Sunday, June 29, 2025: St. Tikhon of Amathus
ROMANS 5:1-10
MATTHEW 6:22-33
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Christ is in our midst! Well, everyone should buckle up. This is going to be one of those homilies where I’m going to touch on some things that are just absolutely taboo.
You know, Moses, he went up to the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. He goes up and the angels, God of darkness, provides him the law by which man should govern himself and live. He’s up there 40 days in darkness. He comes down, bringing the light to mankind. First of all, Hebrews, then to all the people, he brings this light.
And lo, what does he see? He sees the children of Israel dancing, frolicking, groping the golden calf. Moses came to bring them light and life. And the children of Israel, in their anxiety, quickly could not stand the unknown. So they fashioned an idol in which they found their security.
Trigger warning, talking about anxiety today. Trigger warning, talking about money today. The fact that I can say trigger warning and everyone here knows what I’m talking about tells you how bad of a situation we’re in. Our society has whole lexicons of language built around anxiety. It defines us.
It motivates us. It’s the very thing that shapes us, that empowers us. How many of us get things done because of anxiety? Most of us. Anxiety moves us. We feed off of it. It gives us strength. It gives us clarity, so we think. But actually anxiety is killing us. It’s strangling us. It’s choking up the very life from us. Why are we anxious?
We’re anxious because we don’t know what we’re going to eat. We are a nation where even the homeless are overweight. Undernourished, but overfed. We, as a society, everyone is filled with information, yet no one knows anything. How is it that we spend all our time looking up facts, looking up “What’s this mean, and who’s doing what, and why is this?” and yet we can’t even get the basics down? Filled with information, and yet we know nothing.
How is that? How is it that the very basics of life, which all of mankind has existed for, but for some reason, in our generation, we just can’t keep it together? We are disordered. We fear our own shadows. How is it? Is it because we lack? No.
We here, whether you live here or not, you come here to the city, you see poverty. But we all know the poverty we see with our own eyes here, it’s not like the poverty where there’s real abject poverty. There’s no one within eyeshot of you that doesn’t know where to get food if they really need it. The only person you see running down the street naked is because they’re out of their mind, not because they don’t have anything.
So why are we so filled with anxiety? Human beings, traditionally, were filled with anxiety because they really did worry about their food. They really didn’t know where they were going to get their clothing. And yet, even then, was that true?
The Scripture says that it rains on the just and the unjust alike. God provides even for the pagan. God provides for the heathen. God provides even for His own enemies. Do you think that the Lord himself Who says “Love your enemies” doesn’t keep His own word? Did that ever dawn on you? Did you ever stop to think that the One who taught us to love our enemies, He Himself is the One Who first does it. He’s the One Who first does it and says, “Look, I’m going to provide for those who curse Me. I’m going to provide for those who blaspheme against Me.” He does. So if even a Satanist, even an atheist, even the worst and harm of criminals is provided for, why is it that we are triggered when we start thinking about money? Why are we so riddled with anxiety that we can’t function?
You see, the birds of the air, every morning, they sing their praises. They sing their praises. They sing to God. And we roll our eyes and we go, “That’s quaint, Father.” Is it? Christians are supposed to be little Christs. Which means that they’re disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, which means that you keep His commandments. Are we not all lawbreakers? How dare we throw stones at the children of Israel? You have something far more intimate, far more explicit than they ever did.
Moses comes to you daily, bringing much more than a vague law of moral code. The very Life Himself has come to you and seeks to pour out love in your soul. And yet, why is it that Love Himself, the Holy Spirit, Which has come to pour love into our very souls – as the Epistle said today – why is it then, if we have this love, if we know that this love is there present for us for eternity, why are we triggered? Why do we think that God will not provide for us? Why do we not keep His commandments?
Watch this: Anxiety is a sin. Anxiety is a sin. These are not my words. You heard it plainly in the Gospel today. You heard your Master’s commandment. Be not anxious for anything.
Keep His commandments if you love him. Have you considered that the reason why maybe things aren’t going the way they should go, with ones and zeros, is not because God isn’t providing for you, but because that you’re staring at it, you’re looking at it, and that golden calf isn’t producing the milk for you that you think it would. Have you considered that? I know it’s tough.
