The Word of the Day
Overcoming Temptation: We Wage the Battle but God Gives the Victory (Wed. April 13)
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The word of the day is “horse.” What strength can we rely on when we face temptation? In our reading of Proverbs 21:23-22:4, the wise sage of Proverbs writes, “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord” (NKJV vs. 31). If temptation engages us in a battle, we might depend on our strength as ancient peoples counted on their chariots. However, the sage states that rescue from our foes is in the hands of God, not warhorses or human power. Today we highlight the importance of trusting the Lord and not our own devices. The ancient Israelites did not have horses or chariots until the reign of Solomon. Therefore, to the Chosen People, the warhorse was a source…
Faith Encouraged
The Foolish Person VS. The Wise Person
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Drama! I confess I am not a fan of drama in my house. And here I am living with three women! I guess the joke’s on me! OK, before I get in real trouble here, let me say that I have noticed the older I get, the more I like quiet and smooth sailing. And yet, I’m a parish priest of a growing congregation filled with dynamic people, the head of a…
The Word of the Day
Righteousness and Justice Are Better Than Sacrifice (Tues. April 12)
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The word of the day is “better.” Our secular society tucks religion away in a separate compartment. Our citizens can worship as they choose. But their faith is not supposed to have any bearing outside the sphere of their private “spirituality.” But in our reading of Proverbs 21:3-21, the wise sage writes, “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice” (NKJV vs. 3). To apply this proverb to our time, let’s suppose that righteousness and justice are matters that apply to our life in society. And let’s consider that sacrifices have to do with religious practices. If that is the case, then righteousness and justice are matters of public concern. They apply to our life…
Living Water
When Lent Is Challenging The Little Things Matter Most
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This past week the children and I commented that “suddenly” we find ourselves nearer the end of Lent than the beginning. All the one-day-at-a-times and one-prayer-at-a-times have strung together several weeks of “good struggle” and here we are, prepared or not, approaching Palm Sunday and another Pascha. Whether this Lent has been deeply challenging or a mostly-missed season for you, we single parents have been juggling the gratitude-to-complaint continuum right along with you’all! From car breakdowns to illnesses, bills piling up and job changes, family and ex conflict struggles and new levels of forgiveness Lent never fails to challenge us…
Faith Encouraged
A Birthday Request
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Dear Faithful Partners of Faith Encouraged Ministries, Every year we reach out to you to help us celebrate Fr. Barnabas’ birthday during the month of April. This year he turns 62. Recently he told me these years approaching “retirement age” fill him with both hope and dread. Hope in the sense that the central desire of sharing this Orthodox Faith with as many people as possible continues to grow, and dread in…
No Other Foundation
Thinking about the Atonement: the Old Testament
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It is perhaps significant that there is no obvious and complete explanation of atonement and how it functioned in the Bible. My guess is that this was because it was too obvious to the ancients to require stating. People just knew instinctively that they were in need of help and closer union with the gods/ God and that offering sacrifice was the way to make it happen. Today we look at the…
Faith Encouraged
Escaping Bad Choices
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Why is it I keep having to learn wisdom the hard way? I mean, it isn’t like I haven’t had wise men and women and friends who have offered wise counsel. I’ve seen how bad choices can really wreck a life and then I’ve watched myself make those SAME BAD CHOICES! What gives? Well, what gives IS our common, human struggle. Our will, our “want to” is weakened by fear and death.…
The Word of the Day
Keeping Our Souls by Keeping the Commandments (Mon. April 11)
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The word of the day is “keep.” It is possible to lose one’s soul. The Lord said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” (NKJV Mark 8:36). But how does one keep the soul safe from loss? In our reading of Proverbs 19:16-25, the wise sage says, “He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of his ways will die” (NKJV vs. 16). Today we will consider how we might “keep” our soul instead of losing it. The Hebrew Term for Soul The Hebrew term for “soul” is derived from the thought of the animation of creatures that live and breathe. As a result,…
Glory to God for All Things
The Desert Struggle
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One of the best-known sayings to have come from the Desert Fathers is: “Stay in your cell and your cell will teach you everything.” To a large degree the saying extols the virtue of stability. Moving from place to place never removes the problem – it only postpones the inevitable. Somewhere, sometime we have to face the heart of our struggle and by the grace of God overcome. Of course, not everyone…
