Faith Encouraged
The Deposit of Faith - What Does It Mean to Be a Disciple?
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Glory to God for All Things
The Goal of a Lesser Life
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From my earliest childhood, I always heard the future spoken of in superlatives: the best, the best possible, etc. There was an unspoken assumption that each human being was uniquely suited to something and that if they found that unique thing and worked at it, they could become the best at something. Some of my early successes revolved around the piano. With a bit of work, I was able to excel beyond…
The Word of the Day
How to Deal with Sin (Sat. July 9)
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The word of the day is “reckon.” What is our relationship to sin? As we start down our walk with Christ in the Spirit, sin is likely to follow us. We try to flee it. But it seems that the faster we run from it, the more it catches up with us. If we cannot escape sin, what can we do? In our reading of Romans 6:11-17, Paul says, “Reckon yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord (OSB vs. 11). Today, we consider what being “dead to sin” and “alive to God” means for our struggle against temptation. We will find that the key is how we “reckon” ourselves. We Should Not Let Sin…
Faith Encouraged
Be An Example To Believers
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I never will forget what a wise, old pastor once told me about being a leader in a church: “Son” he said, “You can say anything you need to to a group of people who know you love them.” Wow, how I’ve learned the truth of this over the years. If a group of people knows you love them, have confidence you want what’s best for them, and believe you know that…
The Word of the Day
Suffering Cannot Be Explained, But It Can Be Accepted and Transformed (Fri. July 8)
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The word of the day is “unsearchable.” How can we explain the suffering of the world? How can we understand why a good and Almighty God permit evil to run rampant on the earth? In today’s reading of Romans 11:25-36, Paul asserts that God’s reasons are far above human comprehension. He writes, “How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” (OSB vs. 33). Today we reflect on what we do not know nor understand about God’s purposes. We will find that instead of reasons for our trials, the God of love gives us consolation and strength to endure. Today in our reading of Romans 11:25-36, St. Paul concludes his long section on the rejection of most Jews…
Rethinking Sacrifice
Sacrifice as Warning: Hawkeye
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In the Marvel television series Hawkeye (a spinoff of the Avengers movies), a young woman named Kate Bishop is drawn by fate to meet her idol, Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye. As a child she had witnessed him repel an alien assault from the roof of a New York City skyscraper armed only with a bow and arrows (as improbable as that may sound). Since then, she trained to be like him, acquiring…
Faith Encouraged
Temporary VS. Timeless
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Have you ever thought about all those people Jesus healed during His ministry here on earth? They were so happy, grateful, and changed. In some cases (the illness of leprosy) they were now free to rejoin society, be reunited with their families, and finally, get their life back. They went on to live their lives. Some became great saints of the Church. And every one of them eventually died. Hey, why do…
The Word of the Day
Grafted Onto the Tree of the Chosen People (Thurs. July 7)
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The word of the day is “grafted.” Obsessed with novelty and innovation, our society lacks a sense of history. One of the results of the disregard of the past is that we forget what we owe to those who have gone before us. Instead, each of our modern generations considers itself superior to the previous one. And most contemporary people would rather break tradition than follow it. Today in our reading of Romans 11:13-24, St. Paul reminds the Gentiles in Rome of the heritage that they have received from the Jews. He uses a metaphor to describe the debt that they owe to the Jews, writing, “And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild…
Walking an Ancient Path
Behind the Icon Screen: The Service of Kairos
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I remember quite vividly the first Orthodox service I ever attended. It was a vespers service during Lent, on the Saturday evening before the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt. I remember this detail because I was not expecting the image of a skeletal, white-haired woman on the icon stand. I can’t remember a single psalm or prayer from that service. But one thing deeply affected me: the sense of…
Faith Encouraged
The Elect Obtained It!
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“Don’t watch them make the sausage!” Good advice if you have a bit of a squeezy stomach. Having been exposed to farm life as a boy, I can tell you what my grandmother said about raising pigs: “Honey when it comes to pigs; we use everything from the rooter to the tooter!” She told me the only thing we don’t use from the pig is the “oink.” Yeah, it made me smile…
The Word of the Day
The First Will Be Last (Wed. July 6)
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The word of the day is “jealousy.” We have the Gospel of salvation. We are members of the church. We know the grace of God. These affirmations are the ground on which the weeds of pride can grow. By thinking that we possess these things, we might be tempted to glory in the supposition that the Almighty God has shifted his favor to us. And we might suppose that those who do not have the Gospel, are not members of the church, and do not know God’s grace are left out for all eternity. In our reading of Romans 11:2-12, Paul explains that God has willed unbelief to the Jews and granted belief to the Gentiles for a larger reason.…
Faith Encouraged
Against Such There Is No Law
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There ought to be a law! Isn’t it fascinating that the first thing most people think about when there is some conflict or some disagreement or some unwanted actions in our society is that there should be some governmental control issued to make people “behave” the way they “should?” Why is “passing a law” or getting the government to exercise their power in some way our default answer to conflicts in society?…
The Word of the Day
Salvation by Faith and Faith By God’s Grace (Tues. July 5_
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The word for today is “faith.” Those who believe the Gospel would think that all who hear it would respond in faith to it. They would ask why many do not? In today’s reading of Romans 10:11-11:2, Paul continues to wrestle with that question. He writes, “But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’” (OSB Romans 10:16). Today our study will not arrive at an explanation for the negative response to the offer of salvation. But our commentary will propose a fresh perspective to the question of why most Jews rejected the message of Christ. A Change of Focus Suppose we turn our focus from those who reject the Gospel to…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Lamp of the Body
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Faith Encouraged
Let (TRUE) Freedom Ring (For Everyone!)