I told you, trigger warning. But what are we to do? The Gospel is so plain today, isn’t it? It’s so clear. We are in the shadow of Pentecost. We are going into the fourth week of Pentecost. Did not the Holy Spirit descend? Has He not filled your hearts with love? No.
But I’ll tell you why he hasn’t filled your hearts with love. It isn’t because there isn’t an abundance. It isn’t because God doesn’t want to fill your hearts with love. It isn’t because He’s ignoring you. It’s because you’ve made no room for Him. You’ve made no room for the Holy Spirit in your hearts. “What do you mean, Father? I’m here now. I’m praying.” But you’re riddled with anxiety. The children of Israel, they have their own little religious dance. It’s not like they stopped being religious. They just switched over. They look to mammon to fulfill them.
God’s love is such that He, in His perfect way, seeks to usher us into a deeper way of being. If your eye is filled with darkness… what is your eye? It’s your mind. It’s your mind. It’s your nous. It’s not your optics. These are controlled by your mind. And they go to and fro. They don’t have life of their own. I don’t want to hear, “I couldn’t control my eyes.” Then you need to become like Job and make a covenant with your eyes. Because the eyes are guided by the mind, the soul. Not the other way around.
And we’re filled with darkness. Our soul is filled with darkness because our mind is gazing upon things that bring darkness. The phone and the various portals, the various temples in which we bow down, will not bring us light. It won’t. It’s brought us nothing but darkness. It’s brought us nothing but anxiety. It’s brought us nothing but despair and confusion and faithlessness. And if you are getting antsy in your seat, good. Good. Because it means the fire of the Holy Spirit is starting to cook. It’s starting to burn out those impurities.
You’ve come this far. You’ve braved the rain, you strong soldiers of the Lord. But will you brave the fire? Will you approach the chalice today with conviction? You can think this is another one of my homilies. You can think that.
And you can just brush it off like another Sunday. Or you can receive Communion for the first time in a long time, and not just bread and wine. You can confess your anxiety. You don’t need me to be there. You can confess the anxiety here and now. And you can confess your faithlessness. And you can confess your idolatry. And you can come forward and you can take Holy Communion. And you can beg God to have mercy on you. And you can beg Him to let you have life and love once again. This was always the plan.
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.
Saturday, June 28, 2025: Vidovdan
ROMANS 3:28-4:3
MATTHEW 7:24-8:4
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Christ is in our midst!
Today, we have such an incredible Synaxis, a great gathering of saints. Commemorating the Great Martyr Tsar Lazar, who fought bravely and valiantly in the battle of Kosovo; St. Monica and her son St. Augustine of Hippo; also commemorating St. Jonah of Moscow, the great patriarch; and the Prophet Amos. This Synaxis, this gathering, spans centuries, spans millennia, spans continents, spans cultures.
The thing that unites them is love. This love is not just a natural love and affection, it’s the love of Christ. Christ is the rock in which they built their house upon, and each one of them wisely, knowingly built their house and laid the foundation of love.
But this love is not just the simple, natural love that pagans and even animals have for one another, a love that preserves biological function, a love that preserves the passing down of gold or land. It’s a love that is a foundation based upon Christ, which means that it’s eternal, which means that it transcends the natural functions of state and race and property.
We would make a mistake to think that the prophet Amos was just proclaiming justice for the sake of the nation of Israel. We would make a mistake to think that Tsar Lazar just laid his life down simply for the borders of Kosovo. We would make a mistake to think that Monica was inspired more than just her son shaming her good name. We’d make a mistake to think that the great hierarch Jonah was just simply trying to keep his people in line.
No. All of them laid a foundation of love. They laid down their lives. The hierarch Jonah tirelessly serving his people. Saint Monica, countless sleepless nights, enduring the disdain of her husband for the sake of her son. Think about Tsar Lazar, pouring out the very life that God had given him into the soil of Kosovo. Prophet Amos, enduring affliction and shame for the sake of proclaiming divine justice. All of them laid down their lives for the sake of love. They sacrificed not just their bodies, but they sacrificed in many ways their earthly hope.
Because they realized that whatever they were fighting for on a natural level was fleeting. Kosovo’s borders would expand and contract. At some point in time, the people who Jonah blessed, they would lay in the grave. Israel would fall and would become something even greater, the church.
It is the love of God which inspired all of them to lay the foundation of love, of sacrifice. Without sacrifice, there is no foundation. Without sacrifice, there is no real love. Without sacrifice, you do not have Christ. And it’s through sacrifice that we find Christ.
