We live in a time of unbridled greed. There seems to be no limit to how rich a rich person wants to be. And corporations are the greediest persons of all. I call corporations “persons” because that’s what the Supreme Court in its questionable wisdom decided to call them in 2010. When is enough? Today …
Jesus, the Good Samaritan
In recent weeks we have seen a constant stream of allegations of sexual misconduct against prominent men. One of these is Judge Roy Moore who is running to be elected to a Senate seat in a special election in Alabama next month. It's not for political reasons that I mention him. I mention him because …
We are not neutrinos!
On a recent trip to Germany we visited friends in the city Karlsruhe, a typical German city of medium size. I did not know at the time - but found out just days ago - that Karlsruhe is the site of a very important experiment in physics: the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment, Katrin for …
On the Way to Resurrection
Our Gospel reading today is the story of two resurrections. On the way to raise from the dead the daughter of Jairus, Jesus stopped to raise to life a woman who had no life.... Miracles are signs, they are reminders that Jesus is on the way to resurrection, and on the way once in a …
Searching for a Human
Άνθρωπον ζητώ ("I seek a human being.") Diogenes, the great 4th century BC philosopher, spoke those words as he walked around with a lamp in broad daylight. Diogenes the Cynic, he is often called, one of the founders of Cynic philosophy - but don't confuse Cynic philosophy with the cheap cynicism most of us engage …
An Ordinary Saint
Back in November 2014 I came to Patra, Greece, for the funeral of my mother. Father Andrew at my mother's parish church ushered me into the sanctuary and gave me vestments to wear so I could preside at my mother's funeral service. So there I was, a clean-shaven priest from America between two local priests, …
Two Questions for the self-important in each of us
We are in Greece for a long overdue vacation. We stopped in Germany on the way to Greece to visit some friends. My German vocabulary consists primarily of lines from the Wagner operas. Not exactly useful when traveling in modern Germany. So I find myself in the position of most tourists - in a foreign …
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The true heart of Islam
It is commonplace for people in this country to speak of Islam as incompatible with Western 'values'. I myself have fallen into that trap more than once - even in these pages a couple years back. Muslim leaders have often been attacked for not speaking out against terrorism. The fact of the matter is that …
Does the Orthodox Church have a political theology?
Lately I have been reading some pieces of political theology coming from a variety of Christian sources. And I'm not referring to political agendas or endorsement of political parties. Political theology is not partisan politics under the cover of Christendom. What is political theology? True political theology is neither Left nor Right. Political theology is bringing the …
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Thoreau’s Conscience
Every time I turn to the Journals of Henry David Thoreau, I always find the wisdom that I need in my life and is so sadly lacking in our world of experts and talking heads. Here is a sampling from my perusals today. In his journal entry for August 18, 1854, he describes in great …
Ancient Answers 