The Word of the Day
The Past Events of Scripture Provide Instruction for the Present (Tues. August 2)
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The word of the day is “type.” Sometimes temptation surprises us with a sudden and unexpected assault. At other times, temptation comes upon us so gradually that we hardly notice it at first. In the beginning, the enticement to sin carries us along gently as a hint of desire. But then that passion propels us along more swiftly until we find ourselves in the raging currents of craving. In today’s reading of 1 Corinthians 10:5-12, Paul warns the Corinthians against the complacency of spiritual pride.  They should be watchful lest they get carried away in grievous sins such as lust, idolatry, sexual morality, or complaint against the Almighty.  He writes, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest…
Beyond the Bars
Seeing Our Lord Face to Face
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On July 31, 2022, the Sunday after the feast of St. Silas, the patron saint of prisoners, hundreds of Orthodox churches in the United States from all jurisdictions recognized Prison Ministry Awareness Sunday in a national effort to better serve our incarcerated brothers and sisters in Christ. Different parishes came up with different ways to increase awareness in their communities, listening to testimonials from prisoners who have come to the Orthodox Church,…
Faith Encouraged
Normal Orthodoxy Honors Mary
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Everybody else was squirming. They were obviously having a hard time with the information and seemed to rather have been elsewhere. But I was at peace. It just made sense to me, I guess. Some of you know the story of how I entered the Orthodox Church. I was a pastor of a growing Pentecostal church in the Metro Atlanta area, and my best friend and I were really interested in Church…
The Word of the Day
Pleasing God and No Other (Mon. August 1)
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The word of the day is “motive.” Our motivations are hidden from others and even ourselves. But God knows the secrets of the soul. Thus, St. Maximos the Confessor says that the “Logos” (Jesus Christ who is the Word Incarnate) judges the intentions and thoughts of the heart, that is, the invisible underlying disposition and the motives hidden in the soul” (St.-Maximos-the-Confessor 1981, Kindle Loc 13302). Today in our reading of 1 Corinthians 9:13-18, Paul defends himself against the false accusation that he is proclaiming the gospel for monetary reasons. He answers, “What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the Gospel” (OSB vs.…
No Other Foundation
On Baptizing Infants
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The recent decision of Archbishop Elpidophoros to baptize the adopted child of an openly gay couple in Greece is only the latest addition to a series of actions which have raised Orthodox eyebrows, coming as it does hard on the heels of his decision to consecrate as bishop an archimandrite deposed by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, and his pro-abortion remark at the March for Life about women having autonomy over…
The Word of the Day
The Virtue of Being “Like-Minded” (Sun. July 31)
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The word of the day is “like-minded.” The Roman playwright Terence (+159 BC) observed, “There are as many opinions as there are people: each has his own view” (Terence c. 160 BC). That observation holds for our time just as it did for the first century before Christ. However, in today’s reading of Romans 15:1-17, Paul writes, “Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another” (OSB vs. 5). Today we will consider what it means to be of one mind with our fellow believers. In today’s reading of Romans 15:1-7, St. Paul applies what he has said about respecting the conscience of those who have misgiving about eating food that has been offered to…
Eastern Christian Insights
Opening our Eyes and our Mouths to the Glory of God: Homily for the Seventh Sunday After Pentecost and the Seventh Sunday of Matthew in the Orthodox Church
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Romans 15:1-7; Matthew 9:27-35      We often overlook the simplest and most important things because we want to achieve our desired results quickly and on our own terms. In any worthwhile endeavor, however, there is no alternative to taking our time as we get a solid grounding in the basics before trying to take more advanced steps. Illusions of being more advanced than we really are will lead…
The Word of the Day
How to Be a “Living Sacrifice” to the Lord (Sat. July 30)
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The word of the day is “sacrifice.” When we desire to grow in the spiritual life, we might be tempted to disregard and even denigrate the body. We might treat it as the seat of the passions and the source of the corruption of our soul. However, Paul says that we should “glorify God in your body and your spirit” (OSB 1 Cor. 6:20). Today we will seek insight into offering our bodies as “living sacrifices” to God as Paul instructs in our reading of Romans 12:1-3. In today’s short passage, we read a fitting summary of our study of 1 Corinthians about the moral issues of celibacy, marriage, and foods offered to idols. All these deal with the conduct of the physical body,…
Glory to God for All Things
A Particular Scandal
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A character in a Peanuts cartoon once declared, “I love mankind! It’s people I can’t stand!” The statement accurately describes our problems with the particular. It is easy to love almost anything in general – it is the particular that brings problems. Nowhere could this be more true than with God. Speaking about God in the abstract is extremely common – after all – He is “everywhere present, filling all things.” He is…
