Eastern Christian Insights
394 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 days ago - ★★★★★ - 13 ratingsHomilies from St. Luke Orthodox Church in Abilene, Texas
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Episodes
It is Time to Leave the Pig Pen and Return Home to the Father
February 21, 2022 22:07The coming Lenten season calls us all to come to ourselves as we gain a clearer recognition of the ways in which we have refused to live as the beloved sons and daughters of our Father. By humbly reorienting our lives toward Him and away from slavery to our passions, we will find restoration, blessing, and joy. Now is the time to leave behind the filth and misery of the pig pen and to enter by grace into the joy of a heavenly banquet that none of us deserves.
How to Pray Like the Publican, Not the Pharisee, This Lent
February 15, 2022 22:33We must devote ourselves to prayer, fasting, almsgiving, forgiveness, and other forms of repentance in the weeks ahead if we are to open the depths of our brokenness to the healing of our Lord’s humble, suffering love. That is the only way to become like the tax collector in spiritual clarity, for he was aware only of his sin and need for God’s mercy. We must know the true state of our corruption and weakness as he did, if we are to enter into the joy of the Lord’s resurrection.
Holiness is Open to All Through our Great High Priest
February 11, 2022 15:28Let us follow the example of the Canaanite woman in persistently and boldly offering even our deepest pains and greatest weaknesses to Christ for healing.
Repentance in Response to Great Mercy
February 02, 2022 20:39Even as we recall the Three Hierarchs’ shining example of holiness, we remember today also someone whose life changed dramatically when he turned away from corruption in order to follow Christ. Luke’s gospel portrays the story of Zacchaeus in memorable and distinctive ways.
Humbly Refusing to Remain in the Dark
February 02, 2022 20:26Let us not despair even when the darkness threatens to overwhelm us, but instead mindfully open our hearts to the light of Christ as we trust that He will minister to us at our point of greatest need and make us participants in His salvation.
Learning to See and Serve Outsiders as Neighbors
January 18, 2022 18:24Even as Jesus showed mercy by tangible actions such as healing a Samaritan from a dreaded and isolating disease, we must take the actions available to us, no matter how seemingly small or imperfect, to manifest His love to our neighbors, regardless of who they are. Find the book Syria Crucified at store.ancientfaith.com/syria-crucified.
Wearing a Robe of Light in the Region of Shadow and Death
January 11, 2022 18:05We are baptized into Christ’s death in order to rise up with Him into a life of holiness in which we regain the robe of light rejected by our first parents. In every aspect of our lives, we must become radiant with the divine glory shared with us by the New Adam.
Preparing for Christ's Baptism by Repentance
January 11, 2022 17:53Those who have put on Christ in baptism and who receive the Communion of His Body and Blood must become epiphanies of His fulfillment of the human person in God’s image and likeness. As we prepare to celebrate Theophany, let us gain the spiritual clarity to behold the glory of Christ’s baptism by straightening the crooked areas of our lives.
Preparing for Christ’s Baptism by Repentance
January 03, 2022 18:45 - 9 minutes - 12.7 MBThose who have put on Christ in baptism and who receive the Communion of His Body and Blood must become epiphanies of His fulfillment of the human person in God’s image and likeness. As we prepare to celebrate Theophany, let us gain the spiritual clarity to behold the glory of Christ’s baptism by straightening the crooked areas of our lives.
Obedience in Unanticipated Circumstances
December 28, 2021 19:21Our fundamental vocation remains the same: to undergo a change of mind such that we offer ourselves without reservation in obedience to God. As with the Theotokos, Joseph the Betrothed, and James, there is no telling what that will mean for the course of our lives, but saying “yes” in free obedience as we take the steps we have the strength to take today remains the only way to participate personally in the healing of the human person made possible by the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us loo...
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
December 28, 2021 19:04Thanks be to God, Our Lord’s Nativity is not a momentary escape from reality, but an invitation to enter into reality itself and find the healing of our humanity in Him.
