Category: Communion

That We All May Be One

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 14 Leave a Comment on %s
The times I have written on the boundaries and borders of Church are occasions for a great deal of comment. Generally the comments run in two directions: Orthodox who agree that “we are the Church,” and defend my thoughts, and others who are challenged, or offended by the suggestion that “one,” might not include them. This is all too easy – especially for my Orthodox readers. Many settle for their own comfortable…

Thanksgiving Communion

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 9 Leave a Comment on %s
Whom should I thank? The question is normally a matter of polite acknowledgement. A gift was given and received. Who gave it? Whom should I thank? It is inherently the nature of giving thanks that thanks must be given to someone. I cannot give thanks to nothing or no one. As such, the giving of thanks is an act of communion on one level or another. Fr. Alexander Schmemann, in the last…

The Politics of the Cup

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 156 Leave a Comment on %s
“I don’t know about the Church thing.” This is a quote from a recent conversation – wonderfully post-modern and summing up the tragedy of modern Christianity. The great failure of Protestant theology (in all forms), despite its wide-ranging thought on the nature of God and human salvation, has been “the Church thing.” The careful parsing of every verse of Scripture pertaining to justification is met with generalities and vagaries when the Scripture…

Who God Would Have Us Be

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 29 Leave a Comment on %s
When man stands before the throne of God, when he has fulfilled all that God has given him to fulfill, when all sins are forgiven, all joy restored, then there is nothing else for him to do but to give thanks. Eucharist (thanksgiving) is the state of perfect man. Eucharist is the life of paradise. Eucharist is the only full and real response of man to God’s creation, redemption and gift of…

The Communion of Tradition

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 25 Leave a Comment on %s
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life–the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us–that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also…

The Priesthood That Never Was

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 44 Leave a Comment on %s
A recent question concerning the “priesthood of all believers” has been an occasion for personal reflection. What is it about the priesthood of all believers that seems so important for Protestant thought? The idea is rooted in Scripture: You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ….But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,…

Wake Up! Watch Out!

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 21 Leave a Comment on %s
 Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.  (Matt. 13:14-15) _____ “Why didn’t I see that?”…

My Daddy’s Demon

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 25 Leave a Comment on %s
I hesitated before I wrote “My Daddy’s Demon,” as a title for this article – I mean no disrespect for my father. But it is a reference to my own life, for as I’ve grown older, I discover that the things I wrestle with are not very different than those with which my father wrestled. Perhaps his father wrestled with them as well. Recently I wrote that “we are all connected.” This…

Are We Connected?

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 53 Leave a Comment on %s
How connected are we? Do your actions, thoughts, feelings, have an effect on me even if I am unaware (or on the other side of the world)? Is my existence bound within the existence of other human beings, or are we simply sharing the same planet for a period of time? Connections between people, particularly of a spiritual nature, were declared to be mere superstitions in the march of modern rationalism. To…

Obstacles to Faith

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 129 Leave a Comment on %s
My writing and thoughts often carry me to the “edges” – to the edge of unbelief and to the edge of the depths of belief. My instinct for these places is an instinct for the obstacles to faith. Why do some believe and others not? And what is the exact nature of belief and unbelief? There is a form of belief familiar to everyone. It is simply the manner in which we…