Reflections in Christ

Recently, I was browsing through some journals at a bookstore, and I picked up the current issue of one of my favorite religious journals, First Things.  I came across a promotion of a new book by an African Roman Catholic bishop whose name escapes me.  The title of the book was God or Nothing.  I was immediately attracted by that…

Recently, I read an article that dealt with the issue of the possible convergence between theology and science.  The specific theme of the article was an analysis of the current Pope’s remarks on the compatibility of belief in God and evolution.  Not addressing that specific issue here, I did want to share an interesting metaphor attributed to…

“Let us examine not the outer garments, but the conscience of each person” (Saint John Chrysostom).

It is true that Jesus told His disciples that “you always will have the poor with you.”  But He went on to say that “whenever you will, you can do good to them” (Mark 14:7).  Though Jesus allowed and defended the “costly” pre-burial anointing He…

“If ninety-nine of us are good and saintly but one of our brothers or sisters is far from our solace and support, in sin and darkness, be sure that God is not among us ninety-nine, but He has gone to find our brother whom we have lost and forgotten.”—Saint Nikolai Velimirovic (+1956)

These deeply Gospel-inspired words are clearly based on Christ’s…

The Great Feast of the Elevation of the Cross raises a myriad of themes—Biblical, historical, theological, etc.—upon which to meditate.  One such theme is what we call a typological reading of the Scriptures.  This is a profound way of discovering the inner connection between persons, events, and places of the Old Testament—what we would call…

Contemporary scholars debate the meaning of the word “sign” in the words of Christ found in the above passage that describes, in highly symbolic terms, His parousia or return in glory.  This sign, whatever it may be, will be impossible to miss or misinterpret.  It will overwhelm those who are present to observe it and stand in its shadow, so to…

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” [Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:18-19].

Tuesday, September 1, 2015, marks the beginning of the Church Year.  This is an overlooked commemoration, but I do believe that with more attention, it can be an important day/date in our ecclesial lives, for the simple reason that…

Regardless of how well one may know the Gospels, it is challenging to form a clear image of “what Jesus was like.” This is not in reference to His deeds and words, for these are amply recorded in the four canonical Gospels. I am referring more to what we would today describe as someone’s “personality.” Are we able to get behind the…

“The love of money is the root of all evils” (1 Timotny 6:10).

In all of his epistles, the Apostle Paul proves to be an admirable pastor.  His epistles are filled with theological insights, moral/ethical teachings, exhortations, and even chastisements that are meant to be practical and applicable to the life-situations within the local churches…

In several days, we will celebrate the Great Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, a Feast of light and glory celebrated every year on August 6.  The account of the Transfiguration can be found in three of the Gospels - Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8 and Luke 9:28-36.  There is also a powerful eyewitness account of the event written by the Apostle…

On August 1, we will commemorate the Seven Holy Maccabee Children, Solomone their mother, and Eleazar their teacher, all of whom were put to death in the year 168 BC.  As such, they were protomartyrs before the time of Christ and the later martyrs of the Christian era.  They died because they refused to reject the precepts of the Law when ordered to…

In the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Saint John we find the account of the healing of the paralytic by the Pool of Bethesda near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem and the profound discourse that follows.  Archeologists have fairly recently discovered this pool, demonstrating the accuracy of Saint John’s description.  The paralytic had taken his place…

The liturgical book that we began with the Matins of Pascha is called the Pentecostarion.  This theologically rich book contains the hymnography for all the days of Pascha, and the Feasts of Ascension and Pentecost.  But it does not end with the Leavetaking of Pentecost.  We draw from the Pentecostarion one last time on the Sunday of All Saints,…

The Sunday of the Great Feast of Pentecost is named on the calendar as the Feast of the Holy Trinity or simply Trinity Sunday.  This emphasis on the Holy Trinity is based on the element of divine revelation that Pentecost discloses, for the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world through the mediation of the Church as gathered in the upper room is…

“And after He had dismissed the crowds, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray” [Matthew 14:23].

According to the Gospel of Saint Matthew 14:22-23, Jesus walked upon the sea and subdued the wind that was threatening to capsize the boat of the disciples, after He had fed the multitude of five thousand with two fish and five loaves of bread. …

As we approach the final days of Great Lent, I would like to turn my attention to a theme that surfaces often in my teaching and preaching in addition to my reflection and reading—the contemporary preoccupation and obsession with the “self.”  From therapists to talk-show hosts and even “spiritual teachers,” we are enjoined to “discover,” to “get in…

In the Orthodox Church, the Cross and Resurrection of the Lord are bound together in a unified mystery, though they remain distinct events in the unfolding of the divine economy.  As Archimandrite Roman Braga writes, “The Cross, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ are of great importance in the history of our salvation. …

O holy and honored Trinity, as we now enter upon the third week of the Fast, keep us safe from harm and condemnation.  Enable us rightly to pass through the time that remains, and to fulfill all Thy commandments so that, offering up our hymns of praise, with a pure conscience we may attain the glorious Resurrection [Matins, Monday of the Third…

I am sure that many Psalter readers have already come across Psalm 42, which actually begins Book II of the Psalter according to the Hebrew canonical division.  This psalm begins with a beautiful image that has captured the minds and hearts of theologians, artists and believers throughout the centuries:  “As a hart longs for flowing streams, so…

“Let us joyfully begin the all-hallowed season of abstinence, and let us shine with the bright radiance of the holy commandments of Christ our God, with the brightness of love and the splendor of prayer, and with the purity of holiness and the strength of good courage.  So, clothed in raiment of light, let us hasten to the Holy Resurrection on the…