Preparing for Christmas Requires the Right Kind of Hope
December 28, 2021 18:54In the remaining days before Christmas, let us embrace the radically disorienting calling to hope in nothing and no one other than the God-Man Who is born to heal and fulfill all who bear the divine image and likeness.
Homily for the Sunday of the Forefathers of Christ and Spyridon the Wonderworker
December 13, 2021 22:49As “the poor and maimed and blind and lame,” we must prepare to accept the extraordinary invitation that is ours in Jesus Christ by gaining the strength to make our daily responsibilities points of entrance to the heavenly kingdom. They are not reasons to shut ourselves out of the heavenly banquet, but opportunities to unite ourselves ever more fully to Him in freedom.
Born to Set Us Free from Our Infirmities
December 10, 2021 22:57As we pray, fast, give to the needy, and confess and repent of our sins this Advent, let us do so with the joyful hope of the woman who could finally stand up straight after eighteen years. For the Savior is born to deliver us from bondage in all its forms.
How to Respond When the Weakness of Our Souls is Revealed
December 03, 2021 04:13Unlike the rich man, we must not walk away in sadness when our weakness before our passions becomes apparent, especially when we realize how far short we have fallen of the holiness to which Christ calls us.
Preparing for Christmas by Offering Ourselves as Holy Temples
November 22, 2021 22:49We must mindfully take the steps necessary to follow the Theotokos in becoming holy living temples of the Lord. That is the only way to celebrate this feast and to prepare to celebrate Christmas with integrity.
We Must Not Narrow Down Our List of Neighbors to Love
November 16, 2021 01:46The Lord used the story of the Good Samaritan to show us who we must become if we are truly uniting ourselves to Him in faith. The more we share in His life, the more we will overcome the spiritual blindness that so easily tempts us to justify ourselves in thinking that any person or group is somehow not worthy of our care and compassion.
The Humble Faith of Those Who Face the Truth
November 09, 2021 02:37There is no point in pretending that all is well when it obviously is not; that was true for the bleeding woman and for Jairus, and it is also true for us. We must face the reality of our own brokenness with brutal honesty, if we are ever to acquire the humble faith necessary to enter into the joy of those who hear the Lord say, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace” and “Do not fear; only believe, and she shall be well.” The question is not whether the Savior wants to fulfil...
Embracing or Rejecting Christ's Mercy in How We Treat our Neighbors
November 03, 2021 20:02There is simply no way around the truth that how we relate to other people reveals whether we participate in the life our Lord. What we do and refuse to do for neighbors who need our time, attention, and generosity in any form, we do or refuse to do for Him.
Embracing or Rejecting Christ’s Mercy in How We Treat our Neighbors
November 01, 2021 21:00 - 10 minutes - 14.2 MBThere is simply no way around the truth that how we relate to other people reveals whether we participate in the life our Lord. What we do and refuse to do for neighbors who need our time, attention, and generosity in any form, we do or refuse to do for Him.
Mindfully Becoming Who We Are in Christ One Day at a Time
October 27, 2021 14:05We must remember who we are and find our true selves in Him, if we want to avoid the inevitable disintegration of personality and character that comes from slavery to our passions. Then we too will be able to obey with joy the Lord’s command to the formerly demon-possessed man: “Return to your home, and declare all that God has done for you.”
Beautiful Icons Bear Good Fruit
October 19, 2021 01:25Icons certainly beautify the church, but not simply in the conventional sense of being aesthetically pleasing. Instead, they manifest visually that the Son of God has called and enabled us to become His beautiful living icons. They show that the Savior has made us participants by grace in His deified humanity so that we may shine brightly with the divine glory.
“Now is the Day of Salvation”
October 12, 2021 15:48Those who weep like the widow of Nain today should take heart. The Savior has conquered death and shares His great victory with those Who respond to Him with humble faith and repentance. He has made every day of our lives “the day of salvation.”
