Sermons from St. Herman's

On the 7th Sunday of Luke and the Synaxis of the Archangels, Fr. Timothy Kolb reflects on God’s words, “Comfort, comfort my people” (Isaiah 40:1). In a week of grief for our community, he finds that comfort in the day’s commemorations: the Resurrection, St. Olga, and Jairus’s daughter, whom Christ declares is not dead but sleeping. He then explains why we venerate the angels but worship only God, noting that in the liturgy we worship not the angels but with them, and closes with gratitude that our guardian angels watch over us in times of grief.Other Homilies for the 7th Sunday of Luke:

• November 6, 2022 - Urgency
• November 7, 2021 - Desperate Faith

HEBREWS 2:2-10

Brethren, if the message declared by angels was valid and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his own will. For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, "What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou carest for him? Thou didst make him for a little while lower than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet." Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering.

LUKE 8:41-56

At that time, there came to Jesus a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue; and falling at Jesus' feet he besought him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As he went, the people pressed round him. And a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years and had spent all her living upon physicians and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment; and immediately her flow of blood ceased. And Jesus said, "Who was it that touched me?" When all denied it, Peter and those who were with him said, "Master, the multitudes surround you and press upon you!" But Jesus said, "Some one touched me; for I perceive that power has gone forth from me." And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." While he was still speaking, a man from the ruler's house came and said, "Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more." But Jesus on hearing this answered him, "Do not fear; only believe, and she shall be well." And when he came to the house, he permitted no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. And all were weeping and bewailing her; but he said, "Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand he called, saying, "Child, arise." And her spirit returned, and she got up at once; and he directed that something should be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed; but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.

At Vespers for the Synaxis of the Archangels and the feast of St. Olga of Kwethluk, Fr. Matthew Howell offers a short reflection on the words long associated with St. Olga: God can create great beauty from complete desolation. He explains that these words come from an appearance of St. Olga to a woman who had suffered deep trauma, bringing her healing and peace. He then shares the heartbreaking story of a young man from our wider community who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, recounting how he left an icon of St. Olga with the family and saw the Northern Lights, so closely tied to St. Olga, dancing over Hatcher Pass on his drive home. Though the young man will not recover, his family’s decision to donate his organs so that others may live is where Fr. Matthew sees great beauty emerging from desolation, even if it is not what anyone wanted it to look like. He closes by reminding us that St. Olga, who herself buried several of her children, knows the grief of losing a child, and calls us to turn to the saints, the angels, and the Lord, seeking the peace that comes from submitting our will to His.

Other Homilies for the Feast of St. Olga:

• November 8, 2025 - "It's Possible" by Fr. Matthew Howell

CORINTHIANS 8:1-5

Brethren, I want you to know about the grace of God which has been shown in the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of liberality on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints - and this, not as we expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

LUKE 9:1-6

At that time, Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them." And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere

On the Feast of St. Raphael of Brooklyn, Fr. Matthew Howell opens with the story of a woman who regained sight in her failing eye after praying before the saint’s icon at St. Raphael Church in Palm Desert, California. He reminds us that the saints’ miracles are God’s miracles worked through them, and that while we assign patron saints to particular needs for our own sake, all the saints can do all the things. He then recounts St. Raphael’s life, highlighting the remarkable cooperation between the Russian and Antiochian churches that led St. Tikhon to make him the first Orthodox bishop consecrated in America, charged with caring for the Arab faithful. Fr. Matthew closes by pointing to St. Raphael as one who loved the people right in front of him, as the rich man failed to love Lazarus, and encourages us likewise to love the people and pray to the saints that God places right in front of us.

Other Homilies About St. Raphael:

• July 6, 2024 - A Real Human
• November 4, 2023 - The Importance of St. Raphael's Education
• July 8, 2023 - Supplication to St. Raphael of Brooklyn

CORINTHIANS 8:1-5

Brethren, I want you to know about the grace of God which has been shown in the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of liberality on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints - and this, not as we expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

LUKE 9:1-6

At that time, Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them." And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

On the 5th Sunday of Luke, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, noting that the rich man stays selfish even in torment, still ignoring Lazarus and arguing with Abraham. He asks whether we truly listen to the One who has risen from the dead, and shows how consistently the Scriptures, from Moses to Christ Himself, call us to care for the poor. Drawing on St. Paisios, he argues that generosity isn’t complicated: it’s not our place to judge someone’s need, and even with nothing to give, we can offer dignity and compassion. He then tells the story of St. Nazarius of Valaam, spiritual father of St. Herman, who called the poor the Lord’s “great men” and enlisted their prayers on behalf of a disgraced official. He closes by suggesting our parish may need the help of the King’s friends in its own long building project, and urges us all: when in doubt, give.

