Holy Trinity + Holy Cross - Sermons

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Christ heals a woman who has been bent over for eighteen years, making her stand up straight. However, the synagogue leader condemned Christ, saying that he was doing work on the Sabbath, which was forbidden according to the Old Testament law. However, Christ references the Old Testament law that permits an animal to be untethered and taken to water on the Sabbath....

In this Sunday’s reading from the Gospel of Luke, Christ gives a blind man his sight. Fr. Micah challenges us to ask ourselves if we, too, suffer from blindness. All too often, we are blind to the image of Christ in the faces of those all around us. Fr. Micah explains that we must have respect for the other, including the stranger, to truly see them. We must be willing to be quiet and listen, havi...

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, a rich man comes to Christ and asks him what he must do to inherit everlasting life, and Christ tells the rich man to keep the commandments. The man responds that he has kept the commandments. Christ doesn’t correct his response but proceeds to tell him to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow him. The rich man went away sorrowful, as he had great poss...

This Sunday, on Stewardship Sunday, Fr. Gregory outlines the history of stewardship in the Scriptures. In the Old Testament, stewardship served three main purposes: acknowledgment that everything belongs to God, thanksgiving for God sharing his creation with us, and providing for the priest and tabernacle/temple. In the New Testament, there is an emphasis on stewardship being a sacrificial free wi...

Fr. Joseph Copeland, this Sunday’s guest priest, opens his sermon with the purpose of humanity as defined by our sacred Tradition: to become like God. This is the purpose today, and this was the purpose in the beginning. However, our first parents chose their own way, forsaking intimacy and communion with God. Consequentially, we live in a confused, broken world. Fr. Joseph relates this concept to...

Fr. Gregory opens his sermon with a quote from St. Silouan the Athonite, who said “My brother is my life.” This Sunday’s Gospel reading — the story of the rich man and Lazarus — is one of many which illustrates the importance of this lesson. Fr. Gregory explains that the rich man’s sin was not his wealth, nor anything that he did. Rather, it was what he left undone, his unwillingness to show compa...

This Sunday, Fr. Micah spoke on generosity. He quoted 2 Corinthians 9, starting in verse 6, in which St. Paul says, “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.” Fr. Micah points out that, even if we sow just a little — give just a little, pray just a little — we will see the fruit. However, those who wish to sow bountifully will have an incalculable harvest. We see this bountiful sowing in th...

This Sunday, guest priest Fr. Stephen Freeman gave a sermon on the topic of chaos and order. He begins by explaining that we as humans do not like chaos, but we like to make sense of things. We have a need to bring order from chaos, just as God did in creation and children do as they grow. This Sunday's Gospel reading is the story of a man who had chaos inside him, being possessed by many demons....

This Sunday, we celebrate the synaxis — the coming together — of the holy fathers at the Seventh Ecumenical Council. These councils gathered not to add to the faith, but rather to refute a heresy, something that sought to take away from the fullness of the faith. The fathers at the Seventh Ecumenical Council gathered at Nicaea to combat the heresy of iconoclasm. Iconoclasts were those who felt tha...

In today’s Gospel reading, Christ has compassion on the widow of Nain, and he raises her son from the dead. Fr. Micah points out that he doesn’t merely speak to the young man to raise him, but he touches the bier. He uses the intimacy of touch, being God made man in flesh. To us today, he offers the same intimacy and more, saying, "This is my body which is broken for you." The one who touched and...

In today’s Gospel reading, Christ contrasts the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of the world to come, his kingdom. Fr. Gregory focuses on this contrast in today’s sermon, and he encourages us to to be in the world but not of the world. First, he clarifies the meaning of the term 'world,' which can be used in two different and opposite ways. It can reference God’s creation, the product of his...

Today, the Sunday after the Elevation of the Cross, we read about the Cross in both the Gospel and Epistle readings. In the Gospel, Christ tells us that if we wish to follow him, we must take up our cross, we must deny ourselves. St. Paul elaborates on this in the Epistle reading, saying “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” In his sermon, Fr. Gre...

Fr. Micah begins his sermon today with a Greek saying which says, “Life without festivals is like a journey without an end.” As humans, we are created to celebrate, and our Orthodox calendar is filled with celebrations. Fr. Micah points out the significance of Christ’s first miracle — transforming water into wine at a wedding banquet — which reminds us that we were created to rejoice in the goodne...

On September 1, we celebrate the Church New Year. In his sermon, Fr. Gregory reflects on time and its significance in our faith and lives. First, he speaks on the Gospel reading from Luke, in which Christ reads from the prophecy of Isaiah and proclaims “Today, this reading has been fulfilled in your hearing.” In this, Christ brings together the past and future to the present. When Christ entered i...

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...