In the Gospel reading today we hear the words of Christ, “No one comes to me, unless the One who sent me, the Father draws him.” (St. John 6: 44) What does Christ mean by this? First, we must examine what it means to “draw.” There are a few synonyms for a draw, such as: attract, captivate, and pull. These are but a few. I like the term “push.” More robustly “push us toward.” In the context of the Gospels, this means that it is God the Father who “pushes us toward” his Son. Therefore, outside of the power of God, we would not know Christ. This simply means that it is in and through God that we know God the Son. Of our power, of our own doing, of our strength, we would not know Christ. Here, when I say knowing Christ, I mean: to have a “conviction” in the core of our being that he is God, Savior, and Lord and to live this out in the life of the Church.

Racism, prejudice, and hatred: as a nation and global community, we have been speaking, posting, and protesting against such evils because the knee of a police officer murdered a black man. We all witnessed this horrifying incident on the news and social media. We were rightfully angry and disgusted. Many went to the streets in protest and others went to social media and expressed their feelings and emotions. We most likely sat down with our children and explained to them what was happening in the world and answered the question: “Who is George Floyd?” As a parish, we addressed the incident through our “Morning of Hope” and “Evening of Hope.” We continue to address the topic of racism, prejudice, and hatred through this homily. And will continue to address it in our parish through a Christ-centered focus. Addressing what has happened is very important. It is necessary! Being silent is not an option. How can we as Orthodox Christians, who participate in parish life and are active in the church, address these racial issues?

My family immigrated to America in 1986. From 1986 to 1992 (est.) my maternal grandfather would write letters because at that time in India, house phones were not available to everyone. At the very top of those letters my grandfather would always write three words: GOD IS LOVE.

In the Eastern traditions, particularly those in the Middle East and India, men in the past would wear a skirt-like robe. The idea of trousers came later. In the time of Jesus, men wore these types of long robes that went all the way down, leaving a little bit of room from the ground. Men had some sort of belt, not in the modern sense, but rather a cloth tied around the waist and knotted.