Fr. James Guirguis
We see that the promise of the Lord was fulfilled in the disciples. They became men of truly great faith. They who could not help a struggling boy, later were filled with the Holy Spirit and did indeed raise men from the dead and heal the sick with their very shadows. This promise is given to all of the children of God.
We are in dire need of a return to the study of the Bible. With the Bible we can build a foundation for our lives, without the study of the Bible we are lost as people, as families and as a society. We hear the psalmist say “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
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St. Paul gives us some of the characteristics of those who cultivate such death. He tells Titus to “avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels over the law, for they are unprofitable and futile. As for a man who is factious, (meaning one who causes factions or division) after admonishing him once or twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is perverted and sinful; he is self-condemned.”
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Most of us know the story of St. Mary of Egypt but perhaps we can dig a little deeper into the Church’s true purpose for remembering her now at the end of the great fast.
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For some strange reason people are now too busy for the church. They are too busy to hear the word of God, the word upon which the whole of western civilization was founded.
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It seems at first glance that this gospel reading is about fishing. In truth it is about no such thing.It is a test of faith. It is about honestly assessing the obstacles and hindrances that are between us and a life that is dedicated to God.
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Imagine the deep desire of the Lord Jesus Christ for unity. Imagine the love that He has for His Church! His prayer is not for Himself but for His followers. His goal is our unity. When someone loves God he desires peace and unity everywhere.
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Why do we celebrate this for 40 days? Because the Church is showing us that this is our reality. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ changed the whole world and it was an answer to the tragedy and suffering of the innocent One who went to the cross for our sakes.
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These are precious words of our Lord Jesus Christ and they remind us that what is contained within the 4 gospels is more important than anything that has ever been written in history.
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It is a great temptation to see the world around us and to try to fix it. We see the troubles, the trials, the suffering and we attempt to apply our human logic in a productive way to address the many problems of our world.
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In today’s reading, given to us on this the eve of the New Year, we hear these words “Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.” If that is not a worthwhile New Year’s resolution, I am not sure what would be. Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. But what does that actually mean for us? What is this path that we need to make straight? What is the way of the Lord, and how do we prepare it?
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When our religious practices don’t start with the love of God, they become like weapons. They no longer can do good for us or for others. They no longer help us to heal but cause wounds.
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Thankfully St. Paul gives us a way out of such a mess. He says “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but expose them.” There are many ways that we can expose our sins but I will focus on the most important one, the one that the Church provides for all of it’s people, free of charge. The sacrament of confession.
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As a change of pace today I thought I would take some time to tell you about Saint James the brother of the Lord and some of his work.
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There is however one potential, what happens when two different groups of Christians each claim to be following the word of God and yet they come up with dramatically different interpretations and ideas based on the same texts?
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Both of our readings today give us a clear indication of what is required of us to be considered sons and daughters, the children of God.
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We are also watchful when we take care that we don’t neglect our own spiritual lives and lose our focus. The Lord Jesus says that if we are not ready for His coming, it will be “like a thief in the night.” We can meet our king at any moment. The apostle asks us to be watchful so that the moment does not catch us off guard.
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All statistics point to a significant change happening in the fabric of our society. Today there are more atheists in the United States than at any time in history, that is a statistical fact. Why does this matter?
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The saints, those who love God and obey His teachings, are also much more alive than we can imagine.
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Often people who come to the Orthodox Church for the first time are quite amazed at the number of times they will hear us pray “Lord have mercy” at every service and especially at the Divine Liturgy. This is no accident but a purposeful habit that the Church, our mother, is trying to form within us.
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Today’s gospel passage about the 5 loaves and the 2 fish is a great reminder that God doesn’t need much in order to accomplish His will. But there is one thing that He requires…that we entrust everything to Him.
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Nothing attracts others to God like people who are genuinely faithful to God and to His commandments. In fact, it is sometimes said that people have no problem with Jesus but that they have a problem with the followers of Jesus whom they’ve encountered.
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When does the Lord visit us? Every time that we have a thought that reminds us of God. Every time that our conscience speaks to us and attempts to correct us. Every time that we think about praying.
