Sermon preached on Palm Sunday, April 17, 2022 by Fr. Antony Hughes I wish the East and West would celebrate the Resurrection on the same date. Still, I confess, that I am blessed when they don’t because that means I can celebrate Easter with my brothers at the prison in Concord which I did last night. It was beautiful and very moving listening to them sing and pray together with Dn. Tom, my friend and
~By Father Stephen Freeman, April 16, 2022 Largely ignored by much of Christendom, the Orthodox mark the day before Palm Sunday as “Lazarus Saturday” in something of a prequel to the following weekend’s Pascha. It is, indeed a little Pascha just before the greater one. And this, of course, was arranged by Christ Himself, who raised His friend Lazarus from the dead as something of a last action before entering Jerusalem and beginning His slow
~By Father Stephen Freeman, April 18, 2022 Among the more pernicious ideas that inhabit our contemporary world is the notion that we are all isolated, independent, and alone. Even when we gather, we think of ourselves as but one among many. Among the most glaring exceptions to this form of thought, however, are sporting events. People attend a football game and declare when it is finished, “We won!” or “We lost!” We feel genuine joy at the
~By Father Stephen Freeman, April 10, 2023 Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching; and again, unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom. But rouse yourself crying: Holy, holy, holy, art Thou, O our God. Through the Theotokos, have
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, April 3, 2022 The Church is a hospital for the sick and a place of refuge for the lonely and dispossessed. In the Church we should find the same love and compassion that Jesus shared when he walked this earth. If we do not, be sure that there are egos blocking the flow of compassionate energy. Richard Rohr notes that, “The ego moves forward by contraction, self-protection,
~By Father Stephen Freeman, April 22, 2022 Christmas and Easter are often difficult days for those who do not believe in God. Christians are more public about their faith than at other times of the year and this brings with it an annoyance. Christmas bespeaks the birth of God as a human being. Easter bespeaks a resurrection from the dead. For those who do not believe, such miracles, spoken of so glowingly and with such
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, April 5, 2020 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA. Through this Great Lent we are being forced to look at everything, including our faith, in deeper ways. For example, the crucifixion of Jesus has never been only about his death, but also ours. In Larry Rosenberg’s wonderful book LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF DEATH he says it like this: we are being asked “to come
By Father Stephen Freeman, March 12, 2020 The Prodigal Son is said to have “come to himself” when he was feeding the pigs in a foreign land. Hungry, lonely, having wasted his inheritance, it is said that he envied the pigs for their food. But, what does it mean that he “came to himself?” This is one of the primary stories of repentance in the Scriptures, as well as a primary story of forgiveness and
~By Father Stephen Freeman, April 7, 2023 I recall the first time the phrase, “On the night in which He was betrayed,” struck my heart. I was attending the evening service of Maundy Thursday at my Episcopal parish when I was a student in college. There was communion, followed by the “stripping of the altar” that symbolized the arrest and scourging of Christ. But the phrase, “On the night in which He was betrayed,” haunted
Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. Matthew 26:6-16 (Gospel of Pre-Sanctified Liturgy on Holy Wednesday Morning) “The Passion” of Christ refers to His sufferings. The first act of the Passion was the betrayal by
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