Listen to and read sermons from our clergy to deepen your understanding of the Orthodox Christian faith.
Fr. Peter James
The Word of God is a door that opens before us a vision into the spiritual reality that is present in all things. And as we look through this door, we are confronted as always by two deeply opposing worlds. Today we heard the Gospel account of Christ's healing of the possessed child.
Fr. Peter James
The sea is a beautiful and tremendous force. Its depths are unknown. Its surface can take us where we need to go. Its waters sustain us. But if we are not careful, it can carry us away, and we become lost. In last week's Gospel, we considered the mystery of bread, which is the Word and the presence of Christ in our lives. We gather each week and stand quietly, alone or with family, every morning and evening, to anchor ourselves in God through prayer. Today's Gospel gives us something to consider as we struggle to live in the presence or God amidst a busy sea of distractions.
Fr. Peter James
We heard today Christ's high priestly prayer for the whole church. "Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are." This prayer contains the whole mystery of our faith and reveals what it is that we ask of God each and every day, at least three times a day. "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." Hallowed is to be made holy. "Hallowed be thy name," that the name of God is to be made holy within each of us. "Keep through Your name that they may be one as We are." "And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them." And that Jesus Christ may be glorified in us means to have Him dwelling in our hearts, which is to live a holy life, a life according to the word of God.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
So today I wanted to discuss a little bit, some very basic concepts that are essential for our salvation. And the first is the Word of God. And we have this very simple saying, "the Word of God," this is the Word of God. But the question really is, what is the depth of the Word of God? And we live, I think, a miracle. We're living in a miracle. And each and every one of us here, and those who belong to us but are not here, we have a very profound gift. And it manifests itself, I think, essentially, through the Word of God.
Fr. Peter James
The Christian, according to his calling or vocation, is one who is forbidden from harboring any evil against others in prayer. Or during prayer. In today's Gospel, once again, we see this topic of healing. A topic which seems often to be the cause of commotion in Scripture. On the one hand, healing would appear to be something pretty straightforward. It's a good thing. What's wrong with that? But is everybody happy about it?
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
"For He, namely Jesus, has not put the world to come of which we speak in subjection to angels. But one testified in a certain place saying, 'What is man that You are mindful of him, or the Son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.'... 'I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.' And again: 'I will put My trust in Him.' And again: 'Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.' Inasmuch as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed, He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham." And we are the seed of Abraham. "Therefore, in all things, He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted."
Fr. Peter James
Today we have the opportunity to consider two kinds of fear. The first is that which pleases God. As it is written, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and they that foster this have a good understanding. This fear is the fear of sin. The righteous Joseph, when he found himself alone with the Egyptian woman who wished to have him, ran away from her as quickly as possible. He fled from temptation, as must we.
Fr. Peter James
Last week, the first Sunday after the leave-taking of Pentecost, we celebrated the Feast of All Saints. Like everything else in this life, but especially in church, this was not by chance, as it is the presence of God in the church, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, which makes holiness a possibility for us. And now as we begin to embark on the Apostles' Fast, the Church gives us the example of local saints. Today we celebrate All Saints of Russia: men and women who, as we heard in today's epistle, through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, quenched the violence of fire, out of weakness were made strong, and who were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they may obtain a better resurrection.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
Yesterday we celebrated our parish feast with St. John the Russian. Metropolitan Nicholas was here, and he was very joyful and very beautiful in every way. And very consoling. Metropolitan Nicholas is a very wonderful and warm man. And he notices everything and he gave forth all kinds of praise for the beauty of the church and the cleanliness of the church and the wonderful meals that were made by the parishioners, which was wonderful. And this morning, at 12:15 a.m. while I was fast asleep, he sent a note and thanked us for our hospitality and congratulated everyone for all of the wonderful work that they had done to make the feast so beautiful. So, glory to God. And it's a wonderful thing to know your hierarch and to know that he loves you and he supports you. So we're very, very blessed in that regard.
Fr. Peter James
A senior professor at a Theological Academy once entered his classroom. His students stood up to greet him. Before the lecture began, in his usual way, he scanned the room with a firm gaze and asked, "Why is God three? Why not just one?"
Fr. Peter James
A few years ago, a story was written about a man who became the sole protector of the very last copy of Scripture. In a world that had been ravaged by total war and descended into lawlessness, his task was to ensure the survival of the Word of God. Traveling across a barren and hostile land, he risked his life to make sure that the very last witness of the truth was kept safe. Entertaining as the story might be, its premise—the whole idea—is in fact contrary to our apostolic faith.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
So the gospel that we heard last week and the gospel we hear this week have a very close relationship in terms of pointing the way to salvation. Last week, we heard about the paralytic by the pool of Siloam, and it's very fascinating because the pool of Siloam had five porches. It was also the pool where the sacrifices, after being slain, were washed. And here, there was this long tradition—a living tradition, meaning that it was actually alive and producing phenomena—of the water stirring from time to time. And the first person who stepped into the water would be healed. As a result of this reality, there was a multitude of people, and the paralytic was near the pool. The remarkable thing about him is that he was a paralytic, and here he is at the side of the pool. How is he going to get into the water? Only the first one, by the way, was healed. And so he had this profound difficulty.
