There is not, and there never will be an easy way to talk about the Armenian Genocide, because this was a great and complex evil that is beyond normal words to describe. That’s why perhaps the most accurate way to describe the Armenian Genocide is the original term used in our language Mets Yeghern. “Great…
As you may know, I like to have a joke in my sermons from time to time. I recently found out that today on Easter Sunday, it is even more appropriate. It is actually a long standing tradition in some Eastern Orthodox churches for the priests to come prepared with a joke on Easter Sunday.…
A story reads best when we can read ourselves into it. We might find a particular character delightfully or despicably relatable. Maybe it’s a relationship we long for or a mystery to unravel. We find ourselves imagining how to interact with this character and resolve that situation. When we are drawn into a story, it…
Jesus is no appeaser. He hates sin, self-righteousness, violence and injustice. But he has made his hates general. I am not aware of Jesus berating any individual, even when that individual was a known sinner, even when that individual was known to betray him. But Jesus was absolutely relentless in revealing the evil and hypocrisy…
So the other day when I was bringing the bulletins to church and setting up for Sunday, this teenager rides up on his skateboard and comes into church. [Loud] ‘Yeah I want an espresso double shot on ice with two raw sugars.’ Are you kidding’ I say, ‘bro, this isn’t Starbucks, this is St. Hagop…
‘Please accept my resignation. I don’t care to belong to any group that will have me as a member.’ This is Groucho Marx’s joke, and as with all good jokes, much truth lies within. The truth is that in all important communal efforts, family, work and church, we tend to see everyone else as the…
As we were setting up for a wedding last week, the videographer asked me for the password to use our internet. I gave him our password which ends in 333. Why 333 he asked? Wait till you see the sacrament, I said, then you’ll know. In the Armenian Church, echoing the Holy Trinity, we say…