May 31, 2026
Unknown preacher
On the Sunday commemorating the Prophet Elijah, the preacher connects Pentecost and the descent of the Holy Spirit as fire with Elijah's showdown on Mount Carmel, where God's fire consumed the sacrifice. The homily warns against modern false idols—social media, wealth, status—and calls the faithful to root them out through confession and devotion. A children's message recounts Elijah hearing God not in the storm or wind, but in the still small voice, teaching that God is encountered in quietness and peace.
1 Kings 18 (Elijah on Mount Carmel); 1 Kings 19 (Elijah hears God in the still small voice); Acts 2 (Pentecost); Matthew 6:24 (No one can serve two masters)
March 1, 2026
Unknown preacher
On the Sunday of the Prodigal Son during Lent, the preacher delivers a children's homily retelling Jesus' parable of the prodigal son, emphasizing themes of greed, wastefulness, repentance, confession, and the father's unconditional forgiveness. The preacher then addresses the adults in Armenian, drawing on St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians to stress that this very moment is the day of salvation, and concludes in English by urging the congregation to humble themselves and turn to God, whose forgiveness is always at hand.
Luke 15:11-32; 2 Corinthians 6:2
November 30, 2025
Unidentified parish priest (St. John Armenian Church, San Francisco)
On the Thanksgiving weekend, the preacher reflects on God as a God of second chances, using the parable of the barren fig tree from Luke 13. He shares a personal family story about disciplining children to illustrate how love requires eventual consequences, then connects this to God's patience with humanity. Christ, the merciful gardener, offers His own body and blood as nourishment (compost) so that we — the fig tree — can bear the fruit of repentance. The preacher warns that God's chances, while many, are finite, and encourages the faithful to use the gift of confession to change before time runs out.
Luke 13:1-9; John 1:1-14