I'd prefer not to bother with Noah and his sons in today's reading from Genesis 9:18-10:1. I'd rather leave Noah to his drunken nakedness and the racist curse he pronounces on Ham's son, Canaan. What's so terrible about Ham seeing his father drunk and naked? And why put the curse on Ham's son who had nothing to do …
Theology of the Cross, Part 1
The third in a short series of Bible Study classes exploring the themes of the Sundays of Lent focused on the Cross of Jesus Christ, which is venerated on the Third Sunday of Lent in the Orthodox Church (last Sunday, March 15th). An audio file of the class is attached, together with the PowerPoint presentation and a PDF version of the …
A Rainbow for All
What a relief! The church lectionary skips about ten chapters in the Book of Isaiah and we jump today to chapter 25, a wonderful pause from God's apocalyptic threats. Here instead we find again the image of God as savior and provider for the poor and the suffering. It is the perfect companion to today's reading in Genesis …
Synthetic Lives
It is always amusing to watch the squabbles of pop stars and entertainment icons. The latest is the one between the pop singer Elton John and the fashion icons Dolce & Gabbana. Of course it's hypocritical of D&G to use words like 'synthetic' when everything they stand for is synthetic. High fashion is synthetic; the …
God’s π
Yesterday, March 14, marked the annual observance of Pi Day. It only works in the American way of writing dates, so it's mostly in this country that mathematicians get excited. But yesterday wasn't just March 14, it was March 14, 2015: 3-14-15 in the usual shorthand that we write dates, and Pi to four decimal places …
Apocalypse Again?
The reading from Genesis 8:4-21 brings to an end the narrative of the Flood and we hear God make a promise to Noah: Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, the LORD said in his …
A Vocabulary for the Journey
Today's reading from Isaiah 11:10-12:2 skips the first half of chapter 11, which is rather strange. Perhaps because it's one of the readings of the Christmas Vespers? While the Flood narrative continues in Genesis, I'd like to focus on the whole of chapter 11 of Isaiah. The shoot from the root of Jesse has always …
Gregory Palamas and the Theology of Deification
The second in a short series of Bible Study classes exploring the themes of the Sundays of Lent focused on St. Gregory Palamas, who is commemorated on the Second Sunday of Lent in the Orthodox Church (last Sunday, March 8th). Palamas is most associated with the Orthodox doctrines of deification and the distinction of essence and energies. …
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Apocalypse Now!
The daily readings from Genesis this week, Monday-Friday, take us through a grindingly slow reading of the entire flood narrative (Genesis 6:9-8:22). I see no need to spend time on the separate daily readings from these chapters of Genesis this week. The story makes for expensive special effects in a lame Hollywood movie - though one must be fair and …
Plenty of room inside
By their attitude, the scribes in today's Gospel reading, Mark 2:1-12, are preventing God’s word from acting as a force that sets men free. The man’s stretcher makes me think of the many who are crippled because of the absence of love. Lying there and unable to rise are those who are without hope, who are imprisoned …
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