Eastern Christian Insights

Let us get over our pride and become living epiphanies of the salvation of the One Who was baptized by St. John the Forerunner in the Jordan.

At Theophany, we celebrate that no dimension of our life or world is intrinsically profane or cut off from sharing in the holiness of God. All things, physical and spiritual, visible and invisible, are called to participate in the divine glory that our Lord has brought to the world, to become even now signs of the coming fullness of God’s Kingdom.

The Lord’s genealogy in St. Matthew’s gospel traces the Savior’s human ancestry back through many generations to Abraham. The story of the ancestors of Christ, who helped to prepare the way across the centuries for the incarnation of the God-Man, certainly does not read like a Facebook posting. The Old Testament presents them realistically as unlikely members of His family tree.

In today’s gospel lesson, there were people so used to focusing on their daily routines and worldly responsibilities that they had lost the ability to recognize something new and joyful. One owned real estate, another had animals, and a third was married. Even though these are commonplace conditions, they used them to justify their refusal to accept the invitation to the great party. No one forced...

We are all bent over and crippled in profound ways in relation to the Lord, our neighbors, and even ourselves. The good news of Christmas is that the Savior is born to set us free from captivity to decay, corruption, and weakness.

Christ came to restore sight to the blind beggars of the world. Let us embrace the disciplines and spirit of the Nativity Fast in ways that will help us see that that is precisely who we are. Let us acquire the humility necessary to receive and share the peace that He was born to bring to the world. That is how we must all prepare to welcome Him into our hearts and lives at Christmas.

We have all had experiences in which we have learned uncomfortable truths about ourselves. When that happens, we have a choice about what to do next. It is possible to recognize a weakness or failing and then to do what we can to overcome it. Too often, however, we give up hope and fall into despair due to our hurt pride. That is precisely what the man in today’s gospel lesson did when Jesus Chris...

Fr. Philip LeMasters shares about the rich, foolish farmer. "The barn of the rich fool was a pagan temple in which he worshiped only himself. If we live according to the standards of our world of corruption, we will become just like him by seeking to lay up treasures for ourselves to the point that we will shut ourselves out of the new life that Christ has brought to the world."

It is sobering how easily we can corrupt any good thing, including faith in Jesus Christ. Some people fall into the delusion of thinking that they love God and neighbor, when in reality they serve only themselves. One symptom of doing so is to narrow down the kind of people who count as our neighbors such that we excuse ourselves from seeing and serving Christ in all who bear His image and likenes...

From the story of the healing of the Gadarene demoniac, Fr. Philip LeMasters shares about how we can become our true selves in Christ.

Fr. Philip LeMasters reminds us to keep our attention on Christ.

Fr. Philip LeMasters shares the story of the raising of the son of the widow of Nain. The Savior has conquered death and shares His great victory with those who respond to Him with humble faith and repentance.

Fr. Philip LeMasters shares about the calling of the Apostles and the Conception of St. John the Forerunner.

Fr. Philip LeMasters speaks about the importance of the Cross.

Fr. Philip LeMasters speaks about our God-given purpose in life on the Feast Day of the Nativity of the Theotokos.

Fr. Philip LeMasters shares from Luke 4:16-22, reminding us that earthly distinctions between different groups of people have no significance in the Kingdom of God.

Fr. Philip LeMasters shares a homily based on this Sunday's Epistle and Gospel readings, reminding us to follow St. Paul's humble obedience to the way of Christ.

Fr. Philip LeMasters shares a homily based on this Sunday's Epistle and Gospel readings, reminding us to build our lives on the true foundation of Christ.

Fr. Philip LeMasters gives a homily on the Gospel reading on the feeding of the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish.

Fr. Philip LeMasters reflects on the Feasts of the Transfiguration of our Lord and the Dormition of the Theotokos.

Fr. Philip LeMasters shares the story of Saint Timon, and how his parish and the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America help participate in a Sister Diocese relationship with the venerable Archdiocese of Bosra-Hauran.

Fr. Philip LeMasters recounts the life of Saint Kyriaki, powerful example of obedience to Jesus Christ.

Fr. Philip LeMasters preaches on the example of the twelve holy apostles who sacrificed all for the sake of following Jesus.

Fr. Philip LeMasters shares the importance of becoming saints in the Orthodox Church.

Fr. Philip LeMasters preaches on the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.