Here is a marvelous story from today's news to put a smile on anyone's face. A Couple Feeds 4,000 Syrian Refugees on their Wedding Day! And I would think that the one who is smiling the most is our Lord Jesus Christ himself. Jesus often used a wedding feast as an image of God's kingdom. It seems …
The Praxis of Disciples
Today we celebrate a secondary feast of St. Stephen and we read about his martyrdom from the Book of Acts. The Book of Acts... the Acts of the Apostles. Note that it's called the Book of Acts - not the Book of Truths or the Book of Dogmas. Πράξεις των Ἀποστόλων. The Greek word praxis is …
God the passionate lover
Today's Epistle reading contains a statement that marks out Saint Paul as the true radical that he was: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal 3:28-29). This passage prompted …
Blessed salt… Blessed light
Jesus told his disciples: "You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:13-14). It’s a temptation to hear these words as requirement rather than blessing, as command rather than commissioning. Jesus is blessing us to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world. But let's not make …
Healing needs Forgiveness
Compassion is at the heart of Jesus’ life and teaching because hurt is to be taken seriously. Jesus experienced everything that human hurt is. Not only did he experience hurt, he became hurt! That’s how seriously he took it. Hence his angry reaction to scribes, Pharisees and other religious types who put religion and beliefs about …
Two Societies
The two readings in our Liturgy today present us with two different visions of human society: Matthew 8:28-9:1 An unredeemed society.... - dominated by violence and self-interest. Galatians 5:22-6:2 A redeemed society - imperfect but struggling, guided by the Holy Spirit toward perfection.....
Keys and a Sword
June 29th is the feast-day of Saints Peter and Paul, the two most renowned of the apostles. In the Orthodox tradition there are three primary icons of the two apostles. The first shows Peter and Paul together supporting a model church building: The second family of icons shows Peter and Paul in closeup, embracing …
Still preparing the Way
Today the Orthodox Church celebrates the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the Forerunner. He is called "Forerunner" because he appeared before Jesus Christ, to prepare the way of the Lord, in the spirit of what Isaiah had spoken: A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God." …
The Undivided Life
Few Gospel texts arouse as much reaction as today's reading (Matthew 6:22-33). It would seem that every “starving sparrow” contradicts Jesus; every famine and every war; the text appears to be extremely simpleminded and naive about economic problems; and it appears to encourage laziness. All these are questionable criticisms, but understandable if you only take this text …
In the name of freedom
Jesus called fishermen as his first disciples and instructed them to become "fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19). Does this mean that people will be forced to be followers of Jesus, caught in nets that they cannot escape? It depends on where you put the emphasis - on the fish or the fishers. Jesus clearly used the …
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