The Lord God stands in the midst of the Divine Council and judges among the gods.”How long will you rule unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?Defend the poor and fatherless, maintain the rights of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Psalm 82:1-4) […]
Homily – “What do you want?” vs. “Who are you?”
January 12, 2014 By
Homily for the Sunday after Christmas [“On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…”] It is common for us to lament the commercialization of Christmas, complaining that we have lost the “reason for the season.” I think this is true. Many of us are thankful that we are on the “Old […]
Orthodox Help on Keeping Resolutions (from Sunday’s bulletin)
January 11, 2014 By
As Orthodox Christians, we can draw on a lot of wisdom on how to improve our lives. As we go into the New Year and all its hopes, let me share some nuggets that I have found useful. Resolution (i.e. “willpower”) is not enough. Our faith is built around this reality. If we want to […]
Day Thirty-six – Hats
December 20, 2013 By
I was born and raised in Georgia. Growing up there, just about everyone wore baseball caps. It makes sense – they are really useful. They are the best hair-style, bar none. Why mess with your hair when you can just put a hat on and go? I should point out that there were some […]
Day Thirty-five – Strange Christmas Traditions from around the World
December 20, 2013 By
Today I got to pick up my oldest son, Nick from the airport. He’s an amazing young man; has a sound spiritual life, loves God, has a really strong allegorical mind, and is getting things done as a first year at the Air Force Academy. I love to read his stories. He writes really well […]
Day Thirty-four – Log Cabins
December 18, 2013 By
Have you ever heard of “thin places”? The idea is that there are places where the barrier between our world and another are so thin as to allow us to sense its presense. Mythology is full of stories about “normal people’ finding adventure (and often doom!) by slipping into places like fairyland and the […]
Day Twenty-six – Oil Lamps
December 10, 2013 By
Tending the Flame of Anor I’m pretty granola when it comes to certain things. This is especially the case when it comes to church. Being crunchy and being Orthodox go together like cream in coffee. Because the Glory of God resonates throughout creation, objective science gives use plenty of reason to prefer the old ways; […]
Day twenty-four – The Zygote
December 8, 2013 By
On the New Calendar, today (12/8) celebrates the conception of the Birthgiver of God, when Joachim and Anna conceived Mary, the girl who would grow up to become the Mother of God. How hard it must be for modern men and women to understand the beauty of this feast. For them, attention would be drawn […]
Day Twenty-three – Christmas Trees
December 7, 2013 By
Despite my “Bah Humbug” post about gift giving, I actually love the rituals of Christmas. The home ones are especially nice: hanging stockings (made by my Mom for my Pani, each of my kids, and me), putting up the Nativity banners, setting up the Nativity creche (are they statues if all the figures are pillows?), […]
Day Twenty-two – Saint Nicholas
December 6, 2013 By
There is amusing meme bouncing around Facebook that plays on St. Nicholas’ defense of Orthodoxy against Arianism during the first Ecumincal Council (325): he punch-uated this defense by striking Arius in the face. Both Christ and His Mother confirmed the righteousness of his action when they restored him to his episcopal dignity (the Emperor St. […]
