Preaching on the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearers, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick shows how both the encounter of Joseph and Nicodemus with the body of Jesus and the lack thereof with the myrrh-bearing women make a crucial point about Christianity.

Jacob is invoked by the Samaritan Woman who encounters Jesus at the well. What does this father of the Old Testament mean in this conversation and for us who read it?

What do an exorcism and an earthquake have in common? What about attempted suicide and mud? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick connects all these together.

Far from being a substitution at Pentecost, swapping Christ with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit makes Christ present to us for ever. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick meditates on this and related themes.

On the feast of All Saints, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses what it means to be a saint, both for us and for those we usually think of as 'saints,' as well as why saints are actually critical to Christianity.

St. Paul's famous Love Chapter in 1 Cor. 13 follows on the closing verses of 1 Cor. 12, which are about the gifts God gives the Church in her people. So what is love? Where do we get it? And how does that express itself in these gifts? What about love in daily life?

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick tells us we use the word 'blessing' all the time in religious talk. But does it mean anything other than just good religious vibes? And what about 'blessing' God Himself?

With the feast of St. Olaf of Norway, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses the Gospel of Peter walking on the water and interprets both in the light of St. Paul's teachings on synergy with God.

The man who brings his son with seizures to Jesus tells Him that the boy is a lunatic, that he is being controlled by the moon. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick asks, do we act like lunatics ourselves? Do we have to?

Using the image of the vineyard placed in a hedge by a householder, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick preaches on all the elements of the placing of that vineyard, and then expands his thoughts on what it means to be separate from the world and why that is a positive experience for Orthodox Christians.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick meditates on one of the best-loved verses of the Bible, looking at it in the context of the full secret conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.

Speaking on 2 Cor. 9:6-11, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses why Christianity isn't a fair exchange and also why we often can't see what God is giving us.

With the teaching on the sacredness of icons of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick demonstrates how our theology about the blessedness of material reality also means that we have to dedicated what we own to God.

On the feast of St. Martin of Tours, Fr. Andrew uses his story as well as the Gospel of the Good Samaritan to show how what we do and what we give depends a great deal on how we perceive our lives.

In Luke 13, Jesus heals a woman bent over for 18 years. Bringing in the commentary of St. Theophylact of Ohrid, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick talks about how this woman is an image of our own souls and how we perceive what is heavenly.

Springboarding off a blog post by Fr. Stephen De Young ('Theophany and the River Gods'), Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses what Theophany means in terms of God's defeat of false religion.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick reflects on a major milestone in his own life—finally living in one home for more than 5 1/2 years—and uses that to explore how life on the go can actually be quite paralyzing.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick unpacks the preaching of Christ and John the Forerunner—'Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand'—discussing what all of those terms really mean for everyday Christian life.

Memory is powerful. And to a significant degree, it makes us what we are, shapes how we experience life, and influences what we do and say. And the acts of remembering that we engage in further shape us. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses all this in terms of St. Paul's admonition to St. Timothy to remember the risen Jesus Christ.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses the parable of the Prodigal Son, how he asks to return as a servant but is instead given sonship, expanding on this theme in terms of the ways in the spiritual life what we desire from God is often not what He is offering.

Looking at the Fall of Man as three distinct 'falls,' Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick uses the major themes of Forgiveness Sunday to discuss making the journey 'backwards' into Paradise.

Speaking on the Forefeast of the Annunciation, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick describes the feast as being God's answer to the buffered, fenced-in selves that we ironically construct to protect ourselves even while desiring someone to reach out in love.

On the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick compares her journey into the wilderness with a similar journey made in the 19th c. by Henry David Thoreau. What is it that each hoped for by making that journey?

Using one of the major hymns for the feast of Palm Sunday, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick talks about the struggle to pray, how it works and why it's worth doing.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick preaches the Paschal homily of St. John Chrysostom at the feast and adds a story about a time when he shared Chrysostom's words in a non-Orthodox setting.

The details we know from St. Joseph of Arimathea's participation in his community, including its governance, show him to be a man who was fully in his world but not of it. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses his example and how to apply it ourselves.

