Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, July 9, 2017 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA. The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (8:28-9:1) The extreme case Jesus faced in today’s Gospel reading called for great compassion and courage. While I know it is tempting to focus on the drama and display of power, I think the point of the story leads us in a different direction. It is
But life can teach us that although the events of the day are out of our hands, they should never be out of our hearts, that instead of becoming bitter our lives can yield to the wisdom that only from the heart a creative response can come forth. When the answer to our world remains hanging between our minds and our hands, it remains weak and superficial. When our protests against war, segregation and social
Can we carry the burden of reality? How can we remain open to all human tragedies and aware of the vast ocean of human suffering without becoming mentally paralyzed and depressed? How can we live a healthy and creative life when we are constantly reminded of the fate of the millions who are poor, sick, hungry and persecuted? How can we even smile when we keep being confronted by pictures of tortures and executions? I
Pain teaches a most counterintuitive thing—that we must go down before we even know what up is. It is first an ordinary wound before it can become a sacred wound. Suffering of some sort seems to be the only thing strong enough to destabilize our arrogance and our ignorance. I would define suffering very simply as “whenever you are not in control.” All healthy religion shows you what to do with your pain. If we
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