"...It is difficult to conceive of an Orthodox Christian faith that does not include monasticism at the heart of its spiritual life.  The monastic orders in place today, in both the East and the West, are direct benefactors of the life and work of St. Anthony the Great and the brave men and women who over the centuries have decided to swim against the tide of their popular culture.  This is part of that rich treasury of the Orthodox faith that our predecessors have fought, and often died, to preserve.  It is now our turn to do our part to ensure that the monastic communities continue to thrive and provide an island of peace and sanity for future generations...."

...There is a temptation for us sometimes, as there was with Job the sufferer in the Old Testament, that God doesn’t understand our plight.  We are tempted to believe that He is on a different plane of existence than us…like the ancient Greeks believed with their pagan God’s lived up on Mt. Olympus.  We sometimes say in our minds: “God doesn’t understand our hardships in this life.  He doesn’t know what it is like to lose a loved one, or to take care of someone who is gravely sick or ill.” ...

...the Gospel lesson today is a wonderful reminder for us, that how we act within our families speak volumes about us and our devotion to God.  It shows us through Herod’s family…a clear picture of what happens when our priorities are not where they should be.  When God is absent from our homes…when we don’t take the time to converse with Him in communal prayer…when we don’t give thanks before our meals…when we don’t show gratitude for all that He has given us…and when we don’t praise him for all he has NOT given us (this is a difficult one to grasp)…we fall prey to the temptations that Herod’s family had fallen into....

...He was born in the midst of beasts, so that we might turn from beasts who instinctively follow their passions, into rational and deified human beings.  And perhaps the most stirring of all, He was born in that lowly place knowing the fate that awaited Him at Golgotha.

 Our Lord knew that He was to lead a life of perpetual humiliation, one that was climaxed when the human race who He came to save, betrayed Him and nailed Him to the cross. 

What more could we possibly ask from a humble savior, Who was willing to come so far…and endure so much…out of his love for mankind....

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, the banquet lies before us today.  It is not some superficial place that we will get to eventually after we pass away…it is here….it is now.  The Gospel today says:  “Come NOW, for all things are ready.” 

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, remember…this…gospel lesson.  Read it over and over again.  Study the invite that has been given to you by the Holy Forefathers, Apostles, Saints, and Fathers of the Church.