And through Christ, through the seeking of Christ, all of these other things are added to us. Dignity, nation, health, hope, all of these things, they’re only possible and they’re only everlasting in Christ. So on this great day, let us remember truly the work of all these great saints.
That their work was not the work of securing something here in this temporal world, but it was the work of securing an eternal homeland being built upon a rock. Through the prayers of Tsar Lazar and of all the saints, Lord Jesus Christ our God, help us to build our home based on sacrifice for You. Amen.
Wednesday, June 25, 2025: Saint Onuphrius
ROMANS 8:2-13
MATTHEW 10:16-22
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Christ is in our midst! He is, and ever shall be.
A serpent is wise because, above all things, it knows to guard the very thing that gives it life, guards its head.
No matter how you handle a snake, a serpent, no matter in which way you seek to capture it, to attack it, to handle it, it will always seek to hide and provide protection for its head. It knows that its life is hidden in this, in its understanding. We are so often failing in this very, shall we say, fundamental reality, that the thing that animates us, that gives us life, we are so slow to preserve it.
You see, the flesh provides nothing. The flesh provides nothing. In fact, the flesh, when it is given attention to, brings nothing but death. Why? Because it is only Spirit that animates. It is only Spirit that gives life, and Spirit comes from God.
Adam was given Spirit to breathe into his lungs. His lungs are nothing but dust. Our lungs are nothing but dust. Our brain, our bones, our sinew are nothing but dust. The very things that we unfortunately feel drawn to, to distract ourselves with, is nothing but dust. The lust of the eye, the lust of the body, the lust of the stomach, these things are nothing but dust. They have no life in them.
They cannot give life. They can only bring death. And it’s important for us to remember that the measure of life is not found in our moral obligations. Why? Because our moral obligations, as we understand them, are really nothing more than obligations of dust. They do not give life. What gives us life is our connection to the One Who gives life.
And this is why attending to the things of the Spirit, if you do so, you are wise. If, St. Paul says, if. What is this if? If you are in Christ. Well, if you are in Christ, then you will attend to the things of Christ, which are Spirit. And to be clear, do not think that I’m just speaking about the invisible things, which we may confuse with emotions. No. I’m talking about something higher, something deeper, something tangible, in fact.
The Spirit gives life. In the Gospel today, when the Lord says, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Many may think, why, Lord? How is it that You being a loving shepherd would send us out to be torn asunder, to be betrayed? To suffer such terrible things, how is it? Well, because if you are in Christ Jesus, like St. Paul says, then you will be not only His vessel in regards of uttering words to the Gentiles, uttering words to the authorities, the principalities. But you yourself.
And this is where it gets interesting. Your body, which is dust. Your whole person will be a witness. Because without the Spirit of God animating us, we are all not only lifeless, but we’re cowardly. And so the Lord has arranged that when we are put to the test, that our faith is strengthened. And when our faith is strengthened, then not only can we do anything. But we are in fact with the One Who does all things.
The Spirit is what gives life. This is why we must feed the Spirit. Not just through saying prayers. Not just through reading. But through living. Living a spiritual life. A life of obedience. A life of faith. Faith is trust.
God would have us to be wiser serpents, to guard the thing that gives life. And in doing so, we become innocent as doves. How is this? Because the one who is in Christ Jesus, they’re immortal. They have no need to inflict revenge. They have no need to fight and defend for dust. Because they’ve inherited the things of the Spirit.
And the things of the Spirit are eternal. Eternity isn’t some sort of mythical state of being, my sons and daughters. We can and you should begin to taste of it here and now. You should be catching glimpses of eternity. You should be living in such a way that your whole being is moving towards Spirit. Towards life. Towards the One Who gives life.
Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and grant us life.
Tuesday, June 24, 2025: Apostles Bartholomew and Barnabas
ROMANS 7:14-8:2; ACTS 11:19-26, 29-3
MATTHEW 10:9-15; LUKE 10:16-21
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Christ is in our midst!
We hear in the Epistle how there was a great famine that was throughout all the world. And the prophets of God, those who speak on behalf of God, the mouthpieces of God, those who see the word of the Lord and its need to go throughout the world, they send word and consolation, the strength of the brethren. St. Barnabas today, who we are commemorating, the son of consolation.
