Sermons

“Better to reign in hell, than to serve in heaven.” These are the devil’s final words in Paradise Lost. This famous, British epic describes the devil’s wars against everything good and beautiful. He begins as prince of heaven. In his pride he plummets down to earth, where, slithering in mud, he seduces humanity and spoils paradise. What drives him on? He will not condescend to let God be God. The book ends with the devil’s boasting words: He will reign in hell rather than ser

An old woman sits in her chair, remembering. She has had her fill of sorrows. She has known loss as only someone can who has watched many years pass by. But she sits there, in her poverty, with a joy overflowing in her heart. There was once an interruption to her losses. Something broke through the expected norm. It shattered the delusion that this world is all there is: a glimpse into something other. She was a widow. Her husband died and left her stranded in the world. She

“Attend to thyself, and keep thy heart diligently” ~ Deuteronomy 4:9 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” ~ Matthew 6:22-23 “Hearing, ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive, for the heart of these people is waxed gross” (Isaiah 6:9). 1. Asceticism of the Eyes and Ears - “Having promised us a technol

“When you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6). He stepped out into the sea. What possessed his soul? Thick gusts of salty air rocked the boat, the wind howled, and the disciples behind clung to their seats. Yet, Peter was enraptured. The world was in storm, but there before him Christ walked on the waves in perfect calm. Something lit in Peter’s heart and he stepped out. For one m

“Attend to thyself, and keep thy heart diligently” ~ Deuteronomy 4:9 “Confession is not an option which we can choose or not choose to do. It is absolutely necessary for our spiritual healing and well-being”~Metropolitan Joseph “For reception of Holy Communion more than once a month, Confession must be on a regular basis, and heard not less than once a month.”~ Schmemann Our Ultimate Pilgrimage - Repentance and Confession are a pilgrimage - Pilgrimage: “An abandonment of

“Attend to thyself, and keep thy heart diligently” ~ Deuteronomy 4:9 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” ~ John 13:33–35 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." ~ 1 Peter 4:8 Sin is Always About Relationships “Sin is ultimately related to relational failure — relatio

“There are two ways to look at the world. You can see everything to be merely dirt, or you can see everything to be utterly sublime.” This is what a young man told me, who had spent most of his life as an atheist. He had grown up in a meaningless, disenchanted world. When he found Christ, he discovered that same world to be charged with beauty and eternity. He found Christianity to be a leap from boredom to wonder. This is exactly how we must understand our religion. This is