Fr. Peter James
There is a lovely and very cute film which some of our younger parents might be familiar with: Finding Dory, the sequel to Finding Nemo, about a fish who suffers from extreme short-term memory loss. One day, as she's going about her life in her community, something happens which triggers a deep memory that awakens her to the recollection that she has, in fact, been searching her whole life for her parents whom she lost as a child. Her entire life up to that very moment, it turned out, had been one great distraction. And so she begins anew in her struggle to always bear in mind what she had lost, in order never again to abandon her search.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
Today I'd like to address, as much as possible, the whole question of beauty, beauty in our lives, and how it affects us. In 1869, the great Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote a novel called "The Idiot," and in this novel, he proclaimed that "beauty will save the world." In 1970, over 100 years after Dostoevsky made this proclamation, the Russian Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, during his lecture upon receiving the Nobel Prize, remembered Fyodor Dostoevsky and again stated, "Beauty will save the world."
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
So traditionally on the Sunday following Pascha, I read the epistle of our Metropolitan, Metropolitan Nicholas. This is his first year as the head of the church, and it's a tremendous responsibility because the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is not only in America, but it's in Europe, South America, and so on. It's a very large group of parishes and dioceses. The responsibility of the Metropolitan, of course, is tremendous, and we are very blessed. He'll be visiting us for our feast day on June 10th. Our feast day is actually the 9th, but he's going to come on the 10th, so we'll have him here. He is a wonderful, actually young man—he's not even 50 yet—and the Synod of Bishops elected him as the Metropolitan. He's a wonderful man, a wonderful man of prayer, and while he doesn't know all of us by name, he prays for all of us before the throne of God.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
This Sunday we celebrate St. Mary of Egypt, and we also celebrate the Elder Zosimas, who was introduced to St. Mary and brought to repentance. This is the last Sunday where the Gospel is one of preparation. Next Sunday we have the Entrance into Jerusalem, or Palm Sunday, as we enter into the beautiful and somewhat demanding events of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Fr. Peter James
On a bright early spring day, a woman took a trip to clean out her childhood home. As she went through her parents' room, she discovered a treasure of photos: of her as an infant on her grandfather's lap, of her grandmother holding her hands as she took her very first steps. She saw the portraits of young children, now grandchildren, who have since moved far away with their own families, and saw how they hung in their familiar places. The house that was once so full of noise was now perfectly still. Her parents, whom she had loved, had since passed on. Her home was empty.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
We're at the midpoint of our pilgrimage which leads to Holy Week, and of course, with Holy Week comes the celebration of all the events of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. So, here we are remembering the cross on which Christ was crucified.
Fr. Peter James
Last week, with the Triumph of Orthodoxy, we were invited to consider the power and glory that is our salvation. This week, we are invited to come to know the One who is that salvation itself. And today, the Gospel shows us exactly how we are to approach Him and how He is to be known.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
Today is the First Sunday of our Great and Holy Lent, and on this day, we celebrate the Triumph of Orthodoxy and the restoration of the veneration of the holy icons in the Church. From 726 to 843 AD, a movement came out against the Church called Iconoclasm, where the veneration of icons was prohibited.
Fr. Peter James
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and those who foster it have a good understanding. What is the fear of the Lord? Last week we heard the words, "Whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me." The Lord makes no distinction between himself and others.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
Today, we are anticipating the beginning of our great Holy Lent, a time when we prepare ourselves, and as a community, we prepare to enter into the glory of His resurrection. This preparation is outlined from Sunday to Sunday with various themes. As we anticipate the beginning of Great Lent, today we have the Gospel on Judgment, and it is a very, very powerful Gospel.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
And I say this because we are being invited to go on a pilgrimage together, which is called Great and Holy Lent. And it’s actually difficult to some degree. Eating immodestly and giving up many of the pleasures of our life and denying ourselves meat and dairy products for those who are strong enough to endure this for several weeks leading to the resurrection, the crucifixion and then the resurrection of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. So here we have the prodigal son which is announcing this struggle that we face.
Fr. Peter James
And today the Holy Church shows us that we must come to identify ourselves with and as sinners. For we share in one common humanity. If we pay attention to our hearts, we discover that the sins of others are nothing more than a mirror reflection of what lies within our own hearts. And if we do not forgive others, we will not be able to forgive ourselves, and thus we will be unable to accept the Lord's forgiveness.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
And so it is that our Savior saw him there, and he understood, our Savior understood who he was, he knew through the Holy Spirit, he knew that he was a tax collector, and he knew that he was despised, but he also saw the capacity for repentance in Zacchaeus. He understood that Zacchaeus could change. And when Jesus came, 'Make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.'
