The Ladder Homilies

Family Fights, Covetousness, and True Peace in Christ Vijay Achen reflects on a gospel passage where a man asks Jesus to force his brother to divide an inheritance, and Jesus warns against covetousness—the craving for more or for what belongs to others. He explains that conflicts, whether in families or society, begin in the heart, citing St. James and a discussion of how violence often grows from...

The speaker reflects on how only about 4% of people are born into an Orthodox family and says many cradle Orthodox don’t appreciate the faith, contrasting this with seminary converts who value Orthodoxy deeply. Citing early Church saints like St. Irenaeus of Lyons and St. Basil the Great, he emphasizes apostolic succession, unity in faith and sacraments, and Christ’s promise that the Church will e...

Shifting Our Attention to God's True Teaching (Matthew 16:5–12) What are you paying attention to, and what is it teaching you? Jesus warns His disciples about the "yeast" of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and they think He's talking about bread. If those closest to Jesus could miss the point, so can we. Dr. Annah Kuriakose connects this story to today's attention economy and explores why yeast is su...

The speaker opens with a Trinitarian prayer and invites everyone to recognize how precious their eyes are as a gift from God, given to behold the beauty of creation and sense the presence of Christ in the divine mysteries and Holy Qurbana. He explains that eyes are not only for seeing but can also stir compassion and other inner responses, even evoking taste, and connects this to Jesus’ teaching t...

In this homily for the first Sunday after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Life-Saving Cross, the speaker reflects on Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of Saint Mark about discerning the “signs” in nature, using the fig tree as an example of recognizing changing seasons. He explains that while believers should be attentive and discerning, they must not become consumed with predicting the exact date...

Finding Peace Within During the 40 Days to the Holy Cross In a sermon during the 40 days from the Feast of the Transfiguration to the Feast of the Holy Cross, the speaker addresses how people often claim they have no enemies yet treat relatives, neighbors, God, or even themselves as enemies. Using a Desert Fathers story of a monk confronted at heaven’s gate with a list of “enemies” that includes h...

Reflecting on Jesus’ words that a lit lamp is not hidden, this episode explains that God did not hide His Son—the light of the world—citing Saint Cyril of Alexandria on Christ rescuing humanity from Satanic darkness. It asks why a good and almighty God permits darkness, pain, and tragedy, referencing the lasting impact of 9/11 as well as everyday struggles like stress, sadness, and hardship. The m...

Is Jesus Still Remarkable? Returning to Routine with Christ as the Cornerstone As summer ends and September routines return, the speaker asks whether Jesus Christ also returns to a normal place in our schedules—and whether we still remember who we are praying to. Reflecting on the Gospel where Nazareth rejects Jesus as merely “the carpenter’s son,” he warns that familiarity can make Christ seem un...

In this sermon, the speaker reflects on moral philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre’s claim that we can only answer “What am I to do?” by first knowing what story we are part of, illustrating it with the difference between moving through New York City as a tourist versus a marathon runner. Turning to Mark 6:1–6, she describes Jesus’ visit to Nazareth, where hometown familiarity led people to be scandaliz...

During Holy Qurbana alongside a harvest celebration, the Vijay Achen connects harvest festivals to Scripture, emphasizing that before any harvest there is seedtime and that God gives the growth. Citing Genesis, Mark 4, Galatians, and John 12, he explains what a seed is—holding within it what it will become—and urges listeners to focus on three kinds of “seeds”: those we plant in others through our...

Following the Feast of the Dormition of the Holy Theotokos and moving toward the Exaltation of the Cross, this episode reflects on a passage from Saint Luke in which Jesus addresses criticism and hypocrisy amid opposition from Hebrew leaders. Using the image of a log in one’s own eye versus a speck in another’s, the speaker connects the teaching to everyday family life, ethical struggles, and poli...

A Simple Lesson in Serving at Home Sujit Achen reflects on the importance of age-appropriate service and recalls attending an MGOCSM conference about 25 years ago where Kuriakose Achen led the audience through a simple exercise: stand if you ate dinner at home the day before, then sit if you washed your plate afterward. The moment highlights how basic acts of responsibility and service can be over...

