By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 14, 2021 Perhaps the most prominent ladder in our culture is the one associated with careers. It is an image of the American road to success. We begin at or near the bottom and, step by step, make our way towards the top. It is a metaphor that works well with our modern notions of hard work, persistence and reward. It also serves as a justification for many of the
Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, April 3, 2016 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark. (8:34-9:1) Human beings love stories. We need them. Our lives are populated with them. Christianity is built on them. If they are in the New Testament we call them parables. Raised as a Southern Baptist child in the hills of Eastern Tennessee, we learned and memorized the stories of Adam and Eve, Moses and
Published by Pemptousia Partnership on August 5, 2021 Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae For God, time is the waiting period between when he ‘knocks at the door’ and we open it wide for him (‘If someone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter and dine with them and they with me’ (Rev. 3, 20). In this sense, time also denotes our freedom and the respect which God has for his creatures. God doesn’t enter our heart through
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, January 29, 2017 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (15:21-28) Brothers and Sisters, The Lord did not come to show us how to get to heaven. He revealed that heaven is within us. It always has been. There is no place to “get to.” Why then did he come? For a variety of reasons. He came to die for us. Yes, of course,
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, July 12, 2017 He who has pity on the poor makes a debtor of God. (Prov. 19:17) Jesus told a story about a man with a huge debt. He owed it to his master and was unable to pay. When he was dragged before his master, he begged for mercy. Strangely, the master was so moved by the man’s begging that he forgave him the entire debt. This same man, Jesus
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, October 24, 2017 The greatest trial surrounding the One Ring of Power in Tolkien’s novels, was the temptation to use it. No one (except for Sauron himself) seemed to think that they would do anything but good with the Ring. The Ring would protect Gondor; the Ring would bring order to the world (Saruman). And though it was indeed occasionally used to escape Trolls or to get friends out of Elfin prisons, every
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, August 14, 2016 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (10:38-42; 11:27-28) “Be still and know that I am God.” Martha is not still and so she misses the obvious presence of God right there in her own living room. She is so concerned about herself, so full of herself and her serving, that she cannot think of anything else. Sometimes it’s just better
Published by Pemptousia Partnership on September 25, 2021 Alexandros Christodoulou Saint Silouan the Athonite Saint Siouan- Symeon Ivanovich Antonov, before his tonsure- was born in 1866 into a peasant family in the Tambov region of Russia. From the age of four he began wondering: ‘Where is this God? When I grow up, I’ll travel the whole world looking for Him’. When he was a little bit older he heard about the life of a holy
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, September 3, 2017 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (21:33-42) The Lord spoke this parable: “There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. When the season of
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 9, 2022 This article comes to mind as we celebrate the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts on these Lenten Wednesdays and Fridays. There is nothing to compare to them in the Christian liturgical world. It’s hard to think of fasting in the midst of such a feast. Orthodoxy has a number of “favorite” words – all of which fall outside the bounds of normal speech. Though we commonly use the
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