This consolation of the Lord is such that not only does it bring healing and bring comfort to those who are in need, the consolation of the Lord also strengthens and invigorates, it warms. It lets those who receive that consolation, lets them know that the Lord is in firm control. The consolation of the Lord isn’t just simply saying it’s going to be okay. The consolation of the Lord is such that it invigorates and renews and inspires.
St. Paisios the Athonite says, “If you seek the consolation of man, you will not receive the consolation of God.” The consolation of man is such that it leaves one weak. It hinders one from entering into a deeper work, a deeper development. The consolation of man is such that it cripples.
The consolation of God, however, strengthens and fortifies. St. Barnabas, who was a companion of Saul, St. Barnabas who was sent to Saul, Paul, eventually, both of them being Apostles, both of them being sent.
To be sent as an Apostle is to be a son of consolation. Again, the consolation of God and of man. To be sent as an Apostle means to be bringing word of mission. Word of vocation. Word of inspiration. And to fortify those who will endure and struggle against the world and the flesh and the devil.
But that endurance and that struggle is made all the sweeter by the consolation of God. When we think about the consolation of God, we should always remember this: That the Lord wastes nothing.
And so oftentimes when we’re looking for consolation, again, we are looking for someone to assuage and to keep us in this place of weakness. The consolation of God brings courage. The consolation of God is the very thing that’s going to allow you to finish your race with dignity, with expectation, with hope.
Let us remember the great lights that God has given us to console us. The Apostles who ended their lives being beheaded, being skinned, being dejected and rejected, but ever receiving the consolation of God. It’s very appropriate for us during this fast during this time right now, the world at length, it’s very appropriate for us to have the feast day of St. Barnabas during the Apostles’ Fast. It’s very appropriate for us to be looking evermore for the consolation of God and rejecting the consolation of man.
Through the prayers of St. Barnabas, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.
Monday, June 23, 2025: Day of the Angels
ROMANS 7:1-13
MATTHEW 9:36-10:8
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Christ is in our midst.
In the Gospel today, the Lord gives authority to the Twelve and sends them out to cast out the unclean spirits. This dynamic of authority, it’s what the whole universe revolves around. The whole world quakes and trembles because of this question of authority. Who has dominion? Who has the right to say, come, go, live, die? There’s a profound mystery in authority. It’s one that only a few can understand.
When we look upon a man, a woman, who have been given the blessing of having children, or maybe they’ve been given stewardship over a ministry, stewardship over a business, you can see very quickly the character of the person, and you can see very quickly who has authority and who doesn’t. When you see a father lose control, scream at his children, threaten, abuse, you know that man has no authority. When you see a man scheming, plotting, planning, manipulating, threatening, trying to move his employees or his subordinates to do his will and his bidding, you know that man has no authority. You see a mother threatening, violent, out of control. You know that mother, that woman, has no authority.
Authority is not given for tyranny. Tyranny is not a sign of authority, and this is why the world is on a trajectory to destruction. Tyranny is a sign of fear and the absolute inversion of authority. Authority is given to heal. Authority is given to serve.
You see, a man, when he becomes a father, or the head of a company, or head of something, his authority is revealed in his service. His ability to serve those who are underneath him, whether they be children, whether they be his quote-unquote employees, he serves He empowers and enables them to do what they need to do for the sake of that ministry, for the sake of that company, for the sake of whatever purpose that entity exists, he serves. And the better that he serves, the better the people underneath him do. That’s a universal principle.
Doesn’t matter whether you’re in South Korea, doesn’t matter whether you’re in South Canaan, Pennsylvania. The reality is that God Himself has revealed. The source of authority is found and revealed in the one who can serve.
Christ, Who is God, came and He showed us the real source of authority. That power is not a top-down structure, but rather it’s inverted. And that the one who serves the many is the one with authority.
The demons reveal this to us perfectly. In the Gospel today, the Lord has given authority to the Twelve. Why? First and foremost, to cast out the unclean spirits. These are the ones who control. These are the ones who scream. These are the ones who manipulate. These are the ones who are moved by their lack of authority. And in doing so, they seek to intimidate, you see. And it is their drum that the world is marching to. It is the drum of the fallen ones that the world seeks to imitate. It is their psychology that the world has accepted. Thinking that authority is about impressing and controlling.
