Posts by Be Transfigured Ministries
Celebrate Properly
The entire Orthodox World (those on the New Calendar) celebrated yesterday. If you went to celebrate the end of the fast, you celebrated the wrong thing. We say we celebrated the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, which we did. Today is a fast day since it is Wednesday. If you awoke this morning…
Read MoreNo Harm in Forgiveness
It is no secret that every relationship has struggle. We hurt each other, normally unintentionally. We say hurtful words. We sometimes get into patterns of anger that hinder us from reconciliation. We think, wrongly, that if we forgive each other, we will be the loser in the argument. Brethren, my joy is the joy of…
Read MoreLosing the Church
What does it mean to lose the Church? What does it mean to have the Church taken away from you? We live in a society which believes the church belongs to us. Our parents started the church. Our ancestors built the church. Parish councils over the years hire and fire clergy. With such a strong…
Read MoreMan of Your Word
Integrity is ‘everything’ today. If people cannot trust that we will do what we say we will do, things begin to collapse. We see this to be true, especially in politics. Politicians rarely do what they say. Instead, they say what they think we want to hear, then do what they want to do. It…
Read MoreGuilt by Association
When I was young, I was spending time with a friend when we found ourselves in a bit of trouble. We were walking past a swimming pool where a group of people had jumped the fence for a night swim. We knew the group of people, so we were chatting with them when we were…
Read MoreI Prefer Christ
Drive through any American city and read the signs in front of Churches. You will find that many of the signs focus on the benefit of being a Christian. Want a better life? Join a Church. Want to find peace after suffering trauma? Join a Church. Want to have healing from your addiction? Join a…
Read MoreEpisode 401 – The Light of Christ
On the Feast of Transfiguration, the Church celebrates the Light of Christ. On Mount Tabor Christ appeared as bright as the sun, but the disciples were not harmed because God protected them. God allows us to see His Light as much as we can bear. The world is competing with God by showing us images…
Read MoreNow Serving
Continuing where we left off yesterday with accusations against the Church about ritual, today I want to discuss what I sense is a growing conflict between being in Church for Divine Liturgy and being outside the Church service others. There appears even among leaders of the Church that serving others is more important than attending…
Read MoreOrder VS Chaos
I hear it often. The Orthodox Church is accused of worrying more about ritual than ‘The Word’ when it comes to worship. True, our Liturgy is filled with ritual elements. The same can be said for our protestant brothers and sisters who indict us. Just because something has ritual doesn’t mean it isn’t based on…
Read MoreEmpty Words
Whether you understand it or not, your faith speaks aloud to those around you. There is a reason the old saying is, “Actions speak louder than words.” It rarely matters what we believe if our actions are not generated from that belief. If our words have no meaning, they are of no benefit to those…
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