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The Morning Offering
Confession
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Recognizing the darkened state of our own condition It is only out of delusion we believe we do not need others to see, understand, and treat our spiritual sickness. Anyone who believes that he alone can cure his spiritual diseases has isolated himself from a Mystery of the Church and will come to ruin. Only with the help of others…
The Morning Offering
Witnessing for Christ
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Sharing the truth in a world devoid of hope If you wish to share the truth of the Orthodox Faith, and Christ Who is her head, you must give witness to the love of Christ by loving everyone. Without Christ, Orthodoxy is just another religion, devoid of the power to transform and deify the human heart. Without Christ the Church…
No Other Foundation
Commentary on the Divine Liturgy: the Gospel
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I would like to conclude this commentary series on the Divine Liturgy (or at least the first part of the Liturgy, the so-called “Liturgy of the Catechumens”) with a reflection on the reading of the Gospel. In the Liturgy, after the reader chants the prokeimenon and the epistle, the Gospel lesson is then chanted. But it is not chanted without a somewhat elaborate preparation. Prior to the priest taking the Gospel book…
Father Bill's Blog
19. The Big Trip: 2005, Part 3 - Saint Nektarios, England
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Did Saint Nektarios do it again? It was time to head to London, and on the way I naturally stopped by to visit Saint Nektarios again. I’ve told you (Blog posts 7 and 12) that on my first two visits the saint seemed to arrange my transportation. Surely this great holy man must have better things to do than that. Nevertheless… (With modern saints we have actual photographs.) I took a ferryboat back…
A Lamp for Today
Telling the Truth, Then and Now: the Nativity of John the Baptist
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Luke 1: 1-80, 3:16-20, Malachi 4, Romans 13:11-14:4 Jesus began his ministry in full awareness of the dangers of telling the truth, and being the Truth. As God, He knew the human heart and the depths of evil to which it can sink. As man, He surely took notice of the sacrificial life of his slightly older cousin, John the Baptizer. His cousin spoke the truth to everyone—including the compromised religious leaders…
Faith Encouraged
Is There Injustice in God?
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If you could know the future, would you want to? I mean, really; if you could know the exact moment of your death, would you want that information? Knowing the future has been a preoccupation for we humans forever! I remember riding in the backseat of a car with a friend and passing one of those little houses on the side of the road with the big sign out front: “Madam So…
The Morning Offering
Forgiveness
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Forgiveness is the cure for judgment, anger, and resentment Our Lord Jesus Christ told us: “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven (Luke 6:37).” In the Our Father, the very prayer given to His disciples after Christ was asked to teach them to pray, we…
Faith Encouraged
All Creation Groans
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Being in the room when my daughters were born was an unforgettable experience. Of course, I was a spectator. It was my wife that was doing all the work! And it wasn’t always a “fun” experience. In fact, I was “invited” to experience some of that pain while holding the hand of my bride during labor. The woman has a very strong grip! The event of childbirth is such a powerful icon…
The Morning Offering
Divided Loyalties
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We only think we can be of Christ and of the world “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). As we begin each day we must be mindful of how…
Behind the Scenes
We Belonged Together Always: Ancient Faith Writing and Podcasting Conference
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Glory to God for All Things
Giving Thanks for All Things - The Cruciform Life
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“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live…” The Cross is the heart of our salvation. It is on the Cross that we see the fullness of God’s love and it is in the Cross that we are united to that same love. Every Christian shares the commandment, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” (Matt. 16:24) This commandment long…
Faith Encouraged
You Are In The Spirit
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Debt is a prison. Just ask anyone still paying Federal School Loans. The truth is the modern phenomenon of Student Loans is a ticking time bomb in our economy as more and more people find a sense of hopelessness in ever escaping the burden of paying for higher education. But a sense of indebtedness isn’t always negative. In fact, one can make the argument that a sense of indebtedness towards other to…
The Morning Offering
Finding God
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Finding God in an unbelieving world God is a merciful God, quick to forgive, quick to show mercy, quick to embrace us when we turn to Him. In all of eternity our God chose to create humankind in His image and likeness, offering His creatures the opportunity to commune with Him in the endlessness that is time. He’s given us…
Nearly Orthodox
A Word about Suffering
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Ok, fine– many words about suffering… A quick search on the topic of suffering brings out the heavy hitters– Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. Helen Keller Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. Khalil Gibran And that’s not even tapping into our massive supply…
Faith Encouraged
Thank God Almighty I'm Free At last!
