When Jesus met with and healed a man who was blind since birth, Jesus revealed that the man was not blind from something he did, nor from something which his parents did, meaning, he was not being punished for the wrong someone had done: As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that... Read more
While the church of Christ exists in history as an institution, we must make it clear that the institution is not in itself the that church. Rather, the church of Christ subsists in the institution; the two are intimately connected, which is why, through participation with the institution, we are able to participate in in and find ourselves within the church of Chris. Nonetheless, it is possible for someone to be within the church of Christ without being a part... Read more
The Christian faith is a missionary faith; Christians are expected to be ambassadors of Christ, sharing the good news and love of God with everyone. To do this right requires a delicate balance. Christians should hope others will come to know and experience God’s love for themselves, that is, to believe and find their life transformed by the grace and God. But they must also make sure they do not engage others merely out of the basis to convert them... Read more
Tolkien mentioned that those who believe in a personal God find themselves drawn to God with a desire to honor and worship their Creator above the way they honor anyone and anything else: Those who believe in a personal God, Creator, do not think the Universe is in itself worshipful, though devoted study of it may be one of the ways of honouring Him. And while as living creatures we are (in part) within it and part of it, our... Read more
In light of the resurrection, the Byzantine tradition reminds us of Christ’s universal charity. It does this by showing when he went beyond social boundaries of this time and lifted up those society denigrated. This is one of the reasons why Christ’s meeting with the Samaritan woman, St. Photina, is given to us at this point in the yearly cycle (the Fifth Sunday of Pascha): There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me... Read more
Jesus did many things in his temporal ministry from healing the sick, promoting those who have been unjustly oppressed (like the poor), to teaching everyone what God most expects of them, that is, to embrace the way of love. But we would be wrong to ignore that he also warned us of the consequences of unlove, of sin, if we continue to embrace it for perpetuity, that is, he warned us of the possibility of eternal perdition. God does not... Read more
There are many different reasons why someone could be homeless; no matter the reason, every homeless person should be treated with respect and given the help they need to get off the streets. Until such help is given, until they find themselves off the streets, not just with a temporary solution (such as a shelter which allows them to stay for only a few days), but a permanent one, they should not be pushed aside, or worse, fined or treated... Read more
We are called to be charitable with each other, but sadly, we often list our worst instincts get in the way of our charity. We let our worst thoughts and inclinations get the best of us, so that even minor things can end up leading us to be unjustly angry at someone else and wishing them harm. This is true, even if we have the best of intentions, even if we know we should be charitable, as two monks came... Read more
Jesus brings salvation wherever he is at. “Wherever Jesus appears, there is salvation. If He sees a revenue officer sitting in his office, He makes him an apostle and evangelist. Laid in the grave, He raises the dead to life. He bestows sight on the blind, hearing on the deaf.” [1] He overcame the power of sin, that is, the corruption and destruction it brings, so that those who have been wounded or paralyzed by it do not have to... Read more
Tolkien, examining what happened to Frodo, and how he failed in his mission, said that looking at Frodo only as a failure represented a simple engagement with The Lord Of The Rings. That is, while it was true on a rather simple examination of the story, there was and is much more we could and should gain from it if we used a different approach to engage The Lord of the Rings: Frodo indeed ‘failed’ as a hero, as conceived... Read more
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