The Word of the Day
What Is True Repentance? (Wed. May 11)
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The word of the day is “repent.” We usually think of repentance as a change of heart and mind. But repentance can be insincere, pretended, or done for the wrong reason. In today’s reading of Acts 8:18-25, we read the case of a man named Simon who seemed to repent. After Peter condemned his wickedness, Simon said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me” (OSB vs. 24). This plea seemed to indicate that he had turned around from his sinful ways. However, if we read this passage carefully, we discover his contrition was not genuine. Thus, from this negative example, we learn about the nature of true repentance.…
Glory to God for All Things
The Vindication of the Mother of God
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At Christmas time, the Virgin Mary gets a bit of attention in the wider culture. A woman gives birth in difficult circumstances: Mother, baby, ox and ass, the manger. It’s a very touching scene. She quickly fades from the scene however, with some five centuries of culture desperately afraid that she will get too much attention. In that vein, she is pretty much absent from Easter. We have eggs, chocolate, bunny rabbits,…
Faith Encouraged
Sort Out Your Priorities
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Christ is risen! My mother had a famous saying to me and my brother when we were little. It usually came out when we didn’t want to do something like clean our rooms or do other chores. Usually, it was because I either wanted to keep playing or watch TV. But then, the depth charge comment would appear! “You can do what you want to do WHEN you do what you have…
The Word of the Day
The Transformation of Evil into Good (Tues. May 10)
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The word of the day is “Samaria .” The Lord can take evil and use it for good. Today in our reading of Acts 8:5-17, we find that fierce persecution has scattered the first believers. One of them, the Deacon Philip, went to Samaria, and as he went, he preached the Gospel. In response, the Samaritans eagerly “received the Word of God” (OSB vs.14). Thus, what seemed to be a setback for the early church advanced its mission. Today we consider how God uses the worst in our lives for the best. The stoning of Stephen was a crisis for the growing Christian movement. Immediately after it, we read, “At that time a great persecution arose against the church which…
Faith Encouraged
Moms Knew First - Sunday's Homily
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Faith Encouraged
The Dangers of Intoxicated Living
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Christ is risen! “Step right up Ladies and Gentlemen, see the most amazing sights you could ever imagine!” You’ve heard these words before. Carnival barkers trying to get you to spend the money to see the “amazing snake boy, half boy, half-snake!” Or the “amazing Elephant Man.” Curiosity, entertainment, something “different,” something “tantalizing.” And it works. Of course, it works, they wouldn’t keep doing it if it didn’t work! We, humans, are…
The Word of the Day
How Our Faith May Be Confirmed (Mon. May 9)
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The word of the day is “so.” Nowadays, people are disposed to believe many things with little evidence to confirm them. Yet when it comes to religion, doubt, cynicism, and indifference to the truth prevail. Today in our reading of Acts 6:8-7:5; 47-60, the apostles face the Jewish council. And the high priest asks, “Are these things so? (OSB vs. 7:1). Just as the Jewish officials and Pilate demanded that Jesus answer the false accusations against Him (Matthew 27:12; Mark 15:4), the temple authorities challenge Stephen to answer the false charge of his opponents (vs. 7:1). But there is a deeper question behind the challenge, “Is it “so”? Is what Stephen is saying and doing true? In today’s study, we…
No Other Foundation
The Fundamental Fact
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It is very easy for people, especially outsiders, to miss the fundamental fact about the Church. It is easy to assume that the Church is fundamentally an organization or (worse yet) a collection of clergy. That is perhaps because the Church is obviously organized (in the case of Orthodoxy, one is tempted to say, “loosely organized”), and it does have clergy, whose dress and titles set them apart and make them very…
The Word of the Day
The Origins of a Continuing Order of Ministry (Sun. May 8)
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The word of the day is “appoint.” Today’s society believes that there always is a better way. Invention will improve anything. Innovation will make everything function more efficiently. However, the foundations of Holy Tradition in the church are enduring and are not subject to improvement. One of these is the church order of ordained clergy. Today in our reading of Act 6:1-7, we read of the establishment of the order of deacons in the church. The twelve apostles said, “Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint for this business [of administration and caring]” (OSB vs. 3). Based on this model, our deacons continue to…