When we see that our ego moves us, when we see that we must convince, manipulate, you have a sure sign, not only that you don’t have any authority, but rather you’re under the authority of a fallen one. It is not the Holy Spirit of God. It is not the Son of God. It is definitely not a movement from the Father on high that has pushed you to this place of lack of control. No, in fact, not only do you not have control over your children, over your subordinates, over whatever you think you have, you don’t even have control over yourself.
In the Proverbs, it says of how a man who can control himself is greater even than one who can conquer a city. To have authority over oneself is no small thing, my sons and my daughters. And this is why, again, the Lord gave authority to the Twelve, for them to first and foremost cast out the unclean spirits, because they’re squatters, because they take their own rights and they impose it upon those who would be held captive by them. And it takes one with authority to come and to deliver them.
But that authority, again, is revealed by how? By healing, by alleviating the disease and the sickness, by bringing peace and wholeness. If you want authority, if your ego is calling you to have control and to lead, just understand what you’re being called to. You’re not being called to having people bow down and scrape and obey your will. If you want authority, you’re being called to serve, to make whole, to bind what is broken, to heal it, to help the helpless, to make life grow.
Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercessions of the Holy Apostles, grant that we may understand authority, and that authority comes from the Father on high, through You Who served, and by Your Holy Spirit, may we be empowered to hold this authority for the healing and the good of Your Kingdom. Amen.
Sunday, June 22, 2025: Saints of North America
ROMANS 2:10-16, HEBREWS 11:33-12:2
MATTHEW 4:18-23, MATTHEW 4:25-5:12
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ!
Today we are commemorating the Saints of North America. These great lights, such great Saints such as Saint Sebastian of Jackson, Saint Herman of Alaska, Peter the Aleut, Saint John Maximovitch, Saint Nikolai of Zica, Raphael of Brooklyn, Saint Mardarije of Libertyville, Saint Tikhon.
These Saints are great lights. These Saints are great fishermen. What is America, if nothing else, except for a sea of nations? You see, there are many things that can be said about our nation. Some say we’re Babylon, and this is true. Some say we have exported all of our licentiousness, our fornication, and our greed to the rest of the world. This is true.
But something that is also very true is that in America, people have learned what it means to be Christian. What I mean by that is we do not have the undergirding of traditional culture. We do not have the undergirding of ancient language and ancient culture.
We, as an Orthodox Church, Orthodox Christians here in America, we have one thing, one Person, and that’s Christ. This is our great strength. Our great strength is that we have nothing else to fall upon except for Christ.
I was listening, and I heard a preacher say something. He was talking about the fear that is enveloping the world. He made a pretty profound point. He said, you know, nuclear missiles aren’t made to take selfies with. They’re not made to look at. They’re made to use. He’s right.
But what’s more important is God doesn’t give saints for no reason. If there was no hope for America, if there was no hope for us, we would not have these bright lights. God would not have sent St. John Maximovitch here. He would have kept him in Russia. He would have kept him in Shanghai. God would not have sent St. Mardarije here. If there was no hope for us, then God would not have sent us so many saints.
And so now we must realize what’s before us. And what’s before us is to become fishers of men. Because something else that we as Americans have that really no one else has, if we remember something, that this world is not our home, as Americans, this sea of nations, all of us come from a diaspora. Unless you’re Choctaw, unless you’re Sioux, unless you’re Blackfoot, unless you’re Apache, you’re from a diaspora. Whether you’re Swiss, Ghanaian, Pakistani, whatever you are, if you’re here, you come from somewhere else, and you know more than anyone else that this is your home. Moses would do maybe just a little bit better if we packed him up and sent him to Ireland than I would if you sent me back to Ghana. This is our home.
This is where we’re called to sanctify. This place, Missouri, Kansas City, this is where God has called us to become saints. Now, the trick is we cannot become saints on our own will. We can’t become saints just by the force of our will and our desire to be good, clean citizens. No. We need help. We need to start knowing who the saints in this land are. We need to pray to them. We need to read their lives. We need to see what was important to them, because they were the Apostles sent by the Holy Spirit to this land and this time.
Something else that we have as Americans is we are a young nation, and we know all the problems with youth – impetuousness, selfishness, lack of self-control – but you know that something that’s great about youth? It’s filled with hope. And a young heart is a heart that can love.