The Word of the Day
Cleansing by the Blood of Christ (Sun. April 10)
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The word of the day is “cleanse.” In these times, we think of disease in medical terms. We speak in terms of infections, cancers, and disorders of the heart and other organs. But when we speak of sin, we use words like transgressions, shortcomings, disobedience and “missing the mark.” However, the Orthodox Church tends to talk about sin as a disease that needs healing and the corruption that needs cleansing. The Cleansing of Conscience The Orthodox approach to sin and redemption is in keeping with our reading of Hebrews 9:11-14. In that view, the purpose of Christ’s sacrifice is purification. The apostle writes, “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean,…
Eastern Christian Insights
Healing Comes Through Repentance, Not Through Seeking Earthly Glory: Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent and Commemoration of our Righteous Mother Mary of Egypt in the Orthodox Church
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Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 10:32-45 If we want a clear example of the difference between the character of our Lord and that of corrupt humanity, we need look no further than today’s gospel lesson. In response to the prediction of His Passion, the disciples James and John asked for an assurance that the Lord would give them privileged places of prominence in His Reign, which they imagined to…
The Word of the Day
The Contents of the Ark: Tangible Mementos of God’s Grace (Sat. April 9)
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The word of the day is “Ark.” Many families pass down certain articles of past generations to their heirs. We may keep a family Bible, a porcelain dish, a picture or photo album, a uniform, a set of letters or even a handwritten recipe. These things are a physical connection to the past. By treasuring them, we call to mind the memory of our ancestors. Material Reminders of God’s Grace In our reading of Hebrews 9:1-7 (first reading), the apostle writes of physical artifacts that were kept in the most sacred place in the Temple. He writes of the Holy of Holies and says that it had “the golden censer and the Ark of the Covenant… in which were the…
Every Thought Captive
The Mathetian Option (Part One)
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The God of the Scriptures is a very specific sort of deity. He is the architect who created and fashioned all things in a logical and orderly sequence. While he does not permanently expel chaos from the cosmos, he makes clear that disorder is not good but a distortion of goodness and a movement towards non-being. God then places man in the midst of his creation and asks him to share in his work of establishing order by tending and keeping the garden. Together with Zoe, Adam is tasked with subduing chaos and filling the void…
Faith Encouraged
Knowing WHY
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If you’ve spent any time with me at all, you know I’m a big fan of asking the “WHY” question when it comes to our motivations for living. In fact, I’m convinced that no one sticks with a pattern of life that is effective without really understanding WHY it is effective. Getting to your “WHY” is at the heart of being able to be motivated enough, consistent enough, and faithful enough to…
The Word of the Day
Lift Up Your Hearts: Attaining a Cheerful Spirit (Fri. April 8)
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The word for today is “cheerful.” At this challenging time, many people are frustrated and depressed. Yet even amidst this pervasive dreariness of heart, there are some who raise our spirits. These persons are bright lights in the darkness. Of them, the wise sage of Proverbs writes in today’s readings of Proverbs 17:17-18:5, “A merry heart does good, like medicine” (NKJV vs. 17:22). Today we learn that we, the faithful, are called to “lift up our hearts” so that our cheerfulness can be medicine for others in a gloomy world. Nowadays, the word “merry” is associated with Christmas and its festivities. However, the word in the Hebrew Bible means to be glad, joyful, and rejoicing (Strong’s Hebrew #8056, 284). On…
Frederica
"Without ceasing," Really?
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Somebody asked me about the Jesus Prayer: <<What does it mean to ‘pray without ceasing’? Do you actually say the Jesus Prayer everywhere? On the beach, in a restaurant, when you’re with other people? Really, all the time?>> That’s a great question. Here’s how I replied. <<How it works…
Shepherding our Little Flock
A Practice - Starting with Prayer of the Heart
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We spent the third week of Great and Holy Lent (when I started to write this post!) contemplating the life and legacy of St. Gregory of Palamas and the beauty and simplicity of the Jesus prayer. How can we bring such a profound and yet simple practice to our children? Our children, for the most part, are so on the go – from the moment their eyes pop open in the morning…
Faith Encouraged
You Can Have Joy!
