He’s my brother. You know the song. Everytime I think about that song, it reminds me of a story I saw once about two brothers, one very healthy and one with a severe disability, and the stronger brother decided to do triathlons to get his brother outside more. Of course they always came in last because the disabled brother had to be carried by the abled brother. They always ended the races…
Yesterday our parish was blessed with a visit by our Metropolitan (our bishop). Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta tries to visit all his communities through the year, which keeps him on the road a lot. But yesterday was our turn and it was a wonderful day. But it is always a treat to have him with us. Why do you think that is? Besides being a gracious man, and a good preacher, there…
“Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see.” On this Zaccaeus Sunday as we enter the wise preparation time approaching Great Lent, let us as ourselves if we are willing to do anything to see Jesus.
On this Saturday, let us remember our persecuted brethren in the Middle East and our brothers and sister in the Ukraine. For peace from above and for the salvation of the world, let us pray to the Lord.
I recently received a note from a young man asking about our Orthodox faith. He is 15 years old and is already asking the questions that have him on a spiritual journey. Here’s an excerpt from his note (it is edited by me to avoid polemics and get to the heart of his comment): “I look at (my current tradition) and I see separation within the Body of Christ. I see how…
Who are you? Really, putting all our false faces aside and pulling back the curtain of our real selves, who are you? I know, I know, that’s a bit heavy for first thing in the morning. But entering into the life-long process of answering that question requires some prep work so we avoid continuing to lie to ourselves. And that’s where some fundamental choices about reality come into play. We live in…
“Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices.” – Alfred A. Montapert, author of The Supreme Philosophy of Man:The Laws of Life Today is the anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that effectively made abortion on demand legal in the United States. And the political and moral discussions continue, and will continue forever. All sides in this debate have been making the same arguments…
A popular show (on PBS no less) is Downton Abbey. And that’s a bit surprising to me since we Americans seem to always be gripped, al least in our rhetoric, with this notion of egalitarianism. But this popular show is very much about the clear stratification of “classes” and the “drama” of etiquette and class. In that society, a violation of what is “acceptable” can be an “unforgivable” mistake that scares one’s…
Ever played the opposite game? When you play the opposite game you answer questions with the opposite of what it the real answer. So when you say “no” to the question “Are you happy?” you really mean “yes” you are happy. You get the idea. One of life’s most confusing features is when the most real and the most satisfying and even the most rewarding path of your life absolutely makes no…
As I sat in the doctor’s office waiting for him to tell me the results of some recent medical tests, I have to confess to you that I was a little scared. Let’s face it, as a typical man, I don’t “do” doctors well! I had put this off and put this off long enough. Now was the day of reckoning. The news was good. What does it take for someone to…
