Going Deeper With Christ Episcopal Church

Path to Our True Selves Matthew 3:1-12 Father Mark reflects on why crowds flocked to hear John the Baptist’s call to repent, despite the discomfort and challenge of his message. He explains that the word repent has been distorted over centuries into a threat, but John’s original call—metanoia—is an invitation to deep transformation: to change how we think, act, and perceive so we can enter more fully into God’s reign. Repentance is not rearranging the furniture of our lives, but a radical reorientation toward God. He emphasizes that humans have an “infinite capacity for self-deception,” a reality noted not only by Scripture but by psychologists and business leaders. Our inner blindness—the “logs in our eyes”—distort how we see ourselves, the world, and others. Repentance requires unflinching honesty, a virtue that made John’s preaching so compelling. In a world filled with misinformation, spin, and self-justifying narratives, we hunger for what is true, real, and genuine. Father Mark concludes that repentance is the path to our true selves—the selves God created us to be. It demands that we confront our distortions and ask God to help us see with the mind of Christ. This is our Advent longing: to live more authentically, rooted in God’s compassion and truth. Though the process can feel like fire and axe, it leads to freedom, transformation, and the light of Christ shining in and through us. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Strength in Surrender Luke 23:33-43 Father Mark begins by reflecting on Christ the King Sunday, a day when the Church proclaims Jesus as King—yet the Gospel reading presents Jesus not enthroned in glory, but crucified in weakness. While earthly kings rule through domination and triumph, Jesus reveals a radically different kingship. On the cross, mocked and powerless by worldly standards, He embodies forgiveness and self-emptying love, praying even for His executioners. This contrast exposes the emptiness of triumphalism—the human tendency to claim superiority—and invites us to reconsider what divine kingship truly looks like. The one person who recognizes Jesus as King is not a disciple or religious leader but a condemned criminal crucified beside Him. Hearing Jesus’ prayer for His enemies, the criminal perceives a strength unlike Caesar’s—a strength rooted not in control but in mercy. He dares to hope for forgiveness and asks Jesus to remember him. Jesus’ response—“Today you will be with me in paradise”—reveals that God’s kingdom is not a distant nation-state but an ever-present reality entered through receptivity, surrender, and trust. Paradise begins the moment a human heart opens to divine mercy. Father Mark emphasizes that Christ’s kingdom operates according to values opposite the kingdoms of this world. Earthly rulers assert power; Christ rules through vulnerability, compassion, forgiveness, and servanthood. To pray “Thy kingdom come” is to surrender our egos and enter this alternative kingdom. Christians, he insists, should avoid merging God and country or seeking salvation in any earthly power. Instead, we are called to manifest Christ’s kingdom here and now—through love, humility, and mercy—allowing Christ the King to reign not by force, but through our transformed lives. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Bearing the Beams of Love Luke 21:5-19 Jesus stands before the dazzling Temple built by Herod—a monument to power, wealth, and ego—and warns that even this glorious structure will crumble. Father Mark explains that biblical prophecy is not fortune-telling but a call to see the present clearly. Prophets reveal the gap between God’s hopes for humanity and our actual behavior. Destruction only comes if people refuse to change; the real purpose of prophecy is to open the door to transformation. Like Jonah’s warning to Nineveh, Jesus’ words are meant to shake us awake, not to doom us. The sermon turns to the challenge of self-change. We instinctively try to correct others, but Jesus insists that real clarity begins with removing the “log” from our own eye. It is painful to shed comfortable habits, political certainties, attachments, or ways of seeing the world—and yet that is where spiritual freedom lies. Jesus redirects our attention away from the glittering symbols of worldly power and toward the deeper, unseen reality of God’s kingdom already within and among us. Our vision—what we choose to notice—shapes our life. Father Mark closes by reminding the congregation that we gather in church to learn how to see through the lens of God’s reign. In a world full of conflict, greed, division, and evasion of responsibility, the Church remains one of the few places that consistently teaches forgiveness, repentance, love of neighbor, and the counter-cultural way of Jesus. By pledging our time, talent, and treasure, we commit to “bearing the beams of love” in our lives and community. And in doing so—even in small ways—we participate in changing history by first allowing ourselves to be changed. