Faith Encouraged
The God of Generosity!
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It’s Gift Giving Season! But that can be dangerous if you don’t know WHY Giving is vital to your spiritual well-being! Listen to St. Poemen. “As far as you can, do some manual work so as to be able to give alms, for it is written that alms and faith purify from sin.” Why? Why does almsgiving and faith purify from sin? By the way, this is a big deal! Look at…
Faith Encouraged
I Think I Misunderstood!
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Why is it we humans struggle with understanding certain things about life, technology, relationships, politics, and the list goes on and on? Well, it’s got everything to do with different experiences, different upbringing, different priorities, and so on. But what if there was a basic understanding that was fundamentally common to all humans, something meant to be so basic and so fundamental that every human could and should understand it? Misunderstanding something…
The Word of the Day
Leading and Serving with Pure, Genuine, and Faithful Love (Mon. Dec. 13)
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The word of the day is “love.” In our reading of 1 Timothy 1:1-7, Paul instructs Timothy, the young Bishop of Ephesus, on the pastoral leadership and care of his flock (OSB “Introduction to 1 Timothy”). He states the purpose that he wants his teaching to accomplish (Strong’s #5056). Thus he writes “Now the purpose of the commandment [my instruction] is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith” (OSB vs. 5). Though directed at church leadership, we can apply this same counsel to our calling of ministry in our own relationships. The Purpose of the Directives Paul begins with the “purpose” of the directives of his letter (vs. 5). Note what he is concerned about. He doesn’t mention…
The Word of the Day
Hidden Now But to Be Revealed When Christ Returns (Sun. Dec. 12)
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The word of the day is “appear.” In today’s reading of Colossians 3:4-11, St. Paul promises that when Christ returns, He will bring the faithful with Him to share His glory. The Apostle proclaims, “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (vs. 4). The root of the Greek original text is “to make apparent.” Therefore, Christ’s appearance means more than that He “shows up.” Rather, the term refers to the revelation of what is hidden. More than that, it is the manifestation of the fundamental character of what is now unseen (Strong’s #5319, 1-20). Our Hidden Life At present, the wickedness of this present age conceals the true nature of Christ. …
Eastern Christian Insights
Homily for the Sunday of the Forefathers of Christ and Spyridon, Bishop of Trimythous, the Wonderworker, in the Orthodox Church
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Ephesians 5:8-19; Luke 14:16-24 Most of us have a great talent for convincing ourselves of complete nonsense when that helps to distract us from facing uncomfortable truths that we would rather ignore. Instead of seeing ourselves, other people, and the daily challenges of life with clarity, our vision is often obscured by our own passions. We then become blind to reality in ways that block us from living faithfully before God.…
The Word of the Day
Christ Delivered Himself to Deliver Us (Sat. Dec. 11)
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The word of the day is “deliver.” In our reading of Galatians 1:3-10, St. Paul recounts the mercy of Jesus Christ who sacrificed Himself for our sins (vs. 4). The Apostle writes about Christ, “…who gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from the present evil age according to the will of our God and Father” (vs. 4). The idea of deliverance governs this whole cryptic sentence. Our English translations obscure the relationship between the two forms of deliverance that Paul describes in this passage. Reduced to its basic structure, however, Paul teaches that Christ delivered Himself that we might be delivered. “To Deliver” Meaning “To Hand On” The Orthodox Study Bible reads that Christ “gave Himself…
Frederica
The Difference between the Jesus Prayer and Meditation
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An emailer asked me to distinguish between various kinds of meditation, like someone sitting and thinking only about a word like “Love” or “Peace,” and how that differs from the Jesus Prayer. I replied: Those methods, it seems to me, aim at the prayer experience. It is a search for balance,…
Living Water
Remedies for Loneliness
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Since writing the post on Loneliness — the theme picked as most-vital for single parents in the Facebook group when we first began the Living Water blog — both single parents and those who love us have challenged me with the question “So what now?” Simply acknowledging our ostracization, isolation and deep loneliness is a mere bandaid when we wake up alone every morning and go to bed alone every night. Reminding ourselves (or worse, when other well-intentioned folks tell us directly) that everyone feels alone and many others besides single parents feel ostracized and isolated—think of parents of…