And so in the midst of all this darkness, in the midst of all this hardness of heart, we as a young nation, if we have nothing else, we can show the world what it means to love in the midst of darkness. But we can’t do it alone. We need to know our saints. We need to actually pray about them, pray to them. We cannot read about prayer. We have to actually pray. We can’t talk about them. We actually have to know them. We have to make pilgrimages.
Relics of Saint Nikolai are here. Relics of Saint Mardarije are here. Relics – the whole Saint John Maximovitch is here in the States. We need to make pilgrimages. We need to go to see them. We need to pray to them. We need to know them so that they will know us. If there was no hope, God would not have left us such great lights.
Don’t forget who you are. Do not be overcome with fear, but rather be filled with faith. Pray. This is why you’re here. This is why we have service. This is why we do what we do, because the grace of God is greater than anything. Do not let the world or the devil fool you or rob you of your actual inheritance: the Kingdom of God. Through the prayers of all the saints of North America, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.
Amen.
Monday, June 9, 2025: Day of the Holy Spirit
EPHESIANS 5:8-19
MATTHEW 18:10-20
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has descended.
Who is it that stops the mouth of doubters, blasphemers? Who is it? Who is it that leads people who are completely blind out of the darkest of pits? Who is it that leads us to a miracle even greater than that of being raised from the dead, which is repentance? It’s easier to raise a man from the dead than it is for a man to change his willful stony heart.
Who is it that leads a man into this miracle? Who is it that inspires children to the heights of love and obedience? When we see the reality of enmity between brothers and sisters, between loved ones, between nations, who is it that can inspire peace? Who is it that leads us to come to a place of order and agreement? We, as a people, it’s hard for us to even agree on what to have for dinner, let alone to find order and organization for the greater good. Who is it that leads us into this?
It’s the Holy Spirit. Who is it that teaches us that Christ is God, convicts us of our sins, inspires us to righteousness? Who is it? Who is it that shows us that the cross is not foolishness, but rather that it’s life? Who is it that inspires us with wisdom? It’s the Holy Spirit.
Who is the One that gives you the intuition to not to go to that place that you’ve been planning to go to all week? Who is it that tells you you should go to bed now? Who is it that tells you you should not look at this now? Who is it that tells you and warns you of the subtle snares and traps that are set for you throughout the day?
It’s the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit Who comes as a mighty rushing wind; the Holy Spirit Who comes as a flame of fire; the Holy Spirit who comes as gushing living water flowing forth from your mouth, speaking and uttering things that you did not know yourself. This is the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit Who comes as a form of a dove. Who is so gentle and so meek. And unfortunately for us, so easily pushed away. This is the Holy Spirit.
Saint Seraphim of Sarov, he says that the whole of the Christian life is to acquire the Holy Spirit. We live in a time, I saw a video. It’s terrible. How many of us were deluded like this man who had the boldness to say that the Holy Spirit had sent him? He sat and he challenged another man to a duel, an arguing match. Can you imagine?
May God have mercy on us. May God have mercy on me. How many of us have been so deluded, so proud that we would think the Holy Spirit would lead us to something, anything other than the things mentioned? And yet we do. We live in a society and a world that does not know the Holy Spirit. Although the Holy Spirit is with them. The Holy Spirit is poured out upon all flesh. The Holy Spirit strives with man, even though the Holy Spirit is grieved. But the society does not know the Holy Spirit.
The acquisition of the Holy Spirit is a difficult thing. Not because the Holy Spirit is weak, not because the Holy Spirit is fickle, but because of the hardness of our hearts and our delusions, our boldness.
On this day of the Holy Spirit, may He be with us. May He inspire us and show us, if we are willing, all the small ways in which we grieve Him. May the Holy Spirit show us all the ways in which we may be with Him and acquire Him and be inspired by Him and hold His fire and His light and His cool water within our hearts, deep in our bowels.
Because this is what it means to be a Christian, and this is the fullness of life here. That the Spirit who makes enemies into friends, and hatred into love, and foolishness into wisdom. That same Spirit, may He abide in us.
Through the prayers of the Optina Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, continue to forgive us and grant us Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sunday, June 8, 2025: Pentecost
ACTS 2:1-11
JOHN 7:37-52; 8:12
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has descended!
Well, truly what a glorious day, and the bringing in of souls into the kingdom, souls that are now able to receive the word of God. When Moses received the law from God, he climbed a mountain. In 40 days the Lord met him there, and in darkness, smoke, and fire, the law was given to Moses, and through the hands of Moses to the people of Israel, and through the people of Israel to the whole world.
