Author Archives: edithmhumphrey

Readings: Phil. 2:5-11, