Saint Hagop Armenian Church

‘My heart is Democratic, but my brain is kind of Republican,’ said JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon years back, and I resonate with that myself. There is an openness and idealism about being a democrat, openness to immigrants, to the downtrodden and to the rest of the world that I think is virtuous. And… The post The Distance Between Head & Heart first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

Today’s Gospel reading is about the bottom line of our spiritual life.  The phrase ‘bottom line’ comes from the practical and efficient business world. The bottom line is the number found under the bold bottom line on a profit & loss statement or balance sheet.  Don’t give me all the details, what is the bottom… The post What’s the Bottom Line? first appeared on St. Hagop Armen...

For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. 2 Cor 10:18 Some people sell themselves short, and some people oversell themselves.  I wonder if you tend to one or the other or a little of both.  I ran into two young guys looking for jobs… The post How Much Are You Worth? first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

In his presidential campaign announcement speech, RFK Jr said ‘I have so many skeletons in my closet that if they could all vote, I could run for king of the world.” Nothing to be proud of there, but at least he told the truth, albeit easier to do when you have no real chance of… The post Skeletons in the Closet? first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

First, we must note that this Gospel reading is one of the few that occurs two times a year-acknowledging how often storms pop up in life and urging us to be prepared.  This reading is like a fire drill, a cell phone alert to always be vigilant-since money problems, work problems, health problems, often come… The post On Being Stretched first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

In 2026, the Sagrada Familia, the Church of the Holy Family in Barcelona is set to be completed.  I’ve never seen Antoni Gaudi’s masterpiece in person, but the pictures are stunningly beautiful, bold flying buttresses and twisted towers rising up over the plain urban landscape. Even more compelling than how this cathedral looks finished, is the story… The post Unfinished Sermo...

Let’s go about it this way.  If you asked the average person Olympic couch surfer what kind of medal they would prefer winning and rank them in order, 99% would say we first want Gold, if not gold then silver, if not silver then bronze. Well as is often the case, our Christian faith reverses… The post Beware Shiny Things first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be… The post The Answers to the Test first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church...

“When the student is ready the teacher will appear. When the student is truly ready…The teacher will Disappear.”  This bit of ancient wisdom from the Tao Te Ching adds needed Eastern perspective to our dominant Western worldview on how we learn and grow to become better students of our Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest teacher… The post When the Student is Ready… first appeared on St. Ha...

Recall that Sabbath rest is the prime directive, baked into creation and the only way to live fully.  Time was the first thing that God made Holy, and in that space we rest in God with Jesus Christ.  To not do so is spiritual homicide, slavery to the passing and hollow pleasures of the world.… The post Redeeming Rest first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

Well it just so happens that in today’s assigned reading, we see that over 2000 years ago, the Apostle Paul was also an Olympics watcher. We don’t know if Paul thought the Olympics a relatively good or bad thing.  Paul did not spend much time talking about the relative good or evil of things in… The post Olympic Spirituality first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

That’s a big difference between adults and kids. Kids like to repeat things almost without limit, whereas adults tend to see this as childish and boring, something that we grow out of.   However, in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus urges us not to grow out of this child-like state of simple, repetitive appreciation-but to prayerfully grow… The post Do it Again! first appeared on St. H...

The disciples missed out on a lot with their eyes half closed to their master, on this day and so many other times, and of course so do we. As all stories of Christ, this one does not happen only once, but once and forever, repeating permanent truths about who God is and who we… The post Jet Lagged first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

When we say Holy Etchmiadzin we reaffirm Orthodox and Catholics belief in sacred spaces. This includes the bricks and stones, architecture and icons of a place, as these can point to the story of God and man just as the words of the Bible do. And it is the story that is sacred. One Christian… The post Sacred Place, Storied Place first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

Today we celebrate the feast day of Elijah, renowned prophet of the Old Testament. One of our assigned readings describes Elijah’s great prophetic demonstration of the power of God-picture Billy Graham preaching to 100k in Yankee Stadium-Elijah was that impressive!  The second reading, though, is much less dynamic.  It portrays Elijah at the end of… The post What’s Now & What’s Nex...

‘They act like they own the place.’ If you have been a boss or a landlord, you know this can be a good or a bad thing.  The good part of a worker or tenant acting like they own the place is that they feel buy in.  Apparently at Facebook/Meta ‘This is now YOUR company,’… The post Acting Like You Own the Place first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

According to today’s scripture, and just about everything we read in the Bible, increase in numbers is never directly achieved by human effort, it always seems to be the result of something else that God has initiated.  That’s what we see in today’s passage.  The Apostles says that the new church was built up by… The post Not for Sale first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

Words have always played a supporting role in the Armenian Apostolic Church as compared to the post reformation churches.  Thus, my sermons are short and I work hard to make them so.  If you don’t believe me, let’s look at the data. Pew Research Center analyzed 50,000 sermons in 2020 and here is what they… The post How to be Apostolic (in 9 minutes or less) first appeared on St. Hagop Armeni...

So what is lament?  The shortest definition of lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust.  The Psalms are full of Laments. Our Ter Voghormea is a lament. Beating our breast and saying Vay Indz, Vay Indz during Confession is a Lament.  Gregory of Narek wrote an entire famous Book of Lamentations.  Lament… The post Pain Killers first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

This increase in renaming original things when a new version comes out isn’t that surprising to see in our ever-changing technological society, but we might be surprised to observe the same process (albeit at a slower rate) in our understanding of God through history, the Scriptures and the church.  In fact, you could say that… The post The Ultimate Retronym first appeared on St. Hagop Armen...

The prologue of St. John’s Gospel, in the majestic story of God that it reveals, is every bit as breathtaking as Mount Ararat and Tampa Bay.  And if we are paying attention, we will be stunned by the mysterious beauty of the presence of God in Christ that emerges from it, such that we will… The post The Great Surprise first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

A man is incomplete until he is married, and then he is finished.  A woman is incomplete until she is married, and then she is finished.  I sometimes begin marriage homilies like this to open hearts with humor and open up the profound sacrament of marriage.  The humor is in the double meaning of ‘finished.’ … The post It is Finished first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

To get to the lost meaning of palms, you might go to your trophy case if you have one, or imagine one if you don’t. Think of these gold-painted golfers, or soccer balls or gymnasts.  Picture the Lombardi trophy (a golden football) or the Stanley Cup (a silver wedding cake?).  2000 years from now people… The post Trophy Life first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

You are going to a funeral and discover that you are the person who passed away.  Three people are going to speak:  A family member, someone from your church, and a friend from work/school.  Write out what you would wish for them to say.  Now plan your life! The post Attending Your Own Funeral first appeared on St. Hagop Armenian Church .

Thomas Edison is famous for his inventions of the light bulb. We forget that he attempted the lightbulb 1,000 times unsuccessfully before prevailing. When a reporter asked him, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison said, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”  Our Lord and… The post Who’s the Judge & Who’s the Widow first appeared on St. H...