Φιλάνθρωπος - that is one of the words that we use to refer to Jesus in our hymnography and prayers. As a matter of fact, our terminology goes even further and we call him μόνος φιλάνθρωπος! He is the ONLY lover of humankind! So today we sang, in Tone 1: Glory to your resurrection, O …
There’s an Icon for that
Seed falling on different types of soil: a beautiful image of how the same divine grace will produce different results in different people. But is divine grace the same for everyone? Every year in October we read the Gospel parable of the sower and the seed. Not a coincidence, because October is the time …
The Wine of Compassion
In 1334 Saint Gregory Palamas experienced a vision. In the vision he was carrying a vessel overflowing with milk, but the milk then turned into the finest wine. A youth appeared and rebuked Gregory for not sharing the wine with others and reminded him of the parable of the talents (cf. Matt. 25:14–30). Palamas interpreted the vision to mean …
He is re-making us
I usually don't quote extensively from the Fathers, because I prefer to speak with my own voice. But today's Gospel reading (Luke 6:31-36) prompts me to share some powerful messages from Saints Gregory Palamas and Isaac of Syria. In Homily 45 by St. Gregory Palamas (14th century) we read: He who alone fashioned our hearts …
The Cross Reveals the World as Gift
Dumitru Stăniloae (1903-1993) was a remarkable Romanian Orthodox priest and theologian, who led a renaissance of Orthodoxy in his country with his multi-volume Dogmatic Theology, his translation into Romanian of the Philokalia, and his scholarly work on St. Maximus the Theologian. His Dogmatic Theology has been translated into several languages, including English, and his commentaries …
The Passions of God
Fr. Sophrony Sakharov, a highly esteemed Russian monk who died in 1993 at his monastery in England, used to say, ‘To be a Christian, one must be like an artist.’ Just as artists are captivated by the subjects they paint and by the desire to portray them as perfectly as possible, so too the …
Bystanders are important too
Susan Holman is a researcher and writer at Harvard University. She has published several books about the early church. Her most recent book is titled Beholden: Religion, Global Health, and Human Rights, published by Oxford University Press. In the beginning of her book she talks about the death of her father in 2009 and …
Prescription for Healing
Today's Gospel reading follows the transfiguration. Something truly extraordinary happened on the mountain. Yes, Jesus was transfigured - but something even more important in the heart of Jesus happened: He revealed his purpose to two witnesses from the old covenant - Moses and Elijah. Luke tells us he spoke to them of his "exodus" (Luke …
Boat on the Sea of History
Today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 14:22-34) has given rise to the traditional image of the church as a boat. Matthew certainly has a bigger church orientation than the other gospels - for example: Peter the rock on which Jesus builds the church; the command to go and baptize. For the first time the disciples are …
Some Biblical Thoughts on the Transfiguration
“Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” A beautiful welcome today from St. Paul's letter to the Romans. A welcome on this feastday of the Transfiguration - a day that reveals the glory of God to us. Jesus said: "The queen of the South will rise at …
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