Freedom, the Path to God, and the Orthodoxy of Orthodoxy

I was recently passed on a question by my grandmother from some of my non-Orthodox relations who live out in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The question was whether, in my preaching, there is room for a “personal Gospel.” I must be honest that I don’t know exactly what that phrase means, but I cannot imagine they are asking whether I am “allowed”…

Humanity, Unplugged

The Third Sunday after Pentecost, July 3, 2011 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today, let’s talk about sin. Yes, of course, almost all sermons are in some sense about sin, and sin is certainly mentioned a great deal in the hymns and readings of the Church. But let’s take a moment…

The Voice and the Silence

Behold Elizabeth as she speaketh with the Virgin Mary: Wherefore art thou, the Mother of my Lord, come unto me? Thou carriest the King, and I the soldier; thou the Giver of the Law, and I the expounder of the Law; thou the Word, and I the Voice that shall proclaim the Kingdom of the Heavens. (Theotokion of the Aposticha, Nativity of the Forerunner…

Consumption, the Ascension and the Dignity of Man

The following sermon was preached on the Sunday after Theophany 2009. As we continue in the economic mess that was so fresh in that January of a little over two years ago, I think this still very much applies, especially as the referenced epistle reading makes mention of the Ascension of Christ, which is celebrated today. Our fundamental economic problem is still fundamentally a…

Is the Rapture today?

From suggestions that we should all release blow-up dolls filled with helium at exactly noon today, to an invitation on Facebook for post-Rapture looting (after all, many cars will be “unmanned,” you know), it seems that the world has taken notice of the latest prediction of the Rapture. Even atheist Stephen Hawking has grabbed a headline or two recently with his characterization of Heaven…

Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy available for purchase!

Some news from Conciliar Press: Good news! The [Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy] books arrived in our Illinois warehouse yesterday! For those of you who write book reviews for print media and/or who have blogs discussing such things, contact our marketing manager, Matthew Dorning (email hidden; JavaScript is required) to request a review copy, and let him know which publication / blog you represent. Ready to…

The Road to Emmaus, Pennsylvania (The Transfiguration of Place, Part VI)

The following is Part VI (the conclusion) of a talk I gave on April 2nd at the St. Emmelia Orthodox Homeschooling Conference at the Antiochian Village. The full talk is entitled “The Transfiguration of Place: An Orthodox Christian Vision of Localism.” Read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV and Part V. There are six parts in all. I live in a place…