This event that changed the history of mankind, this began to become the roots by which the Jews had the feast of Pentecost, or in other words, the Feast of Booths, and at this point they would celebrate the life that was given. They would bring in a harvest, and they would remember that the law was given, and that the law was given to show them the transgressions and the sins of man, and that that law would give them a way towards life.
Now, that law was given in the midst of darkness, in the midst of fire, in the midst of smoke, and anyone who touched the mountain at that time was to be killed. Man could not receive the fullness of life yet, because the bridge had not been made. Christ had not been incarnate of the Holy Virgin, and moreover, the Holy Spirit had not descended, so that the Spirit himself could live and dwell within men. The law showed us our error, but the Holy Spirit in Pentecost shows us life.
In Pentecost, we are given the clarity and the ability to have the fruits of the Spirit. In Pentecost, the Spirit is given to the Apostles, the Holy Spirit descends, and from there, from the Apostles to the rest of the world, the world now, instead of living in division and darkness and condemnation, is able to live in repentance. You see, we need to show the world that repentance is not a dour thing. That repentance is not a regretful thing. Repentance is not something begrudging.
Repentance is new life. Who here wants to go back to their old ways? Who here wants to be on the verge of despair always? Who here wants to live a life of nihilism and addiction and hopelessness? Who here wants to live in continual enmity and envy and strife and fear and anxiety? Who here wants to continue to live in such a way where life is not only meaningless, but it’s terrible and a heavy burden? Raise your hand.
The Holy Spirit has descended, and we have life. Repentance is not being sorry for your sins. Repentance is now being able to pursue virtue. Repentance is being able to live a life as God had always intended us to live, filled with hope and charity, kindness, wisdom, joy. This is the coming of the Holy Spirit. This is the meaning and the fullness of what it means to be in Christ, and this is what it means to be Orthodox.
Being Orthodox doesn’t mean watching people and seeing if they’re doing something wrong or right. That’s Judaism. Being Orthodox means that you are received the Holy Spirit, that you welcome Christ in through the whole of the Trinity.
The Father gives you inspiration, the Son frees you, and the Spirit empowers you. This is the day of the Holy Trinity, in which the fullness of the Godhead is revealed to us. We have the fullness of the Godhead revealed to us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
You’re now empowered to live lives that are rich. We have the power now to live lives that are characterized by eternity, not futility. We have power now to live lives that are in communion, not only with each other, but with God Himself.
Remember all of you who are baptized, and those of you who were just baptized, remember why you’re here, not just in this building, but why you’re here in this life. God called you to this life for good works, to live lives that are abundant. This is why He came, and this is why the work of the Holy Spirit is one of power and of joy.
The Holy Spirit has descended!
Sunday, June 1, 2025: Sunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council
ACTS 20:16-18, 28-36
JOHN 17:1-13
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Christ is ascended!
Today in the Gospel of John, we see why John is known as the Eagle. The eagle being the symbol of John, because John’s Gospel soars so high. The theology in John is otherworldly.
We see this profound conversation between our Lord Christ, our Lord Jesus, and the Father. We learn something profound, something is affirmed for us, and that is the Lord speaks to us about the glory that He had before the world was. And this glory is something that is ineffable. We can’t even really speak of it. We have words like glory, worship, and we try to approximate, we try to understand what this is, but it’s beyond us.
And your mind can break, and your soul can begin to shudder, trying to peek into what this means, the glory that the Lord Christ had before the world was. But we see that this glory is something holy. And we also see that this glory, and that the existence of God, the Trinity, truly is something other than the created world. It’s separate, it’s different, it’s other. The world in which the Lord says that He’s not praying for, He says, I’m not praying for the world. I’m praying for those who You’ve given Me, and they’re in the world.
This world that is separate from the glory of the Trinity, this world that is separate that the Lord Himself says, I’m no longer caring for this world. I’m caring for the ones that you have given me that are in this world. This separate world is a world where freedom, the freedom of the will reigns.
And that freedom of the will, that freedom to choose to either love God, to know God, to seek God, or to reject God, and to exalt oneself, this is the world. This is the world. This is what Christ is not praying for. This is what Christ is rejecting. This is what Christ is saying, the world has nothing in Me. And that world is a world of freedom. Freedom misused, freedom abused, but nevertheless, freedom.
