Commentary on the Daily Lectionary of the Orthodox Church
Author: Fr. Basil
Now retired, the Very Rev. Archpriest Basil Ross Aden has served as a parish priest, parish pastor, diocesan mission director, writer, and college teacher of New Testament and Religious Studies. He has a Master of Theology and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of Chicago and has published daily devotional and stewardship materials as well as a college textbook on Religious Studies. He also has published papers and/or lectured on the Orthodox perspective on Luther and the Reformation. religious freedom, current issues of religion and society, and St. John Chrysostom. He is married to Sandra and has two sons and three grandchildren. He is still active as a priest as well as a writer of articles and materials on Orthodoxy and topics of faith and life today.
The word of the day is “truth.” In today’s reading of Ephesians 4:14-19, St. Paul speaks about maturity in Christ. The Apostle recognizes that the Ephesians are being “built up” as the Body of Christ (vs. 12). By the spiritual gifts of ministry, they are advancing toward the “unity of faith and the [full and perfect l] knowledge of the Son of God” (vs. 13). Becoming Full Grown in Christ When they reach the standard of the “fullness of Christ,” they will become full-grown and complete (vs. 13; Strong’s 5046, 248). To attain this end, St. Paul advises that they should “no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine…” (vs. 14). Rather they…
Every day I will use one word as a key to comprehending and remembering the message of the daily reading. I call it the “Word of the Day.” One word? How can one reduce a whole passage to one term? Well, I don’t intend to use that word to reduce or simplify the message. I will use it as a keyword, a tool to organize the thoughts of a passage so that we can comprehend and remember it. Some educators say that keywords are more than ways to search for information on the Internet. They have an essential role in understanding and memory. This learning theory holds that we do not learn in isolated and individual units of information or…
If you are looking for engaging anecdotes and interest-grabbing stories to enhance your reading of scripture, you won’t find them here. This is a no-frills venture. Nothing fancy. Nothing to take focus away from the biblical text. I have found that people often respond to the illustration and to remember the one-liner rather than the message of the Word. But let us set aside every distraction, even if it would entertain us, and let us cut to the chase. The scriptures should speak directly to us. Before its introduction, before its exemplification, before its application, before anything else, the text must cut like a sword to the heart. What are the words of scripture saying? That is what counts. In…
It began as a response to the Covid-19 virus. I had just finished teaching a three-part series on David C. Ford’s translation of Saint John Chrysostom’s Letters to Saint Olympia (St. Vladimir’s Press, 2016). I did not realize at the time how timely the subject of despondency (depression) was. But then the Covid-19 virus shut down everything—even our worship and fellowship at St. John’s the Evangelist Orthodox Church in Tempe, AZ. As I read the many requests for prayers on St. John’s social network, I wondered what I could offer to my hurting fellow parishioners. I decided to post comments on Dr. David C. Ford’s excellent translation of the St. John’s letters. I highlighted each of these entries with a…