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The Quiet Center Luke 20:27-38 Father Mark begins with the Gospel passage where the Sadducees test Jesus with a question about resurrection, trying to trap him in a logical puzzle about marriage in the afterlife. Jesus, however, redirects them to a deeper understanding—resurrected life is not a continuation of earthly patterns but a transformation into divine life. He teaches that those who are “children of the resurrection” are alive in God now, not bound by human institutions like marriage or death. God is not the God of the dead but of the living, and this eternal aliveness is available to us in every moment we dwell in divine presence. From there, Father Mark turns inward, comparing the Sadducees’ obsession with external arguments to his own distractions—represented by his dog Serena’s tendency to run off, drawn by fleeting scents and sounds. Just as Serena forgets the safety and love waiting at home, we too chase after the noise of the world: news cycles, social media, busyness, and even well-intentioned activities that fill our days but leave little room for stillness. Like the Sadducees, we risk mistaking motion for meaning, activity for aliveness. True life, he reminds us, comes from being rooted in our spiritual home—our center in God. In closing, Father Mark urges a daily practice of returning to that center. The resurrected life Jesus speaks of isn’t reserved for the afterlife—it’s a way of living now, grounded in silence, prayer, and the awareness of God’s presence. He invites his congregation to find “the quiet center” amid life’s chaos, to live from the soul rather than the surface, and to cultivate practices that nourish this deeper self. Resurrection, then, is not a distant promise but a present reality for those who live awake to God’s love within. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Our Nearest Neighbors Luke 6:20-31 Father Mark’s sermon reflects on Jesus’ teachings in Luke 6:20–31, where Christ presents the upside-down values of the Kingdom of God. The world often prizes wealth, power, and success, yet Jesus blesses the poor, the hungry, and those who weep. He calls his followers to love their enemies, to bless those who curse them, and to live by the Golden Rule. Father Mark contrasts this divine value system with the world’s obsession with status and material gain, reminding us that when we become consumed by the “kingdom of this world,” we risk losing touch with our very soul—the sacred depth of our being. He then turns to the central question for All Souls’ Day: What is the soul, and where does it go when we die? Drawing on Tom Stella’s reflection, Father Mark describes the soul as the sacred depth within us—the dimension where we find meaning, connection, passion, and compassion. Yet, he warns, we often live disconnected from that depth, caught in the surface busyness of modern life. To reconnect, he offers a simple practice from Brother David Steindl-Rast: “Stop, Look, Go.” Stop the endless inner chatter, look with gratitude at the present moment, and then go—acting from a place of awareness and love. This practice, along with prayer and meditation, brings us back into union with our soul. Finally, Father Mark explores the mystery of the soul after death. Quoting John O’Donohue and Meister Eckhart, he shares the belief that the soul does not go “somewhere else” but enters a freer, invisible state of being still close to us. “The dead are our nearest neighbors,” he says, their souls interwoven with ours in the communion of saints. Through the refinement of our own souls—our deepening connection with the sacred within—we can sense the presence of those who have gone before us. Thus, All Souls’ Day becomes not only a remembrance but a living communion: soul recognizing soul, here and now, in the eternal presence of God. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Humbled and Justified Luke 18:9-14 In this sermon, Father Mark reflects on Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, found in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus tells this story to those who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt.” The Pharisee stands proudly in the temple, thanking God that he is better than others, while the tax collector, aware of his sinfulness, humbly asks for mercy. Jesus concludes that it is the tax collector, not the Pharisee, who goes home justified. Father Mark emphasizes that this parable’s audience is unique—it is directed not to any particular group but to all who rely on their own righteousness rather than on God’s grace. Father Mark explains that the Pharisee’s mistake is not his fasting or tithing—both are good practices—but his belief that such acts make him righteous before God. Quoting various theologians, he describes the Pharisee’s “prayer” as more of a self-congratulatory report, with God merely an audience. True righteousness, Father Mark says, is not about obeying external rules but about right relationship—with God, others, and creation. Like a pianist who hits all the right notes but plays without heart, the Pharisee performs religion perfectly yet misses its true music: love flowing from the heart of God. The sermon concludes with a challenge to modern listeners. In today’s world of boastfulness and contempt, many act from ego rather than humility, justifying themselves and condemning others. Father Mark calls his congregation to abandon self-righteousness and instead live from the humility and openness of the tax collector—to trust and surrender to God’s grace. When we are emptied of ego, God’s love can flow through us, drawing us toward compassion, service, and solidarity with the powerless. True strength, he reminds us, lies not in self-justification but in vulnerability before the mercy of God. