Myrrh-bearers Sunday, May 15, 2016 Acts 6:1-7; Mark 15:43-16:8 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is risen! Today on this third Sunday of Pascha, we return for a little while to a precious moment in Holy Week, when on Holy Friday and Saturday we encounter the…
Lately I’ve been seeing nationalistic / racialistic rhetoric from some who identify as Christian. Some say that this is just their politics and has nothing to do with their religion. That is, of course, a distinctly secular idea, that one can practice some part of life in a way that is separate from religion. While we don’t have to pursue theocracy, dominionism, etc., to…
I hate it when people say that. Yes, there is a certain truth to the statement The Church is not the building. But it is usually said in the context of talking about buildings, and so what is meant by it is not really a counter of an obviously ridiculous idea, namely, that the Church is equal to a building. It is somewhat ironic,…
Thomas Sunday / Feast of the Apostle John the Theologian, May 8, 2016 1 John 1:1-5; John 20:19-31 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is risen! The Gospel story begins today with the gathering of the disciples of Jesus in a room where the doors were…
Palm Sunday, April 24, 2016 Philippians 4:4-9; John 12:1-8 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today, on the final Sunday of the Triodion, Palm Sunday, we wrap up our series in which we have been asking the question “Who is God?” This is eighth part of this…
Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt, April 17, 2016 Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 10:32-45 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. We are now getting very close to Holy Week, and the final journey to Jerusalem for the Lord Jesus is about to begin. We focus very much now…
It’s an old question: Who are funerals for — the living or the departed? If I had to give a quick answer, I would say that funerals are for all concerned, including the departed (in many Christian traditions, we are praying for the departed). But in terms of their impact “on the ground,” they are probably mostly for the (earthly) living. But the bigger…
Sunday of St. John of the Ladder, April 10, 2016 Hebrews 6:13-20; Mark 9:17-31 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. We are now on the sixth Sunday of our eight-part series asking the question, “Who is God?” We’re just a few weeks away from Pascha now, and…