Church is not a spiritual supermarket, and Fr. Nareg Terterian says that truth is exactly why so many people feel stuck, distracted, and empty. In this homily, he opens Jesus’ first sermon in Nazareth and St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians to show how the Gospel moves us from slavery to sonship, from routine to real encounter with God. Fr. Nareg begins with a sharp challenge to modern faith habits: are we just lighting a candle and leaving, or actually meeting God? From there, he turns to the prophecy Jesus reads from Isaiah - good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind - and the stunning one-line sermon that follows: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” You'll hear how St. Paul answers the deeper question behind that claim: how we are made free in Christ, and what it means to call God “Abba, Father” with real intimacy instead of fear. Fr. Nareg unpacks the difference between spiritual fantasy and spiritual growth, and why habit matters more than random signs or occasional religious moments. He also gets deeply practical, asking the question many of us avoid: What happened to your joy? Why do bitterness, distraction, and old patterns keep pulling us back when we were made to live as children of God? And he connects that struggle to the ordinary, repeated practices that form a living faith - showing up, worshiping, receiving, and growing together in community. If you’ve ever felt spiritually dry, inconsistent, or unsure how to move from belief to transformation, this message is for you. It’s a clear, challenging, and hopeful invitation to return to the life God actually intends - one that is free, joyful, and rooted in encounter.
