Sermons from St. Herman's

On the eighth Sunday of readings from Luke, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about the parable of the Good Samaritan. He focuses on the word "compassion", and talks about how the Good Samaritan was willing to be interrupted and also offered aid without conditions. Fr. Matthew uses St. Nektarios of Pentapolis as an example of how to show compassion. He also references his dad's homily about The Rich Man...

On the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, Fr. Matthew Howell focuses on the epistle reading, 2 Corinthians 9:6-11. He points out that the purpose of giving is not to satisfy a legal requirement but is to do good works, and that God promises that He will provide enough sustenance so that we can abound to every good work. Fr. Matthew also points out that we need to play the long game when it comes to grow...

Capping off a weekend in which he gave a retreat at the parish, Bishop John Abdalah preaches the homily at the Saint Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church 30th Anniversary celebration in Wasilla, Alaska. He covers a wide range of topics, including: pigs, demons, logoismoi (thoughts) and indigestion from pepporoni pizzas; the parish's anniversary and bright future; the elevation of Fr. Matthew to the r...

As Saint Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church celebrates its 30th Anniversary, Bishop John Abdalah presides over the weekend and offers three nights of teachings as the keynote speaker at the parish's annual retreat. This is part 2 of the third night's teaching. The topic is relationships. Retreat Talks by Bishop John from October 17-19, 2024: Talk 1: "Mental Health" - Part 1 ; Part 2 Talk 2: "Grief"...

As Saint Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church celebrates its 30th Anniversary, Bishop John Abdalah presides over the weekend and offers three nights of teachings as the keynote speaker at the parish's annual retreat. This is part 1 of the third night's teaching. The topic is relationships. Retreat Talks by Bishop John from October 17-19, 2024: Talk 1: "Mental Health" - Part 1 ; Part 2 Talk 2: "Grief"...

As Saint Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church celebrates its 30th Anniversary, Bishop John Abdalah presides over the weekend and offers three nights of teachings as the keynote speaker at the parish's annual retreat. This is part 2 of the second night's teaching. The topic is grief. Retreat Talks by Bishop John from October 17-19, 2024: Talk 1: "Mental Health" - ⁠Part 1⁠ ; ⁠Part 2⁠ Talk 2: "Grief" -...

As Saint Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church celebrates its 30th Anniversary, Bishop John Abdalah presides over the weekend and offers three nights of teachings as the keynote speaker at the parish's annual retreat. This is part 1 of the second night's teaching. The topic is grief. Retreat Talks by Bishop John from October 17-19, 2024: Talk 1: "Mental Health" - ⁠Part 1⁠ ; ⁠Part 2⁠ Talk 2: "Grief" -...

As Saint Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church celebrates its 30th Anniversary, Bishop John Abdalah presides over the weekend and offers three nights of teachings as the keynote speaker at the parish's annual retreat. This is part 2 of the first night's teaching. The topic is mental health. Retreat Talks by Bishop John from October 17-19, 2024: Talk 1: "Mental Health" - ⁠Part 1⁠ ; ⁠Part 2⁠ Talk 2: "Gr...

As Saint Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church celebrates its 30th Anniversary, Bishop John Abdalah presides over the weekend and offers three nights of teachings as the keynote speaker at the parish's annual retreat. This is part 1 of the first night's teaching. The topic is mental health. Retreat Talks by Bishop John from October 17-19, 2024: Talk 1: "Mental Health" - ⁠Part 1⁠ ; ⁠Part 2⁠ Talk 2: "Gr...

On the Sunday on which the Orthodox Church celebrates the defense of the veneration of icons by the 7th Ecumenical Council , Fr. Matthew Howell talks about the circumstances of the council, the theological statements it made, how icons are gateways to relationships with God and the saints, and how icons affirm that Christ's incarnation enabled salvation to occur through created matter. Epistle: Ti...

On the third Sunday of Luke, Fr. Matthew Howell talks about the importance of missions in the life of every Orthodox Christian. He points out that the gospel passage begins with "Jesus went" and finishes with "God has visited His people." He asks, "Have we visited the people we are sent to?" He uses the feasts of St. Thomas the Apostle--who evangelized in India--and St. Innocent of Moscow--who eva...