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God’s grace is something that we speak of but do we realize that this energy and healing presence of God is very near to us?
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What is the beginning of sainthood? According to the Lord, it is the acknowledgement of Jesus Christ before others. How do we acknowledge our Lord and master on a daily basis before others? It is a really important question that is worthy of reflection and a thoughtful answer.
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Today we celebrate the Holy Feast of Pentecost. We celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples and Apostles of Our Lord Jesus Christ. But what about us?
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There is in our society a concerted effort which begins at the university level, to discredit the idea of absolute or objective truth. In the life of a Christian there is nothing that is more important than the absolute truth.
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I would like to focus on some of the difficult things our Lord Jesus Christ says to the woman at the well. In our society we are being very well trained not to cause any waves with the things that we say. We are taught to be politically correct with all of our speech. We are taught that there are no absolute truths and objective realities only opinions and feelings are relevant.
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I suspect that if I ask you if you want to be cured of your anger, you will reply “Yes, I want to be cured.” But in the depths of your heart is that true?
As we draw near to Holy Week we should take a few moments to reflect and meditate on this amazing Messiah, this Christ who loves each of us so dearly that He is willing to accept the worst that we have to offer in order to give us the best of what belongs to Him.
The Church reminds us during this fourth Sunday of Lent that none of our efforts will go to waste.
Let’s stand with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane and just imagine what would’ve happened if Our Lord said “Crucifixion is tough, I will run away.”
He was once called “the cause of all disorders and disturbances in the Church.” Now imagine that he was called “the cause of all disorders and disturbances in the Church” by the Patriarch of Constantinople himself.
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“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” These are the words of our Lord God and savior Jesus Christ given to us today as we are now at the edge and preparing to leap into Great and Holy Lent. Our Lord has this amazing way of reorienting our thinking and even removing our blindness in order to help us to see.
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The teachings of Our Lord, God and savior Jesus Christ are often quite difficult for us. In fact, it cannot be any other way since God is speaking to man. God is attempting to raise man from his earthly nature which makes him similar to the beasts, and He is trying to raise him to the level and stature which alone is God’s. We do not take lightly the idea that God desires to call us “sons and daughters.”
This parable is about each of us. We have each been rebellious in our lives. We have each fought God in order to have freedom on our own terms.
Zacchaeus demonstrates his willingness to struggle to know God. He may look foolish as a grown man who is climbing into a tree. He probably got sweaty and dirty. It took effort. But it was all worth it wasn’t it?
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Here we are confronted with the ten lepers and we see their reverence. Why did they have such reverence?
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The evangelist St. Matthew has left a wonderful present under the tree and he teases us to contemplate it and think about it and perhaps even to peek into it and discover something of the mystery of this joyous feast.
One of the things we learn from Our Lord, God and savior Jesus Christ is that outward observances don’t matter, in fact they are downright evil, when they do not transform those who practice them. We encounter just such a situation here.
Who are we as Christians, even, as Orthodox Christians…to be dismayed or exuberant over the winner of a political contest?
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As Christians we learn to be at peace with the presence of Christ in our lives as we grow in our relationship with Christ and then we do not have to be tortured and tormented and caught off guard like the demon possessed man.
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The teachings of Jesus Christ are often radically different than those of our culture. It seems that if we only obeyed the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ we could probably fire most of our politicians.
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We each have struggles and difficulties and crosses in our lives, some of them are quite painful. What is the thought process that we go through when we encounter difficulties?
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One of the worst ideas that has ever been circulated about Christianity is this idea that God is full of wrath and that He is actively seeking people to punish and throw into a place called hell.
What God demands of us seems like too much. But what God asks of us, He has already done for us. The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated the ability to forgive even in the midst of His ordeals and great suffering upon the cross! He cries out Father forgive them, for they know not what they do! By demonstrating such an ability, the crucified Lord affirms that it is indeed possible for us to do the same. And by opening up this possibility of forgiveness, God will open to us the doors of His heavenly kingdom and He will allow us to dwell with those who have suffered injustices and triumphed through forgiveness.
