In the beginning was the Word (Logos) and the Word was with God and the Word was God….And the Word became flesh and dwelt (ἐσκήνωσεν, pitched his tent) among us…. No one has ever seen God except the one who is in the bosom of God, the only begotten Son - he has made God …
Life breeds life
In a Gospel reading earlier this week, we heard Jesus say: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit… And I, …
Shout together with the stones: Hosanna!
Today is Palm Sunday in the Orthodox Church. It is a sign of our spiritual immaturity 2,000 years after the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem that we Orthodox prefer to stick to an antiquated, hopelessly out-of-sync calendar and thus pretend to have the genuine date for Easter and what comes before Easter. Total example of …
Amazed and Afraid
And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…. (Mark 10:32-45) It was a …
A sermon for times of unbelief
We are living in times of fading faith. I won’t bore you with numbers, but recent research and polling data shows a marked decrease in people who identify with church or church participation. Yet, most Americans still say they believe in God. Which of course raises the question what God they believe in. Even many who …
The gospel in story form
A wonderful paragraph from the sermons of St. John Chrysostom that I happened to read the other day. It is actually from the first sermon in the series of 90 sermons on the Gospel of Matthew that Chrysostom preached around the year 390. It is quite extraordinary; no wonder Chrysostom is the "Golden-Mouthed". Photo of …
Trinity is not a number
The feast of Epiphany in the western churches celebrates the visit of the Magi to the new-born Jesus. Hence, it is celebrated as the revelation of Jesus to the nations. In the Orthodox Church it’s celebrated as the Baptism of Jesus Christ. Theophany = the revelation of God. The revelation of God as Trinity. Baptism …
God’s Christmas Gift
When all things were enveloped in quiet silence, and when the night had reached the mid-point in its course, your all-powerful Word leaped from he height of the heavens, from the royal throne, into the midst of the land that was doomed… (Book of Wisdom 18:14-15) Don’t look for the Book of Wisdom in your Bible. …
The Water Gospel
John appeared in the desert, as a voice crying out in the wilderness. The world has always been a wilderness, a desert, waiting for someone to speak the word of God. It was true then, it is true now. John was not just a voice, he also baptised people to prepare them for someone greater …
A Psalm for the time of Covid
Psalm 42 As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.When shall I come and behold the face of God?My tears have been my food day and night,while people say to me continually, “Where is your God?”These things I remember, as I pour out my soul:how I …
