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Are You Like Him?
Read more: Are You Like Him?Years ago when I was in seminary, I served a small mission in Chicago. The priest was something of a mentor for me during that time. There was a young girl in the congregation, between two and three years-old. She was convinced that the priest was Jesus. (Well, he was wearing a white robe and […]
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Christ is Born! The Angels Sing!
Read more: Christ is Born! The Angels Sing!A Serbian Christmas Song – lyrics by St. Nikolai Velimirovich Andjeli Pevaju Noć prekrasna i noć tija, nad pećinom zvezda sija, u pećini mati spi, nad Isusom andjel bdi. Andjeli pevaju, pastiri sviraju, andjeli pevaju mudraci javljaju: Što narodi čekaše, što proroci rekoše, evo sad se u svet javi, u svet javi i objavi: Rodi […]
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Put the Dickens Back in Christmas
Read more: Put the Dickens Back in ChristmasIn the late 1600’s in colonial Boston, the celebration of Christmas was against the law. Indeed, anyone evidencing the “spirit of Christmas” could be fined five shillings. In the early 1800’s, Christmas was better known as a season for rioting in the streets and civil unrest. However, in the mid-1800’s some interesting things changed the […]
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I’ll Be Small for Christmas
Read more: I’ll Be Small for ChristmasChildren today are raised with dreams of greatness. Cultural affirmations of our limitless potential, well-intentioned, have not produced a generation of over-achievers, but have indeed brought forth hordes of great dreams. This is nothing new in American culture. We are the world’s longest sustained pep-talk. Ronald Reagan loved to quote the 1945 Johnny Mercer hit: […]
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Making Known the Mystery
Read more: Making Known the MysteryRecent conversations on the blog have revolved around the word “mystery” and the notion of a “literal” or “plain” meaning of the Scriptures. This reprint might be of interest. The trouble with reading Scripture is that almost everybody thinks they can do it. This idea is rooted in the assumptions of Protestant thought: only if […]
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The Translation of the Faith
Read more: The Translation of the FaithThere is an Italian proverb: Traduttore, traditore. It means, “translator, traitor.” It is the observation that no matter how hard one might try, the translation of one language into another is never more than approximate: there can be no “literal” translation. Every language is, within itself, a universe of relationships between words. There are shades […]
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Entering the Mystery of Christmas
Read more: Entering the Mystery of ChristmasOrthodox Christianity is deeply associated with the word “mystery.” Its theological hymns are replete with paradox, repeatedly affirming two things to be true that are seemingly contradictory. Most of these things are associated with what is called “apophatic” theology, or a theology that is “unspeakable.” This same theological approach is sometimes called the Via Negativa. […]
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The Morality of Christmas
Read more: The Morality of ChristmasMorality is tricky business in what is an extremely moral society. I pray my readers to be patient with me as I explain what I think is the problem. First, I will note that morality is all that is left when the most fundamental grounds of a culture have been destroyed. We indeed live in […]
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God’s Un-American View of the Poor and Why It Matters
Read more: God’s Un-American View of the Poor and Why It MattersAmerica has an odd view of the poor. It is a view that reveals much about the underlying theological assumptions that create and support our culture. I will quickly quell any protests about the mixing of theology and politics by saying, everything, even politics is rooted in theology. More about that later on… In general […]
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A Secular Kingdom…Where Christmas Never Comes
Read more: A Secular Kingdom…Where Christmas Never ComesTwo people are working at a soup kitchen, feeding the poor. One of them is a Christian, the other an atheist. The Christian is doing what he does out of obedience to Christ, in order to serve Christ “in the least of these my brethren.” The atheist is doing what he does because he […]
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Fr. Stephen, this is such a beautiful post, thank you! I don’t think I’ve ever commented before, but have been…
I can only speak of God as I know Him in Christ crucified. Apart from that, the conversation becomes an…
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…
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Anna, Thank you for your comment! It really is about love. Usefulness (utility) is certainly something that can be measured,…