunc Dimittis), a great song of praise to God that salvation had come to him and a prophecy that this child would bring light to the Gentiles. Today we look at St. Simeon's posture and find that, if it becomes our own, we will also lift up great praise from the experience of Christ our Salvation in our own lives.

Jan. 26, 2020 -St. Paul teaches us in Romans 12 that we should "be of the same mind toward one another." Consider what he is saying. St. Paul knows that we are each individual members of the body of Christ with different personalities, different ways of thinking about things in life, different experiences, and different opinions. And yet, he calls us to be of the same mind. What does this look like in the Church? How do we get there? This reflection speaks to these questions.

As a second part to last week's teaching on the Battlefield of our Thoughts, today we look at the true posture of the Christian when it comes to Spiritual Warfare. So many times we set our face upon our constant temptations and disordered thoughts in order to overcome them. Because of this we walk away many times defeated and exhausted. The real battle of the Christian is not, in and of ourselves and with our energies, to wage war against our thoughts and besetting sins. The real fight of the Christian must be, with all of our energies and by His grace, to remain in Christ who is our deliverer, our refuge, our stronghold, and our victory.

Jan. 19, 2020 - In Romans 12, St. Paul teaches the Church that, just as in a human body, the Body of Christ consists of many members with different functions of equal importance. Today we consider this understanding of what it is to be the Body of Christ in the earth. We find that the Church is the continuing incarnate ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of every soul within and for the salvation of the world.

The Church Fathers teach us in such beautiful harmony and consistency that there is an ongoing and very real battle waged for the soul of every Christian. We have a very real enemy who seeks the destruction of our soul. The Fathers also teach us that the true battlefield of our spiritual warfare is our thoughts. In this teaching we examine this battlefield. Today we remind ourselves of several encouraging truths: 1. He is truly our deliverer and victor. 2. In every battle we face we have been given the very authority of Christ our God for victory. 3. He has given us weapons that are not carnal but mighty for the pulling down of strongholds, for the casting down of arguments that set themselves up against the knowledge and truth of the revelation of God, and are mighty for taking of our thoughts captive in obedience to Christ.

Jan. 12, 2020 - In the Collect Prayer for the Mass of the Feast of the Holy Family we pray these words, "O Lord Jesus Christ, who, by being subject to Mary & Joseph, hast consecrated home life with ineffable virtues: grant that, with the help of both, we may be instructed by the example of thy Holy Family, and attain to its eternal fellowship." Because Christ subjected Himself to be a part of a family in the fallen human condition, our family life can be redeemed and made whole again. What Christ, the Divine, joins Himself to He redeems and makes new. Today we explore this wondrous truth and look at the virtues found in a family that is being made whole again.

January 6, 2020 - Today we celebrate the Feast of Epiphany. The word Epiphany means "the manifestation of the Divine to mankind." As we look at the story of the Wise Men who traveled to find Christ we find three different people/people groups. There is King Herod the Great, The Chief Priests & Scribes, and the Wise Men. Each of them had different responses to the coming of the King as a child in Bethlehem. In this sermon we learn about each of their responses and we look into our hearts to see where each response is present in us. Two of the responses need to decrease while one needs to grow. Take a few moments to listen and see if you can see these responses in your life.

Jan. 5, 2020 - Today is the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. On this day we remember that the Name of Jesus is everything to us and for us. His Name was given to Him because His Name reveals Who He is and why He came to us. His Name means both the one who delivers and the one who saves. In this homily we explore both of these meanings and what His Name means for the very moments of our lives.

The story of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is filled with wonder. We should be in awe of the full extent to which God went to redeem His beloved creation. Tonight we use the Icon of the Nativity as a guide to behold the fullness of the love of God manifest on this wondrous night. He wrapped our fallen flesh around Himself that He might act on our behalf and make us whole again. Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Today we conclude our series on repentance and the restoration and healing work of Christ in our lives based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Scrooge now is taken to the future; a future just beyond his own demise. And what is the key that unlocks the totality of true repentance coming out of his soul? It is his mortality. Our culture seeks to diminish what is, quite frankly, one of the greatest gifts of love and mercy our Lord has given us; to keep the truth of our mortality always before us. Our mortality, by grace, drives us into the loving arms of a Savior who so desires to heal us through repentance of our past and our present. On this day we discuss something almost all of us have a skewed understanding regarding. We discuss what it is to have a healthy, holy, and righteous fear of God; a truth that runs rampant all the way through the Scriptures. So we look at these Scriptures and all of the promises given to those who fear the Lord. Finally, we watch the transformation of Ebeneezer Scro

Dec. 22, 2019 - On the 4th and final Sunday of Advent, we are given the prayer to pray, "Raise up Thy power, and come among us, and with great might succor us." The word succor is a word we hardly ever use in conversational language. But it is such profound word when it comes to describing the reason for which our Lord Jesus Christ came to us with great power. To succor means "to come the help of" or "to come to the aid of" someone in need. In this sermon, we look through Scripture to see many ways that Christ has come to succor us. And His coming to succor us is our sure and only hope.

Dec. 15, 2019 - On the Third Sunday of Advent the liturgical colors change. The candle on the Advent wreath is rose instead of blue or violet and the vestments are to be the same if possible. The color voices the loving command of God that He gives us in the Mass of this blessed day, "Rejoice ye in the Lord, and again I say rejoice!" It is the loving wisdom of God in the giving of this command that we explore in this homily. For, especially in times of suffering, our joy is kept and strengthened by the God who makes His home within our praise.