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Homily - Cheesefare Sunday/Sunday of Forgiveness

OrthoAnalytika

Release Date: 03/02/2025

Homily - Behold the Man: The Cross and Our Shared Criminality show art Homily - Behold the Man: The Cross and Our Shared Criminality

OrthoAnalytika

Exultation of the Cross Behold the Man: The Cross and Our Shared Criminality Homily on the Passion and the Cross I Corinthians 1:18-24; St. John 19:6-11, 13-20, 25-28, 30-35 Christ was crucified among criminals, a mirror of our own sinfulness and complicity in His Passion.  Yet like the repentant theif, we are invited to turn to Him in humility, behold His mercy, and enter the Kingdom with the New Adam who reveals true humanity.  Enjoy the show! ++++++ Our Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, was condemned and put on a cross to die in the midst of criminals.  Not just the obvious...

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Class on Journey to Reality Chapter 02: God, go, Arche' show art Class on Journey to Reality Chapter 02: God, go, Arche'

OrthoAnalytika

In this episode, Fr. Anthony examines the nature of ultimate reality—God, gods, and the arche’—through Scripture and the Fathers. With insights from Journey to Reality, he shows how God transcends all categories and draws us into worship and transformation.  Enjoy the show! ------ Ultimate Reality: God, gods, arche’ Fr. Anthony Perkins; 10 September 2025 Text: Zachery Porcu, PhD. 2025. “Chapter 2 – Ultimate Reality” in Journey to Reality; Sacramental Life in a Secular Age.  Ancient Faith Publishing. Verses to Frame the Discussion Exodus 24:10. And they saw the God of...

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Class on Journey to Reality Chapter 01: Trees Walking show art Class on Journey to Reality Chapter 01: Trees Walking

OrthoAnalytika

Today we started our Fall Wednesday evening education series, during which we are working our way through Zachery Porcu's "Journey to Reality" from Ancient Faith Publishing.  Today, after framing our discussion with the "trees walking" account of the healing of the blind man from the Gospel according to St. Mark (8:22-38 - see below), we cover the main topics in chapter one.  Enjoy the show! ------ Trees Walking: the Problem of Discerning the Gospel Fr. Anthony Perkins; 03 September 2025 Text: Zachery Porcu, PhD. 2025. “Chapter 1 – What is Christianity” in Journey to Reality;...

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Homily - Letting Go: The Rich Young Man and the Call to Perfection show art Homily - Letting Go: The Rich Young Man and the Call to Perfection

OrthoAnalytika

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....

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Homily - Creating a Culture of Holiness show art Homily - Creating a Culture of Holiness

OrthoAnalytika

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...

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Homily: Faith, Communion, and the Transformation of the Mind show art Homily: Faith, Communion, and the Transformation of the Mind

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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! --- Here is the Antiochian Orthodox Pre-Communion Prayer for the Divine Liturgy: I stand before the doors of thy temple, and yet I refrain not from my terrible...

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Homily: An End to Scarcity: Christ’s Multiplying Grace show art Homily: An End to Scarcity: Christ’s Multiplying Grace

OrthoAnalytika

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! ------ 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...

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Divine Liturgy - 03 August 2025 show art Divine Liturgy - 03 August 2025

OrthoAnalytika

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! 

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Homily - Metropolitan Saba on Seeing Suffering Brightly show art Homily - Metropolitan Saba on Seeing Suffering Brightly

OrthoAnalytika

Title: Seeing Suffering Brightly: Faith, Discipline, and the Light of Christ Matthew 7:27-35; The Two Blind Men In this homily, Fr. Anthony shares Metropolitan Saba's teaching from the 2025 Convention that true spiritual vision begins not in denial of suffering, but in faithful endurance of it, transforming evil through thanksgiving and trust in God. Drawing on real martyrdom and lived faith in places like Damascus, he challenges us to see God’s love even in discipline and to witness to Christ with joy, courage, and unwavering hope. For a complete text of His Eminence, Metropolitan Saba's...

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Homily - The Paralytic (Everything is AWESOME!) show art Homily - The Paralytic (Everything is AWESOME!)

OrthoAnalytika

Everything is Awesome! James 5:10-20; St. Matthew 9:1-8 (Riffing on St. Peter Chrysologus) Over the last few homilies, I have tried to share an approach to living that looks for the good, and the beautiful, and the true in all things so that we might have joy in them and nurture them towards greater glory.  Today, I am going to continue this lesson by applying it to scripture.  Of course, in this case we are not nurturing scripture to greater glory, but we always grow in our appreciation of its goodness, beauty, and truth so that those virtues might grow within us. Let’s go...

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MATTHEW 6:14-21

The Lord said, "If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

 

We are going on a journey up a mountain – we should not carry things that are not worth having.  

 

This is part of the connection between forgiveness and fasting; 

  • “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…”

  • Holding onto grudges – remembrances of wrongs – is the polyunsaturated meal that multiplies like the food in Gurgi’s magical sack: no matter how much we eat, there is always more.  But the more we eat, the more we are weighed down, the more damage we do to our souls, and the less capable we are of the theotic climb to holiness.

 

Three types of letting go.

 

  1.  Exoneration: this is the ideal – wipes the slate clean

  • It was an accident – no intent

  • The actor was a child or an innocent; reconciliation should not even be threatened and should automatically be restorred

  • The person is truly sorry; takes full responsibility; asks for forgiveness, and shows through their actions that they are reliable partners in love

  • IN THESE CASES FULL EXONERATION IS REQUIRED; THE WORLD BECOMES BETTER WHEN WE DO AND WORSE WHEN WE DON’T

  • “If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?

But there is forgiveness with thee.” Matthew 129:3-4.

 

  1. Forbearance

  • Apology is qualified or inauthentic

  • Let go of the thought

  • “Forgive but don't forget”; setting of boundaries

  • Allows us to maintain relations with people we cannot avoid or that we love

  • Allows for the possibility of eventual exoneration as the person grows in goodness

  • In scripture; all the commandments to be patient with one another and for the strong to bear the burdens of the weak speak to this kind of forgiveness.

 

  1. Release

  • No recognition of wrongdoing

  • No repentance

  • No expectation that the person will not do it in the future

  • FORGIVENESS OF THIS KIND.DOES NOT EXONERATE

  • Liberating.

  • “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.”  St. Matthew 10:14.



Three Mistakes many of us make:

 

  • Reconciling when it hasn’t been earned through repentance

    • There is not more heartfelt sorrow and desire for forgiveness than that offered by the addict or the one who is set to lose things they value because of their sin.

    • There is also little less reliable.

    • Reliability is an attribute of love.  Those adults who cannot be relied on to be reliable do not deserve complete reconciliation.  They have earned boundaries of various types.  Some belong in category three.

    • Those who demand reconciliation because of the depth of their feelings may be either sincere or manipulative, but it takes discernment to determine if complete reconciliation should be given.  For those with whom we have a good history, this can be done in steps.

  • Taking offense when none was intended.  We are terrible at discerning intent, but we jump to it so quickly.  Offer grace and, if needed, a conversation.  Flowing from this:

  • Coming at relationships like lawyers or police interrogators rather than friends and Christians.

We’ve got a mountain to climb…

Forgiveness is one of the great superpowers granted to us; let's use it properly.