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Pray and Not Lose Heart Luke 18:1-8 In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge, urging his disciples to “pray always and not lose heart.” Father Mark reflects on how the widow—vulnerable and without worldly power—embodies both tenacity and faith. Despite her weakness, her persistence triumphs over an unjust authority. This is not simply human determination, Father Mark notes, but divine energy working through her openness to God. Her continual pleading becomes a living prayer—an unbroken connection with God that channels His justice into the world. Father Mark explains that to “pray always” does not mean constant recitation, but living in a continual state of openness and communion with God. Drawing on Franciscan and biblical scholars, he reminds us that prayer in Jesus’ native Aramaic literally means “to be open.” True prayer is vulnerability, a willingness to remain connected to God’s flow even when we feel powerless. Like the widow, those who seem weak can move mountains when their hearts remain receptive to divine strength, which empowers them to bring justice and hope into seemingly hopeless circumstances. Finally, Father Mark urges his listeners not to “lose heart,” which means keeping one’s heart expansive, loving, and unblocked by bitterness or ego. Through daily stillness, reflection, and “heart checks,” we can stay open to the Holy Spirit’s life-giving flow. In a world often hardened by selfishness, partisanship, and indifference, the call to pray always and not lose heart becomes a radical act of faith. When our hearts stay open to God’s Spirit, the dishonest judges of the world cannot prevail—because God’s justice, mercy, and peace will ultimately flow through us into the world. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

You Are My Child Mark 1:9-11 Father Mark begins by reflecting on the baptism of Jesus, when the heavens opened and God declared, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” He connects this moment to the Disney film The Lion King, using it as a modern parable about baptism and identity. Just as Simba forgets who he is—the son of the king—until he looks into the water and remembers his true heritage, so too are we called through the waters of baptism to remember who we truly are: beloved sons and daughters of God, made in His image and pleasing to Him, not because of what we do, but because of who we are. Father Mark warns that, like Simba, we can easily lose sight of this true identity by becoming too comfortable in a “faraway land”—our culture, with its values and priorities often at odds with God’s kingdom. In baptism, we are invited to live out our divine identity by embodying Christ’s teachings: forgiving, loving our enemies, serving others, and living as citizens of God’s kingdom rather than as products of a divided world. Our baptismal vows remind us that our worth comes not from achievements or social standing, but from being God’s beloved children. Finally, Father Mark speaks of baptism not just as a personal identity but as a communal calling. In being baptized, we join the “communion of saints,” a diverse and unified body that transcends time, race, politics, and nationality. Just as Simba returns to his community to serve the kingdom in love and unity, we too are called to build up the body of Christ, celebrating diversity without division. The sermon closes with the image of Mufasa and Simba lifting their children high—a beautiful parallel to God lifting each of us, declaring with joy: “You are my child, my beloved. With you I am well pleased.” Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Increase Our Faith Luke 17:5-10 Father Mark’s sermon begins with the apostles’ plea, “Increase our faith,” a request born from their fear that Jesus’s call to endless forgiveness and compassion was too difficult to live out. In a world that prizes revenge and retaliation, Jesus’s teaching seems foolish — even weak — but He challenges that instinct by reminding His followers that they already possess the faith they need. Faith, He says, need not be grand or dramatic; even the tiniest amount — the size of a mustard seed — holds the divine power to transform hearts and the world itself. Father Mark goes on to show that Jesus never grants His disciples “more faith” because faith isn’t a commodity to acquire; it’s a partnership between divine power and human willingness. He recalls the story of the feeding of the multitude — how the disciples thought they lacked resources, but Jesus urged them to look within, to recognize that what they already had, offered in faith, was enough. Jesus sees more in His followers than they see in themselves. Faith, therefore, is the quiet courage to open one’s heart, to trust that even the smallest gesture done in love can become part of God’s great work. The sermon closes with an invitation: to notice how faith shows up in the ordinary. Acts of care, service, and forgiveness — the unseen, everyday things — are the real evidence of faith at work. When multiplied across a community, these small acts of grace create light in a world darkened by anger and vengeance. Father Mark ends with a striking image: if every believer opened their heart just a little more, the Spirit of Christ would ripple through the earth — and we would see “mulberry trees marching toward the sea.” Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