At the wedding of Luke McLean and Mallory Manier, Fr. Matthew Howell offers some advice on how they can have a marriage that produces "the good wine" referred to in the wedding gospel. Epistle: Ephesians 5:20-33 Brethren: Give thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting ourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves...

On the second Sunday of the readings from Luke's gospel, Fr. Matthew Howell talks about what it means to be merciful: to be above average, to go beyond normal expectations in kindness, love, forgiveness, and acts of mercy. Along the way, he gives a couple of examples from the movie "Man of God" which is about the life of St. Nektarios of Pentapolis, and also drops another quote from former NBA coa...

⁠Presvytera Dr. Jeannie Constantinou⁠ spends an evening at St. Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church in Wasilla, Alaska and teaches during a "mini-retreat" about what true apostolic tradition is, and why we need to adhere to what the apostles taught rather than rely only on human reason to "improve" or "change" the Orthodox Church. In this lecture she talks about contempo...

Presvytera Dr. Jeannie Constantinou spends an evening at St. Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church in Wasilla, Alaska and teaches during a "mini-retreat" about what true apostolic tradition is, and why we need to adhere to what the apostles taught rather than rely only on human reason to "improve" or "change" the Orthodox Church. In this lecture she talks about apostolic...

On the 13th Sunday after Pentecost and the First Sunday of the readings from the Gospel of Luke, Fr. Matthew Howell talks about Simon Peter's awe, humility, and commitment to follow Christ and how we need to follow Jesus wholeheartedly and make Christ our primary focus. Along the way, he drops a phrase from his favorite former NBA coach, Monty Williams, reminding listeners that following Chris...

On the Sunday after the Elevation of the Holy Cross , Fr. Matthew Howell once again quotes extensively from St. Nikolai Velimirovic of Zica's homily about the feast of the cross (see Homilies , Volume I, pages 152-153). St. Nikolai states that cross is the bitter medicine of immortality, but that Christ invites us to follow Him because He took the medicine first to show us that it is possible...

On the feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross, Fr. Matthew Howell quotes from St. Nikolai Velimirovic to explain what it means to take up one's cross. Namely, it means to accept every means of healing at the hand of Providence.   "What does it mean: to take up your cross? It means the willing acceptance, at the hand of Providence, of every means of healing, bitter though it may be, that...

On the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos , which happens to fall on the Sunday before the Elevation of the Holy Cross, Fr. Matthew Howell reflects on the magnitude of the birth of Mary in the light of the cross that her parents, Joachim and Anna , carried. He poses the question: Would they have been so holy had they not had to bear such a difficult burden as barrenness? He goes on to describe...

On the feast of the Indiction (Church New Year), Fr. Matthew Howell focuses on the last line of the passage from the Gospel: "And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth." He implores listeners to clean up their speech and put away foul language, citing several passages from Scripture about the importance of having a controlled tongue an...

On the eve of the feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist , following the end of Great Vespers, Fr. Matthew Howell contrasts the faithfulness of St. John the Baptist with Herod. He points out that St. John was faithful to God's righteousness and to the truth while Herod was faithful to an unrighteous vow that he should have broken. Fr. Matthew says that we should be true to our word, bu...

On the 9th Sunday after Pentecost and the 9th Sunday of Matthew, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about Jesus and Peter walking on the water. He points out how Peter was not interested in merely performing some miracle but was deeply drawn to be with the Lord as shown by the phrase "Bid me to come to thee." He also talks about Peter's powerful prayer, "Lord, save me." Along the...

On the 8th Sunday after Pentecost and the 8th Sunday of the readings from the Gospel of Matthew, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about Jesus multiplying not nearly enough food for thousands of people and then relates it to how God will work in our lives if we offer everything we have to Him. Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 Brethren, I appeal to you by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you...

On the seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches during a power outage and tells another story from the road trip his family took earlier in the summer. He shares about how his family spontaneously stopped at Dunkley Lumber mill in British Columbia, Canada and received hospitality as if they were part of the company's family. He poses the question, "Why did we receive be...

On the feast of the Transfiguration , Fr. Matthew Howell talks about the role of the mountain in the feast and how we should leave the low things of the earth and strive for the mountain of the Lord. Along the way, he quotes from Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos and references Revelation 22.   Previous Homilies for this Feast: 2023 by Very Rev. Gregory Rogers 2021 by Rev. Matthew Howell Epistle: 2...