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“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” That’s what Janice Joplin sang. But is that what freedom is? Not according to the timeless Faith. Freedom, for the wisdom of the Faith, has everything to do with actually disciplining my passions in such a way that I discover and become who I was made to be in the first place. Sadly, in our culture, “freedom” has been misdefined as “being able…
The Word of the Day
God Has His Own Reasons (Mon. July 4)
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The word of the day is “irony.” Many preachers today give the impression that they know all about God’s designs for human history. By selective quotations from the scripture, they offer their own keys to the ways of God. Today, in our reading of Romans 9:18-33, we read Paul’s rebuttal of all claims to grasp how God fulfills His purposes in the course of human history. Paul writes, “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness (NKJV vs. 30-31). Today we reflect on the irony of God’s treatment of Jews and Gentiles.…
The Word of the Day
Saved? Not Yet (Sun. July 3)
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The word of the day is “shall.” “It ain’t over ‘till it’s over.” We can apply that saying to our salvation. Some would declare that they were saved at some moment in the past. And now they can rest in the assurance of their deliverance. But that like a biker who has climbed to the top of a hill. Now, he tells himself, he can coast down the hill without worry or effort. But the biker hasn’t finished the course. Soon another hill appears and he is unprepared to face its challenge. But in today’s reading of romans 5:1-10, Paul speaks of salvation as a future happening. He writes, “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God…
Eastern Christian Insights
Learning to See Ourselves and Our World in the Light of Christ: Homily for the Third Sunday After Pentecost and the Third Sunday of Matthew in the Orthodox Church
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Romans 5:1-11; Matthew 6:22-33 There is nothing more important than learning to see our neighbors, ourselves, and all the blessings and challenges of our lives with clarity. That is simply another way of saying that we must come to see ourselves and our world truthfully in God. If we do not, our perspective will be darkened by our passions to the point that we will become blind…
The Word of the Day
Grace Unlimited (Sat. July 2)
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The word of the day is “only.” Tribalism is found throughout human society. Humans favor their own group however they define it, and they distinguish themselves from other such groupings. Thus, it seems natural to believe that the scope of God’s concern is limited to one’s own circle. However, in today’s reading of Romans 3:28-4:3, we hear an important question, “Is He the God of the Jews only?” (Romans 3:29). Today we reflect on Paul’s reasoning that salvation must be by faith if it is to be offered to all. We will find that this thinking requires that the church and its members play a key role in the divine plan of salvation. As we reflect on Paul’s question of…
No Other Foundation
No Other Stream
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Among the many things that Christians say that annoy people is their assertion that Christianity is the only true religion. Given the tremendous number of alternatives to Christianity on the religious market today, the assertion savours of intolerable arrogance, blindness, insensitivity, and self-righteous conceit. “The only true religion?” Who do these Christian people think they are? In the words of one critic, “That’s an outrageous thing to accept”. The outrageousness of it…
Faith Encouraged
Please Check Out our Improved Parish Website
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Glory to God for All Things
Finding God Amidst the Noise
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If I say one hundred prayers a day in the silence of Katounakia and you say three prayers amidst the tumult of the city and your professional and family obligations, then we are equal. St. Ephraim of Katounakia I ran across this small quote recently and was struck by its insight and typical Orthodox generosity. The kindness of the saints is among their most encouraging aspects. It also echoes a theme that…
Faith Encouraged
Love - More Than A Feeling, More Than Desire
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The Apostle Paul says that love is the “more excellent way.” But we have allowed the word “love” to be dumbed down to little more than “feelings of desire.” But the Faith does not allow us to reduce “love” to anything less than God Himself. St. John insists that “God is love.” With that standard, we Orthodox have no room to allow for the reduction of love to that which enslaves people…
The Word of the Day
Should the Clay Question the Potter? (Fri. July 1)
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The word of the day is “children.” Do we complain that God is not fair in His dealings with us? Perhaps we do not give voice to our grumbling. Nevertheless, the unspoken attitude might linger in our hearts. Today’s reading of Romans 9:6-19 takes us back to the question of why most Jews rejected the Gospel that Paul preached. If the Jews are God’s Chosen People, why didn’t the Almighty ensure that they would realize that Jesus was the Messiah? Paul writes, “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainty not. For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion” (OSB Romans 8:14-15). Today we…
Rethinking Sacrifice
Sacrifice as Justification: Downton Abbey
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The idea of sacrifice is put to many uses today. It is used to honor heroic soldiers, to motivate athletes, and to accuse those who have hurt us or don’t appreciate us. It is a means for assuaging our grief, making sense of tragic and senseless losses. As we will see in this post, it is also a way of consoling our consciences, providing justification for some harm we have caused or,…
Faith Encouraged
Fatherhood and True Leadership = Service
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My friend, Bill Mariannes, recently published a post on social media that, frankly, scared me. I think I had a sense that these statistics were real, but the combination of all of them shook me up. He was writing on the crisis of fatherlessness in current society. As a man raised by a single mom in my early years, this looks all too familiar! Look at this: And the research showed that…
The Word of the Day
Saved in Hope (Thurs. June 30)
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The word of the day is “hope.” In today’s reading, Paul describes the suffering of the world. He writes, “The whole creation groans…” (OSB vs. 22). Indeed, we hear the moans of the earth in the chronicles of destruction, disorder, and devastation of every newscast. According to the media, the earth is plunging into disaster without hope of recovery. Yet in today’s reading of Romans 8:22-27, Paul writes, “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope… But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (OSB vs. 24). Today our reflection will encourage us to hope that the Almighty will deliver us and all creation…
