“Thoughts in Christ”

She didn’t realize the implications of her request. It annoyed the other disciples and surprised our Lord Jesus. Here is what seems to be an incidental anecdote hardly worth including in the serious business of salvation, which is the major theme of this and the other gospels, and yet it has great value for us to explore.

At a basic level here is a…

Twelve men were selected to match the twelve tribes of Israel, for this was a second and ultimate covenant inaugurated by the Son of God. Somebody would take the place of Judas. The basic qualification was that he had to have witnessed the many miracles the Lord Jesus performed since the inauguration of His ministry and most important of all, to…

People nowadays are just too busy to consider death. It’s an irritation they brush aside and avoid thinking about. Oh, death does happen, but mostly to strangers or on TV or in the movies. That’s just entertainment. It doesn’t count. There’s the matter of casualties in Iraq or Afghanistan, but those are mere statistics. Put it out of your mind.

At…

St. Paul may have in mind the temple in Jerusalem. In a dozen more years it would be leveled to the ground by the Roman conquerors. It was the only place for his people to offer sacrifices. Animals would be slaughtered daily and offered to the Lord as expiation for their sins. Only the spotless healthy beasts and birds were worthy to be put to death…

Well, really what else can you do with dead wood? It’s a messy job to rake it all up on a pile and burn it. Jesus is talking not about wood, but human beings. It brings us to understand some problems we have about living in Christ during this lifetime and what happens in the next world. In this life we are baptized into Christ and blessed with the…

St. Nicodemos the Hagiorite in writing an eloquent Encomium as a tribute to St. Symeon the New Theologian addressed the Church on earth and the Church triumphant and asked them to consider the achievements of St. Symeon. He listed six ranks or levels of people who are being saved, maintaining that the “New Theologian” had passed through all six…

The episode of the Garasene demoniacs occurs twice in the Sunday gospel readings. In one version two demon-possessed men appear, in the other, only one. Orthodox preachers protest that there is only so much one can explain about an incident in the ministry of Christ so remote from our times and understanding of mental disturbance. It’s not just the…

How much stronger is this warning than that in the Ten Commandments: “Honor your father and mother.” It transcends respect, demanding obedience and loyalty. You can hear the outcry of protest from young Americans. It’s not our way. We are free to do as we please, even when it hurts our parents. From “Abies Irish Rose” through “The Graduate,” toss in…

Does it strike you as strange that the writer, St. John, would go from the meaning of love to the warning against deceivers, and antichrists? Yet it makes sense. The church or any church he is writing to being filled with love for God and one another will have a tendency to gentleness. That tender affection will tend to open itself to those who are…

Many Christians assume by Spirit, even Holy Spirit, is meant an idea or principle, an influence on us. The Holy Spirit is in every sense Person equal with Father and Son in the Holy Trinity. As in our prayer, He is “everywhere present and fills all things.” How He does this is a great mystery, but a great truth also. “All things” includes you and…

Our Church is passing through a crisis of Spirit that has affected and infected so many faithful Orthodox Christians in these days of our lives. It’s natural to look to our leaders, the hierarchy and priests throughout the continent for leadership and guidance. They might find comfort and inspiration from St. Paul as he encouraged his disciple whom…

At the time it seemed like a wise idea, the time being after 9/11 when our nation felt the initial anger over the daring deeds done to our buildings and the idea to mark off four rogue nations and select Iraq as the primary target. President Bush invaded that nation and toppled Saddam Hussein from his monument. Americans cheered to witness that…

Here is a touching insight into the personality of St. Paul. He was appealing for a contribution to the Church in Jerusalem, hoping to inspire the Corinthians to be generous in their offering. The Jerusalem Christians were mostly Jews who weren’t sure if the Greeks were worthy of contributing to what were Jewish obligations. All Jews in the diaspora…

The billionaire owner of the huge hotel chain with her husband’s name, Leona Helmsley, died and left a controversial will. In it she provided nothing for two of her grandchildren, twelve million dollars for the care of her pet dog, and three million for the maintenance of the mausoleum for her remains. Her ego and strength of character were…

It seems we’re always explaining the unusual adornment of crowns that the Orthodox Christian Church uses in our wedding sacrament. It fascinates the non-Orthodox visitors and gives them something to watch as we call upon the Holy Spirit to fill the couple with grace sufficient to proceed through their life together enduring and overcoming all…

I confess it. I’m envious of the megachurches. A priest friend said his cousin is one of six full-time ministers to a 5,000 member phenomenon not far from one of our largest Orthodox Church in America parishes, with membership only in the mid-hundreds. I learned what they do to reach out to the public when I was into a post-graduate course in a…

Emily Dickenson is among my favorite American poets. I appreciate her near monastic life style and relish her sparse verse. In the poem above, however, she reveals her religious background by demonstrating the limits of reason. It’s typical of us all who are products of our educational system, emphasizing and accepting nothing beyond the expanses of…

The kingdom of David is to be restored, and it is coming to pass because the Messiah long awaited by the Jews is here and now, in Jesus Christ. “Out of His roots,” or from His Being we receive the Holy Spirit. In communion with Him we partake of those precious divine gifts which God wants us so badly to receive. As St. Augustine put it: “God is more…

There are many ways to state the same problem: How does one retain the peace, joy, inspiration and faith accrued within the mind and soul? What can be done to hold onto those glorious gifts of grace from the time I drive from the church’s parking lot until the next time I enter? Like the song of Elton John for Lady Diana’s funeral, “Candle in the…

We Orthodox Christians claim to be the Church of the Holy Spirit par excellence, and indeed we are. Unlike most others we follow the sacrament of baptism immediately with the gift of the Holy Spirit that comes to us by Chrismation. It’s done in order that the newborn infant is not deprived of those gifts, and that he or she is not deprived of the…