SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“All that we read in holy Scripture for our instruction and salvation demands an attentive ear. You have just heard [Luke 24:13-35] how the eyes of those two disciples whom the Lord joined on their way were kept from recognizing Him. He found them in despair of the redemption that was in Christ, supposing Him now to have suffered and died as a man, not imagining Him to live forever as the Son of God. So He opened to them the Scriptures and showed them that it was necessary fo

“In the Trisagion Prayers, we invoke the Spirit of God who is “present everywhere and fills all things.” Thus, we believe that the Spirit works in all and through all. And so we affirm what Paul declared in Philippians: “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). But where and when are we to will and do what God desires? Surely the Spirit is present in times and places other than worship. Surely the Spirit is active in and thro

“In this passage [Luke 20:20-26] Jesus points to the image (Grk εἰκών, eikōn) of Caesar on the coin. This same Greek word is used in Gen 1:26 (LXX) to state that humanity is made in the “image” of God. Jesus is making a subtle yet powerful contrast: Caesar’s image is on the denarius, so he can lay claim to money through taxation, but God’s image is on humanity, so He can lay claim to each individual life.” (NET Bible, Luke 20:24) “This, by the way, is a key piece of what it m

“ ‘So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God’ [James 1:19-20]. The wrath of man is unjust, ungracious, and severe. It proceeds from uncontrolled anger, not from God's judgment….Because a diseased mind has no control over its own judgment, it thinks that whatever anger suggests must be right….For us to discern the righteousness of God requires patience, graciousness

“Although it is certain that everything that exists or happens in this world is ordered by God’s providence, nevertheless certain things show quite openly that they are arranged by the governance of providence, while others are unfolded in so obscure and incomprehensible a fashion that the reason of divine providence lies hidden deep within them.” (Origen) “Consider the story of the Patriarch Joseph. Betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused by his master’s

“God structures the world so that love for others is the true foundation of every flourishing human interaction. True and loving acts arise when we discern the truth and walk uprightly…True lovingkindness toward others, as a response to God’s love, is one of those “works of the Lord,” and therefore spiritually healthy.” (Dynamis 4/2/2020) “Jesus laid the foundation for the church through relationships. His influence was (and is) indelible because He changed people.” (David Ki

“We must remember that both in St Paul’s letters and in Hebrews, there is no playing off of Father and Son. Some have wrongly drawn a cartoon of a vengeful Father unjustly demanding the blood of His Son. No, God initiates, offering His best gift, and Christ takes on death, willingly atoning for sin by His suffering…God does not demand blood for His own arbitrary purposes; yet He does not simply declare us forgiven without the crucifixion and descent into hades. We remain in t

“We all have a general calling, which is to draw closer and closer to the Lord…” (Edith M. Humphrey) “God the Father loves humankind no differently than He loves the Son and the Holy Spirit, as He draws us into the perfect communion of the divine life, all the while respectful of our creaturely freedom.” (Vigen Guroian) “It is important to remember that our God did not create us as puppets, but rather as persons with the freedom to respond, or not, to His invitation to ente

“ ‘Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus’ (Acts 4:13). Uneducated and untrained refers specifically to religious education. This lack of religious training stands in contrast to the expertise of the Sanhedrin. The wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit transcend earthly religious training, for God works in the humble and simple as well as in those

“If you would enter into the mystery, then, like Christ Himself, you must become small, weak, poor, misunderstood, and willing to be broken. You cannot know Him if you refuse to be like Him. This is the only path that is truly Christian. Outside the mystery, there is nothing to be known, nothing that will save.” (Father Stephen Freeman) “And what do we make of the changing of the water into wine? Our limited ability as human beings is contravened by the grace and love of Chr