Sermon preached on Sunday, September 18, 2022 by Fr. Antony Hughes I discovered something in the Gospel reading a few Sundays ago I had never noticed before. (Matthew 19:16-26) A young man kneels before Jesus and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life.” Jesus answers, “Obey the commandments” to which the lawyer replies, “Which ones?” Now, you might think that the Lord would simply recite the Ten Commandments and be done with it.
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, May 17, 2020 One of my teachers in seminary once told us that all preaching should be about the kingdom of God. I suppose it was because that was what Jesus talked about most during his three-year public ministry. In Matthew’s Gospel the Lord mentions “the kingdom of heaven” 32 times. In Luke and Mark, the phrase kingdom of God is preferred. The Gospel of the Samaritan
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 Fr. Stephen Freeman, November 28, 2016 I have often used the example of riding a bicycle as an image of knowing God. There’s no difficulty learning how to ride if you don’t mind falling off for a while. But no matter how many years you have ridden, you cannot describe for someone else how you know what you know. But you know it. I also suspect that if you thought too much about riding a bicycle while you were riding
Noetic Science and Natural Science: The theological vision of God and natural science By Abbot Tryphon, December 1, 2019 Orthodoxy does not exclude from the theological vision of God the findings of natural science. Science and faith can be in concert with one another and our desire to reinstate our communion with God can involve both natural science, and the science of the soul. An Orthodox Christian does not have to suspend scientific knowledge in
So there has grown within the rich Christian tradition the idea of integrated knowledge, which assumes the necessity of reason, but in conjunction with the other faculties and senses, such as willpower, love, and the awareness of beauty. Integrated knowledge is knowledge in faith; it combines human nature in a personal movement of encounter and communion. By this communion the fullness of the godhead is communicated to human nature, reaching the very ground of the
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 2, 2015 Nothing about the human body is as intimate as the face. We generally think of other aspects of our bodies when we say “intimate,” but it is our face that reveals the most about us. It is the face we seek to watch in order to see what others are thinking, or even who they are. The importance of the face is emphasized repeatedly in the Scriptures. In
“My child,” God calls, “expand your vision to the dimensions of universal Love, to the dimensions of my Heart. Love without limits does not end with the human person. My Love upholds the entire universe. It is the essential connection, the vital bond, between all persons and things, and Him who loves them. “Let yourself be carried away by the immense current of boundless Love. Be transported by this movement, this dynamic and aspiration of
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 2, 2015 Nothing about the human body is as intimate as the face. We generally think of other aspects of our bodies when we say “intimate,” but it is our face that reveals the most about us. It is the face we seek to watch in order to see what others are thinking, or even who they are. The importance of the face is emphasized repeatedly in the Scriptures. In
Sermon Preached by Father Antony Hughes on the Sunday of the Blind Man (June 1st, 2003) In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is Risen! This is the last Sunday we will say this to one another. The Leave-Taking of Holy Pascha and the Feast of the Ascension occur this week. But remember, every Sunday Liturgy with only a few exceptions, is a
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