Faith Encouraged
The Sincerest Form of Flattery
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They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And they (whoever they are?) are right. And that is both comforting and kind of scary when you think about it. My children are going to learn how to behave and live by watching and copying me! Poor kids. But think about it. We were created in the image of God to be made into His likeness. I know I’ve said this…
The Word of the Day
Idleness and Well-doing (Fri. Dec. 9)
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The word of the day is “well-doing.” In our reading of 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18, St. Paul warns against idleness and encourages all members of the congregation in Thessalonica to work for their living. The apostle commands the loafers in the congregation to “work in quietness and eat their own bread” (vs. 12). Those who are working, he instructs “not to grow weary in well-doing” (vs. 11). In this passage, Paul contrasts an undisciplined with a productive life. When he charges some church members with “walking in a disorderly manner,” “walking” is a metaphor for one’s conduct of life (Strong’s #4043, 199). The “disorderly” way of life concerns Paul because in Greek, “disorderly” is a military term for being “insubordinate” (Strong’s…
A Healing Driven Life
Surviving the Pandemic: Escaping the Mirkwood Forest of our Age
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We find ourselves in curious times. If we use just a bit of awareness and that proverbial lifting up of our head when out and about, we can detect some shifts in the social and emotional fabric of our society. Some things have changed and indeed something is off. We can see evidence of this in the faces of the many people we see in public, in changes in driving habits, in people’s resistance to looking at each other or interacting with each other in public, in increasing erratic decision making in others, and overall, a sense of agitation, estrangement, and just feeling miserable. Many are tired and burned out; as though they are holding in a massive amount of…
Glory to God for All Things
Why Does God Hide?
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God hides. God makes Himself known. God hides. This pattern runs throughout the Scriptures. A holy hide-and-seek, the pattern is not accidental nor unintentional. It is rooted in the very nature of things in the Christian life. A Christianity whose God is not hidden is not Christianity at all. But why is this so? In a previous article, I wrote: Our faith is about learning to live in the revealing of things…
Faith Encouraged
The Kindled Light
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It’s amazing how powerful even a little light is when it’s dark. A small, flickering flame can brighten a dark room, and, amazingly the darker the room, the more powerful even the smallest amount of light! I remember visiting Ruby Falls as a little boy and going into the underground caverns with the tour, holding my mon’s hand tightly. It got even tighter when the tour guide turned out the lights in…
The Word of the Day
Chosen as God’s Own (Thurs. Dec. 9)
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The word of the day is “chose.” Yesterday’s reading ended with Paul’s warning that they should not be deceived by the “man of lawlessness” (the Antichrist) who will appear at the end of time (vs. 9). However, now in 2 Thessalonians 2.13-3.5, Paul reassures the believers in Thessalonica that they will not perish in delusion and unbelief. The apostle writes, “…God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (vs. 13). The Greek term for “chose” is rooted in the thought of “taking something for oneself’” (Strong’s #138, 8). The emphasis is not on favoring one thing over the other. But the focus is on making something one’s own. This thought…
Remembering Sion
The Metaverse and the Garden of Eden
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Recently the company formerly known as Facebook officially rebranded itself as “Meta,” declaring that its new “overarching goal” is “to help bring the metaverse to life.” What exactly is the metaverse? According to an increasing number of influential CEOs and other leaders in the tech world, it is a nascent globally connected virtual reality experience which, in the words of Mark Zuckerberg, will eventually become “an embodied internet, where instead of just viewing content…
No Other Foundation
The Church and Apocalypticism
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Second Temple Judaism was a many-splendoured thing. That is, it included many different elements—so many elements in fact that some people talk not just of Judaism, but Judaisms (in the plural). While the use of the plural might be a bit of a stretch, there is no denying that Second Temple Judaism was more diverse than the Rabbinic Judaism you now find down the street at the local synagogue. It included what…
Frederica
What Changed Your Mind?
