SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“…even if we have spent time pursuing our deepest desires through the means that were not set up by God, even if we have become addicted by them, we can also repent and turn to Him in faithfulness. It is not wrong to do the things necessary for survival and even flourishing here on earth, but if we put our trust in those things to satiate the hunger for eternity that God has planted deep within us, then we will find ourselves in slavery to those pursuits. There is never enoug

“We put a lot of time and effort into achieving balance in our lives. What do we mean by balance? Is our notion of what balance is for our lives the same as someone else’s notion of what balance is for theirs? What does a life lived in balance look like for a Christian, or perhaps better phrased, what should it look like? Our quest for balance can actually become an obstacle to our faith if we consider God, prayer, and worship one of many things to balance on a given day. If

“The very metaphor of war ought to make us pause. The phrase “culture wars” is an oxymoron: culture is about nourishment and cultivation, whereas war inevitably involves destruction and the abandonment of the creative impulse.” (Gregory Wolfe) “It is pretty hard not to notice the divisive political polarity in America these days. All sides hold to their own news sources, have different fears and concerns, are not willing to compromise or cooperate on anything, claim different

“In theory, our modern culture believes that relationships with other people are merely psychological phenomena – they are all in our head. There is occasional research to try and establish some notion of extra-psychological relationship (such as ESP), but even that is largely an extension of psychology. But there is an entire realm of human experience that such a belief ignores. And it is an experience that lies at the very heart of classical Christianity. This experience is

“Redemption has a technical meaning relative to the freeing of slaves. Here, the bondage is to sins; the act of releasing is forgiveness; the price of redemption is blood—the human life of Christ given over to death for the sake of new life. This beginning of life in Christ is not merely legal, nor instantaneous, but living and dynamic.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Ephesians 1:7-8) “Forgiveness of sins follows redemption, for there would be no forgiveness of sin for anyone before

“ ‘Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’ (Luke 12:51-53). “There are two kinds of peace. False peace…is a shallow harmony that r

“Christ accepts death on the Cross neither to receive the Father's punishment on our behalf, nor to satisfy the Father's need for blood-justice (as if God would demand such things), but so that by entering death as the divine Son of God, He can destroy this last enemy, which is death itself." (Orthodox Study Bible, Matthew 27:50) “Christ, crucified and risen, is our Paschal lamb, our Passover. United to Him in baptism, our life becomes an unending deliverance from evil…Evil i

“Christ's empathy with sinners rests on His being tempted in every way we are…In the case of men it is impossible that one should know the ill-treatment of the ill-treated who has not had experience, and gone through the actual sensations. Our High Priest endured all things. Therefore He endured first and then ascended, that He might be able to sympathize with us.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Hebrews 4:15, St. John Chrysostom) “Compassion differs from empathy. The critical element

“Our genes, our neurons, our basic instincts, and so on, affect how we function qualitatively as human beings, but they do not yield absolute, ontological conclusions about what we are as human beings. It is the absolute forms of reductionism that are pernicious, incompatible with religious views, and that are to be resisted.” (Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Clapsis) “There have been any number of philosophers, from Descartes to Kant who essentially reduced our reality to something within

“Human beings, by virtue of being created in the divine image, instinctively engage in mimesis, the imitation of their Creator. As sub-creators, they have all the material (physical and ideological) that the Creator Himself has placed within their reach.” (Edith M. Humphrey) “God gave humanity the instincts of a two-fold organization, blending the divine with the earthy, that by means of both he may be naturally and properly disposed to each enjoyment, enjoying God by means o