Today’s topic is immortality. Priests spend a lot of time immersed in the reality of death, and yet we simlutaneously proclaim the truth of Christ’s victory over death. How can a rational mind keep such concepts juxtaposed without compromise or delusion? Three quick thoughts (as I prepare to leave the Holy Land for Constantinople): – […]
Podcast: Rapturemania and the Underground Church w/ Fr. John Peck
October 2, 2014 By
20140929 Rapturemania and the Underground Church The rapture: why are people excited about it and what’s it all about? Why is the Church facing hard times and how can/should it respond? Fr. John Peck and I talk about these things, an alternative approach to catechizing and doing missions, and the best Nicolas Cage movies […]
Homily – Saint Gregory of Palamas
March 16, 2014 By
We have arrived at the second week of Great Lent. It is like the the second lap of a hard race, one we run to win. How are we doing? The sudden aches of the first week have receded, but we struggle to find our pace. My mirror. The real mirror is the prayer we […]
War, Ukraine, and Orthodox Epistemology
March 13, 2014 By
“Love your enemies… unless they invade your ancestral homeland, overthrow a government you prefer, or enact policies you find abhorrent.”The Antigospel of Satan (i.e. “Things Jesus NEVER said”). Introduction: the temptation of demonization in times of warI have seen what what war does to the souls of good people. Far too often, the temptations of […]
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 […]
Teaching the Divine Liturgy – Meditations
December 22, 2013 By
Here are my notes from the teaching Divine Liturgy served on 22 December 2013 Prologue: Please meet the love of my life…I was nervous the entire week leading up this “Teaching Liturgy.” It was hard to figure out why. After all, I’ve been here for more than six years. That’s hundreds of homilies. I […]
Day Thirty-seven – Candy Canes
December 21, 2013 By
I don’t know if I’ve ever eaten a candy cane. I tried one once, and it was way too sweet. We have about a dozen of them in the house. We use them for tree ornaments. They are like family heirlooms; I’m pretty sure I got them from my mom. She probably got them from […]
Day Thirty-one – Idolatry
December 15, 2013 By
This may come as a shock to some folks, but Christians generally accept the notion that there are many gods. In the Hebrew Old Testament, the Hebrew word “elohim“ is used to represent the One True God, angels, the sons of God, the gods of foreign nations, the good and bad gods of the […]
Day Six – Glory
November 21, 2013 By
We just finished celebrating the All Night Vigil for the Feast of the Holy Archangel Michael and All the Bodiless Hosts (our parish feast). One of the neat things about the Vigil service is that it is loaded with hymnography; Lord I Call, Litya, Aposticha, Canon, Praises, plus Tropars and the Kondak, all of them […]
From our Parish Service Book: Twelve Things
October 9, 2013 By
Twelve Things I Wish I’d Known:Learning how to Live and Love Orthodox Worship Welcome to the God-protected, God-loving parish of St. Michael’s! Here are some things that we hope will increase the profundity of your worship experience here, whether you are an experienced member of this parish, a visitor from another Orthodox parish, or this […]
