The first day of September is celebrated as the Ecclesiastical or Church New Year by Orthodox Christians. It is also a day marked by prayers for the environment, reminding us to be good stewards of the world around us. So This is the New Year? The old Roman term for this day is Indictio, meaning “definition” or “order.” This was a day established as the beginning of a fifteen year cycle, marking the redefinition of tax…
Authority Each of the Gospel accounts, in one way or another uses the Crucifixion scene to communicate that Jesus is the true King of all. Yet, John takes a particular interest in the authority of Jesus during his trial and all the way through his death. This theme at the Cross is not new to John’s Gospel. In fact, he begins his Gospel declaring Jesus’ Godhood. (John 1:1) Still, John the Theologian…
Jesus died. What sort of a eulogy could be given for such a man? What sort of obituary could possibly be written? Here lies one homeless man, without a wife, without children, with no employer, with no college degrees. He has no articles published. He has written no books. His own countrymen are the ones who rejected him and gave him up to death. Those who followed him for awhile, abandoned him. He’s…
The Righteousness of God Having been a missionary companion (Acts 16:10), and disciple of the Apostle Paul (2 Timothy 4:11), Luke reflects Pauline concerns, themes and emphases in his writing (Luke-Acts). One such theme is an emphasis on the Gospel of the Messiah of Israel reaching the Gentiles (Luke 2:14, 31-32, 4:26-27). The Lordship of Jesus over/for the Gentiles is not merely an addendum to God’s work for Israel. What God did…
Returning the World to God In the Bible, there is a genre called apocalyptic literature. A dominant feature of apocalyptic literature is that it uses vivid imagery to reveal (the word apocalypse means revelation) a greater sense of purpose and reality to an event. Often times these revelations include astronomical phenomena that are meant to point to, not mainly to the event itself, but rather, what is happening on Earth. It is…
Recent statistics indicate that about half of all pregnancies in America are “unintended,” and of those, four out of ten end in abortion. Perhaps most disturbingly, over 70% of women involved in an abortion report some sort of religious affiliation. In the Orthodox Church, we commemorate the Great Feast of Annunciation on March 25. Without coincidence, this occurs nine months before the Great Feast of Nativity or Christmas. In the Annunciation, we celebrate not only…
God’s Pleasure in Jesus At the beginning of Jesus’ adult appearance in the Gospel of Matthew, his Father in heaven, the God of Israel, voices his pleasure in Jesus at his baptism saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17b) (A similar Divine witness is borne at our Lord’s Transfiguration. [Matthew 17:5b]) This experience as written serves, for our meditation today, a threefold function for the…
An Eye Always Towards the Resurrection There is no other sign or symbol that summarizes the Christian Faith like the Cross. Christians put crosses on our churches, in our homes, around our necks and some of us make the sign of the Cross over our bodies. We find our heart and identity grounded in, and defined by, the Cross of Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul said, “But far be it from me to boast except in…