I apologize I haven't written much in recent weeks. It's not because I have nothing to say, but rather I have too much to say. On any given day I can't quite make up my mind as to what subject to explore, and very often I end up opting out of exploring anything. One thing …
It’s always a birth
On August 15th the Orthodox Church observes the feast of the Dormition of Mary (Assumption in the Roman Catholic Church). The simple event of our Lady's earthly death became adorned with all sorts of legendary additions which have never interested me. It's the theological and mystical dimensions of this wonderful feast that interest me. Dormition comes …
Silent no more
The healing of the epileptic boy raises some questions as to how we are to read the various healing miracles of Jesus. Matthew's version that we read today in the Liturgy includes a word that is full of superstitious overtones: σεληνιάζεται. The English equivalent is 'moonstruck'. Both in Greek and in English, the meaning is …
A Prayer
After completing my post "It is good to be here," I found this beautiful prayer that so wonderfully complements what I wrote. It is from the website Oremus. May it enrich your spirit and heart today. Lord of glory, it is good that we are here. In peace we make our prayer to you. In trust we …
It is good to be here!
The Christian churches have always looked for dogmas when reading the Bible, especially the Gospels and the Letters of St. Paul. This is an essential task, but sometimes in our eagerness to turn everything into dogma we miss some more immediate meanings and messages. The transfiguration of Christ is an excellent example. The Orthodox Church celebrates …
A wedding banquet Jesus would attend
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 …
Ancient Answers 