Today we are commemorating the First Ecumenical Council, and really the fathers of the ecumenical council, in which the Council of Nicaea was convened because there was a great problem. This error, this heresy of Arianism was spreading like wildfire in the realm.
And now God says enough. And so he empowers and inspires, he raises up Constantine, he empowers and inspires, he raises up Holy Fathers like Spyridon, and like St. Nicholas, and he calls them to come together to fight against error, to fight against falsehood, because Christ existed with the Father from the beginning.
Christ is not created. Christ is not a creation. Christ is God. And because of this world, the freedom, you have people like Arius, like Satan, who were given gifts. You see, Arius, the one who promoted this heresy, Arius was a gifted orator. Arius was a gifted hymnographer. History tells us that the troparions and the hymns that Arius wrote were like today’s pop jingles. They were so catchy. People were singing them. God gave him a gift. And Arius used this gift to spread his heresy all throughout the empire.
Did not Lucifer, the Light Bringer, use his light to spread error throughout the whole universe? Did not Lucifer use the glory that God gave him to cause the other angels to stumble? Did not Lucifer use his light to cause us to stumble? To cause us to take our free will and to use it to exalt ourselves against God? Yes, Lucifer did. And yes, Arius did.
And all the heretics, and heretics are not those outside the church. Heretics are those inside the church. Remember, a heretic is someone who is within the church that has rejected the discipline, has rejected the correction, and says, “No, what’s more important is what I think, what I believe, and ultimately myself.”
The great heretics were always the great egomaniacs. Always. And so they exalt their opinions and their talents and their gifts above God, just like Lucifer.
And we say to ourselves, “Well how? Why does God allow this in the church? Why does God allow this?” Because of this profound mystery of freedom. Why did God give us freedom? So many of us lament that we have freedom. Wish that God would make us puppets. But that’s not love. That’s not love.
And so God shows His love, and he raises up truth. He raises up Constantine. He raises up the fathers. And truth is established. And even in our own selves, our own beings, this is the case. We will oftentimes be overrun with thoughts, overrun with habits, overrun with the freedom, with the fruit, excuse me, of our freedom. Because yes, your passions, yes my passions, your thoughts, yes my thoughts, they are there because of freedom.
God did not implant those things. We brought those things in. We allowed those things to come inside of us. We allowed the flames of hell to trickle up.
But God has not abandoned us. And God raises up Holy Fathers. And God sends authority into our life. And God will send us a true word. Maybe from our spouse. Maybe from our godparent. Maybe from our spiritual father. Maybe from the Scriptures. But that is a manifestation of the love of the Father through Christ by the Holy Spirit. And it raises up authority. And a council is now held.
And now the question will be, will we persist in the error? Or will we seek and defend the truth? Will we persist like Arius and be dazzled by our gifts? Or will we raise up and sacrifice all like St. Nicholas? Will we strike the offender? Will we strike the error? Will we strike the way in which our ego, our pride, and our gifts have raised themselves up against God? The fathers of the Ecumenical Council, they were inspired by God. The councils are inspired by God.
And the councils are necessary because back then and even now, there are wolves. And the wolves are there not because of a lack of love of God. The wolves are there because of the lack of love and the irresponsibility of human beings with the freedom that they’ve been given.
The church are the people of God who have submitted their will in love. And a will submitted in love is the doorway to a heart and a mind that is filled with light. And that being filled with light, this is what it means to begin to understand a small bit of that fellowship between Christ and the Father and the Spirit.
The fathers used philosophy not to understand but to articulate truth. The truth they received through communion. The truth they received in their hearts. The truth they received in their devotion to God. They used philosophy, yes. But the truth was evident. Why? Because they had Christ.
And when you have Christ, there is no error. The error only comes when you sacrifice your freedom of your will for some sort of delusion, some sort of temptation that the devil and that the world gives you.
Look for the ways in which God has raised up authority in your life. Those are the ways in which you will never run astray. Because God will send you a Constantine. God will send you a Nicholas. God will send you a Spyridon. And God will also give you the chance to stand for the truth.
Let us give thanks to God. The fathers of the Ecumenical Council – all the Holy Fathers – they are the manifestation of the love of the Father who has not left us amongst wolves. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.