Along the way, he recounts being put to shame by his son, who handed $10 to a man on a street corner while Fr. Matthew fumbled for his wallet, and borrows a line from Alaska Airlines about being mindful of others.

Previous homilies for the 5th Sunday of Luke:

• November 2, 2025: The Gospel of Personal Responsibility
• November 5, 2023: Giver's Glow

CORINTHIANS 12:27-31; 13:1-8

Brethren, you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

LUKE 16:19-31

The Lord said, "There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazaros, full of sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazaros in his bosom. And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazaros to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazaros in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.' And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' But Abraham said, 'They have Moses, and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if some one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to them, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead.'

On the 6th Sunday of Luke, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches on Christ healing the Gadarene demoniac (Luke 8:26-39) and asks a simple question: who are we allowing to influence us? He opens with a reflection on pigs as dirty, undiscerning creatures that spend their lives with their eyes to the ground, then shares a conversation with Fr. John Downing about the prison ministry he and the late Deacon Fred shared, whose main hope was that the women would choose good friends after their release. Turning to the gospel, he contrasts the healed man, who asks to follow Christ and is sent out as an evangelist, with the Gadarene pig farmers, who ask the Creator of the universe to leave because He has ruined their livelihood, their hearts fixed on the earth. Connecting this to the prodigal son coming to his senses in the pig pen, he urges us to choose good influences in our friends, our media, the Scriptures, and the lives of the saints. He closes with St. Paul’s words to the Galatians that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,” and St. Herman’s call to love God above all else from this day, from this hour, from this minute.

Previous Homilies for the 6th Sunday of Luke

• October 20, 2024 - Homily for St. Herman Church's 30th Anniversary by Bishop John
• October 22, 2023 - Demons, Pigs, and the Light of Christ

GALATIANS 2:16-20

Brethren, knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we ourselves were found to be sinners, is Christ then an agent of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again those things which I tore down, then I prove myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

LUKE 8:26-39

At that time, as Jesus arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, there met him a man from the city who had demons; for a long time he had worn no clothes and he lived not in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beseech you, do not torment me." For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him; he was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters, but he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them leave. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. When the herdsmen saw what happened, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed with demons was healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them; for they were seized with great fear; so he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but he sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

On the feast of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, Fr. Matthew Howell opens by sharing an insight from Fr. Timothy into the interweaving of Scripture and the services of the Church: Christ clothes Himself in our human nature so that we can be clothed in His incorruption, while Hades is stripped bare. He uses that collaboration with Fr. Timothy to note that Christ sends His disciples out two by two in the Scriptures. He then transitions to St. Luke, who was one of the Church’s great companions as a member of the Seventy and a traveling partner of St. Paul. He walks through Luke and Cleopas’s encounter with Christ on the road to Emmaus, emphasizing how their hearts burned within them, and explains how that fire carried Luke through his life as a physician, the first iconographer, the author of the Gospel of Luke and Acts, and a missionary to three continents before his martyrdom in Greece. Fr. Matthew describes Luke as one who multiplied the talents God had given him, becoming a living gospel and a living icon. He closes by urging us not to snuff out the fire when we are inspired but to offer it to the Lord and let the Church help us discern how to serve Him.

Related Homilies

• November 16, 2025 - He Became a living Gospel -- St. Matthew the Evangelist
• September 26, 2021 - St. John the Evangelist & Metropolitan Joseph's Youth Encyclical

ST. PAUL'S LETTER TO THE COLOSSIANS 4:5-11, 14-18

Brethren, conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer every one. Tychicos will tell you all about my affairs; he is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, and with him Onesimos, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of yourselves. They will tell you of everything that has taken place. Aristarchos my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions if he comes to you, receive him), and Jesus who is called Justos. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you. Give my greetings to the brethren at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea. And say to Archippos, "See that you fulfill the ministry which you have received in the Lord." I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my fetters. Grace be with you. Amen.

LUKE 10:16-21

The Lord said to his disciples, "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will."

While visiting St. Innocent of Alaska OCA Church in Eureka, California, Fr. Matthew Howell receives a two-minute introduction from the rector, Fr. Athanasius Kone. Using the gospel for the 3rd Sunday of Luke as a springboard, he discusses how Christ’s body is life-giving, how He offers it to us in the Eucharist (the “Thanksgiving”), and how our daily gratitude brings us closer to union with Christ’s life-giving body. He then uses St. Tikhon of Moscow, who was commemorated a couple of days earlier, as a prime example of how gratitude can pilot someone through extraordinarily difficult times while maintaining a strong faith in Christ.

Along the way, he answers the usual questions about living in Wasilla, recalls admiring the redwoods in the dark, tells his kids they may only take “usies” instead of selfies, and suggests that a 20-minute homily from a visiting priest is a great time to practice gratitude.

