Displaying episodes 1 - 30 of 91 in total

Finding Sin in Success

In a dog-eat-dog world, what do you do if you have unexpected success? Do you tell all your friends and family about it? Do you throw a party? Do you go out for a nigh...

When We Side with King Charles Instead of King Jesus.


Today’s gospel reading is a hard one to digest. Jesus tells us, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” ...

What's Your Credit ... er, I Mean ... Honor Score?

Credit scores mean everything to us. They allow us to buy homes, cars, and even work at particular jobs. If you have a bad credit score, though, functioning in soci...

Protesting This World by Giving It All Up

Last week, we saw a vision of the Kingdom, a world in which the king grants forgiveness and commissions us to do likewise. This week, we get a deeper look into what...

To Forgive or Not to Forgive? That Is the Question.

Last week, the US government announced that they are going to forgive up to $20,000 worth of federal student loans for millions of people. Some people are overjoye...

How to Move a Mountain with a Mustard Seed

For the third week in a row, the disciples are challenged to teach the Gospel. But, we aren't surprised to see them strike for the third time. Their trust continue...

Walking into the Storm with the Bread from Heaven

When we’re reading scripture, we have to learn to look beyond the surface meaning so that we can see the teaching embedded within the text. The disciples had to lea...

Be the Salt

There’s an old joke that goes, “You can call me whatever you want, just don’t call me late for supper.” In my lifetime, I’ve been called a lot of things—some of the...

Calling Disciples in the Land of Death

As Americans, we like choice. We want to chose what we do, how we do it, and when to do it. Included in all of this is education. When it comes to college, we want ...

Christ, the Splitter of Families

This past Sunday was Fathers’ Day in the United States. This is a day we set aside to recognize the important role that dads play in our lives. But, on this day of...

Ascension: Backwards and Forwards

The Ascension of our Lord is often overlooked. It always falls on a Thursday, and, in our society, that makes it hard to celebrate properly. 
However, Ascension is ...

Encountering the Scriptural Christ

This week, we witnessed the tragedy of yet another school shooting. It’s clear that there’s evil in the world doing its worst.

 However, Jesus is working to bi...

The Paralytic as an Image of Systemic Oppression?

Sometimes, it feels like life is a battle for power. Unfortunately, it also feels like when someone gets power, it goes to their head and all sorts of bad things h...

The "Obstinate" Joseph and the "Faithful" Myrrh-Bearers?

This past Sunday, we remembered both Joseph of Arimathea, who asked for the body of Christ, and the Myrrh-Bearing women, who went to the tomb to anoint the body.  B...

The Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom

What does the Kingdom look like? How does it treat people. Have a listen to St. John's homily and find out!

Anchored in Place

Life, in general, is full of ups and downs. But, what happens when our spiritual life is also full of ups and downs?

 Is this normal? Should we expect this? O...

A Mistranslated Hymn and the Cross

At the midpoint of Lent, Orthodox Christians are reminded of the journey they’re on: the Way to resurrection by Way of the cross.

 As a part of this mid-Lent celeb...

The Real God Before You

On the second Sunday of Lent, the Orthodox Church celebrates St. Gregory of Palamas, a 14th-century bishop of Thessaloniki. 

 St. Gregory taught that God is truly ...

The True Image of Victory

On the Sunday of Orthodoxy, we remember the Triumph of Orthodoxy over Iconoclasm. 

 Many of us like to celebrate this event by parading around the church holding o...

An Acceptable Debt

Our world is built on credit, which is, essentially, building a life on a mountain of debt. 

 We go to school and accumulate school debt. We graduate and buy a car...

The Freedom to Love

There’s an old saying, “You are what you eat.” But, during Lent, the Christian tradition is to fast from meat, wine, dairy, and oil. Is the Church worried we’re go...

When We Want to Be Treated Unfairly: The Story of the Fathers’ Unacceptable Behavior

If you’re like most kids, you probably had arguments with your parents when you were a kid, and I bet those arguments intensified when you became a teenager. 

 As ...

The Lie of the Boot Straps

In America, we have a saying, “Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.” This saying encompasses the attitude that one will get ahead in life through education and a ...

A Woman's Faith and the Disciples' Shame

It’s one thing to be rejected by a stranger, but it’s another thing entirely to be rejected by a friend or a family member. It hurts. But what happens when you’re reje...

Christ and the Mask Challenge

Living according to the instruction of the gospel is always hard, especially when that instruction challenges our way of life or our perspective of the world.

"Thank you, O Lord!"

As many of you probably know, one of the most famous Orthodox theologians of the 20th century was Fr. Alexander Schmemann. He was dean of the seminary I went to (St. V...

The Impossible Burger and the Fast

This week, the Nativity Fast began for Orthodox Christians around the world. This 40-day period, is a time in which we prepare for the Nativity of our Lord according t...

Theophanies (Type-Scene 4)

If I were to ask you what feast Christians celebrate on January 6th, what would you say? It probably depends on which Christian tradition you were brought up in. I...

The Woman at the Well (Type-Scene 3)

In the Gospel of John, we hear the story of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at a well. Most sermons focus on the foreignness of the Samaritan woman: her identity as a ...

The Barren Women in Scripture (Type-Scene 2)

One motif that appears over and over again in the Bible is the image of the barren woman. All the matriarchs of Genesis had problems having children: Sarah, Rebeka...

© 2020 Dustin M. Lyon