A Different Lens Luke 16:1-13 Father Mark begins with Jesus’ parable of the dishonest manager, which at first glance seems puzzling. Looking through a purely worldly lens, the parable appears to commend dishonesty and cunning, suggesting that worldly people are more shrewd than spiritual people. But this interpretation contradicts the broader message of the Gospel. Instead, Father Mark invites us to look through a different lens—the spiritual lens of the Kingdom of God—so that the story reveals its deeper meaning. Seen through this spiritual lens, wealth is called “dishonest” not because it is necessarily stolen, but because it cannot provide what it promises. Money, power, and possessions promise security, happiness, and lasting fulfillment, but these are illusions. Jesus’ warning is that disciples, the “children of light,” must be as vigilant in protecting their spiritual life as worldly people are in protecting their social and physical life. For following Christ threatens the systems of wealth and power, which is why spiritual life is constantly under attack. Father Mark concludes by reminding us that we live with two sets of eyes: one that sees worldly reality and one that sees spiritual reality. Too often, our “worldly eye” dominates, while our “spiritual eye” is weak, like a lazy eye. Through prayer, worship, Scripture, meditation, and service, we can strengthen our spiritual sight until it becomes dominant. In the end, only God—not wealth, power, politics, or ego—can provide enduring joy and eternal life. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Seeking the Lost Luke 15:1-10 The sermon contrasts the Pharisees’ fixation on righteousness with Jesus’ mission to seek and restore the lost. The Pharisees equated righteousness with strict obedience to the law, which excluded tax collectors and sinners from fellowship. Jesus, however, welcomed these outcasts, showing that God’s concern is not with labels of righteous or sinner, but with finding what is lost and rejoicing in its restoration. Father Mark highlights the radical nature of Jesus’ table fellowship. To eat with sinners and tax collectors was to declare their full acceptance, undermining cultural and religious boundaries that defined community identity. In Acts, Peter faced criticism not for preaching to Gentiles but for eating with them. Likewise, Jesus redefined belonging by embracing the excluded, making joy in restoration the heart of the gospel. The sermon closes with the question: can someone be righteous and still lost? Father Mark explains that people may appear morally upright yet be consumed by ambition, ideology, or perfectionism, leaving them spiritually adrift. God’s focus is not on tallying righteousness but on seeking the lost—whether sinner or seemingly righteous—and restoring them to relationship. The church becomes the place where all who feel lost can be found, celebrated, and enveloped in God’s mercy and love. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Above All Else Luke 14:25-33 Jesus’ words in Luke’s Gospel confront the crowd with the hard truth of discipleship. He warns that following him requires radical reordering of allegiances, even above family ties and personal identity. In the first-century world, family defined one’s very being, and loyalty to Caesar was expected. Jesus’ demand for absolute allegiance to him was shocking, because it meant shifting the center of one’s identity and potentially losing status, relationships, and security. Father Mark compares this to his own experience of disciplined piano practice. Many admire the results but ignore the cost. In the same way, many admire Jesus’ miracles without grasping the suffering and sacrifice that come with discipleship. To “hate” one’s family and life is not about emotional hostility, but about preferring Jesus above all else. It is about loosening the grip of ego, possessions, and worldly attachments, so that God alone defines one’s life. True discipleship requires letting go, emptying oneself, and turning one’s will fully over to God. The sermon challenges modern Christians to examine divided loyalties—family, work, politics, status, comfort—that subtly displace God. Father Mark admits that many of us settle for a diluted faith, “three dollars’ worth of God.” But Jesus calls for wholehearted commitment, even if it is costly. The paradox is that by losing the false self, we find our true selves. By carrying the cross, we enter into deeper life in Christ, becoming “little Christs,” as C.S. Lewis put it. The cost is great, but the eternal reward is greater. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Deep Within the Heart Luke 13:10-17 Jesus heals a woman bent over for eighteen years on the Sabbath. The synagogue leader objects, citing the commandment. Jesus exposes the gap between the law’s outer form and its inner purpose, saying the Sabbath serves human need and liberation. Scripture gives two grounds for Sabbath: God’s rest in creation and Israel’s release from slavery. Healing on the Sabbath fulfills both by restoring rest and freeing from bondage. The woman’s longtime suffering shows the urgency of mercy, which aligns with God’s ongoing work of setting people free. The sermon warns against rigid rule-keeping that ignores people’s burdens, noting contemporary parallels like immigration debates. It proposes a biblical image: stone tablets on one side, a living heart on the other. Jeremiah’s new covenant writes God’s law on hearts, guiding compassionate action over mere external compliance. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Peacekeeping? Luke 12:49-56 Father Mark’s sermon explores the challenging words of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke, where He declares He has come not to bring peace, but division. Father Mark emphasizes that this division is not the purpose of Jesus’ message, but a predictable reaction to the radical nature of the Gospel. Just as the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son resents the father’s grace toward his wayward sibling, so too do many resist the inclusive, mercy-centered message of Jesus. The sermon draws parallels between biblical resistance to God’s grace and modern resistance, particularly highlighting how many in today’s society embrace the values of the older brother: self-righteousness, merit-based worth, and an aversion to mercy for the undeserving. Father Mark underscores that Jesus’ teachings were not meant to maintain the comfort of the status quo but to challenge unjust systems and bring about the deep peace of God’s kingdom—one grounded in forgiveness, compassion, and equity. He critiques modern indifference to suffering, particularly pointing to the plight of starving children in Gaza, and calls out the hypocrisy of those who claim Christian values while rejecting the Bible’s repeated call to defend the poor and the oppressed. This, he asserts, is the fire Jesus wishes were already kindled—a transformative fire that exposes the false peace of worldly powers and reveals the divine peace of God. In conclusion, Father Mark warns against confusing peacekeeping with peacemaking. He references Father Thomas Keating’s insight that peace lovers maintain the status quo, while peacemakers actively confront injustice. Jesus was a peacemaker, whose crucifixion was the result of His challenge to unjust structures. The Gospel calls us not to comfort, but to the difficult and often divisive work of living out God’s mercy in a resistant world. Father Mark leaves us with the reminder that we all have a bit of the older brother in us—and that the Gospel’s fire is meant to burn away our self-righteousness so the light of God’s grace can shine through. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Open-Handed Waiting Luke 12:32-40 Jesus’ words in Luke 12 call us to fearless trust and ready hearts: “Do not be afraid… it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” We’re told to place our treasure in heaven, keep our lamps lit, and stay alert for the Master who may arrive at an unexpected hour. Father Mark reflects on everyday impatience—like waiting in traffic or a grocery line—as a spiritual warning. “I want to be somewhere else” reveals two problems: it centers the ego apart from the needs of others and God’s will, and it pulls us out of the present moment where God’s gifts are actually given. When we’re not truly present, we miss Christ’s face in our neighbor and fail to live our baptismal vows. He contrasts “tight-fisted waiting” (driven by fixed outcomes, wishes, and fear) with “open-handed waiting” (patient, alert, surrendered to God). Echoing Isaiah 40:31 and Henri Nouwen, he urges receptive waiting that trusts the Father’s joy to give the kingdom. The stunning promise of Jesus’ parable is that the Master will return and serve the servants—a foretaste of the Eucharistic banquet offered to those who wait with open hands and ready hearts. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Rich Toward God Luke 12:13-21 Father Mark’s sermon reflects on Jesus’ parable of the rich fool, reminding us that true life is not found in possessions but in the abundance of God’s grace and generosity. He begins by highlighting how nature, with its volunteer plants springing up unbidden, mirrors the overflowing generosity of God’s creation. The earth produces abundantly not because of human effort alone, but because of God’s sustaining hand. This abundance calls us not to hoard or claim ownership, but to participate in the divine cycle of giving and receiving life. The rich man in Jesus’ parable misses this truth, focusing only on storing up wealth for himself, thinking material goods can secure his soul. As Bible scholar John Shea notes, the soul is not sustained by possessions but by “flow”—the ongoing exchange of love, generosity, and divine life. Greed, whether for money, power, fame, or anything else, creates a false promise that more will satisfy our longing for security. Yet greed only leaves us empty, chasing an illusion of salvation that objects of desire can never provide. Father Mark concludes by pointing us toward the “wealth of our inner resources,” the treasures of the Kingdom of God that live within us. Rather than striving for earthly riches that perish, we are called to cultivate integrity, generosity, and connection with God and others. The soul thrives not by clinging to possessions but by joining in the flow of divine love and abundance—a life rich toward God rather than rich in worldly terms. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Prayer, Relationship and Transformation Luke 11:1-13 Father Mark reflects on Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer, emphasizing that Jesus teaches his disciples not just how to ask for things, but how to enter into deeper relationship with God. Unlike the transactional model of prayer many assume—asking and hoping to receive—Jesus starts with the holiness of God and a desire for God’s kingdom, not human needs. Prayer, then, begins by orienting the heart toward God, aligning with God’s will rather than bending divine power to our own purposes. He addresses the tension many feel when prayers go unanswered. Father Mark references C.S. Lewis, who wrote that prayer is not magic, nor does it guarantee a specific result—even Jesus’ own prayer in Gethsemane was not answered in the way he hoped. Instead of viewing prayer as a vending machine, Father Mark encourages us to see it as a spiritual posture of openness, rooted in trust that God is always giving—most especially the gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s very self. Ultimately, praying as Jesus prays is not about changing God’s mind, but about transforming ours. The Lord’s Prayer, repeated faithfully, reshapes our consciousness into the likeness of Christ’s. As we ask, seek, and knock, we are not overcoming divine reluctance, but becoming receptive to the love and presence that God is constantly offering. In this way, prayer becomes not a means to gain control, but a way to join in the divine flow, receive the Holy Spirit, and participate in the coming of God’s kingdom. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Restored to Self Luke 8:26-39 In today’s Gospel, Father Mark reflects on Jesus’ healing of the man possessed by demons in the country of the Gerasenes. This man, isolated and tormented, becomes a mirror of the community’s unspoken fears and brokenness. His possession is not just a personal affliction, but a symbolic burden that the townspeople project upon him—he becomes their scapegoat. Jesus’ healing of the man destabilizes the community’s sense of order, revealing how fear prefers the familiar brokenness over uncertain transformation. Father Mark draws a powerful parallel between the demoniac’s healing and the deep psychological and social healing many of us resist. Just as the community fears change and loses their scapegoat, so too we often cling to unhealthy identities—whether as victims, the sick, or those who see others as “the other.” He explores how we create division through demonization: of people of different races, beliefs, orientations, or political views. These divisions serve as false identities, distractions from the liberating truth of who we are in God. Jesus doesn’t just heal the man—he commissions him. Sent back to his community, the restored man becomes a witness to God’s transforming love. Father Mark calls us to the same mission: to be healed and then become healers, to know our true identity as beloved children of God and to help others reclaim theirs. He reminds us that our deepest identity is not found in opposition to others, but in union with a God who makes us all sisters and brothers. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Eye of the Heart John 14:8-17 (25-27) Father Mark reflects on the underappreciated significance of Pentecost, contrasting it with culturally embraced holidays like Christmas and Easter. He suggests that Pentecost’s focus on the Holy Spirit—something unseen and internal—makes it difficult for many, particularly modern Americans, to fully grasp or celebrate. He points out how people often seek God externally, missing the deep spiritual truth that God’s presence is already within and among us. Even Philip, who spent years with Jesus, struggled to recognize the divine in Him, looking for physical evidence rather than perceiving with the “eye of the heart.” The sermon encourages a turn inward to rediscover spiritual awareness. Citing figures like Meister Eckhart and Henri Nouwen, Father Mark underscores the importance of solitude, silence, and contemplative prayer as essential practices for connecting with the indwelling Spirit. Jesus Himself modeled this rhythm of withdrawal and engagement—finding power and clarity through quiet communion with God. The Holy Spirit is not only a spectacle of fire and wind but also a gentle, sustaining presence that abides within us when we cultivate space through prayer. Father Mark praises the loving spirit of Christ’s Church, attributing its welcoming nature not to programs or traditions alone, but to the prayerful openness of its members. The unseen spiritual current that animates the parish comes from those who faithfully practice daily prayer, spiritual listening, and intentional community. Pentecost, then, should be seen not only as a miraculous historical event but as an ongoing celebration of God’s Spirit transforming us quietly from within. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

United in Love John 17:20-26 Father Mark begins with a story of a tow truck driver who refused to help a disabled woman because of her political affiliation. Claiming divine justification, the driver prioritized his ideological identity over compassion. Father Mark highlights this incident as a troubling example of how devotion to partisan beliefs can dangerously overshadow the central Christian commandment to love others, especially those different from ourselves. He reminds the congregation of Jesus’ words: “They will know you are my disciples by your love.” Drawing from Jesus’ farewell prayer in the Gospel of John, Father Mark emphasizes that Jesus’ final wish before His crucifixion was for unity—not just among His disciples, but for all who would come to believe in Him. Jesus’ desire was that all followers would be one, united in the love of God, mirroring the oneness of the Trinity. Father Mark ties this prayer to today’s world, which is fractured by divisions of race, politics, religion, and more. He insists that Jesus’ prayer for unity remains as urgent now as it was then. The sermon concludes with a reflection on our divine identity. Quoting Richard Rohr and William Shannon, Father Mark explores the idea that each of us bears the image of God, and while we may lose touch with it through ego and division, it remains within us. The pandemic revealed both our capacity for fear-driven isolation and our potential for compassionate unity. In the end, Father Mark asserts, only our true self in God will endure—our separations will not survive death. True discipleship lies in choosing love, compassion, and oneness with all people. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.