Eastern Christian Insights
Becoming Persons United to Christ in Love: Homily for the Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, Pious Joseph of Arimathea, and Righteous Nicodemus in the Orthodox Church
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Mark 15: 43-16:8 Christ is Risen! As we continue to celebrate our Lord’s glorious resurrection on the third day and victory over Hades and the tomb, it should be obvious that we too often live as though death still reigned. We do so especially when we fall prey to fear rooted in anxiety about how weak, insignificant, and insubstantial we are, especially in light of death. We build ourselves up in our…
The Word of the Day
Witness Without Compromise (Sat. May 7)
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The word of the day is “obey.” In every revolution, there is a moment when the rebels defy authority. Without the courage of some to do so, there is no change. There is only compliance. Today we find in our reading of Acts 5:21-33 that such a moment occurred when the apostles again appeared before the high priest and members of the Sadducees, the religious sect that ruled the temple. When the high priest sternly reminded Peter that he was told to cease speaking of “this Name of Jesus,” (OSB 5:28), Peter was defiant. “We ought to obey God rather than men,” he said (OSB 5:29). That was the decisive moment that would free the new Christian movement from any…
Praying in the Rain
The Face of Disfigured Piety
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I have been reflecting on some conversations I’ve had over the past little while in the light of my meditation on what Flannery O’Connor said about the face of good being grotesque because in human beings good is always something under construction. (Please read my blog, “Good’s Disfigured Face,” before proceeding.) My meditation could be read to be suggesting that the only form of brokenness that we have to see past to…
Faith Encouraged
Don't Hide From Yourself
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Christ is risen! I come from a generation that was suspicious of tattoos! And the generation before me, forget about it! My grandfather, a lifelong police officer, always said that tattoos were degrading to a man. Wow, some pretty strong words, especially in light of today’s generation that consider “body art” a form of expression and even something to be celebrated. Times do change. Now, this isn’t about tattoos; whether they are…
The Word of the Day
When Dishonesty Threatens Our Oneness in Christ Fri. May 6)
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The word of the day is “fear.” We may have a rosy picture of the life of the first believers who were filled with the Holy Spirit, bold in the proclamation of the Gospel, united in a common life, and fearless in the face of arrest, imprisonment, and death. Yet, in today’s reading of Acts 5:1-11, we hear a note of sobering realism. Luke reports the first instance of troubles in the community. As a divine punishment for cheating and lying, a couple falls dead at the feet of the apostles. Luke, the writer of Acts, summarizes the somber response of the faithful, “So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things” (OSB 5:11).…
A Lamp for Today
Lighting Up the Apocalypse 27: Wheat, Wine, and Ju
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Rev 14:14-20; Psalm 1; Joel 3:11-16, 18; Isaiah 63:1-6 I begin with apologies to those of you who have been looking for this podcast or blog since the middle of March. I had a book manuscript to complete, with a deadline of just after Pascha, and concentrated upon only that during the past month—it is called Mediation and the Immediate God, and will be available sometime in October! Discussing the book of…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
How COVID-19 Led to a Spiritual Pandemic
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Faith Encouraged
How To Avoid Judgement
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Christ is risen! One of the oldest manuscripts we have for the earliest days of the Christian Faith outside the Gospels is the Didache or “The Teaching of the 12 Apostles.” This ancient writing dates from the First Century A.D. and begins with an intriguing phrase: “There are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great difference between these two ways.” It seems this basic wisdom of two…
The Word of the Day
How to Fill Spiritual Emptiness (Thurs. May 5)
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The word of the day is “filled.” Most believers go through times of spiritual emptiness. They feel that they are in a spiritual “black hole.” Their heart feels hollow. They keep going, but they are running on an empty tank. Today in our reading of Acts 4:23-31, we read that the new community of believers gathered after the religious authorities had released Peter and John. Luke then reports, “And when they had prayed… they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness” (NKJV vs. 3). Today in our study of Scripture, we find a way to fill an empty heart. A Prayer for Spiritual Fullness St. Paul prays that God would grant…
Faith Encouraged
Real Communion!