Loving our Enemies as “Earthen Vessels” of God's Mercy
October 08, 2021 20:24If we have received the Lord’s mercy, we must extend that mercy to our neighbors, especially those we are inclined to hate, condemn, or otherwise disregard.
Loving our Enemies as “Earthen Vessels” of God’s Mercy
October 04, 2021 21:11 - 9 minutes - 13.7 MBIf we have received the Lord’s mercy, we must extend that mercy to our neighbors, especially those we are inclined to hate, condemn, or otherwise disregard.
Becoming Our True Selves Together by Loving God and Neighbor
September 27, 2021 20:50If we want to know Christ as the beloved disciple did, then we must learn that our very life is in our brothers and sisters. Loving them and Christ in them is the only way to find liberation from fear in our world of corruption, for it is fear that separates us from one another and keeps us from becoming together the uniquely beautiful persons our Lord created us to become in His image and likeness.
Becoming “A New Creation” Through the Cross of Christ
September 27, 2021 20:25It is only by dying to the old ways of death that we may live as His “new creation.”
We Must Freely Take Up Our Own Crosses
September 21, 2021 00:51Our songs, processions, and prostrations before our Lord’s Cross are the beginning, not the end, of our discipleship.
Preparing the Way of the Lord in our Own Lives
September 01, 2021 23:41John the Baptist was unspotted from the world due to the spiritual strength he gained from a life of asceticism and prayer, and he called people to follow him in preparing the way of the Lord as they bore “fruits worthy of repentance” and treated other people with the care appropriate to the children of God.
Without the True Foundation, We Sink Like Stones
August 25, 2021 20:46The darkness roots deeply within us all, both personally and collectively, and nothing but the brilliant glory of the Lord can overcome it. Whether we know it or not, we inevitably sink like stones into the abyss whenever we make anything or anyone else the foundation of our lives.
Baptism, Chrismation, and Communion on the Feast of the Dormition
August 25, 2021 20:31The feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos calls us to live faithfully as those who have put on Christ like a garment in baptism, been filled with the Holy Spirit in chrismation, and become guests at the heavenly banquet in the Eucharist.
Opening Our Eyes and Mouths to the Glory of God
August 11, 2021 18:43The Feast of Christ’s Transfiguration calls each of us to nothing less than to be transfigured in holiness and shine brilliantly by grace with the light of heaven.
How to Take Up Our Crosses and Be Transfigured in the Dormition Fast
August 10, 2021 01:50Let us become transfigured in holiness as we pray, fast, repent, and give generously to our neighbors as we become living icons of the Savior’s fulfillment of the human person in the likeness of God.
On Offering Our Blessings Back to God for Fulfillment According to His Purposes
July 29, 2021 16:59Like the saints we remember today, let us turn away from such distractions and instead orient ourselves toward the blessedness of a Kingdom that remains not of this world. Let us offer all our blessings back to Him with gratitude, for that is the only way to live as those who know that the good things of this life are not ends in themselves, but points of entrance to eternal life.
We Can All Bear Faithful Witness by the Power of the Holy Spirit
July 06, 2021 14:40Let us live as those who have tasted the living water of the Holy Spirit and know that nothing can truly satisfy us—in this life or in that which is to come—other than uniting ourselves to Christ in holiness.
Restoring Our True Unity in God
June 25, 2021 20:44Today we celebrate the restoration of our true unity in God.
Ascending in Holiness with the God-Man
June 15, 2021 22:10Christ has ascended. Let us go up together with Him as we find liberation from slavery to our passions and share more fully in the salvation that He has brought to the world.
The Joy of the Resurrection Extends Even to Samaritans, Gentiles, and Us
June 02, 2021 16:10The good news of our Lord’s resurrection extends to everyone and the entire world. The Church directs our attention during the Paschal season to how some very different people came to share in the life of our Lord, such as the disciple Thomas, the Myrrh-Bearing Women, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the paralyzed man. Today we focus on someone who was different from all of them by worldly standards, for they were Jews and she was a Samaritan. We know her in the Church as the Great Marty...