Faith Encouraged
Normal Orthodoxy Always Chooses Better
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There’s an old saying, “Life is simple, we make it complicated.” And what complicates our lives the most? Well, if you’ll allow me a bit of meddling, may I suggest it is our untamed desires. What I want, undisciplined and unmanaged sends my life down paths of consequences that make my life complicated. When I don’t soberly evaluate, tame, and discipline my desires, I make choices based on wants that end up…
The Word of the Day
The Ethics of Regard for Others (Fri. July 29)
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The word of the day is “eating.” Our society assumes that morality is a personal matter. Thus, everyone has the right and duty to follow their conscience. However, in today’s reading of 1 Corinthians 7:35-8:7, Paul teaches the principle that believers should consider the conscience of their fellow members in matters of ethics. Regarding the issue of eating meat that had been offered to idols, Paul notes, “.… for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience being weak, is defiled” (OSB vs. 7). For the sake of these brothers and sisters, Paul directs that the Corinthians who have no scruples about eating such meat should refrain from…
No Other Foundation
“Sir, We Would See Jesus”
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This last May St. Ninian’s Anglican Church in Scarborough, Ontario was deconsecrated by the Anglican bishop of Toronto and returned to secular use. Usually the deconsecration of Anglican churches is of no interest to me, unless they are nearby and are being offered for sale at bargain prices (which of course they never are), but this church was different. It was in this church that I was received into the Anglican Communion,…
Faith Encouraged
Normal Orthodoxy Handles Conflict Well
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It seems we humans have an ingrained “love” of fighting, defending ourselves, and drama. We are really good at it. Just look at the conflicts that are raging today in our world. We seem to love to fight, and that, in itself, should be a sign of deep brokenness in us. Our impulse to fight, to demand our rights, to “get even” and “settle the score” all reveal a wound in humanity…
The Word of the Day
Reading Scripture: The Difference Between Inspiration and Historical Context (Thurs. July 28))
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The word of the day is “opinion.” Scripture is inspired and timeless. Yet, it is written in human terms, at specific times, and in particular places. Thus, the form of the message shapes its meaning. Today we find that Paul distinguished between the inspiration of the Spirit and his personal opinion in response to the social context of his day. In today’s reading of 1 Corinthians 7:24-35 we find that Paul is struggling to answer the questions that the Corinthians have asked about some practical matters of the Christian life. Paul has already addressed questions of marital relationships (1 Corinthians 7:2-23). Now in today’s reading, he addresses the question of the relative merits of celibacy and marriage. In reading these answers, Paul sometimes refers to the…
Faith Encouraged
Normal Orthodoxy Leads to Freedom AND Responsibility
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“My Want-To is broke.” With that, my grandmother gave me another insight into real life. She was describing a very common problem all of us face. We know what we should do, but we don’t do it. Why? As my grandmother said, our “want-to” is broken. One of the central revelations to me when I was making my way into Orthodoxy is that the Faith answers the question “What is the main…
The Word of the Day
Belonging to the Kingdom Is The Important Thing (Wed. July 27)
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The word of the day is “remain.” It may seem to be a surprising question since our society assumes that our goal in life should be to fulfill our dreams, whatever they may be. But in our reading of 1 Corinthians 7:12-24, Paul states “Let each [believer] remain in the calling in which he was called” (1 Cor. 7:20). We may react to this passage because it seems to accept slavery, though St Paul says that “…if you can be made free, rather use it [take the opportunity] (1 Cor. 21). But it also seems to counter our values of setting and achieving goals for oneself. Today we will find that we have a higher calling than our career in this world. In our…
Rethinking Sacrifice
“Make Vows to the Lord”
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Making vows to the Lord was a common practice in the Old Testament. In the Bible, vow specifically means “conditional vow”—that is, a promise to make some offering to God if He would grant some specific request. These are distinguished from the kinds of vows we usually think of: unconditional promises like vows of matrimony or monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, which would have been called “oaths” in biblical language.…
Faith Encouraged
Normal Orthodoxy Produces Wisdom, Not Laws
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It took me a long time to finally get my mind and heart around the profound difference between wisdom and legislation. For most of my life, I spent most of my time being a rule-keeper. After all, I was the firstborn son. I was responsible to obey the rules. I was supposed to be the “good boy” that would grow up to be a “good leader” who taught everyone to obey the…