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On August 28, 1963, Baptist minister and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on the mall in Washington, D.C. In it he uttered the equally famous line “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we’re free at last.” These words still stir my heart today. Some try to reduce freedom to mere temporal political “rights.” Others seem to suggest that freedom…
The Morning Offering
Holy Tradition
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Holy Tradition supports the proper interpretation of the Bible Many evangelical protestants see Holy Tradition as standing in direct contrast to Scripture, as though Tradition is always relegated to “the traditions of men”. However, there are numerous references in Holy Scripture to Holy Tradition. For example: “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled…
Roads from Emmaus
What I Saw at #AFCon
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This past week I attended the Ancient Faith Writing and Podcasting Conference (AFCon), an event which I also attended last year (its inaugural year), where I spoke on ministry in social media. This year, though, I wasn’t one of the scheduled speakers but was just attending along with everyone else. Last year, I have to admit that I was a bit ambivalent about attending.…
Time Eternal
The Apostles Fast: Bridging the Paschal with the Ordinary
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Well, it’s finally here. We’re in the thick of the Apostles’ Fast–a fasting period that begins the day after the Sunday of All Saints (the Sunday immediately following Pentecost) and culminates in the feast of Sts Peter and Paul (June 29). The fast goes back at least to the fifth century, and probably a bit earlier (there…
Faith Encouraged
A Reviling Judgement
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One of the questions I get often from parents trying to raise children in a society and culture that seems to have been reduced to sand. This reduction has occurred as we moderns have allowed the deconstruction of timeless wisdom preserved for centuries, all in the name of being relevant or even “compassionate.” My answer has changed over the years. Earlier, my answers use to revolve around battle and “apologetics” as if…
The Morning Offering
A Positive Science
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Orthodox science is a positive science Our Orthodox understanding of theology is not as a speculative science, but a science based on a positive science much like that of the astronomer. Like the sciences that are inspired by observations made using instruments that allow us to see things that are invisible to the naked eye, our Orthodox science is a…
Roads from Emmaus
Becoming Fishers of Men: A How-To
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Second Sunday after Pentecost, June 18, 2017 Romans 2:10-16; Matthew 4:18-23 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. With these words in Matthew’s Gospel chapter 4, Jesus summons His first two disciples—Simon Peter and Andrew. They are…
Eastern Christian Insights
Hearing and Responding to "Follow Me": Homily for the Second Sunday of Matthew in the Orthodox Church
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Matthew 4:18-23 Two weeks ago we celebrated the great feast of Pentecost at which the Holy Spirit descended upon our Lord’s followers, making them members of His Body, the Church. A week ago we celebrated the Sunday of All Saints, remembering all those who have become living icons of our Lord’s salvation by the power of the Holy Spirit. Since then, we have begun the…
Raising Saints
How do we honor the Apostles?
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We are in the midst of the Apostles Fast, which is surely the least popular or observed fast in the Orthodox Church. It’s not that we don’t love the Apostles, but that summer can be an especially undisciplined and travel-heavy time of year. Whether you are in the midst of traveling and find that locating lenten food is too much, or you’re home and fasting faithfully, however this season is shaping up…
The Morning Offering
The God of Freedom
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Our obedience to God is a religious act that must be freely given One of the primary differences between Islam and Christianity has to do with the basic view of the nature of God. Islam teaches total surrender to a God who demands submission. There is no invitation to enter into a relationship, freely, nor is there room for an…
The Morning Offering
The Spiritual Dust Bowl
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Encountering drought in one’s soul Like much of the country, Washington State experienced a major drought a few years ago. When most people think of Seattle, they think of rain, lots of rain. This year, during a seven month period, we had a total of four feet of rain. The Pacific Northwest broke a hundred and twenty-two year record for…
Father Bill's Blog
18. 2005: The Big Trip, Part 2 - Italy and Greece
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A Visit to Saint Nicholas When Clement Clarke Moore (an Episcopalian clergyman who should have known better) wrote his charming and bizarre poem, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas”, he never explained why he turned our holy saint into a Norse myth. When we draw near to Saint Nicholas day, I’ll write an article or three about the real Saint Nicholas and my parish’s relationship with him. But the best way to be sure that…
No Other Foundation
Commentary on the Divine Liturgy: the Epistle
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In the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, after the Trisagion Hymn comes the chanting of the prokeimenon and of the epistle. In many places the prokeimenon now has practically no purpose or significance, and looks like a verbal tag chanted in haste by the reader to introduce the epistle which follows it, for the people either make no congregational response to the chanting of the prokeimenon or a distinctly minimal one. Originally of course…