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Christ is risen! St. Maximus the Confessor says “Food is not evil, but gluttony is. Childbearing is not evil, but fornication is. Money is not evil, but avarice is. Glory is not evil, but vainglory is. Indeed, there is no evil in existing things, but only in their misuse.” So, the evil one only wants to get you to misuse the good and make it a detriment to your soul! And this…
The Word of the Day
Proclaiming the Word with Boldness (Wed. May 4)
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The word of the day is “bold.” Many people today have claimed the privilege of promoting their views boldly and without restraint. Not wanting to be drawn into futile arguments, others have kept silent. But what about the Gospel of the Resurrection? How forthright are we in proclaiming the most important message of Christ’s work of salvation? Today in our reading of Acts 4:13-22, we hear Peter’s daring proclamation that salvation is obtainable only in the Name of the Crucified and Risen Christ (Acts 4:12). In response, the council of religious authorities “marveled” “…when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,” though they “perceived that they [the apostles] were uneducated and untrained men” (Acts 4:13). Today we consider what constitutes…
Praying in the Rain
Good's Disfigured Face
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Some of you know that I am a fan of 19th century English literature. My favourites are Dickens, Hardy and Twain. I haven’t much enjoyed 20th century fiction largely because I have found it too harsh, hopeless and often gratuitously salacious for my tastes. However, a few years ago I became interested in a twentieth century Catholic novelist, Evelyn Waugh, particularly his novel Brideshead Revisited. I was uncomfortable with the marital immorality…
Glory to God for All Things
Say Yes
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For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you … was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God …. (2Co 1:19-20) +++ It is very hard to say No, despite the fact that we say it all the time. The reason No is so hard is that it…
Faith Encouraged
The Profound Terror of Real Love
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Christ is risen! “Love is love” is a popular saying nowadays. When I was young, I remember the first time I heard the old euphemism of “making love.” Then there’s “all we need is love.” The list goes on and on. Most of the popular songs we sing are about love in one way or another. But the greatest line about love ever uttered is “For God so loved the world…” It’s…
The Word of the Day
What Kind of Power? (Tues. May 3)
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The word of the day is “power.” Power is the dynamic ability to do something. It is a force that produces an effect or the capacity to act upon something. In today’s reading of Acts 4:1-10, the religious authorities arrest Peter and John for preaching the Risen Christ. And the rulers interrogate the Apostles asking, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” (Acts 4;7). Our close reading of this question will open new insight into Peter’s response to the religious authorities and the superior nature of the power of the Name of Jesus. An Important Point Missed With one exception, all the major translations of Acts miss an important point about the question of the power…
Faith Encouraged
The Sunday Homily - The Resurrection Changes Everything
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No Other Foundation
Sex in Context
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Buried away in the midst of a long apostolic denunciation of the evils of a culture soaked in idolatry is the potent little phrase παρὰ φύσιν/ para physin, meaning that which is against φύσις, against nature, natural endowments, or the natural condition (Romans 1:26). In this passage Paul was elaborating on the more spectacular failings of Gentile culture, and prominent in his assembled catalogue of evils was that of homosexuality, in both…
Faith Encouraged
A Diluted Faith
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Christ Is Risen! “It’s like trying to take an aspirin for cancer!” OK, that got my attention! The speaker was talking about the dangers of watering down the clear message needed for our group so that it wasn’t so discomforting. But his illustration really drove the point home that some problems need a fully potent dose of truth to be corrected. I admit it hit home with me, especially as I thought…
