Sermons from St. Mary Church

On Suffering and The Opening of Our Eyes

May 21, 2023 - by Dn. James Wilcox
A god who operates willfully to instigate pain in some, and cause the death of others, while bringing about evil to accomplish his purposes for some perceived good, isn’t really a trustworthy, consistent, or a loving god. And here again, this is not the God reveled through Jesus Christ.
 

The Sixth Hour

May 14, 2023 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
The wind of the Spirit is always blowing. Every moment is pregnant with the Spirit. We have only to put down what we are carrying and sit with him for awhile and listen carefully to what he longs to reveal to us.
 

The Healing of the Paralytic

May 07, 2023 - by Dn. Jeff Smith
So, we all cost him day by day. And yet he looked out to save the lost, to save me, and paid the full price by giving his life, and seemed to count it worthwhile. What an example, what a joyous opportunity to start our lives again, fresh, and new.
 

The Point of It All Is Joy

April 30, 2023 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
Fear divides. Love unites. Courage was the glue that united their fear and love for the single purpose of doing what needed to be done revealing a direct path to the Empty Tomb in spite of the dangers they might encounter.
 

Embracing Our Doubt

April 23, 2023 - by Dn. James Wilcox
When someone comes to preach a message, make a claim, or tell a godly tale in the name of Christ, we should - like Thomas - always demand to see the marks of Christ on that person who claims to be speaking in God’s name, before we give ear to what it is they are preaching. To do so is to carry with you a good and healthy measure of skepticism. When Thomas said I will not believe until see the mark of the nails, and until place my hand in his side, he was simply doing what was properly Orthodox in the purest sense… he wanted to ensure that it was truly the risen Christ before him, and not some impostor claiming to be so.
 

On the Service of Holy Unction

April 12, 2023 - by Sarah Byrne-Martelli
As Christians we understand healing as communion. God heals, so that we may be whole – and thus able to live fully, to forgive and reconnect and heal our relationships with our neighbors.
 

Renewing our Baptismal Vows

April 09, 2023 - by Dn. James Wilcox
All of us stand here today with our palms raised aloft, just as the ancient Israelites did when Jesus strode in before them. And those people who praised him with Palm branches are same ones who cried out for him to be killed only days later. Those who cried 'Hosanna' on this day, were the same who shouted 'Crucify him' on the next. And they did this because Jesus didn’t match their expectation of who they thought the Christ should be. But it isn’t up to us to say who the Christ should be. The Christ simply IS. It is only left to us to decide if we wish to follow.
 

Following Christ Through Cities and Deserts

March 19, 2023 - by Cassandra Chamallas
Very few of us will be called to work out our salvation in the desert.  Instead, we will follow Christ’s calling in cities and suburbs, often surrounded by comfort and convenience.  We will do so each with our own crosses, our own trials and tribulations, and tempted by messages that making more money, having nicer possessions, gaining more earthly glory will make our lives better, easier. 
 

Rise Up and Walk

March 12, 2023 - by Andrea Popa
Each of us today and during this season of Lent is entering this place of worship, entering Christ’s home - either through the front door or breaking through the roof to gain access. And as we draw near, whether of our own accord or carried along by others, Christ sees us for all we are – our paralysis to act, our physical, spiritual and emotional limitations. In the humility of that 'aha' interaction, he opens our eyes to know that we are already children of God. 
 

Follow Me ... Come and See

March 05, 2023 - by Dr. Teva Regule, M.Div., Ph. D.
This Gospel passage is read for us on the first Sunday of Lent as it speaks to our Christian journey - our walk with Christ.  It is an invitation for us to follow Christ and begin our own pilgrimage to the Kingdom.  To become more God-like is the telos or purpose of our journey. 
 

On Forgiveness Sunday

February 26, 2023 - by Dn. Jeff Smith
Discipline and asceticism can help us master the flesh, and fasting fits the mind for devotion and sets an example for simplicity. So, Jesus counsels measured asceticism. Fasting can be secret and joyful – just like giving for charity. As a violinist is disciplined by the rapture of music, so too can we be disciplined in gladness for Christ and love for God. So Christian discipline is positive and radiant, lowly in spirit and full of joy.
 

Metaphors of the Last Judgment

February 19, 2023 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
Jesus tells us what matters most to God. It is simple. Not obscure, very concrete. He wants us to care about what God cares about. The Lord gives us a short list: feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison, and welcome strangers. It is meant to cover all those in distress whatever might be the cause.
 

Awakening from Exile

February 12, 2023 - by Dn. James Wilcox
We go about chasing after some thing, or perhaps after some person, that will make us feel better about ourselves. And we chase after it like the Prodigal, until we bottom out, see ourselves as failures, and let the cycle pick up all over again — chasing after something new to make us feel better about ourselves. The question is, will we truly awaken like the Prodigal and return from the exile of our false nature and learn who we truly are?
 

The Interplay of Darkness and Light

February 05, 2023 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
Without love, we are nothing. Without humility the narrow gate closes. The Pharisee defended himself with a cloak of false righteousness, hiding his narcissism behind his robes and bombasity. It was as if he were saying to God, 'My righteousness makes your mercy (and you) unnecessary. Pay attention to that sinner over there. Nothing to see here. I do not really need you after all!'
 

The Canaanite Woman

January 29, 2023 - by Dn. Jeff Smith
Jesus encounters this mother’s pain and heals her daughter. He acted with love.  And so, begins a magnificent adventure of the early church into the world of the gentiles. She who hoped for a great thing, who believed that Jesus could save her child, opened up the kingdom of heaven for us all.
 

Darkness Vanishes at the Appearance of God

January 08, 2023 - by Dn. James Wilcox
Christ comes to us in the breaking of the bread - our Eucharistic offering - and we consume His body. And once we’ve consumed the body, like the disciples at Emmaus, Christ disappears - or departs - and we become His body. And what happens after we become His body? We too also depart. We 'depart in peace' and we go out into the world as witnesses to the light of Christ. Which is exactly what Christ does in today’s Gospel passage.
 

Jesus in the Temple

January 01, 2023 - by Dn. Jeff Smith
In today’s gospel, Jesus was not teaching, but rather was listening and asking questions. The young Jesus appears with eagerness, an open mind, and simplicity of spirit. The gospel says that Jesus increased in wisdom and understanding which is perhaps strange for one who is already fully God. Fully God and fully man. What a mystery! Jesus is one with God the Father, but he is still growing and learning.
 

The Scandals of Men and the Work of God

December 18, 2022 - by Dn. James Wilcox
Remember, that our salvation is an inside job, and an inner working of the heart away from the selfishness of ego, and toward the self-LESS-ness of that person in imitation of Jesus Christ, who gave Himself up on behalf of all people! You can’t get more selfless than that. Thus, a heart transformed by the Holy Spirit and awakened in the likeness of Christ produces a natural morality that radiates outward.
 

Inner Stillness Amidst Inner Turmoil

November 28, 2022 - by Dn. James Wilcox
It’s good for us to remember that, truly, the only form of human perfection we know of in our faith was not a monk. It was a woman! And this woman whom we celebrate today was, in fact, a human being who suffered pangs of emotion just as all of us do.
 

The Good Samaritan

November 13, 2022 - by Dn. Jeff Smith
How can love be a requirement, or a law? Mustn’t it be voluntary? Love is to desire for the well-being of our enemies. Love moves in three directions: from God to us, from us to God, and toward each other. We can love God only because he first loved us. We are only able to love our neighbor because Christ loved us first, by giving his life for us.