A case of contradictories, both of them true.There is a God. There is no God.Where is the problem? I am quite sure thatthere is a God in the sense that I amsure my love is no illusion. I am quite surethere is no God, in the sense that I am surethere is nothing which resembles …
Words of a Thirsty Soul
Give me a drink of you. My mouth wide open, I breathe in.What you say to me (to us) is: breath and life.I receive the mission to be a wellspring: it's You in me, leaping up into eternal Life.A mission to breathe. These words were written in 1994 in his journal, by Christophe Lebreton, the …
The Bible in the Marketplace
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:1-13) The Orthodox Church reads these opening words of the Bible on the first day of Lent. But the Church also reads Isaiah 1:1-20. “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken…” The …
Take Lent “lentement”
In 2nd Peter chapter 3 we read: But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should …
The Darkness Behind the Darkness
I watched the film Tolkien, a film that I failed to see on the big screen last year. And very few people did see it! Even the critics took little notice of it - and those critics who did see it hardly had much praise for it. It amazes me how such nonsense as the …
When God’s Name Changed
A group of men visited a remote monastery. They were given time to visit with a venerable holy monk, who answered all their questions. Finally one of the visitors spoke to the monk: “Father, could you tell us something about yourself?” He leaned back. “Myself?” he mused. There was a long pause. “My name used …
The Khora of Salvation
Landscapes were important in defining God's interactions with the people of ancient Israel. And landscapes were important in Jesus' own ministry. Desert, mountain, sea, city and village - places, topoi, where the drama of salvation was played out in the Gospels. Those same landscapes became important in Orthodox tradition, in the writings and meditations of …
Iconostasis of Life
Father Alexander Schmemann wrote the following in his book, For the Life of the World: “…And if I make this new life mine, mine this hunger and thirst of the Kingdom, mine this expectation of Christ, mine the certitude that Christ is Life, my very death will be an act of communion with Life.” True …
Women of Freedom
I love the Gospel stories of the women who went to the tomb of Christ, especially the version in Mark's Gospel (16:1-8). There is something almost comic about the women walking to the tomb, to anoint the body of Christ, and wondering who would roll the stone away from the tomb. Clearly they won’t be able …
Trinitarian Thoughts
I recently had lunch with a friend who has always impressed me with his knowledge of the Bible. Though I must admit - as I have also told him more than once - the Bible for him is mostly the letters of Paul. Nevertheless, with Paul as his anchor and guide he has in the …
Ancient Answers 