March 01, 2026

A couple of years ago in my preaching class, something happened that no one in the room expected. One of the students stood up to begin his sermon. He said a few words… and then, right in front of everyone, he took a paper icon and set it on fire. You can imagine what happened next. Some students were visibly shocked. Others were deeply upset. The room filled with tension and discomfort. In fact, the reaction was so strong that a couple of hours after class, I received a phone call from the president of our school asking me what on earth had taken place. Read more »

February 22, 2026

We stand at the threshold of the most sacred journey of the year. We call today Forgiveness Sunday. Tomorrow is Clean Monday, the beginning of our Great Lenten Journey. And in the wisdom of the Church, we receive a fundamental truth: We cannot begin Lent without a forgiving heart. Read more »

February 15, 2026

“Each of us is guilty - before everyone, for everyone and for everything.” This is what Fydor Dostoevsky has the holy Elder, Father Zosima say in The Brothers Karamazov. Read more »

February 08, 2026

This past week I went to see the new movie, Moses the Black. It is not a feel-good movie with a tidy, happy ending. Rather, it is a difficult yet powerful story about redemption - especially the redemption of someone whom society would likely consider irredeemable. Read more »

February 01, 2026

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” This is a challenging question that Saint Paul poses in today’s Epistle Reading. “Who or what shall separate us from the love of Christ?” And then the Great Apostle answers with confidence and joy: “Nothing… neither death nor life, nor things to come nor things present… nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Read more »

January 25, 2026

 How many of us feel distracted? Our minds are so preoccupied with many things? We live in a fragmented world. Our attention is constantly divided. Notifications buzz 24/7, screens glow, news cycles never end, and social media demands our eyes, our emotions, and our opinions. Read more »

January 19, 2026

An extremist. How many of us would like to be labeled extremists? We see this on the far right and the far left. We see violent extremists throughout the world. We often link extremists with certain ideologies or religious movements. Read more »

January 18, 2026

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings.” We hear these words in today’s Epistle Reading. Read more »

January 11, 2026

“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned.” These are the words of hope that the Church proclaims today. Read more »

January 04, 2026

"The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” We hear these words today, on the Sunday before Theophany because the Church wants to place before us a powerful and timely proclamation. These words aren’t simply an introduction to a Gospel of Mark. They are a declaration that something utterly new has entered human history. God has appeared to the world! Read more »

December 28, 2025

“Behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.” These are the words that the angels proclaimed to the shepherds on the night of our Lord’s birth. Not good news for some. Not good news for only those who are worthy. Not good news for the righteous, the powerful, or those who are legal. But good news of great joy for all people.  Read more »

December 25, 2025

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given.” The Prophet Isaiah had foretold 1000 years prior to the first Christmas that God would offer to the world His Son as a child! What a gift.  Read more »

December 21, 2025

Remember who you are. Remember what family you come from. Don’t disgrace the family name. Have any of us ever heard such words from our parents or family? Of course, honoring the family name is important. Learning about our roots and appreciating from where we came helps us better understand who we are. Read more »

December 14, 2025

As we draw near to the radiant feast of the Nativity, the Church places before us the words of St. Paul in today’s epistle reading. . “Put off the old nature with all its practices, and put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its Creator” (Col. 3:9–10). These words speak directly to why Christ came into the world at Christmas and what His coming means for our lives. Read more »

December 07, 2025

In our Saints Constantine and Helen Church today, we celebrate our Saint Nicholas Sunday which honors one of the most beloved saints in the entire Christian world—Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra. Yet we also live in a culture that knows him by another name: Santa Claus, Sinter Klaus, Father Christmas. And while the world around us has taken this figure and wrapped him in commercialism, glitter, and shopping lists, there is still something deeply beautiful, deeply Orthodox, hidden inside the popular image of Santa Claus. Read more »

November 30, 2025

Come and see. One of the simplest yet most profound invitations in all Scripture. Come and see. Two disciples approach Jesus, searching, longing, hoping for something and the Lord turns to Andrew and invites him: “Come and see.” Read more »

November 27, 2025

Countless Blessings! Life is full of a bounty of immeasurable blessings. Once a year as a nation, we pause to thank Almighty God for these blessings. We gather in this church to remember and thank the Lord for His goodness and graciousness seen and unseen, blessings remembered and forgotten, riches we receive every day simply because God is good. As Orthodox Christians, gratitude is not just a polite feeling but a profound way of life, the very language of heaven. Read more »

November 23, 2025

Thanksgiving! A special day to say “thank you” to God for all the good things He gives us - from our families and loved ones, to our homes and possessions, to our church and faith, and for the love of Jesus Christ our Lord. Countless blessings! Read more »

November 16, 2025

“Follow me.” These are the words that Jesus says to Matthew the Tax-Collector. Jesus invites someone who is an outsider, someone hated by all, someone who was a thief and a traitor, someone whose lifestyle was far from God. Knowing all this, Jesus still says to Matthew, “Follow me.” Read more »

November 09, 2025

Jesus Christ restores life where there is death, He heals, renews, and raises up. That is what our Christian journey is all about! Healing. Renewal. New Life. Well, we celebrate today in our Church Family as we have the sacred privilege of baptizing two children in Christ, and chrismating two more catechumens into the fullness of the Church. Just like we did back in August when we welcomed 12 new members into our Church Family through baptism and christmation, we rejoice this morning. Yet not only do we rejoice; Heaven itself rejoices. Remember the words of our Lord Jesus when he proclaimed, “There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7). Read more »