On the feast of St. Columba of Iona, Fr. Andrew shares a scene from his life in which a pagan's baptism changes a piece of the world. He also shares another incident from the saint's life in which he uses his prophetic gift to help two men into the Kingdom of Heaven.

On the Sunday of All Saints, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick asks the question: What does it mean to be a saint? And the answer he explores is: The saint is one who has come home. So what does that mean?

On the Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses their eschatological future as enthroned on twelve thrones, judging Israel, the nations and even angels, and explaining that we are also called to the same enthronement.

Using St. Paul's comments about the Law of Moses in Gal. 3-4 especially in light of the Apostolic Council of Acts 15, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick argues that history is not just important for the Christian but actually necessary to Christian theology.

With the Sunday of the Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick tells the story of how God showed up at the meeting and also meditates on what happens when we actually expect Him to show.

Using St. Paul's language about 'zeal not according to knowledge' (Rom. 10:2), Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick points out that our zeal is often for sacrificing to false gods, even when we may not see it that way, and gives direction on how to redirect that zeal for sacrifice toward the one true God Jesus Christ.

Every day, we make hundreds of small choices that train us for selfishness. How does that affect our behavior, and how do we train ourselves to be like Christ instead? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick explores some of our everyday experiences and what they mean for eternity.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick compares the account of the Prophet Daniel and the idol Bel (Baal) in the Old Testament to the Feeding of the 5000 in the New. What does it mean when we have to feed our gods?

With the Church New Year (the Indiction), Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses why the Church set Sept. 1 as its new year and also what time means for the Christian and how we use it for our growth in the knowledge of God.

Using the images of the Exodus, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick shows how the Hebrews were freed from slavery not just to the Egyptians but to their gods. And with that freedom, they worship the one true God by using the Ark of the Covenant within the Tabernacle, prefigurations of the Holy Theotokos, whose Nativity is being celebrated.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick asks: Is it any wonder that, since the shaping of the world into order from formlessness and void in Genesis was begun with a light shining in the darkness, that the coming of Christ into this broken world of chaos and horror would also be begun with a star shining in the darkness?

Speaking on the raising of the son of the widow of Nain, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick gives us the 'backstory' on what it means when God visits His people and about how we can be prepared for this visitation.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick preaches on the feast of St. Jacob of Hamatoura, who had been forgotten and yet made himself known again, telling what it means that God gives us saints and why He does so.

'God loves a cheerful giver.' We might take that as an ironic thing to say, especially since we usually don't feel like giving -- especially our money. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick opens up what this 'cheerfulness' is about and Who it comes from and why.

Sometimes, we wish God would just show up so that He would remove all our doubts and we could believe in Him without question. But what are we really asking for? What would happen? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses this question in light of the Gospel of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick highlights a passage from a speech by Patriarch John X of Antioch that emphasizes the integrative character of the Christian life, giving over all things to God and thus becoming whole, including some extra notes about how Orthodoxy is neither anti-intellectual nor elitist.

With the parable of the Rich Fool, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick explores where life really comes from and why feeling deep feelings about God is not the same thing as loving Him.

Abraham is called by God out of Ur of the Chaldees, a descendant of the civilization founded by the first murderer Cain. Yet when he reached the Promised Land, he lived in tents. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses why and how this relates to Christmas and to us.

On the Eve of Theophany, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick charges straight ahead into dragon territory, discussing what it means to confront the dragons in the water and also asking: Why don't we seem to see dragons any more?

Using the Gospel of the Ten Lepers, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses how leprosy put the lepers outside society, how their healing has a purpose beyond physical health, and how that relates to the Kingdom of God and the immortality of its citizens.

On the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses what sexual immorality does to a person, noting how its devastating corruption is inward and difficult to uproot.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick tells us that angels were present and involved at the giving of the Law to Moses. The Lord Jesus says that the 'sons of the resurrection' are 'sons of God' and 'equal to the angels.' So then what does it mean to be saved?

Fr. Tom Hopko speaks at the first main session of the 2009 OCF College Conference held in December.

In this show we speak with the keynote speakers from three of the four college conference locations. The interviews are with Dr. Gayle Woloschak (College Conference East), Fr. John Parker (College Conference South), and Abbot Meletios Webber (College Conference West).