The Orthodox Vine

Gospel Reading: Mark 2:1-12At that time, Jesus entered Capernaum and it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak thus? It is a blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your pallet and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-he said to the paralytic-"I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home." And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

We can only follow Christ completely if we have removed from ourselves all other attachments.

The story of the 10 lepers teaches us about physical and spiritual illness and healing and the power of calling upon the name of Jesus Christ.

Christ changes the nature of water when he was baptized, reclaiming it for our sanctification. In the same way, when we are baptized in Christ, our true identity is reclaimed and our purpose is revealed and we are called to fulfill it.

Welcoming a new year let us prepare the way of the Lord and make his path straight within our hearts and lives.

Called to be disciples

Mark 8:34-38; 9:1 The Lord said: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."

John 3:16 The love of God and our love for God

What do we posses and what possesses us?

The Lord said this parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord delivered him to the torturers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

The power of prayer and fasting

There is another reality that we too often forget about or don’t allow ourselves to see.

Cultivating an attitude of giving.

The blind men cried out the words we say in every Divine Liturgy.  This is the cry of the universe. 

The Light of Christ in us

Obedience and trust demonstrates faith

Do we desire God or Mammon?

The cost of following Christ

Denying Christ

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Fathers

The consequences of spiritual blindness in our world

The spiritual dangers of laziness.

Living in expectation of the second coming of Jesus Christ by being always prepared for death.

The parable of the Prodigal Son reveals God's unchangeable and unending love and how it attracts us back to Him even though we have spent all our love on something else. 

As we begin the Triodion period, we are reminded of two ways of praying. One that God hears and the another which he doesn't. 

What God expects from us.

Christ desires to come to us. Let us remove the things in our lives that block his path to our hearts.

You’re invited to the Great Banquet. How will you respond?

Sermon on Galatians 5:22

Sermon on the parable of the Sower. 

God is love. And we are called to be his love in the world.

A recording of our catechism class discussing the Creed and the old and new Covenant that God made with human beings. 

The Lord said: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power." Mark 8:34-38; 9:1

We often talk about how much God loves us. But how much do we love God and how can we grow that love?

There are few gospel readings where we hear Christ giving us a stern warning. The reading from Matthew 18:25-35 is one of them. If we are to be true Christians and children of our Father, we must have the compassion and forgiveness of the King in the parable and not be like the wicked servant.  The Lord said this parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord delivered him to the torturers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

A sermon on the commemoration of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. 

In this session from our Orthodox Faith and Life catechism class we discuss the Orthodox Icon of the Nativity and reflect on the meaning and universal significance of the Incarnation of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  

We all fear something. But fear is not a natural condition of human beings but something that entered into us when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Ultimately, all fear is rooted in the fear of death. In the gospel reading from Matthew 14:23-33, we see how fear leads to doubt and this makes it difficult to keep and increase our faith. But there's a way to overcome both fear and doubt and trust and live in the power of God.  At that time, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they entered the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. Sermon on Matthew 14:23-33. 

Sermon on the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos

A recording from our Orthodox Faith & Life Catechism Seminar

Love for Christ makes a person truly human. Without knowing Christ and loving him, we remain incomplete beings. This love for Christ is something that must be developed so that faith might also grow. The key to growing in both love and faith is humility. If we do not humble ourselves before God who humbled himself before us, then God will humble us by allowing us to suffer in order that this development of our love and faith might occur. We see this demonstrated in the two blind men in the gospel reading today. It was their suffering which had humbled them and thus increased their love and their faith; a faith so great that they believed with all their heart that Christ could heal their blindness instantaneously. And that is what he did, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you." The Gospel reading is from Matthew 9:27 At that time, as Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, Son of David." When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord." Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you." And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly charged them, "See that no one knows it." But they went away and spread his fame through all that district. As they were going away, behold, a dumb demoniac was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the crowds marveled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel." But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of demons." And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.

A recording of the first lecture from our Orthodox Faith & Life catechism class discussing the unknowable essence of God, how God reveals himself as Holy Trinity, and how we can know God through the participation and experience of his energies. We also discuss the reason why God created the world and his plan for human beings which he never revoked even after the fall of Adam and Eve.  

The first class of our Orthodox Faith & Life catechism seminar where Fr. Ninos explains the Orthodox approach to catechism as beyond learning with our minds but, more importantly, cultivating an Orthodox phronema (mindset) so that love for God and the journey of union and life with Christ can occur in accordance to one's struggle in the spiritual life within the arms of the Church. 

We can spend our short lifetime on this Earth worrying about our bodily health only and neglect the health of our souls. The sickness and wounds of the soul that are caused by sin will be eternal, if left untreated. But if we desire it, they can be healed through our repentance and the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ as we heard in the gospel reading today.  At that time, getting into a boat Jesus crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven." And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say 'Rise and walk?' But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" he then said to the paralytic -- "Rise, take up your bed and go home." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. - Matthew 9:1-8 

Matthew 5:14-19 The Lord said to his disciples, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

Sermon on the Sunday gospel reading from Matthew 6:22-33. What is the purpose of our eyes? How do we use them to increase our spiritual vision? How does that affect our daily lives?

Today's Sunday Gospel reading is from Matthew 4:18-23.  At that time, as Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left their boat and their father, and followed him. And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.

The Sunday of All Saints Gospel reading and sermon.

Pentecost is the day when true unity between human beings was made possible through The Church and through the Holy Spirit our path to reunion with God was opened.