Holy Trinity + Holy Cross - Sermons

In today’s Gospel reading, Christ withdraws to a secluded place to pray, which he does throughout the Gospel accounts. Fr. Micah, in today's sermon, urges us to become people of prayer. He points out that while it is Christ and the Holy Spirit who teach us how to pray, we can say certain things about prayer. First, prayer must involve attention on Christ. There must also be trust in Christ when we...

Today’s Gospel passage recounts Christ’s miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish, feeding a crowd of over five thousand. In the miracle, Christ first invokes God’s blessing on the food, then blesses it himself, then distributes it to the crowds. The fathers of the Church connect this miracle to the Holy Eucharist, and Fr. Gregory focuses on this symbolism in today’s sermon. He also po...

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus heals blind men, and Fr. Micah addresses our own blindness in today’s homily. Our blindness is our inability to see the image of God in the face of each and every person. Instead, we objectify others, asking ourselves how they can benefit us. In today's homily, Fr. Micah explains how we might see the other not as an object but as a living icon of Christ. First, we...

Today’s Gospel reading recounts Jesus’ healing of the paralytic. Before granting him physical healing, our Lord says to him, “Your sins are forgiven.” Fr. Gregory focuses on the facets of forgiveness in today’s sermon. First, he addresses the relationship with forgiveness and calamity. The paralytic came to Jesus not for forgiveness but for bodily healing. However, Jesus addresses the cause of his...

In today’s Gospel reading, Christ confronts evil, encountering two possessed men. Fr. Micah today addresses the qualities of evil as well as its antidotes. First, Fr. Micah discusses the root of evil — self-love. Each sin we commit is born of self-love and has a certain selfishness to it. This evil only increases, becoming self-preservation, preservation of the ego. We justify our own evil, making...

In today’s sermon, Fr. Gregory focuses on the Epistle reading from Romans, in which St. Paul contrasts slaves to sin and slaves of God (or slaves of righteousness). Fr. Gregory addresses three aspects of being slaves of God. First is obedience. As slaves of God, it is important to be obedient to what is right and good, leading to sanctification, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Second, we must s...

Today we remember the Fourth Ecumenical Synod, which gathered in the city of Chalcedon and focused on the question of Christ’s identity. In today’s homily, Fr. Micah addresses who Christ is. First, he focuses on Christ's identity as both fully God and fully Man. This understanding of Christ gives us life and meaning. Next, he addresses the title Christ itself, which means “the anointed." This name...

In today’s Gospel reading, Christ calls four fishermen — Peter, John, Andrew, and James — to be his disciples, to be fishers of men. Deacon Tikhon, in today’s sermon, explains how this analogy helps us understand the kingdom of heaven. The church is like the ship. As the fishermen depend on the ship for safety, so we depend on the church as the vessel of salvation. Deacon Tikhon encourages us to c...

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus turns his twelve disciples into apostles. On this Feast of the Twelve Apostles, Fr. Gregory addresses three questions about the apostles. First, he asks, “Why did Jesus turn his disciples into apostles?” Today's Gospel reading answers this question, saying, “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them.” Jesus says that the people are like...

On this Sunday, we celebrate Pentecost, when God sent the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. Bishop Sebastian points out that the disciples were together when they received the Holy Spirit, and emphasizes the importance of this togetherness in the life of the church. In the Holy Trinity, we have the example of the perfect community. In the Holy Orders, we see the checks and balances that protect us f...

This Sunday follows the great feast of the ascension of Christ, when he was taken up into the heavens. Fr. Micah explains that many Jews of the first century could not accept Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father at his ascension. It meant that he was the living God, having unity and equality with the Father while humbling himself and becoming flesh. Fr. Micah explains that many heresies...

In this week’s Gospel reading, we hear the story of Christ healing a man born blind. His disciples ask him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Fr. Gregory gives the background to this question, explaining that both viewpoints are misinterpretations of Old Testament passages. Christ replies to his disciples that they could neither blame the man nor his parents for...

On this Sunday, the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, Fr. Micah discusses the Gospel reading in which Christ tells us that we are to worship the Father in spirit and in truth. He first explains that we humans are worshipping creatures, then addresses what it means to worship in spirit and truth. He points out that Christ himself is the truth, an the resurrection is truth. Through Christ and only beca...

oday is the Fourth Sunday of Pascha, the Sunday of the Paralytic. Fr. Gregory focuses on the Gospel reading, in which Christ heals a man who has been paralyzed for 38 years. Jesus commands the man, saying, “Arise, take up your bed, and walk,” and the man does. Fr. Gregory points out that walking is one of our most basic forms of communication as humans. Throughout gait, posture, and speed, we form...

On this Sunday of the Myrrh Bearing Women, Fr. Paul recounts the story of these women who were the first to behold the empty tomb and initiated the spreading of the good news to the world. The resurrection is the central theme of this story. In today’s sermon, Fr. Paul emphasizes the importance of belief in the resurrected Christ, which brings us purpose in life as well as joy and peace. There are...

On this Sunday of Thomas, Fr. Micah focuses on the significance of doors in our church’s liturgical tradition. He discusses the doors of Hades that once held every generation captive. Not only did Christ shatter these doors, but he also opened the doors of Paradise to us. Fr. Micah relates this to how we experience open doors and closed doors in our lives, as a closed door causes great pain and an...

Fr. Gregory delivers the Catechetical Paschal Homily of our father among the saints, St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople. "If any man be devout and love God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord. If any have labored long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any have wrought fr...

In today’s sermon, Fr. Gregory details the events of the first three days of Holy Week, from Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem to the Last Supper. In the span of these three days, Jesus preaches several parables which compose the five “apocalyptic chapters.” We read these chapters during the next three days of Holy Week, and in the evenings we have the services of the Bridegroom Matins. Fr. Gregory e...

In today’s Gospel reading, Christ says, “Whosoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as ransom for many.” Fr. Micah points out how difficult it is for us to serve not just our friends, but also our enemies — to become a "slave of all." He suggests...

On this Fourth Sunday of Lent, we celebrate St. John Climacus, who conceived of and wrote the Ladder of Divine Ascent. In today’s sermon, Fr. Gregory focuses on the eighth step of the ladder: “concerning freedom from anger.” St. John Climacus associates freedom from anger with Christ’s meekness. Fr. Gregory points out that, though we often correlate meekness with weakness, the term “meek” actually...

This Sunday, at the midpoint of Lent, we celebrate the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross. Fr. Micah speaks of the beauty and power of the Holy Cross, which is the Tree of Life. He challenges us to ask ourselves, “How do we experience the Cross?” To experience the Cross as a Tree of Life, we must heed the words of our Lord. Christ tells us to deny ourselves, to take up our cross, and to fo...

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....

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 po...

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...

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, Ch...