The Ladder Homilies

Approaching Holy Qurbana with Humility, Repentance, and Gratitude This episode explains that no one is truly worthy to receive Holy Qurbana—not even the priest—and that the proper posture is to admit our unworthiness with repentance and humility. It warns against self-righteous thinking that personal prayers or good deeds make someone deserving, emphasizing that such attitudes actually undermine worthiness. Instead, viewers are encouraged to approach Holy Qurbana with gratitude for God’s gift of His body and blood, asking for empowerment to live rightly and striving to change known sinful ways in order to pursue a holy life.

Recorded: July 19, 2026

What kind of God do you believe in? A distant judge? A demanding ruler? N.T. Wright once told an atheist, "I don't believe in that God either." So who is the God of the Bible? In this sermon from Hebrews 4:15–16 and the Parable of the Sower, we discover a God who enters our weakness — and who refuses to force our hearts. He sympathizes. And He scatters seed. When you put those two things together, everything changes.

The speaker reflects on times people argue confidently only to discover they were wrong, then connects this to an intense Gospel of Mark encounter where Christ’s miracles and Sabbath healings draw some closer while Jerusalem’s elders reject Him for not matching their expectations of the Messiah. They accuse Him of being influenced by demons, revealing not an intellectual problem but an unwilling heart that fears the change God’s truth demands. The message warns that modern people often define “truth” for themselves, justify sin, and shift blame onto God or the Church rather than accept a call to repentance. This self-justification slowly closes the door to recognizing God’s presence and mercy, which Christ calls “eternal sin.” The episode urges listeners to examine what binds them, bring struggles to confession, and embrace change as they approach the Eucharist.

This episode offers a deeper perspective on Mark 3:20–30, where scribes accuse Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub and Jesus answers with the logic that “a house divided against itself cannot stand,” a line later quoted by Abraham Lincoln. The speaker connects the crowded house in Capernaum to John 14:2, explaining that “many mansions” in the King James sense means many dwelling places—rooms within the Father’s house, not separate estates. From this contrast, the message urges listeners to avoid living divided lives through secrecy, unforgiveness, or fractured relationships, and instead seek honesty, love, forgiveness, truth, and unity. Drawing on Ephesians 2, it concludes that Jesus Himself is our peace who breaks down the dividing wall, calling worshippers to pursue unity in God’s kingdom.

Why do so many people answer “busy” when asked how they’re doing, and when can busyness become an addiction that pulls us away from God and neighbor? This episode contrasts “bad busyness” that looks productive or even spiritual yet neglects prayer and worship, comes from proving ourselves or people-pleasing, and makes us less loving, compassionate, and patient. It also highlights “good busyness” modeled by the saints and monastics: working diligently without sacrificing prayer, remembering Christ, caring for family and community as sacred, serving in humility, visiting the sick, helping the poor, practicing hospitality, and fulfilling responsibilities without complaining or seeking recognition. The episode ends with an examination of whether our busyness is making us more loving, peaceful, and prayerful as the year’s second half begins.

America just turned 250—and it makes you feel how fast everything passes. But what happens when you zoom out from 250 years, to St. Thomas touching the risen Christ and declaring “My Lord and my God,” to Abraham, to the 4.5-billion-year age of the earth? This episode asks one deceptively simple question—“How old is God?”—and shows why it’s a trick question that reshapes how we see our own short lives, our prayers for the departed, and the God who is beyond time. If you’ve ever pictured God as just “bigger than us,” or wondered how the eternal can be personal, listen in as the Feast of St. Thomas becomes a call to faith in Jesus Christ: the timeless “I AM” who entered time to be with us.

Reflecting on the feast of St. Thomas, the speaker revisits John’s account of the disciples hiding behind locked doors out of fear and highlights Thomas’ fearlessness in searching for the risen Lord. Rather than condemning Thomas’ demand to see and touch Jesus’ wounds, Jesus returns and invites him to do so, leading Thomas to proclaim the foundational confession, “My Lord and my God.” The talk contrasts healthy, truth-seeking doubt with the tendency to believe gossip without testing it, and connects Thomas’ experience to his mission to India’s philosophically advanced context. His Grace also addresses modern struggles to pass faith to children, warning that many are “intellectual believers” but “practical atheists,” and concludes that faith is not the absence of doubt but believing despite it.

This episode reflects on what historians call George Washington’s greatest act: giving up power after two terms even though the Constitution set no limit, warning that “the line between a president and a king is at best faint.” Using the idea that power is addictive, the message explores how power dynamics exist everywhere—work, school, home, and church—and that titles and influence carry responsibility. Drawing from Jesus’ warning about the Pharisees and scribes, St. Paul’s instruction to be “rich in good deeds,” and Christ washing the disciples’ feet, it calls listeners to practice what they preach and use influence to serve and love. It connects Washington’s decision to prayer, quoting his journal, and urges prayerful submission to God for wisdom and discernment in leadership.

00:00 Washington Gives Up Power

01:42 Power Is Addictive

02:29 Everyday Power Dynamics

04:20 Gospel Warning to Leaders

05:19 Practice What You Preach

06:50 Servant Leadership Like Jesus

08:05 One Father One Teacher

10:05 Prayer Behind Wise Leadership

11:47 Submit to God in Prayer

12:13 Closing Prayer and Doxology

Recorded: October 13, 2024

This episode reflects on how modern life equates worth with productivity, placing intense pressure on people from childhood through academic achievement and constant accomplishment. It also highlights how distractions—especially phones—keep us from focusing on what matters most and from spending time at the feet of Jesus seeking the one thing He calls necessary. Sujit Achen argues that the prevalence of distraction is a reminder of the need for silence and contemplation, noting that if Jesus took His apostles away for this purpose, it is even more necessary for listeners today.

00:00 Productivity Pressure

08:30 Worth and Achievement

08:38 Distraction Overload

08:54 The One Thing Needed

09:08 Phones and Focus

09:20 Silence and Contemplation

Recorded: June 28, 2026

What does it really mean to follow Christ? In John 6, Jesus declares, "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." If even the Son willingly submits to the Father's will, what does that mean for our own lives?

This homily explores the struggle between our will and God's will, inviting us to identify the sins that keep us from true freedom. Through practical examples—from family life and marriage to daily habits—we are challenged to crucify our self-centered desires so that God's will can take root within us. True joy is not found in doing whatever we want, but in learning to pray and live the words, "Not my will, but Yours be done."

Recorded: June 14, 2026