St Peters Orthodox Church

Feb. 9, 2020 - In Colossians 3, St. Paul calls us to put on the virtues of Christ and ultimately to put on love which is the greatest of all virtues. But how do we become love? St. Basil the Great answers that question by teaching that we can only become love as we experience God and receive His love. This reflection shares the thoughts of St. Basil as to how we can live a life availing ourselves to the constant experience of the love of God.

The first Fall breeze after a hot Summer has always been so very refreshing to me. This instrumental expresses the feeling that I have when the first autumn breeze gently blows in. I pray this brings you to that moment and may this piece bless you and bring you peace. First Autumn Breeze by Father Mark McNary (c) 2020

Feb. 2, 2020 - The Gospel of St. Luke Chapter 2 gives us the story of St. Simeon receiving Jesus into his arms in the Holy Temple. God told St. Simeon that he would not die until he had seen His Savior. When He received Christ our God into his arms his soul was overwhelmed and he lifted up what we know as the Song of St. Simeon (Nunc Dimittis), a great song of praise to God that salvation had come to him and a prophecy that this child would bring light to the Gentiles. Today we look at St. Simeon's posture and find that, if it becomes our own, we will also lift up great praise from the experience of Christ our Salvation in our own lives.

Jan. 26, 2020 -St. Paul teaches us in Romans 12 that we should "be of the same mind toward one another." Consider what he is saying. St. Paul knows that we are each individual members of the body of Christ with different personalities, different ways of thinking about things in life, different experiences, and different opinions. And yet, he calls us to be of the same mind. What does this look like in the Church? How do we get there? This reflection speaks to these questions.

As a second part to last week's teaching on the Battlefield of our Thoughts, today we look at the true posture of the Christian when it comes to Spiritual Warfare. So many times we set our face upon our constant temptations and disordered thoughts in order to overcome them. Because of this we walk away many times defeated and exhausted. The real battle of the Christian is not, in and of ourselves and with our energies, to wage war against our thoughts and besetting sins. The real fight of the Christian must be, with all of our energies and by His grace, to remain in Christ who is our deliverer, our refuge, our stronghold, and our victory.

Jan. 19, 2020 - In Romans 12, St. Paul teaches the Church that, just as in a human body, the Body of Christ consists of many members with different functions of equal importance. Today we consider this understanding of what it is to be the Body of Christ in the earth. We find that the Church is the continuing incarnate ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of every soul within and for the salvation of the world.

The Church Fathers teach us in such beautiful harmony and consistency that there is an ongoing and very real battle waged for the soul of every Christian. We have a very real enemy who seeks the destruction of our soul. The Fathers also teach us that the true battlefield of our spiritual warfare is our thoughts. In this teaching we examine this battlefield. Today we remind ourselves of several encouraging truths: 1. He is truly our deliverer and victor. 2. In every battle we face we have been given the very authority of Christ our God for victory. 3. He has given us weapons that are not carnal but mighty for the pulling down of strongholds, for the casting down of arguments that set themselves up against the knowledge and truth of the revelation of God, and are mighty for taking of our thoughts captive in obedience to Christ.

Jan. 12, 2020 - In the Collect Prayer for the Mass of the Feast of the Holy Family we pray these words, "O Lord Jesus Christ, who, by being subject to Mary & Joseph, hast consecrated home life with ineffable virtues: grant that, with the help of both, we may be instructed by the example of thy Holy Family, and attain to its eternal fellowship." Because Christ subjected Himself to be a part of a family in the fallen human condition, our family life can be redeemed and made whole again. What Christ, the Divine, joins Himself to He redeems and makes new. Today we explore this wondrous truth and look at the virtues found in a family that is being made whole again.

January 6, 2020 - Today we celebrate the Feast of Epiphany. The word Epiphany means "the manifestation of the Divine to mankind." As we look at the story of the Wise Men who traveled to find Christ we find three different people/people groups. There is King Herod the Great, The Chief Priests & Scribes, and the Wise Men. Each of them had different responses to the coming of the King as a child in Bethlehem. In this sermon we learn about each of their responses and we look into our hearts to see where each response is present in us. Two of the responses need to decrease while one needs to grow. Take a few moments to listen and see if you can see these responses in your life.

Jan. 5, 2020 - Today is the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. On this day we remember that the Name of Jesus is everything to us and for us. His Name was given to Him because His Name reveals Who He is and why He came to us. His Name means both the one who delivers and the one who saves. In this homily we explore both of these meanings and what His Name means for the very moments of our lives.