The message explains the “Ulysses contract” from the Odyssey—Odysseus having his crew tie him to the mast to resist the sirens—as a picture of admitting human weakness and setting boundaries to avoid temptation, like removing junk food to prevent failure. It then connects this idea to the Gospel account where James and John ask to sit at Jesus’ right and left, believing they are able to share his...

This episode reflects on Jesus’ scandalous warning that tax collectors and prostitutes enter the Kingdom ahead of religious leaders, explaining that repentance and transformed life matter more than intellectual religion. It challenges listeners to examine whether faith has become a “comfort toy”—a label or heritage claim (like boasting in Abraham or Orthodox tradition) without change, virtue, or r...

Eternal Life: What the Rich Ruler Missed and Zacchaeus Found (Luke 18:18–27) This Sunday message reflects on Luke 18:18–27, where a rich young ruler asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life and is told to keep the commandments and then sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Him, but he leaves saddened. The sermon contrasts this with Zacchaeus in Luke 19, who responds to Jesus by sharing...

Why Jesus Stayed 40 Days After the Resurrection: The Birth of Apostolic Tradition Why did Jesus remain on earth for forty days after his resurrection? This episode explains that his main purpose was to teach the disciples the mysteries of the Kingdom of God and establish the apostolic tradition. From this tradition come the Church’s structure, the liturgy, and the sacraments—how to celebrate litur...

Feast of the Transfiguration: Christ Reveals His Divinity—and Our Calling to Become Truly Human This episode reflects on the Orthodox Feast of the Transfiguration, where Christ took Peter, James, and John to Mount Tabor and revealed His uncreated light, showing that He is fully God and fully man. Citing the Gospel description of His face shining like the sun and the Father’s testimony, “This is my...

Drawing from a personal story about discovering and removing a foreign lung nodule, this episode explains Jesus’ harsh-sounding gospel command to cut off a hand or foot or pluck out an eye if it causes stumbling as deliberate hyperbole calling for serious spiritual action. The message stresses deep self-examination to identify the internal “stumbling blocks” that lead to sin, noting that sin’s fir...

Reflecting on Luke 14, the speaker explains Jesus’ lesson at a feast: instead of taking the best seat like the world encourages, Christians are called to humility—“those who humble themselves will be exalted.” He outlines spiritual growth from acting out of fear of shame or punishment, to pursuing virtues like humility and love, and then to a deeper motive: living with expectation of Christ’s comi...

In this closing message from the Family and Youth Conference, the speaker reflects on the pilgrimage theme and Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 5 on loving enemies, challenging common assumptions that shape relationships through family feuds, politics, religion, and ignorance. He shares personal and humorous examples, including being mistaken for a Muslim because of his clothing, to show how quickly p...

Approaching Holy Qurbana with Humility, Repentance, and Gratitude This episode explains that no one is truly worthy to receive Holy Qurbana—not even the priest—and that the proper posture is to admit our unworthiness with repentance and humility. It warns against self-righteous thinking that personal prayers or good deeds make someone deserving, emphasizing that such attitudes actually undermine w...

What kind of God do you believe in? A distant judge? A demanding ruler? N.T. Wright once told an atheist, "I don't believe in that God either." So who is the God of the Bible? In this sermon from Hebrews 4:15–16 and the Parable of the Sower, we discover a God who enters our weakness — and who refuses to force our hearts. He sympathizes. And He scatters seed. When you put those two things together,...

The speaker reflects on times people argue confidently only to discover they were wrong, then connects this to an intense Gospel of Mark encounter where Christ’s miracles and Sabbath healings draw some closer while Jerusalem’s elders reject Him for not matching their expectations of the Messiah. They accuse Him of being influenced by demons, revealing not an intellectual problem but an unwilling h...

This episode offers a deeper perspective on Mark 3:20–30, where scribes accuse Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub and Jesus answers with the logic that “a house divided against itself cannot stand,” a line later quoted by Abraham Lincoln. The speaker connects the crowded house in Capernaum to John 14:2, explaining that “many mansions” in the King James sense means many dwelling places—rooms...

Why do so many people answer “busy” when asked how they’re doing, and when can busyness become an addiction that pulls us away from God and neighbor? This episode contrasts “bad busyness” that looks productive or even spiritual yet neglects prayer and worship, comes from proving ourselves or people-pleasing, and makes us less loving, compassionate, and patient. It also highlights “good busyness” m...