SACRAMENTAL LIVING

Understanding Christianity as a Way of Life

Friendship

“Christ has come according to the power given Him from the Almighty Father, and has summoned people to friendship, blessing, repentance, and dwelling together…we should regard our fellow Christians—as friends, since each of us has become a friend of Christ. It is perhaps significant that the same Saint John who reported that Christ called the disciples His friends in John 15:15 also used the term to describe Christians [3 John 14]—it is because Christ has made us His friends

Hope

“Let us not be surprised, however, if hope is not what the world feels when it looks back upon the year 2020 and into the New Year of 2021. By many people, the year 2020 will be remembered as one of calamity: the year of the covid-19 pandemic; of violence perpetrated upon the weak by the strong; of civil unrest and rioting; of political polarization and turmoil; of fires, storms, and floods….many of us grappled with personal tragedy throughout the year, with the loss of loved

Speculation

“…let us never indulge in idle questioning. Speculation only opens the door to evil and leads us into moral and spiritual confusion. Only the Lord Jesus conversed successfully with Satan, since He alone is sinless…let us strive to live pure and godly lives, even if it requires painful struggle at times. Christ has promised to help us and save us. May we grow “in holy conduct and godliness” (1 Peter 3:11)…The renowned theologian Dumitru Staniloae equated “doing theology” with

Cross

“When we stand before the Cross of Christ, or kneel before it and honor it, we honor as well everything that is contained within it. We honor the unbelief of atheists, the anger and bitterness of the wounded, the shame of those who dare not look at themselves. For Christ has not distanced Himself from such things. The Cross is God’s single point of ingathering, where “all things are gathered together into one in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:10). Unbelief is a wound of the human hear

Solitude /Stillness /Silence

“In all four Gospels we find the Lord Jesus often leaving behind the crowds that follow Him in order to spend time by Himself. He seeks solitude to be with His Father. If the Lord, who is both man and God, needs to withdraw from the world to find intimacy with the Father, how much more do we, as fallen human beings, need to follow His example!” (Dynamis 7/21/2020) “Christ taught by example, spending whole long nights in the desert praying. He did this to teach and admonish us

Compassion

“Empathy and compassion are necessary preconditions for human community…Compassion means suffering with.” (Vigen Guroian, Orthodox Study Bible, Matthew 9:36) “ ‘When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’ (Matthew 9:35-38). Compassion is

Speaking/Talking

“ ‘Do not speak evil of one another’ (James 4:11). Belittling criticism of others is another case of pride coming out in what we say. It is a lack of faith united with evil works, an offense both to the person criticized and to God. God's will is to love others (James 2:8) with humility and mercy, even if they are in the wrong…” (Orthodox Study Bible, James 4:11-12) “Every wicked act dulls the sense of our thoughts and gives birth to arrogance. For although it is necessary fo

Bible/Scripture

“The Holy Bible (or Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments) is the most authoritative part of the Sacred Tradition of the Church. As with today's laws that govern the life of our modern society, these laws are the product of the life of the community; however, once produced, they are placed above and regulate this life. So it is with the Holy Scripture: once established by the Christian community, led by the Holy Spirit of God, then Scripture is placed above and regulates the

Chance and Randomness

“I consider myself a pretty devout Christian—I’ve centered not only my career, but also my life around Christ and the Church. Many times I still wonder is my faith really as strong as I think it is, or do I lead others to believe that it is. Many things in the world still don’t make sense to me, whether it is my own shortcomings or the disappointing things that go on in society. I wonder about God’s “master plan” and what role I play in it. Sometimes I wonder if there really

Daily Bread

“…man shall not live by bread alone. Humans have a spiritual nature that can be satisfied only by the spiritual nutrients of God’s word…man's primary food is the word of God, and obedience to that word.” (Foundation Study Bible, Deuteronomy 8:3, Orthodox Study Bible, Deuteronomy 8:3) “Give us this day our daily bread.”…Daily is a misleading translation of the Greek epiousios, which is literally “above the essence” or “super substantial”….In the Lord’s Prayer we are not merely