The story of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is filled with wonder. We should be in awe of the full extent to which God went to redeem His beloved creation. Tonight we use the Icon of the Nativity as a guide to behold the fullness of the love of God manifest on this wondrous night. He wrapped our fallen flesh around Himself that He might act on our behalf and make us whole again. Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Today we conclude our series on repentance and the restoration and healing work of Christ in our lives based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Scrooge now is taken to the future; a future just beyond his own demise. And what is the key that unlocks the totality of true repentance coming out of his soul? It is his mortality. Our culture seeks to diminish what is, quite frankly, one of the greatest gifts of love and mercy our Lord has given us; to keep the truth of our mortality always before us. Our mortality, by grace, drives us into the loving arms of a Savior who so desires to heal us through repentance of our past and our present. On this day we discuss something almost all of us have a skewed understanding regarding. We discuss what it is to have a healthy, holy, and righteous fear of God; a truth that runs rampant all the way through the Scriptures. So we look at these Scriptures and all of the promises given to those who fear the Lord. Finally, we watch the transformation of Ebeneezer Scro

Dec. 22, 2019 - On the 4th and final Sunday of Advent, we are given the prayer to pray, "Raise up Thy power, and come among us, and with great might succor us." The word succor is a word we hardly ever use in conversational language. But it is such profound word when it comes to describing the reason for which our Lord Jesus Christ came to us with great power. To succor means "to come the help of" or "to come to the aid of" someone in need. In this sermon, we look through Scripture to see many ways that Christ has come to succor us. And His coming to succor us is our sure and only hope.

Dec. 15, 2019 - On the Third Sunday of Advent the liturgical colors change. The candle on the Advent wreath is rose instead of blue or violet and the vestments are to be the same if possible. The color voices the loving command of God that He gives us in the Mass of this blessed day, "Rejoice ye in the Lord, and again I say rejoice!" It is the loving wisdom of God in the giving of this command that we explore in this homily. For, especially in times of suffering, our joy is kept and strengthened by the God who makes His home within our praise.

The message of the Ghost of Christmas Past is that part of true repentance is letting the Holy Spirit reveal to us our past unhealed pains and sufferings as well as our damaged conscience from our past choices that keep us from the love of God and from becoming like Christ. The equally important message of the Ghost of Christmas Present is that we must allow Christ to open our blind eyes to see those who suffer around us spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. The result of our spiritual blindness to those deeply in need are sins of omission - the ways we miss the mark. And Who is the mark? It is Jesus Christ! We are healed to become like Him and participate in His Divine Nature not only for our sake, but for His ministry to be extended to others.

Today Ebeneezer Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past. Last week we examined who Ebeneezer Scrooge had become; a miser, greedy, utterly alone, no charity in his heart. But one of the most important questions to ask, a question that Charles Dickens answers through the Ghost of Christmas Past, is "Why did Scrooge become what he became?" As we look at the reasons for Scrooge's development, we wake up to the reality that every one of us has been formed by our experiences and our choices up to this very moment; the good and the bad. Part of repentance according to our Lord through His Church is allowing God to illuminate for us our past. What pains and sufferings done to us by others of just from life itself have not yet been healed and restored by Christ? What choices that we have made that has brought damage to our conscience have remained far too long in our lives. Our unhealed pain, suffering, and poor decisions impact both who we are and our ability to freely live in healthy relationships w

Dec. 8, 2019 - The focus of the liturgy of the Second Sunday of Advent is an exhortation to fellowship with God by means of the Holy Scriptures. It is through the reading of, the hearing, and teaching on Holy Scripture that we learn to hear our Good Shepherd's voice during the moments of our lives. And the most appropriate context for the reading of Holy Scripture is in the context of prayer.

Dec. 1, 2019 - Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Deacon Ken reminds us today that the word Advent means "the coming of someone." Our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated for us that no matter what they did to Him as He came to save us, no one could stop His Advent from continuing. The same would be true for His disciples and every generation that follows. He is the Advent that cannot be stopped. And we are the continuation of that Advent today. We are also encouraged that, for those who remain in Him, His Advent within us that transforms our lives and saves our souls will never fail to continue out of His great love for us.

In part 7 of our series we being a "series within a series" that will run during the Advent Season. Advent is a season in which our Lord leads us into deeper repentance so that we might experience His profound healing in our lives. One of the great works of classical literature, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, paints a picture of the life of Ebeneezer Scrooge; a man who needs repentance, is lead into repentance, and is so completely transformed through the process that he is an entirely different human being. In this series we will let Dickens' work lead be a guide to us that we may be freed by our Lord Jesus Christ of all that has us bound both from our past and in our present. Today we begin by making sure we understand the Church's understanding of repentance. And, we look at the reasons Ebeneezer Scrooge needs healing that comes through repentance and we have a look at the call to repentance by Jacob Marley.

Nov. 24, 2019 - In the beginning of the Mass today we hear the words of God "If you call upon me I will come to you and I will bring you out of your captivity." This week is the week we are given to prepare for our journey together with Christ through the Season of Advent. How shall we live that we may call upon the Lord and experience His deliverance out of His great love for us. Our Lord asks us during Advent to offer Him three things that are interwoven. We are asked to increase our fasting, our prayer, and our almsgiving. Today we examine these three spiritual disciplines and how God floods us with His grace as we offer them to Him.