Archive for January 2018

I often hear Christians challenge the “need” for “organized religion” in their life. Many believe the Christian journey is about a singular relationship with Jesus Christ. Many believe that so long as they believe in the hear that Jesus is Lord, there is no “need” to be part of a Church community. In fact this…

The Church helps us see to silliness in having pride when it comes to our spiritual journey. “Thank You God! I’m not like all the other sinners in the Church!” If we ever witnessed a Church leader begin prayer with such a ridiculous prayer, we would turn away and run for the hills. On the…

Every now and then the Church is thrust into a debate by people demanding a response. Last week was the annual March for Life, and throughout the day my social media feed was filled with challenges to those who declare themselves “Pro-Life” and against abortion. Of course this is just one of the hot button…

On the Sunday before Triodion the Church brings our attention to Zacchaeus. He was a short, rich, sinful tax collector who wanted to see Jesus. Since he couldn’t see over the crowd, he climbed above the crowd to see Jesus. When Jesus came to stay at Zacchaeus’ house, Zacchaeus promised to give half of everything…

Much ink has been spilled over the centuries attempting to prove the existence of God. Philosophers have published thousands of pages debating the existence of God. Hollywood has developed miles of film featuring conversion stories that have come as a result of debate. Truth is, however, you can’t prove God. Today’s Gospel lesson (you can…

From the time Jesus began to teach, He invited us to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4.17) This invitation from our Lord is crucial to our experiencing His love as heaven rather than hell. Since our ancestors fell trap to the devil’s temptation in the Garden, we humans have been…

Many times I have heard that Jesus died as punishment for our sins. I have heard people say that He had to be killed (sacrificed) so we could live. I keep hearing about the death of Jesus as if that were the reason He came. The Church teaches He came to unite humanity with divinity,…

Today is the Feast of Saint Gregory of Nyssa, and since I personally know the current Bishop of Nyssa, today always plays a special reminder for me about our ancient unbroken history as Orthodox Christians. We speak about Apostolic Tradition, but we rarely take notice of it when it occurs in our presence. If you’ve…

“After me comes a man who ranks before me.” (John 1.30) With these words John the Baptist pointed his disciples toward Jesus Christ. He had prepared them to seek the Messiah, Who is Christ. He had promised them that someone greater than he was coming. Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of Epiphany, the Baptism of…

In the next few days, Orthodox Christians will be celebrating the Feast of Epiphany (also called Theophany) which commemorates the Baptism of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. During this Feast many references will be made to repentance. “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” But, what does it mean to repent?…