There are many problems in our society and around the world that can easily distract us from what is most important in the Christian life.  Even though they come to us easily, anger, judgment, worry, and fear about matters beyond our control cannot make us holy and usually only distract us from finding healing where we need it in our souls, relationships, and daily challenges.  Christ calls…

Perhaps an old “gray beard” should not be surprised that his university students are highly interested in sex, but their apparent obsession with being for or against homosexuality as the litmus test of social acceptability strikes me as simply weird.  Those who want to be liberal, progressive, or inclusive tend to follow dominant voices in media and culture in praising all things related to sexual minorities and reducing thoughtful moral and spiritual…

                     Sometimes we are all set our sights too low, expecting too little of ourselves and others.  When we do so, we sell ourselves short and do a disservice not only to ourselves but to everyone around us.  When we aim low, we can’t expect to achieve high goals.  The season of the Ascension is a powerful antidote to such low expectations, for…

                          As we continue to celebrate the new life that Jesus Christ’s resurrection has brought to the world, we are reminded today that His mercy and blessing extend to all,  even the most unlikely people, such as the Samaritans.              The Jews hated the Samaritans as religious and ethnic half-breeds.  They had mixed the ethnic heritage and the religion of Israel…

             Christ is Risen!             On this fourth Sunday of the season of Pascha, we remember Jesus Christ’s healing of the paralytic, the paralyzed man who had not been able to move for 38 years, probably his entire life.  He had seen others healed miraculously in a nearby pool of water, but he had no one to help him get there when the angel stirred the water.…