Reflections in Christ

“God is wonderful in His saints, the God of Israel!”

As we well know, Saint Nicholas was a bishop who served in Asia Minor in the opening decades of the fourth century.  As a hierarch of the Church, he was a man who had authority, meaning that he was someone to be respected and obeyed.  This has been a characteristic of the Church’s hierarchy…

We recently celebrated one of the Twelve Great Feast Days of the Church’s liturgical year—the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple.  The festal cycle of the Church sanctifies time.  By this we mean that the tedious flow of time is imbued with sacred content as we celebrate the events of the past now made present through liturgical worship. …

One of the most challenging narratives in the Gospels is the healing of the Gadarene demoniac [Mark 5:1-20; Matthew 8:28-34; Luke 8:26-39]. This dramatic event, which reveals the power of Christ over the demons, will appear to the 21st century mind as either archaic or even primitive. We may listen with respect and sing “Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory…

“And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature” [Luke 8:14].

There is an interior connection between the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man [Luke 16:19-31], for the “rich man”…

On one of my neighborhood walks, I came across some more “sidewalk graffiti” in front of the Williams Street Elementary school here in Norwood.  Of the many new slogans scrawled in chalk beneath one’s feet as one walks along reading the words on the pavement, I encountered “See Good in People.”  (It hasn’t rained for a while, so by now I have…

We are in the midst of the post-festal celebration of the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross — to give the feast its full title.  On this feast, we liturgically commemorate and venerate the Cross that is placed in the middle of the church.  The feast then continues through a full “octave” of celebration, thus making it…

Last Sunday—August 6—we celebrated the Great Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, which we will continue to celebrate through Sunday 13, the Leavetaking of the Feast.  The mysterious presence of Beauty is revealed on Mount Tabor in an overwhelming manner as Christ is transfigured, resplendent in divine glory.  This is the beauty of the…

Embedded at the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, Christ teaches us that “no one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon” [Matthew 6:24].

In these words, Jesus confronts us with an “either/or” choice.  The “either/or” dilemma…

Yesterday—June 4, 2017—we celebrated the Great Feast of Pentecost.  And it seems fitting for me to share a fine passage from Father John Breck, who wrote a summary paragraph of the role and work of the Holy Spirit in the divine economy, and in the life of Christian believers.  This passage gives us a sense of the extraordinarily rich and varied…

According to the mind of the Church, the Risen Lord is also the Ascended Lord.  In the words of Father Georges Florovsky, “In the Ascension resides the meaning and the fullness of Christ’s Resurrection.”  Though the visible presence of the Risen Lord ended 40 days after His Resurrection, that did not mean that His actual presence was…

Among the Myrrhbearing Women, it is clear that Mary Magdalene is something of a “first among equals.”  In the Synoptic Gospels she is always listed first among the other women whose names are recorded by the Evangelists [Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10].  In the Gospel According to Saint John, she is the only one of these remarkable women…

The Orthodox Church’s claim that Pascha is “the Feast of Feasts” is far more than poetic rhetoric. On the most basic level, it reminds us that the very existence of the Church is dependent upon the reality of Christ’s bodily resurrection “from the dead.” The Feast of Pascha makes that abundantly clear with an intensity that can be…

I came across the phrase “earthly life ceases” at the beginning of an explanation of Holy Week written by the late Father Thomas Hopko.  What could he mean by saying that “earthly life ceases?”  It is certainly not meant to be taken “literally” because, if so, Father Thomas would not be much of a thinker or theologian!  The phrase “earthly life…

“For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comprehension” [2 Corinthians 4:17].

The Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross extends throughout the entire week.  Thus, we continue to “bow down” and venerate the Cross whenever we gather together for any services throughout this week up to, but not…

“Enlighten me through prayers and fasting” [Forgiveness Vespers].

Within the context of Great Lent and our ascetical effort during this season, commonly called fasting, I would like to raise the issue of not only fasting from certain foods and drink—the most basic aspect of asceticism because of our sheer dependence on food and drink—but also of…

A “good beginning” to Great Lent can go a long way toward a “good ending.”  Today, on “Pure Monday,” it certainly may seem premature—if not a bit ludicrous—to already allude to the end of Great Lent.  We are just beginning our Lenten journey, and the end is not quite in sight!  But I bring this up with a pastoral purpose in mind.  I have, in…

I thought to compile a list of more-or-less Orthodox “lenten classics” upon which you may want to draw as Great Lent approaches.  I have read and re-read these books through the years and they have all had an impact on my spiritual formation.

Each book is quite accessible—no dry theology, just a variety of lively approaches to God and the spiritual…

On Sunday, January 29, the Sunday of Zacchaeus, we heard the first “signal” that Great Lent is just around the corner, beginning this year as it does on Monday, February 27.  With this in mind, perhaps we can further reflect on this marvelous passage from Saint Luke’s Gospel in which our Lord encounters Zacchaeus the tax collector [Luke…

In the Parable of the Great Supper—Luke 14:16-24—we find a revealing glimpse into humankind’s inexhaustible propensity for making excuses.  This unending flow of excuses is often cloaked as tightly-argued rationalizations, served up with an unassailable logic, and promoted with sincere conviction. Psychologically, excuse-making is not to be confused…

The Gospel reading for the Great Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord is Matthew 2:1-12.  This passage proclaims the Good News that the Savior was born in Bethlehem according to the biblical prophecies.  The star guides the Magi and they, in turn, bring their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn Child in acknowledgment that He is…