Wanting to Be Healed Is Not Always Easy
May 27, 2021 21:36The paralyzed man embodies our common human condition. Even as those enslaved to the fear of death did not somehow take the initiative in bringing salvation to the world, this fellow did not call out to Christ to help him or even know the Savior’s name. Instead, the Lord graciously reached out to him.
True Faith Requires Devotion Despite Disappointment
May 25, 2021 20:56It is easy to assume that we have strong faith when it seems like everything is going our way. All too often, that means that we have come to trust in ourselves for following a religion that we imagine will give us what we want. When difficult struggles come, however, the truth about our weak souls is revealed. Then we come to see that real faith in God is not about serving or congratulating ourselves, but something entirely different.
Seeing our Neighbors and Ourselves in Light of Christ's Bodily Resurrection
May 11, 2021 20:34The season of Pascha has only just begun. Because of His bodily resurrection, we must become holy in our bodies and treat our suffering neighbors accordingly. Let us continue to celebrate by participating as fully as possible in the joy of the empty tomb. Now nothing other than our own refusal can hold us back from becoming truly human, for “Christ is Risen!”
Seeing our Neighbors and Ourselves in Light of Christ’s Bodily Resurrection
May 10, 2021 21:29 - 9 minutes - 8.73 MBThe season of Pascha has only just begun. Because of His bodily resurrection, we must become holy in our bodies and treat our suffering neighbors accordingly. Let us continue to celebrate by participating as fully as possible in the joy of the empty tomb. Now nothing other than our own refusal can hold us back from becoming truly human, for “Christ is Risen!”
Only the One Who Destroys Death Can Bring Peace
April 26, 2021 18:34Today we celebrate that the Lord is at hand, for He is coming into Jerusalem as the Messiah, hailed by the crowds as their Savior. He does not come to usher in an earthly reign or to serve any nationalistic or political agenda. He enters Jerusalem on a donkey, a humble beast of burden, carrying no weapons and having no army. He had no well-oiled political machine to tell the powerful people what they wanted to hear or to manipulate the masses. His Kingdom was and is not of this world.
Christ's Healing Extends Beyond Self-Help or Willpower
April 19, 2021 23:57Through the Lord’s great Self-Offering, even the most wretched person may enter into the blessedness of the Kingdom through humble faith and repentance. Even the most notorious sinner may become a glorious saint and shine brightly with eternal glory.
Christ’s Healing Extends Beyond Self-Help or Willpower
April 19, 2021 23:46 - 8 minutes - 11.5 MBThrough the Lord’s great Self-Offering, even the most wretched person may enter into the blessedness of the Kingdom through humble faith and repentance. Even the most notorious sinner may become a glorious saint and shine brightly with eternal glory.
Acquiring Honest Faith is Never Easy
April 12, 2021 19:50If we are to complete our Lenten journey to our Lord’s Cross and glorious resurrection, we must learn to entrust ourselves to Him as honestly and fully as we possibly can.
The Tree of Life that Leads Us Back to Paradise
April 07, 2021 17:39The Cross is truly the Tree of Life through which we return to the blessedness of Paradise.
Becoming Like Christ by Obeying His Commandments
April 01, 2021 17:17Christ did not offer Himself on the Cross and rise from the dead in order to make us well-adjusted citizens of this world, but to heal every dimension of our brokenness so that we will shine brilliantly with His divine glory.
Live Like the Icon You Are
March 23, 2021 01:13There are many ways to view ourselves as human beings. All too often, we accept false definitions that we find appealing in light of our passions, weaknesses, and other forms of personal brokenness. When we do so, we set our sights too low, for the Savior became one of us in order to make us perfectly beautiful icons of His salvation.
Finding Fulfillment Through Fasting and Forgiveness in Lent
March 16, 2021 01:38During Great Lent, we will follow the path that leads back to Paradise.