The Ladder Homilies

Family Fights, Covetousness, and True Peace in Christ

Vijay Achen reflects on a gospel passage where a man asks Jesus to force his brother to divide an inheritance, and Jesus warns against covetousness—the craving for more or for what belongs to others. He explains that conflicts, whether in families or society, begin in the heart, citing St. James and a discussion of how violence often grows from unresolved conflict. Through the parable of the rich man fixated on “my” possessions, he urges listeners to place their treasure in Christ rather than wealth, status, or security, noting that fear and anxiety—such as concerns about changing visa and green card issues—should be brought to God’s promises of mercy and peace. He concludes with a story of a grieving widow whose worship revealed Christ’s love, calling the community to praise, pray for one another, and truly give peace.

Recorded: October 11, 2026

The speaker reflects on how only about 4% of people are born into an Orthodox family and says many cradle Orthodox don’t appreciate the faith, contrasting this with seminary converts who value Orthodoxy deeply. Citing early Church saints like St. Irenaeus of Lyons and St. Basil the Great, he emphasizes apostolic succession, unity in faith and sacraments, and Christ’s promise that the Church will endure despite heresies and divisions. He argues people leave or fail to value the Church mainly due to a lack of faith (preferring social events over prayer, Bible teaching, fasting) and a lack of witness (unchanged lives marked by anger, gossip, and poor relationships). True Orthodoxy, he says, is imitating Christ’s unconditional love and forgiveness, illustrated by Mary Johnson Roy forgiving her son’s killer, and taking up one’s cross with personal responsibility, exemplified by Barlaam of Tiremani, with suffering presented as a gateway to holiness.

Recorded: 11-02-2025

Shifting Our Attention to God's True Teaching (Matthew 16:5–12)

What are you paying attention to, and what is it teaching you?

Jesus warns His disciples about the "yeast" of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and they think He's talking about bread. If those closest to Jesus could miss the point, so can we.

Dr. Annah Kuriakose connects this story to today's attention economy and explores why yeast is such a fitting image for how teachings spread, both harmful and good. She invites us to look honestly at what shapes us and to spread truth, mercy, and peace instead.

Speaker: Dr. Annah Kuriakose

Recorded: September 27, 2026

At Sts. Basilios-Gregorios Orthodox Church in New Jersey

The speaker opens with a Trinitarian prayer and invites everyone to recognize how precious their eyes are as a gift from God, given to behold the beauty of creation and sense the presence of Christ in the divine mysteries and Holy Qurbana. He explains that eyes are not only for seeing but can also stir compassion and other inner responses, even evoking taste, and connects this to Jesus’ teaching that good eyes fill the body with light while bad eyes fill it with darkness. He warns that what we look at—especially on phones and social media—can produce jealousy and greed, turning God’s gift toward darkness. When this happens, he urges calling upon the Lord and gazing upon the cross so the body is filled with light through the Holy Spirit throughout the week.

Recorded: September 2026

In this homily for the first Sunday after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Life-Saving Cross, the speaker reflects on Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of Saint Mark about discerning the “signs” in nature, using the fig tree as an example of recognizing changing seasons. He explains that while believers should be attentive and discerning, they must not become consumed with predicting the exact date and time of the Parousia or final judgment, since only the Heavenly Father knows. Instead, Christians are called to live with vigilance and alertness, faithfully carrying out the responsibilities Christ entrusts to them, like servants who must be ready for a master’s unexpected return. He urges self-examination, repentance, and discernment, and prays for God’s help to live a committed Christian life and partnership in Christ’s mission.

Recorded: September 21, 2025

Finding Peace Within During the 40 Days to the Holy Cross

In a sermon during the 40 days from the Feast of the Transfiguration to the Feast of the Holy Cross, the speaker addresses how people often claim they have no enemies yet treat relatives, neighbors, God, or even themselves as enemies. Using a Desert Fathers story of a monk confronted at heaven’s gate with a list of “enemies” that includes his own family and spiritual father, he explains that labeling others as enemies makes love impossible and leads to avoidance, distrust, anger, and gossip. Drawing from the day’s gospel, he teaches that peace cannot depend on how others act because the Kingdom of God is within; the real issue is our own vices and lack of patience. The gospel’s remedy is our response—bless, do good, pray, and go the extra mile—following Christ’s example on the cross, and choosing inner change over waiting for others to change.

Recorded: September 6, 2026 at St. Thomas Orthodox Church (Unruh) Philadelphia

Reflecting on Jesus’ words that a lit lamp is not hidden, this episode explains that God did not hide His Son—the light of the world—citing Saint Cyril of Alexandria on Christ rescuing humanity from Satanic darkness. It asks why a good and almighty God permits darkness, pain, and tragedy, referencing the lasting impact of 9/11 as well as everyday struggles like stress, sadness, and hardship. The message argues that a world without darkness would require removing genuine freedom, and love requires a will that can say no. Like parents who have children despite the risk of rejection, God made humanity with free will and, when things went wrong, entered the darkness through the cross, transforming death into light. Listeners are urged to examine their own hearts, choose love over harm, forgive, and become light in the darkness.

Recorded: September 13, 2026 at Sts. Basilios-Gregorios Orthodox Church in New Jersey

Is Jesus Still Remarkable? Returning to Routine with Christ as the Cornerstone

As summer ends and September routines return, the speaker asks whether Jesus Christ also returns to a normal place in our schedules—and whether we still remember who we are praying to. Reflecting on the Gospel where Nazareth rejects Jesus as merely “the carpenter’s son,” he warns that familiarity can make Christ seem unremarkable and cause people to stop seeing His power. Drawing from 1 Peter 2 and 1 Corinthians, he explains Jesus as the chief cornerstone on which our lives—family, career, reputation, and faith—must be built to withstand life’s floods and earthquakes. Christ’s true power is love (sneham): even when rejected, He still healed. The message calls listeners to receive Christ in the Qurbana, pray personally and as a family, and live each day grounded in His enduring love.

In this sermon, the speaker reflects on moral philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre’s claim that we can only answer “What am I to do?” by first knowing what story we are part of, illustrating it with the difference between moving through New York City as a tourist versus a marathon runner. Turning to Mark 6:1–6, she describes Jesus’ visit to Nazareth, where hometown familiarity led people to be scandalized because they held the wrong story about who Jesus is, forgetting He is God incarnate and the Messiah. She emphasizes that narratives shape priorities and behavior, urging the cultivation of a “Christian imagination” that sees the divine drama of creation, theosis, and discipleship amid competing stories told at church, school, online, and at home. On Onam, she affirms Malayali traditions while insisting the ultimate story is enacted in the Holy Qurbana, comparing the Onam sadhya with the Eucharistic feast and warning not to confuse size with significance.

Recorded: September 7, 2025

During Holy Qurbana alongside a harvest celebration, the Vijay Achen connects harvest festivals to Scripture, emphasizing that before any harvest there is seedtime and that God gives the growth. Citing Genesis, Mark 4, Galatians, and John 12, he explains what a seed is—holding within it what it will become—and urges listeners to focus on three kinds of “seeds”: those we plant in others through our expectations and judgments, those others plant in us through words and impressions, and the seed Jesus plants by transforming people and by planting His own life like a grain of wheat that dies and brings abundant life. He calls the congregation the harvest of Christ and invites them to “bury” pride, insecurity, and sin to follow Jesus. Concluding with the shared Onam Sadya meal, he highlights the Malayalam word “namma” (goodness) as the seed believers should plant.