Eastern Christian Insights

2 Peter 1:10-19; Matthew 17:1-9            We have all had the experience of suddenly perceiving a truth that we had previously not grasped.  There are times when the fog lifts, the lights come on, and what was opaque or out of focus becomes clear.  That is precisely what the apostles Peter, James, and John experienced on Mount Tabor when they were enabled to behold the divine glory of…

1 Corinthians 1:10-17; Matthew 14:14-22             It is no secret that we often feel inadequate and weak before our own personal problems, the challenges faced by loved ones, and the brokenness of our society and world.  It may be tempting to hide our sense of powerlessness by lying to ourselves and others or indulging in whatever we can find to distract us.  But if we are honest, we will see that we…

Romans 15:1-7; Matthew 9:27-35           The men whom Jesus Christ healed in today’s gospel lesson could not have had any illusions about their circumstances.  The blind men sat by the road and begged, for that was all that they could do in that time and place in order to survive.  We do not know the mental state of the man who was possessed by a demon and unable…

Titus 3:8-15; Matthew 5:14-19               There is a temptation in pursuing the Christian life to think that we are more faithful than we actually are because we have confused lesser goals for our true calling. Then we can pat ourselves on the back for achieving far less than what the God-Man has made possible for us as “partakers of the divine nature.”   Were Jesus Christ merely a human teacher of a moral…

Matthew 8: 5-13           Our Lord’s ministry violated many of the religious and cultural sensibilities of first-century Palestine.  Contrary to all expectations for the Jewish Messiah, He asked for a drink of water from a Samaritan woman, engaged in an extended spiritual conversation with her, and then spent two days in a Samaritan village.  He invited Himself to the home of Zacchaeus, a corrupt collector of taxes for…