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Fr. Alexander Schmemann once said, “The greatest charge against a Christian is that he has no joy.” Frankly, the normal Christian faith is incompatible with a life without joy. It is specifically joy, regardless of the outward circumstances that should be the “normal” Christian life. Now I know what you’re going to say: “But father, we will be accused of being unrealistic if we are joyful all the time.” Well, sure we…
The Word of the Day
How to Defeat the Mighty Power of Anger (Thurs. April 7)
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The word of the day is “anger.” One of the traits of maturity is self-mastery. And one of the greatest tests of self-mastery is the ability to control one’s temper. In our reading of Proverbs 16:17-17:17, the wise sage of Proverbs writes, “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (NKJV vs. 16:32). Anger is like a powerful army that storms a city and conquers it. Accordingly, it takes an almost superhuman strength to resist its attacks. Today we explore what it takes to defeat the might of anger in our soul. The Loss of Control More than any of the vices, anger exposes the loss of…
Glory to God for All Things
Shadows, Icons, and the Age to Come
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What will heaven be like? It is not an unusual question. Sometimes it is asked with all the freshness of a child, other times with the anxiety of the old. It is not a question that admits of easy answers, nor a question for which language is sufficient. The cynic says, “Nobody knows.” That attitude falls short of the fullness of human experience. There are stories. There are also things that point…
Faith Encouraged
God Will Help You!
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Nelson Mandela once said “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” This is so true. I’ve found too many people who think that because they feel fear, they are not courageous. This isn’t true. Feelings come and go, but it’s what you do in reaction to feelings…
The Word of the Day
A Calm Confidence in Everything We Do (Wed. April 6)
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The word of the day is “commit.” It is natural to worry about the success or failure of our work, our family life, and our every endeavor. Yet, that anxiety is unnecessary. Today in our reading of Proverbs 15:20-16:9, the sage teaches that we can develop a calm confidence in everything we do. He writes, “Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established” (OAB vs. 16:3). Today we consider the peace of heart and mind that comes from committing whatever we undertake to the Lord and His Glory. The Lord Made All for Himself The foundation for our comments today is found in the sage’s teaching: “The Lord has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for…
Faith Encouraged
The Missing Ingredient - Sunday's Homily
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Faith Encouraged
3 Questions
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When I get discouraged, I can always trace it back to a loss of perspective. I mean, it’s inevitable. My challenges give me tunnel vision and I lose the ability to see beyond my own immediate pain. By the way, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be. It becomes a bad thing when I get trapped in those moments. There are many times in my life when I need…
The Word of the Day
Reason Freed from the Passions (Tues. April 5)
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The word of the day is “better.” Are the choices that people make in their lives based on reason? The “Rational Choice Theory” claims that people choose the options they believe are in their best interest. That is, they select the most reasonable choices among alternatives. Our reading of Proverb 15:7-19 rejects this presupposition. The wise sage of Proverbs writes, “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fatted calf with hatred” (NKJV vs. 17). This saying suggests that the theory that people make reasonable choices fails to consider the role of the passions in human decisions. Today we look at the basic choice between the freedom of wisdom and the folly of slavery to the passions. …
Beyond the Bars
#AscendingTogether Part 3: Dn. Seraphim, Volunteer Prison Chaplain
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When Deacon Seraphim Blackstock began visiting men in a Florida prison, he started out, in his own words, “very arrogant”. “I went into the prisons with the idea I was helping these guys. They’re felons. They’ve committed horrible crimes. I’m doing them a big favor.” Dn. Seraphim would soon find out that there was much these men in prison could do to help him too. Most Christian prison chaplains start by teaching…
Frederica
The Battle You Are Already In
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[2022-4-4] I was invited to give a talk on Cross Veneration Sunday, and it happened that the preceding Friday was the Feast of the Annunciation. So it was like a parenthesis of the whole Christian story, with the Annunciation of Christ’s Incarnation on one side, and the Crucifixion on the…
