Sermons & Homilies
A dove and a rainbow followed the flood, the Promised Land followed forty years of wandering in the desert, resurrection followed the widow of Zarephath’s trust in the Prophet, the stanching of blood followed twelve years of ritual impurity, and walking followed a lifetime of paralysis alongside the pool of Siloam. Today, an instrument of torture gives life as all the references to the Cross of Christ are paralleled with His rising from the dead.
Today we celebrate the Exaltation of the Precious Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ. But what does it mean to exalt the Cross? And how do we exalt it?
Continue reading
The Cross is the ultimate answer to all of mankind’s greatest questions. Who is God? What is love? What is the meaning and purpose of our life in this world, and how are we to come to terms with the inevitability of our death?
Continue reading
In the Gospel reading today, dedicated to the Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross, we hear Christ speaking to the Pharisee, Nicodemus, who came to Him at night and in secrecy, asking Him questions about who He is and about His teaching.
Continue reading
Although we live in a world of icons throughout our secular society, whether as apps on our phones and computers or company logos and brand names, nonetheless, we remain in a predominantly iconoclastic world. Moreover, when it comes to the religious sphere, many may be more apt to talk and philosophize about spiritual realities. The Orthodox Church, however, not only speaks about these realities, it demonstrates them through icons, relics, the Divine Services, and most significantly, the Holy Mysteries.
Continue reading