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[10/20/2021] A journalist asked me a question, and I didn’t know how to answer it. She said that she had read something I wrote in which I said that my husband was attracted to Orthodoxy right away, but I didn’t like it. (That’s a common pattern; a priest told me…
Walking an Ancient Path
Liturgy Quick-Start Guide #4: That We May Receive the King of All
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Nothing compares with a hike in the Rocky Mountains on a beautiful day. The trail might meander past steep cliffs under impossibly blue skies, and in autumn, aspen trees lick the mountainsides in tongues of yellow flame. In summer, hikers can climb the boulders in Rocky Mountain National park as a waterfall tumbles into a creek flanked by pine and fir trees. On a particularly arduous climb, hikers might stop to…
Faith Encouraged
The "Mystery" of Lawlessness
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The old Chinese curse says “May you live in interesting times.” Call me old-fashioned, but I think now qualifies as “interesting times.” And when your life or my life is surrounded by chaos, confusion, disappointment, or unmet expectations, the temptation to panic or thrash about can certainly take over and my life becomes intoxicated with fear or anger or resentment or even hopelessness. But we followers of Jesus Christ aren’t meant to…
The Word of the Day
The Love of Truth (Wed. Dec. 8)
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The word of the day is “truth.” In our reading of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, St. Paul cautions his congregation in Thessalonica about false prophecies of the Lord’s Second Coming. The Apostle advises them not to be “soon shaken in mind or troubled” when they hear that the Second Coming of Christ has already happened (vs. 2). “The Man of Lawlessness” Paul reminds his congregation of his teaching of certain signs of the imminent return of Christ. These signals of the end time will include a time of apostasy, that is, faithlessness. Then a mysterious character, the “man of lawlessness,” will appear (vs. 3). The Greek word refers to one who sets himself against the law (Strong’s #458, 28). He is…
Faith Encouraged
Not Quickly Shaken
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The American golf pro Tiger Woods once said “Sensationalism sells; don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.” It seems our modern age is awash in “storytelling” and narrative all too often at the expense of a sober look at the reality of the situation. But sensationalism does sell. We humans seem to be easily manipulated by the emotional candy and experiential “sugar rush” of easy answers and…
The Word of the Day
Glorified in the Saints and In Us (Tues. Dec. 7)
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Once again, the word of the day is “glorified.” In our reading of 2 Thessalonians 1:10-2:2, St. Paul writes that he prays constantly for his congregation as they face nameless trials. His concern is not on what the Thessalonians should do to prevail in their troubles. His focus is on God’s work in the faithful. Thus, he prays “that the name of Christ may be glorified in you and you in Him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (vs. 12). Note that in yesterday’s reading Paul has just promised that when Christ returns in glory, he will be “glorified in his saints” (vs. 10). But now the apostle applies that thought to those all…
Glory to God for All Things
The Christmas When Everybody Was There
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The soldiers were scattered across Europe with the loneliness of war. The world was caught up in a total struggle. Women had gone to the factories; children were collecting scrap metal. The “war effort” was universal. In many places, food was rationed. The madhouse of consumption belonged only to the war; everything else could wait. And there was Christmas. Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley were part of the effort as well, cranking…
Faith Encouraged
St. Nicholas: An Icon of Leadership
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“I’m their leader! Which way did they go?” I have a cap with two bills on it, one in the front and one in the back with that slogan on it. It’s funny because it’s so often true. Leadership is always such a rewarding and challenging calling. In fact, if you could get most leaders to share their deepest and most honest feelings, you would find that most leaders feel quite inadequate…
The Word of the Day
God Is Glorified in His Saints (Mon. Dec. 6)
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The word of the day is “glorified .” Today with 2 Thessalonians 1:1-10, we begin to read St. Paul’s second letter to his congregation in Thessalonica, the important crossroads of Macedonia. The apostle writes from Ephesus in about 51 AD within months of his first letter. But now, he refers to the “persecutions and tribulations” that his congregation is undergoing (vs. 4). He consoles his flock in this port city that their afflictions are evidence that they are worthy of the kingdom of God, the reign of God for which they now suffer (vs. 5). St. Paul assures the faithful that God will settle accounts with their persecutors and with those who neither know Him nor obey the gospel. God…
The Word of the Day
The Church Compared to the Temple (Sun. Dec. 5)
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The word of the day is “temple.” In our reading of Ephesians 2:14-22, St. Paul compares the Church to a holy temple that is built on a solid foundation. Further, he emphasizes that Christ is the Cornerstone who unites the Church’s members into a sacred dwelling place of God. In our reading, Paul draws the analogy between the building of the Old Testament temple in Jerusalem and the nature of the Church. Three main comparisons: the foundation, the cornerstone, and the materials that “fitted together” make up the building as a dwelling place for God. Note that the writer to the Hebrews speaks of both the “tabernacle” and the temple in single thought. Likewise, the Book of Revelation combines these…
Eastern Christian Insights
Born to Set Us Free from Our Infirmities: Homily for the Tenth Sunday of Luke in the Orthodox Church
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Galatians 5:22-6:2; Luke 13:10-17 When Jesus Christ was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath, he saw a woman who was bent over and could not straighten up. She had been that way for eighteen years. Imagine how her life had changed due to her disability, how frustrating that chronic illness had to be, especially in a time before modern medicine and physical therapy. The Lord said to her, “Woman, you…
