The word of the day is “offer.”  For the Orthodox, today is the mid-point of Great Lent, the Sunday of the Adoration of the Cross.  The Cross we exalt today is the center of the faith.  According to our reading of Hebrews 4:14-5:6, it was by the Cross that the Lord Jesus became our High Priest (OSB 4:14). Thus, the apostle writes that God appointed Christ to offer “gifts and sacrifices for sin” as a priest (NKJV vs. 5:1).  Today, we view the Cross through the lens of the apostle’s teaching of Christ, the High Priest. For the Orthodox, the Lord’s death on the Cross was no impersonal payment, no supernatural transaction to balance the scales of divine justice. It was a…
The word of the day is “cast.” There are things that others can take away from us.  There are things that others cannot take away from us but that we can give away. And there are things that can neither be taken from us nor given away. Today, in our reading of Hebrews 10:32-38, the apostle urges us, “Do not cast away your confidence which has a great reward” (OSB Vs. 33).  This verse prompts us to reflect on the things that are in our control to keep, the things that require our endurance to preserve. In today’s reading, the apostle encourages his flock to persevere in endurance. The Greek word means “remaining” or “persisting.” The term especially refers to bearing trials…
The word of the day is “but .” Both wickedness and righteousness earn a just reward that is suited to them.  In our reading of Proverbs 10:31-11:12, we learn this principle of God’s justice. The wise sage of Proverbs writes, “The righteousness of the upright saves them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their own schemes (OAB vs. 6). Today we examine the contrast between the consequences of following the path of wisdom and straying from it in the way of wickedness. The Treachery of Wickedness In today’s reading, we find that wickedness is full of schemes, plots, and treachery. By these measures, evil strives to get ahead in this world.  But the sage warns that these designs are useless for two reasons.…
The word of the day is “folly.” Yesterday, we heard Wisdom summon us to her banquet. Today, in our reading of Proverbs 9:12-18, we hear a corresponding invitation of a foolish woman.  This woman, whom we will call “Folly,” calls out to all who pass by, “Whoever is simple let him turn in here” (NKJV vs. 16). Today we will contrast the appeals of these two representatives of Wisdom and foolishness and the consequences of answering each. The Enticements of Wisdom and Folly Both Wisdom and Folly offer enticements to visit them. Wisdom sends out her maidens with the invitation to “turn aside to me” (OSB 9:4).  Likewise, Folly sits at the highest places of the city and cries out…
The word of the day is “seek.” Today in our reading of Proverbs 8:1-21, wisdom assures us that “those who seek me diligently will find me” (vs. 21). As we continue our Lenten time of prayer and fasting, we might reflect on this matter of seeking. To do so, let’s jump forward to the Gospel of John and the story of the first followers of Jesus, a passage that gives us clarity about seeking and finding. The Lord Asks, “What Do You Seek?” Recall that in John Chapter 1, John the Baptist gave his prophetic witness, “I have seen and testified that this (Jesus) is the Son of God” (John 1:44), and again he said, “Behold the Lamb of God.”…
The word of the day is “angels.” So many voices are shouting at us these days that we are bound to distrust, discount, distrust, and disregard them all.  But do the words of the Lord also get lost amidst all the messages that assail us?  Today in our reading of Hebrews 1:10-2:3, the apostle compares the word of angels with the Word of the Lord. He writes, “If the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at first began to be spoken by the Lord” (NKJV 2:2-4). Today’s reading gives us reason to pay careful attention to “every word which proceeds from the…
The word of the day is “beware.” “An evil heart of unbelief:” who among us would admit that we are susceptible to having such a hardened heart (OSB vs. 12-13)?  After all, we are members of the Body of Christ and are “partakers of Christ’s nature” (OSB vs. 14). But in our reading of Hebrews 3:12-16, the apostle warns about possessing a heart that has “departed from the living God” (OSB vs. 12). He writes, “Beware lest anyone of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (OSB vs. 13). We Can Possess and Lose It Our reading today warns against over-confidence.  False assurance treats faith as a permanent possession, something that cannot be taken away from us. Yes, we have…
The word of the day is “burn.” Today in our reading of Proverbs 6:20-7:1, we hear a graphic bit of wisdom, “Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? (NKJV vs. 27).  We shudder at the thought. We feel the fiery heat burning through our clothing into our chest. We smell the searing flesh. We feel the pain of a thousand knives slicing into our tender body. Who would do such a thing? The wise sage of Proverbs observes that getting involved in an adulterous affair is like clutching live coals to our chest.  Those who commit adultery, the sage promises, will be severely burned. Adulterers will earn “wounds and dishonor,” “reproach that will not be…
The word of the day is “slumber.” Most of us have times when the fervor of our faith dies down, and we find that we are just going through the motions of religious practice. In those times of spiritual lethargy, we are sleepwalking in the Spirit. Today’s reading of Proverbs 6:3-20 includes a warning against the lethargy that rests and sleeps when it is time for activity and work. The sage writes, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man” (NKJV vs. 10).  Today, we will apply this admonition to the spiritual vice of “sloth.” We will…
The word of the day is “eyes.”  We attribute importance to the events that advance the world’s history.  And we count the occasions of births, graduations, weddings, and funerals as having special meaning. But do the seemingly trivial moments of our lives have any lasting significance? Does what we say and do on ordinary days count for anything?  In our reading of Proverbs 5:15-6:3, the wise poet teaches that the Almighty sees all we do from day to day.  Nothing escapes His scrutiny. The sage writes, “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths” (NKJV vs. 2). Today, we consider what it means that God sees everything we do, hears everything we…