Sermons & Homilies
“God is the infinite fulfillment of our desire, both in this life and in eternity,” thus writes St. Ignaty Brianchaninov. Unlike Buddhism, Christianity does not see desire as the root of all suffering but rather sin is. God created us to desire Him and implanted in our hearts an infinite desiring capacity to be able to contain Him insofar as we are able. But in the Fall, man turned away from God and chose to satisfy his desires not for spiritual delights, but for fleshly ones. In our own sinfulness we see our desire for the temporal trump the eternal.
Today the Church celebrates the memory of St. Maximos the Confessor. St. Maximos is called the confessor because he was persecuted and tortured for proclaiming the Orthodox faith of Christ’s two wills—one divine and one human. He preached against the heresy that taught that Christ had only one will. We will see how crucial the Church’s teaching on Christ’s two wills really is.
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Commenting on St. Peter’s wavering faith in today’s Gospel, St. John Chrysostom boldly states: “When our part is lacking, God’s part also stands still!” The Gospels teach the same. When Christ came to His hometown of Nazareth, St. Mark explains that He was unable to work any powerful works there except for a few healings. Why? “Because of their unbelief,” their lack of faith.
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Yet today at Gennesaret, Simon Peter as it were encounters the Lord for the first time: not as an abstract idea, not as a public figure only (however great a figure He doubtless appeared to be), but face to face. St. Peter begins to glimpse that this man is far more than a religious teacher or a political liberator, and he begins to realize that his own life will never be the same. This beginning of St. Peter’s life of apostleship can and must serve to inspire and instruct us also, who are all likewise called to the apostolic life to no lesser extent than St. Peter himself.
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High up from his hilltop, Jesus saw and knew all. Before he had even sent the disciples away, he knew what he would do. He bided his time until the moment was right. Late at night, about the fourth watch, just before dawn, Jesus came down from the mountain, and calmly walked into the storm. The waves fell at his feet like sheep, meek as a lamb. All things are his servants—the waters made him a path. Water like solid earth held up him who fixed the earth upon the waters. The Voice of the Lord is upon the waters, the God of glory hath thundered; the Voice of the Lord with power, the Voice of the Lord with majesty. His way is in the sea, and his paths in many waters; and his footsteps shall not be known.
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