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The Sins of a Nation
Read more: The Sins of a NationCan a nation ever sin? If so, how can it be forgiven? The stories and prophetic writings of the Old Testament are replete with examples of national sin. There are certainly stories of God dealing with individuals, but, on the whole, His attention seems to be directed to Israel and other nations as a whole. […]
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Mystery as Reality
Read more: Mystery as RealityC.S. Lewis once discussed the question of how angels (and such things) could pass through a wall. His response was intriguing: he suggested that they could do so not because they were less substantial, but because they were more substantial. Just as a rock is more substantial than water or air, so, he posited, an angel […]
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The Mystery of “Mystery”
Read more: The Mystery of “Mystery”Few words can be more misleading to the modern ear than the Orthodox use of the word “mystery.” It’s a fine New Testament word and is (technically) the proper name for the sacraments in Orthodoxy (though we most often say ‘sacrament’ in English). Its root meaning is that of something “hidden.” In our culture’s language, […]
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Naked and Ashamed: Dealing with It
Read more: Naked and Ashamed: Dealing with ItThe Scriptures record that Adam was ashamed and hid. It’s a primal response. Shame is experienced as a burning sense of exposure and vulnerability. It begs to be clothed upon and hidden. It is possible to say that human beings have been playing “dress-up” ever since. This can be understood in a literal manner as […]
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At the Heart of Lent
Read more: At the Heart of LentYour word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You! (Ps. 119:11) Years ago, I heard a statement from an American monk: “The contemplative need go no further than his own heart to find the source of all violence in the world.” It struck me as true then and has […]
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Get Real for Lent
Read more: Get Real for LentAccording to St. Basil, God is the “only truly Existing.” Our own existence is a gift from God who is our Creator. None of us has “self-existing” life. We exist because God sustains us in existence – in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). Sin is the rejection of this gift of […]
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The Justice of Creation
Read more: The Justice of CreationYour judgments are like the great deep, O Lord, You will save men and beasts. (Psalm 36:6) The notion of justice in Scripture is rather straightforward. It has to do with proper order and balance. The one who has much should not exploit his advantage and oppress the one who has little. In all […]
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Soul Talk
Read more: Soul TalkEverybody is familiar with the voice in their head. Sometimes it has the sound of a nagging argument, repeating, rehearsing endlessly to no good end. It can also be the voice of scolding, shaming us for some minor transgression while it consigns us to the lowest of the low. It is rarely a welcome presence […]
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Forgiveness for All the Sundays to Come
Read more: Forgiveness for All the Sundays to ComeI do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; (John17:20-21) The Elder Sophrony, together with St. Silouan, wrote about the “whole Adam.” By this, they meant all the human beings who have ever existed and those yet to come. For Silouan and Sophrony, this was […]
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A Fast of Righteousness
Read more: A Fast of RighteousnessI am often puzzled by the things theologians say about “righteousness.” First, there are a striking number of different treatments. That alone should tell anyone that we are standing on the ground of “theory” rather than knowledge when we hear pronouncements about the word. It is, of course, an important word. “Seek first the Kingdom […]
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Ook, That the earliest community of Christians in Jerusalem held all things in common was certainly a response to the…
Fr. Stephen wrote: “If you do this sort of thing for a good number of decades, and couple it with…
The focus of this blog is on spiritual aspects, but I would emphasize that aphesis (ἄφεσις) in Luke 4:18 translates…
I think the idea that we have no expectations of God is mythologizing our own virtue. We do expect that…
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I can only speak of God as I know Him in Christ crucified. Apart from that, the conversation becomes an…