You Must Be Born From Above – John 3

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 14 Leave a Comment on %s
Absolutely one of the strangest conversations to occur anywhere in the gospels takes place between Jesus and the inquiring Nicodemus in the third chapter of John. Of course, at least one of its verses (or at least its Stephanus Pagination verse number) has become nationally famous as an attendee at almost all televised American sporting events (3:16). The language of being “born again” has passed into American Evangelical popular parlance for probably…

Mystagogical Catechesis and the Gospel of John

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 7 Leave a Comment on %s
I promise to get “off topic” from time to time – but I would like to do a bit of a “series” here in the post Pascha period – doing what has been done in the history of the Church – and look at the Gospel of John and what it means for us as believing Christians. I’m not suggesting a straightforward Bible study – but to look at a number of…

Knowing God – After Pascha

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 15 Leave a Comment on %s
We approach things so differently in our modern world (as opposed to the ancient world). All of us have access to a great deal of information, although the information that comes to us when we are in the passive mode is less than useless (here I mean television and popular media). Thus I would paraphrase Our Lord and say, “How hard it is for a couch potato to enter the Kingdom of…

And Into the Brightness

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 4 Leave a Comment on %s
Bright Week – such a marvelous phrase – descriptive theologically and in many other ways of the time after Pascha. If we only knew, we all live in Bright Week – despite the fasting that we take up from season to season – despite the disasters that plague our earthly sojourn – still, we are all living in Bright Week. In Bright Week, the Bridegroom has come, and the friends of the…

Which Way Does Time Work?

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 19 Leave a Comment on %s
I have a 19 year-old son, who would probably rather watch episodes of almost any science fiction show than eat pizza (almost). He particularly loves shows about time travel. In a town like Oak Ridge, it’s possible to have serious discussions with serious people about things that I thought only young boys took seriously (we have some particle physicists in the parish (Russians) and, as I say, Oak Ridge is a town…

Lament Me Not

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 1 Leave a Comment on %s
Do not lament me, O Mother, seeing me in the tomb, for I shall arise and be eternally glorified as God. I shall exalt all who magnify you in faith and in love. From the Paschal Service I stand by the tomb with chills each Pascha, listening to the choir, and for that major chord, “For I shall arise.” The priest then lifts the “Winding Sheet” (Plachinitsa) and carries it into the…

Father, Forgive Us All

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 6 Leave a Comment on %s
Some part of me issues a “knee-jerk” reaction to the way our culture treats Christian holydays. We did this at Christmas, and we’re doing it again. For whatever reason, mainstream media have largely decided that Christian holy days are occasions for airing the most specious programs. Whether its more of the DaVinci nonsense or a focus on the “Christian Right,” almost everything but a quiet and reverent moment of reflection or something…

For Our Sake

· Fr. Stephen Freeman
Today, is suspended upon the Cross, He Who suspended the Earth upon the waters. A crown of thorns crowns Him, Who is the King of the angels. He, Who wrapped the Heavens in clouds, is clothed with the purple of mockery. He, Who freed Adam in the Jordan, received buffetings. He was transfixed with nails, Who is the Bridegroom of the Church. He was pierced with a lance, Who is the Son…

Of Thy Mystical Supper

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 5 Leave a Comment on %s
  On this day the Church remembers Our Lord’s institution of the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. The Liturgy is that of St. Basil’s, which is used on all the Sundays of Lent as well. It is one of the most complete statements of the faith, despite its brevity (compared to Catechism or a book). Printed here is a portion of the Anaphora of St. Basil’s Liturgy, in the translation of Archbishop Dmitri…

The Lamb – Slain from the Foundation of the World

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It was granted to him [the beast] to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. These are strange verses from the…