Previous Homilies for the gospel reading for the 3rd Sunday of Luke:

• October 19, 2025 - Gratitude and the Resurrection
• October 6, 2024 - Missionary Witness is an Inner Necessity
• October 8, 2023 - “Increase the Harvest of Your Righteousness”
• October 9, 2022 - Amusement Park or Temple of God?
• October 10, 2021 - Christ’s Body is Life-Giving

2 Corinthians 11:31-12:9

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands. It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows – such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows – how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me. And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Luke 7:11-16

Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother. Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.”

On the 2nd Sunday of Luke, Fr. Matthew Snowden of St. Nicholas Antiochian Church in Jackson, Tennessee, and principal of St. Athanasius Academy, reflects on the spiritual law of abundance. He begins with the mountain streams of Hatcher Pass, explaining that the water rushes so forcefully because of the abundance of its source. He connects this to St. Paul’s teaching on sowing and reaping bountifully and Christ’s call to give and love freely. He argues that our giving is not a rule we follow out of duty but the expression of a new nature. God is the great gift giver, so everything in our lives is a gift, and we are set free from scarcity and fear to become gift givers ourselves. Drawing on his own experience of sickness, betrayal, and financial uncertainty, he explains that the patient person is the one who stands firm and is “the last one standing,” because he sees all things as gifts from God’s love. He closes by connecting this to the liturgy, where we offer back to God what is His own, reminding us that our entire life is meant to be a Eucharist.

Previous Homilies for the 2nd Sunday of Luke:

• October 5, 2025 - Give Them Your Silver Candlesticks As Well
• September 29, 2024 - ⁠Above-Average Christians⁠
• October 1, 2023 - ⁠“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful”⁠
• October 2, 2022 - ⁠Loving Enemies⁠
• October 3, 2021 - ⁠Love is an Active Virtue

ST. PAUL'S SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS 9:6-11Brethren, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. As it is written, "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever." He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for great generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

LUKE 6:31-36The Lord said, "As you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."

On the 1st Sunday of Luke, Fr. Matthew Howell opens with a story about his pilgrimage to the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex. While there, Fr. Melchizedek taught him there is only one shortcut on the path to salvation: obedience. He calls it "the rocket ship of salvation" because it breeds humility in the soul. He then turns to today's gospel reading from Luke, in which a tired and skeptical Peter, despite giving every reasonable objection, obeys Christ, lets down his nets, and watches in amazement as they fill with fish. Drawing on St. Nikolai of Zhicha, he points to two acts of obedience in the story, the fish leaping into the net and Peter trusting Christ, and notes that Peter's confession of his own sinfulness comes as the fruit of that obedience. Fr. Matthew challenges us to be as obedient as the fish, and explains that the way to prepare our hearts for that kind of trust is to immerse ourselves in the Scriptures, just as Peter and the Holy Fathers did.

Along the way, he encourages us to follow the Bible reading plan, tells the story of a monk, an abbot, and two buckets, and cracks an old joke he learned in seminary.

Previous Homilies for the 1st Sunday of Luke:

• September 28, 2025 - Into the Deep
• September 22, 2024 - Let Down Into the Deep
• September 24, 2023 - Grand Slam of Saints
• September 25, 2022 - Obedience Leads to Humility

2 CORINTHIANS 6:16-18; 7:1

Brethren, you are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will live in them and move among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God.

LUKE 5:1-11

 At that time, as Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." For he was astonished, and all who were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men." And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

On the Sunday after the Holy Cross, Fr. Timothy Kolb reflects on Christ's call to "take up your cross and follow me" through a meditation on the two main trees in the Garden of Eden. Drawing on St. Maximus the Confessor, he explains the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil as representing the knowledge of pleasure and pain. To live a life that is governed by seeking pleasure and the avoidance of pain is to eat from this tree, like Eve. He contrasts this with the Tree of Life, which represents a willingness to embrace pain for the sake of what is eternal. He notes that the hymns of the Church identify the cross as the Tree of Life and that to pick up our cross and follow Christ is to eat of this tree. He gives a simple example of what this can look like in our everyday lives: the choice between sleeping in a bit on Sunday or going to church. His closing message is that every daily choice is really a choice between these two trees, and that continuing to deny ourselves some temporary pleasure and picking up our cross daily leads toward eternal life and resurrection.

Previous homilies for the Sunday after the Elevation of the Holy Cross: 

• September 21, 2025 - How to be Crucified with Christ
• September 15, 2024 - Christ Takes the Bitter Medicine First
• September 17, 2023 - The Cross Attaches Us to Christ
• September 18, 2022 - Carrying the Cross through Forgiveness
• September 19, 2021 - Through the Cross Joy is Come into All the World

GALATIANS 2:16-20

Brethren, knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we ourselves were found to be sinners, is Christ then an agent of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again those things which I tore down, then I prove myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

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.