The Word of the Day
Glorifying God With Your Body (Tues. July 26)
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The word for the day is “God’s.” In our reading of 1 Corinthians 6:20-7:12, St. Paul discusses sexual relations in various cases. His principle is stated in 1 Cor. 6:20, “For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” In our series on Romans, we learned that Paul proclaimed the freedom from the Mosaic Law. Some of the Corinthians must have taken that Christian liberty to means license. That meant to them that they had the freedom to do as they pleased in things like sexuality that have to do with the body. Their slogan must have been,”‘ All things are lawful for me since I am freed from the Law.” All…
A Lamp for Today
Liberty, Welcome, and Pastoral Wisdom: In Gratitude to our Fathers of the OCA Holy Synod
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At the recent All American Council of the Orthodox Church in America, a resolution was put forward that fell under the purview of the bishops, rather than the entire enclave. Many of us (not only in the OCA, but in other jurisdictions) are enormously grateful for the quick response of the bishops regarding these questions of sexuality and the teaching in the Church, and for the resultant statement (https://www.oca.org/holy-synod/statements/holy-synod/holy-synod-issues-statement-on-same-sex-relationships-and-sexual-identity?fbclid=IwAR1E-7wZi0Dh5ojr-d4VVFygBe3Z6eyuMojos5tk0ocxS02bSiT0thmB6NI). In contrast to…
Glory to God for All Things
A Truly Rational Faith
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St. Paul notes that “faith works through love” (Gal. 5:6). This describes the very heart of the ascetic life. Only love extends itself in the self-emptying struggle against the passions without becoming lost in the solipsism of asceticism for its own sake. It is love that endures the contradictions of reality without turning away or reducing them. And it is love that finally comprehends the reality hidden within the contradictions that confront…
Faith Encouraged
Normal Orthodoxy Produces Light
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St. Porphyrios said “Do not fight to expel darkness from the chamber of your soul. Open a tiny window for the light to enter, and the darkness will disappear!” What a contrast to our current cultural chaos where it seems all sides want to “fight” all the time. We are driven by our egos to “defend” this or that and, in the process, we become the very thing we hate. We “fight”…
The Word of the Day
Relating to Others Inside and Outside the Church (Mon. July 25)
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The word for the day is “outside.” Today’s society presents us with a choice: either prejudice or toleration. If we in the church do not want to be prejudiced, is our only option to accept anything or anyone as part of our fellowship? In our reading of 1 Corinthians 5:9-6:11, Paul teaches that a line must be drawn between who and what are “inside” and “outside the church.” Paul says, “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainty did not mean sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters since then you would need to go out of this world” (OSB vs. 9-10). Today…
No Other Foundation
The Episcopal Proclamation: A Needed Symbol
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Orthodox people love symbols—we even find symbols in places where they don’t really exist, such as when we say that the Gospel Entrance in the Divine Liturgy is a symbol of Christ going out to preach. (Liturgical footnote: an entrance of someone coming in is unlikely to be a symbol of someone going out). And it is important to understand what a symbol really is, at least in the patristic mindset. For…
Remembering Sion
Where Are God's Miracles Today?
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Many Christians today might wonder why there no longer seem to be such miracles as were performed by Christ during the years of His earthly ministry — or even such as were performed by the holy apostles, or the prophets of old. Many Christians today might wonder why God appears to have withdrawn from the world, no longer working such “signs and wonders” (cf. John 4:48) as fill the pages of Holy…
The Word of the Day
Not Only What We Do But How We Do It (Sun. July 24)
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The word for the day is “with.” As long as the job is done, does it matter how we do it? Does our attitude make a difference? If we give a meal to someone who is hungry but do with disdain, doesn’t the person still get fed? And if we give an offering grudgingly, can’t the church still use the money for good? In today’s reading of Romans 12:6-14, Paul lists the “grace-gifts” of the Holy Spirit that are distributed among the members of the church. He states, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given us, let us use them” (Romans 12:6). Today we will discover that the apostle not only urges that the faithful put…
Eastern Christian Insights
Embracing the Therapeutic Mercy of Christ Through Repentance and Humility: Homily for the Sixth Sunday After Pentecost and the Sixth Sunday of Matthew in the Orthodox Church
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Romans 12: 6-14; Matthew 9: 1-8      Many people today probably think of Christianity as a collection of religious rules that tell us what to do and what not to do. The problem with a religion of law is that, while it points us in the direction of how we should behave, it does not give us the spiritual strength necessary to follow the rules. A faith that…
