August 29th is observed every year as a commemoration of the beheading of St. John the Baptist. The story is told most fully in Mark 6:14-30.The story is gruesome, and the composer Richard Strauss took advantage of the gruesome aspects in creating his shocking opera, Salome. The daughter of Herodias is not named in the Gospel …
Forgiveness According to Jesus
Last Sunday's (Aug 24th) Gospel reading continues to haunt me. It's a beautiful parable, one that is typical of how Jesus taught the unconditional love of God. Unfortunately, the parable raises troubling questions in addition to answering the universal human need for forgiveness. In the parable, a king forgives a huge debt (in today's money, …
Life and Death on August 6th
On this day, 69 years ago, the B-52 bomber Enola Gay, dropped the atomic bomb "Little Boy" on the Japanese city Hiroshima. About 70,000 people were killed instantly and tens of thousands of survivors died in the months and years following from radiation poisoning. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. …
High Christology of Creation (Some Preliminary Thoughts)
Christology is the branch of theology that deals with the person of Jesus Christ. There are a few passages of the New Testament that are considered high points of christology. What is remarkable about these passages is that they seem to be fragments of early Christian hymns. It appears that the early Christians expressed their …
Continue reading "High Christology of Creation (Some Preliminary Thoughts)"
Before you fast
August 1st marks the start of a fasting period in the Orthodox Church. This is commonly called the Dormition Fast, because it spans the two weeks (Aug. 1-14) leading up to the feast of the Dormition on August 15th. The Dormition celebrates the earthly death of Mary, the Mother of our Lord, and her reception …
The Ark of Survival
Today, July 22, the Orthodox Church celebrated the feast-day of St. Mary Magdalene. Despite the fact that women have been treated as second- or third-class citizens throughout the history of the church, this particular saint bears the eponymic of "Equal to the Apostles." And, of course, that's exactly what she should be called! Peter, Paul, James, …
A Prophet like Jesus, Part 2
As Elijah flees from Jezebel, he enters a landscape where God was a familiar presence. God's preferred hangouts were mountains and deserts. So Elijah flees to the desert again. This time instead of ravens it's an angel of the Lord who brings him food and drink. But this was not enough for Elijah; he needed …
A Prophet like Jesus
Have you ever wondered why in the Gospels Jesus is often confused for Elijah? Who was Elijah? And why would people think of Jesus as Elijah? July 20th is the feast day of Elijah the Prophet, so I'd like to reflect on his life and relationship to Jesus. He is one of the most popular …
“Why do we fast?”
I heard an interesting story this morning on NPR. Ari Shapiro reported from Jerusalem on a gathering of Palestinian Moslems and Israeli Jews to wage peace. They gather in the evening, after a day of fasting, to break their fast together: observant Jews to mark the beginning of the destruction of the Temple and Moslems …
Jesus and the Law
Today in the Orthodox churches that follow the Byzantine rite is the Sunday of the Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council. This was the Council that met in Chalcedon in the year 451. The council met to elucidate the "orthodox" understanding of the two natures in Christ - in other words, how is it that Jesus …
Ancient Answers 