Mercy

“The Lord Himself said: “Be merciful, just as your heavenly Father also is merciful” [Luke 6: 36]. He did not say: “Fast as your heavenly Father fasts,” neither did He say: “Give away your possessions as your heavenly Father is without possessions”; but he did say: “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful.” This is because this virtue—above all—emulates God and is a characteristic of Him.” (Abba Dorotheos) “Compassion for others and sympathy for their failings will br

Thankfulness

“Every time we truly see and are thankful for the goodness of God in our lives, it changes us…Thanksgiving naturally creates the desire to give back—to share and multiply the goodness of God…being grateful to God is fundamental to being human.” (Kevin Scherer) “Gratitude is closely linked to optimism. The grateful person sees goodness and God in even the smallest of blessings.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis) “By giving praise and thanks to God, our hearts are illumined…Prais

Constants

“In the ongoing life of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ is the constant. He precedes all clarification of the truth in the midst of disputes, for He is ever the Lord and Master. As the Life, the Way, and the Truth, He is prior to all theology worthy of His name.” (Dynamis 5/12/2018) “Constant meditation upon the holy Scriptures will perpetually fill the soul with incomprehensible ecstasy and joy in God." (St. Isaac the Syrian) “What do we obtain from constant prayer? First

Affliction

“The verb, ‘endure,’ from, synkakopatheson, means literally, ‘to suffer affliction with.’ ” (Dynamis 7/27/2018) “Suffering is an inescapable aspect of human life in the present world. Suffering, affliction and tragic experiences disclose the vulnerable nature of human life; it enables us to recognize our limitations as human beings and our dependence upon others and upon God for sustenance in life. Suffering has the potential to lead human beings either to despair, misery and

Wisdom

“People who have the sort of mind that sees only one side to every question tend towards vigorous action. They succeed in everything they do because they do not stop to split hairs and have abounding confidence in their own abilities …On the other hand, those with subtle and cultivated minds tend to get lost in a maze of fine distinctions. They always see how complicated things really are, so that their powers of persuasion are nil. That is why the world is led by those who a

Silence and Prayer

“…silence is the preferred sound of the soul. The noise of the mind is the chatter of distraction. Such a description is frustrating to the modern mind, for we want to observe, weigh, measure and compare. We even doubt that there is such a thing as a soul, or whether it is just a name being given to something else, some other aspect of the brain. What we want of the soul is self-awareness – we require a selfie of the soul – the ultimate reassurance of the modern world.” (Fath

Spiritual Warfare and the Scriptures

“Reading scripture is a fortification of the spirit… We have a continuous need for the full armor of the Scriptures…Grounding in Scripture will always draw God’s servant closer to Him.” (St. Isaac the Syrian, St. John Chrysostom, Dynamis 5/27/2015) “And when we are under attack—tempted to sin, or to be discouraged, or to just give up altogether—it is then that we must wrestle the words and promises of the Bible into the center of our being; to “let the message of Christ dwell

Heart

“…I begin my day with prayer and some beneficial reading, opening my heart to the divine energies of the Holy Spirit. This is a sort of re-charging of my heart in the morning, which helps it stay on course.” (Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin) “The heart, the seat of a person’s will and emotions, is the place where spiritual renewal begins. There God plants love and patience, traits that will produce a harvest of good works.” (Foundation Study Bible, 2 Thessalonians 3:5) “Christ actually r

Temptation/Troubles and Suffering

“Many think that pain is the exception in the Christian life. When suffering occurs, they say,"why me?” They feel as though God deserted them, or perhaps they accuse Him of not being dependable as they thought. In reality, however, we live in an evil world filled with suffering, even for believers. But God is still in control.” (Life Application Study Bible, Hebrew 11:35-39)"Temptation comes from evil desires within us, not from God. It begins with evil though and becomes sin

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