Fr. James Graham

Homily for Pentecost (Seventh Sunday after Pascha) Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11…………….John 7:37-8:12 Today the whole Church celebrates the Pentecost—the 50th day after the Resurrection—the day on which, according to the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples of Jesus received the gift of the Holy Spirit that empowered them to speak in different languages and so to fulfill the Lord’s command to go and teach all nations. For this reason, Pentecost is often called “the birthday of the Church.”...

Homily for the Sixth Sunday after Pascha (Sunday of the Holy Fathers) Acts of the Apostles 20:16-18, 28-36…………….John 17:1-13 The Scripture readings for this Sunday’s commemoration of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council call our attention to three foundational elements of the Christian Church: Unity, True Doctrine, and Bishops. These three elements stand at the heart of the First Ecumenical Council, which convened in the Byzantine (now Turkish) city of Nicaea in the year 325 by...

Homily for the Fifth Sunday after Pascha (Sunday of the Man Born Blind) Acts of the Apostles 16:16-34…………….John 9:1-38 In today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the man in charge of the jail where the Apostles Paul and Silas are being held asks one of the most important questions any person can ever ask: “What must I do to be saved?” “What must I do to be saved?” he asks, even though in a way he has just been saved. When the earthquake broke open the jail, he was about to kill...