St. Matthew 19:16-26 (Rich Young Man)
Hebrews 9:1-7

In this homily, Father Anthony reflects on the Gospel of the rich young man, reminding us that salvation is more than meeting a minimum standard—it is a lifelong journey toward holiness. He shows how Christ gently leads us beyond comfort, calling us to surrender our attachments, whether wealth, time, opinions, or fears, in order to live in love and trust before God. Through the practice of kenosis, or self-emptying, we learn to soften our hearts, grow in grace, and allow Christ to transform us into His likeness.

NOTE: The prayer that Fr. Anthony references at the beginning of the homily is: "The Holy Spirt shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee." It is from St. Luke 1:35, with the Archangel Gabriel pronouncing this blessing upon the Virgin Mary.  As Fr. Anthony notes, the Orthodox Church uses this blessing liturgically during the Divine Liturgy.

St. Matthew 18:23-35 (The Unforgiving Servant)
I Corinthians 9:2-12

In this homily, Father Anthony explores the calling of Christians not only to pursue personal holiness, but also to help cultivate a culture of holiness that shapes the life of the parish and the wider world. Using the Divine Liturgy as our pattern, he explains how intentional practices—such as the placement of prayers, offerings, and the way we relate to one another—form habits that naturally move us toward mercy, patience, and love. Reflecting on the parable of the unforgiving servant and St. Paul’s guidance to the early Church, Father Anthony shows that true salvation is not simply release from debt, but the ongoing transformation of our hearts and relationships into the likeness of Christ.

I Corinthians 4:9-16
St. Matthew 17:14-23

Fr. Anthony reflects on St. Paul’s call to imitation, teaching that we are shaped by those around us and must guard our hearts and minds against sin while cultivating holiness. He explains the spiritual power of the Antiochian pre-communion prayers, showing how their repetition trains our minds, transforms our souls, and unites the faithful as one body in Christ.  Enjoy the show!

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Here is the Antiochian Orthodox Pre-Communion Prayer for the Divine Liturgy:

In this homily, we reflect on Christ’s miraculous feeding of the five thousand as a revelation of His abundant love and the Church’s calling to hospitality. Fr. Anthony explores how, through grace, even our limited offerings are multiplied to nourish the world, revealing a Kingdom where scarcity has no place.  Enjoy the show!

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MATTHEW 14:14-22

At that time, Jesus saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick.

This is what he does.  He sees our suffering and heals us.  What a blessing to have such a compassionate and capable God.

When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." 

Hospitality.  We are meant to do more than eat and learn; we are meant to feed and teach.  And more than that, we are meant to instruct others in the way of hospitality, so that they, too, may feed and teach (and teach others to feed and teach).  This system is scalable, through grace, towards perfection.  Scarcity is destroyed by the model of Christian hospitality.

They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish."

The apostles did not have enough and Christ new that.  But He knew they had something He could build on and multiply; again destroying the limitations of scarcity and localism.  St. Hillary develops the spiritual version of this theme; 

This means that up to then they depended on five loaves—that is, the five books of the law. And two fish nourished them—that is, the preaching of the prophets and of John. For in the works of the law there was life just as there is life from bread, but the preaching of John and the prophets restored hope to human life by virtue of water. Therefore the apostles offered these things first, because that was the level of their understanding at the time. From these modest beginnings the preaching of the gospel has proceeded from them, from these same apostles, until it has grown into an immense power.

This is the way the Lord works.  He takes what we are and, through grace, transforms it into something better.  In sin, we are part of the problem.  Hunger, scarcity, selfishness; but He lifts us up and we become part of the solution.  Feeding people with His love from a source that never ends and, as for selfishness, not only moving us unto something better, but allowing us to be a healing balm to those who suffer from the same malady.

And he said, "Bring them here to me." Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the crowds.

St. Jerome.  By the breaking of the bread, he makes it into a seedbed of food—for if the bread had been left intact and not pulled apart and broken into pieces, they would have been unable to feed the great crowds of men, women and children. The law with the prophets are therefore pulled apart and broken into pieces. Mysteries are made manifest, so that what did not feed the multitude of people in its original whole and unbroken state now feeds them in its divided state.

And they all ate and were satisfied.

The Church has always seen this as pointing toward the Eucharist.  God is the food that is “forever eaten but never consumed.”  Again, note how scarcity does not exist in the Kingdom. 

And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.

St. Hilary:  The loaves were given to the apostles, for through them the gifts of divine grace were to be administered. The crowds were then fed with the five loaves and two fish, and they were satisfied. The leftover fragments of bread and fish, after the people had their fill, amounted to twelve baskets. Thus, by the word of God coming from the teaching of the law and the prophets, the multitude was satisfied; and an abundance of divine power, reserved for the Gentiles from the ministry of the eternal food, was left over for the twelve apostles.

And, following this metaphor, still eat from these baskets because our bishop is an inheritor of this meal, something we are blessed to share here so that we may be fed.

Now we celebrate the presence of God in our midst, in this deserted place, healing our infirmities, feeding our hunger, and empowering us to do the same for others.

This recording of the Divine Liturgy (Christ the Saviour, Anderson SC) starts with the Great Doxology.  The homily and reception of communion were cut from the recording.  The sound quality isn't great - it was done with a phone sitting on an analoy off to the side.  Of course, worship is always better in person; join us when you can!  orthodoxanderson.org