Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, July 16, 2017 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (5:14-19) I love this teaching from the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams (a very spiritual man, a man of prayer), “And the face we need to show our world is the face of a humanity in endless growth towards love…” The bushel Jesus refers to in today’s Gospel reading refers to that which
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on the Eve of Christmas 2018 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. St. John the Evangelist wrote three letters that appear in the New Testament. In his first letter, chapter 2, verse 21, he explains why he is writing. “It is not because you do not know the truth
Published by Pemptousia Partnership on October 18, 2021 Archbishop Lazar Puhalo It has become a commonplace of for critics to suggest doubts about the authorship of Luke’s Gospel and the Book of Acts. Such doubts are, however, clearly unfounded. The evidence is conclusive that both treatises were written by a physician, and Luke was “the beloved physician” (Col. 4:14) who wrote them. Both books demonstrate a knowledge of medicine and in both there are clear signs of medical
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, September 16, 2018 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA. The Reading is from the Gospel According to Mark 8:34-38; 9:1 Today’s Gospel reading from Mark chapter 8, marks a turning point in the Lord’s ministry. From chapter 8 to chapter 13 we read the account of Christ’s final journey to his crucifixion in Jerusalem. Jesus announces his death and meets with resistance. Peter rebukes him,
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, November 11, 2017 I recently posted a note on social media in which I said that Christ’s death and resurrection changed the “senseless” character of death. Therefore, Christians need no longer fear it. I got a bit of push-back. What is senseless about suffering and death? There are two aspects of suffering and death that are particularly felt to be senseless. The first is suffering that seems to have no purpose:
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, September 9, 2018 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA. The Bronze Serpent is a strange and interesting thing. In Hebrew it has a name, “Nehushtan,” which means “a brazen thing, a mere piece of brass.” It is a derogatory name. Even though Moses made it at the instruction of God, as scripture says, it became an object of derision, so much so that, King Hezekiah
Published by Pemptousia Partnership on February 3, 2022 Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios At every Vespers, we hear the prayer: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; For my eyes have seen your salvation …” (Luke 2: 29-31). As St. Luke the Evangelist writes, it is with these words that the Righteous Symeon praised and thanked God, when he took the 40-day old baby Jesus in his arms, while in the Temple of
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, September 20, 2020 Knowing, as we do, that scripture for one person can be a call to an exemplary life of love, self-sacrifice, and compassion and for another an invitation to the exact opposite, it is very important not only that we read scripture, but also how we translate it. That is why I love the old adage that scripture is not in the reading, but in
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 31, 2017 Orthodoxy has a number of “favorite” words – all of which fall outside the bounds of normal speech. Though we commonly use the word “mystery” (for example), popular speech never uses it in the manner of the Church. I cannot remember using the word “fullness,” or even “fulfilled,” in normal speech. More contemporary words have come to replace these expressions. This doesn’t mean that an English speaker has
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, August 29, 2021. In our changing times when many are questioning the relevance of the Church, I was reminded of a quote by Carl Jung that sparked this meditation. “It is high time that we realize it is pointless to praise the light and preach it if nobody can see it. It is more needful to teach people the art of seeing.” How, then, do we teach
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