Christ's sacrifice on the cross

May 18, 2025

Feast of the Apparition of the Holy Cross and the Urgent Message of Christ

Unidentified parish priest (St. John Armenian Church)

The preacher delivers a dual-language homily. In Armenian, he reflects on the early church's debate over circumcision and the Mosaic law, emphasizing that the apostles chose baptism as the new sign of covenant and that Christians are heirs of the Old Testament understood through Christ's teaching. In English, prompted by a silver alert interrupting the singing of the Lord's Prayer during the liturgy, he draws a parallel to the Feast of the Apparition of the Holy Cross (351 AD), when the cross appeared over Jerusalem demanding everyone's attention. He urges the faithful not to ignore Christ's urgent call to receive the gift of salvation through His sacrifice on the cross.

John 1:1-14 (Gospel reading referenced); Acts 15 (Council of Jerusalem, alluded to in Armenian sermon)

April 19, 2025

Easter Eve Homily: The Humility to Accept Help

Unidentified priest of St. John Armenian Church

On Easter Eve, the priest shares a pastoral story about a lost elderly Armenian man found on a train who needed help from multiple strangers to find his way home. The man's stubbornness and inability to help himself becomes a parable for the Easter season: just as this man had to humble himself to accept the help of others, we too must set aside our pride and accept God's help — for no amount of worldly success or capability can bring us to the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ's sacrifice on the cross was something he did for us that we could not do for ourselves, and we must be humble enough to receive that gift.