In today's gospel we are witnesses to another encounter of Jesus with a family that has suffered. A father has just brought his son to the Lord Jesus because he is an epileptic who “suffers terribly”. This father has to bring his son to Jesus Christ because the Lord's disciples had failed to heal the boy. After the Lord has healed the boy, the disciples are curious as to why He was able to heal when they were unable to do so. Jesus' answer to them is also an answer to many of our problems “because you have no faith.”
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Last week we spent some time speaking of what it takes the build up the Church and specifically this church in this particular place. We were reminded by the Holy Apostle Paul that each and every individual within the Church receives divine gifts by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
In today’s epistle we hear some of the words of encouragement from the great Apostle St. Paul to the Christians of Rome. These words are a beautiful reminder to all of us who are here together to build this mission and spread the Orthodox faith.
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What is this one word that the Lord spoke? What is this one word that changed the lives of two troubled men? What was this word that troubled a whole city? What was this word that caused the Lord to have to leave again for His own city?
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Mammon is wealth or money but in this case it is understood as having the potential to greatly influence our moral compass as well. We live in a world that requires us to make money. We need financial resources to do much of what we do. The Lord understands that completely. The issue here is not whether or not we need money.
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Let’s be faithful to acknowledge Jesus Christ in word, in deed and in thought. Let us love nothing more than we love Christ. Let us each carry the cross with faith that God sees our personal sacrifices and numbers each of them and will never forget them, but will truly reward us by pouring out His Holy Spirit upon us and transforming us into people who are filled with the love of Christ, into people who are illumined, into people who are glorified as real saints.
The Holy Spirit is not some magical gift, but a personal encounter with the person of the Holy Spirit through His energies. The energies of God are given to us by His grace and not because we deserve them. Although this is the case, there are certain dispositions and attitudes that will allow God to magnify His grace within us.
Who is this Jesus? Is He simply a man or something more than that. If He is something more than a mere human, how is this possible? What does it mean that He is both human and divine? What does it mean when we call Him the “God-Man”?
There is no doubt that we each need a life changing encounter with the Lord, and there is no doubt that we are each capable of having this because the Lord in His grace is hungry for this relationship with each of us. He is present, but where is our heart? Do we recognize that we are sick and have been enemies of Christ through our own sinfulness and pride?
In today’s gospel passage we recognize and celebrate the virtues of the Myrrh bearing women. They are known for their dedication and service and these are truly important attributes that everyone can learn from and imitate. But what is not thought about often is the exceeding strength and courage required of them.
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We have just celebrated Pascha or Easter as it is otherwise known and the celebration that we partake of for 40 days is the celebration of Life over death, of Good over evil, of Light over darkness, of Holiness over sin. In the midst of our celebration it is easy to lose focus and to forget that this is not just a story that has been passed down to us for 2000 years.
We are now entering into the busiest week in the life of the Church. This is the week where we witness the turning point to the greatest story of the human race.
They had followed Him daily, for at least three years. They had heard His teachings and seen His wisdom and godly insight and yet, they didn’t believe and they didn’t absorb and assimilate the information that He had just shared with them.
We all want to change, we want to become better humans, some of us want to know Jesus Christ more intimately, some of us want to become saints. These are all big results and if you want big results you better have big faith. And if you want to have big faith you better exercise that faith through prayer and fasting.
This Cross is not magic. It is the remembrance of Christ Our Lord’s sufferings and trials at the hands of sinners. It is the remembrance of the manly, heroic courage of Our Lord in the face of unrestrained evil. But the reminder is of a dual nature. We are reminded of Christ’s heroic struggles on our behalf and the demons are reminded of their ultimate defeat at the hands of the Holy Son of God.
This Second Sunday of Great Lent teaches us so much. We learn that the work of the body is important work. We learn that we are saved together as an integral whole, body, mind and soul. We learn that when we harness our hearts, minds and souls to agree on working together towards knowledge of our Creator, we are then able to truly share in the benefits of the title “Child of God.”