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
I think that if we are going to enter into the reality of the baptism of Christ and enter into the renewal of our baptism, we need to treat our inner life as though it’s a child, and that we need to prepare, as it were, special food. And so our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ allows us to prepare ourselves for Holy Communion, so that we can participate in this ineffable mystery of the body and blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Fr. Peter James
We know that the Lord will condescend to us because he has desired to become us. If we are brave enough to move a little bit towards God, he will make up the difference. This is the desire that the Lord has for each and every one of us, and it is this very promise, this very faith, which can embolden us to abandon our own cares of our own transient life, and to live according to that very faith of the blessed forefathers.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
Saint Spyridon was very early. The dates are basically from 250. He was born in AD 250 and lived perhaps to 336, and he was a shepherd, and so he tended his flocks. And shepherding was—as we also know about the shepherds who were attending their flocks waiting for the Nativity—shepherding was a night job, actually, because the dangers for your flocks came at night to snatch away your sheep. And so this is an amazing thing. So the shepherd had to be attentive and alert during the night and in order to see whether these wolves or other enemies would come and steal away the sheep. And it’s a wonderful analogy, is it not, of the shepherding of the flock of the Holy Church?
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
So here we have the Word of God as the essential weapon that we need to push back these huge and remarkable temptations. And obviously we are blessed in our Holy Orthodox Church to have the Word of God so prevalent throughout the divine services. Obviously our divine services are made up of the Word of God or commentary on the Word of God. And so we are able to have this profound blessing of being wrapped up, as it were, in God’s Word during divine services. But what do we do at home? What do we do at home? Do we actually immerse our minds in God’s Word in such a way that that Word, which is filled with power—this is the great mystery of the Church—is that Word is not a system of concepts alone.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
And I am certain that this is what’s going on in our very profoundly ill society. And I’m sorry to be a voice, as it were, for darkness in this sense. I mean, exposing darkness does involve darkness, actually. When you expose darkness, you feel the darkness. And nevertheless, it’s such a serious issue that, I mean, it’s time for us, in a sense, through prayer, through any way we can, to pull the scales off our eyes and look at what’s going on, because it is swallowing up now at least a third generation.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
And I hope, hidden somewhere behind my veil of pride, I learned a little humility. And because I think that you can’t be a priest, I don’t think, really, unless you learn and absorb the gift of humility. And humility takes very many forms. I would say in my case, if I had any humility, I hid it behind—I did a good job with that. But nevertheless, humility leads to obedience, and obedience leads to the kingdom of heaven. And I think that we need to be obedient. We need to be humble and fight our pride, be humble and obedient. Humility and obedience are two sides of the same coin.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
And I think about this and it seems to me that what we have done in our society—forgive me for dragging this up—but what we have done in our society is that we’ve created some institutions, as it were, to take care of people, which has separated them from community. And I mean, I’m sure that Ariadne remembers in her experiences, and I remember in my experiences where, you know, when I was a child living in New Hampshire, we had poor people around us and you could feel their poverty. You could feel their pain. It was visceral. You knew who them. And that feeling, that living feeling that you had caused people to be kind to these folks and to make sure they got food and to pass clothing on to them.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
And when you go in the doors, which is just like us coming in the doors here, we enter the church. And the first thing you come to is the anointing stone. And if you'll notice here, we have a table. That's what we'll call it—a table. And above the table is the cross. And so when I came to this realization that here you are in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre—this was just so wonderful because we already had this. We used to put our Plashchanitsa, which is the body of Christ, which we use during the burial service—we had this table here with the Plashchanitsa on it during Holy Week.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
And one of the things that I repeat over and over again is that when we read the Word of God, first of course we encounter descriptions of events and we encounter words of instruction. And what we're reading right here, these incredible words—but in reality we can approach the reading of Holy Scripture in faith, in profound and deep faith. And if we do that, we will receive not just simply the words, but through the words, the light of Christ will shine into our hearts and our minds and change us. The light of Christ will change us and purify us and root out, as it were, with love and compassion and gentleness, all of our passions.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
And so it was with Adam and Eve. They laid all care upon God, and the light came down into them, and at that time the mind was at one with the heart, and it entered the heart, and then it shined out or shone out around them. And wherever that light fell, so there was peace and tranquility. And the lion and the lamb were able to lie down together without violence and without hostility. And so it is that we have this idea—this not just this idea, but this living reality—of Adam and Eve in Paradise.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
And what's interesting is you have a net—it has strings which cross each other, right? And the strings are the warp and the woof, and one represents truth, and the other represents eternal love, which is what our Lord and God and Savior brought to us, is eternal love for our salvation. A love that is, in a sense, imposing—imposing in gentleness and kindness, but nevertheless imposing in that He shines His light and His love upon us to gather us.
Archpriest Spyridon Schneider
And the thing is, is that in our own relationships, you know, we are stewards of God's love and grace. And it's so easy to have something come up that irritates us and, you know, causes us to even, you know, have anger and frustration, and then we act on that anger and frustration, and of course, anyone around us becomes upset. And it's really fascinating because it's totally completely counterintuitive. I mean, the idea that our frustration and anger with one who is, you know, maybe it's our husband or our wife or our children, that our frustration and anger is going to result in calm, loving dispositions and lead to peace and to love and tranquility—it's actually going to make the situation much worse.
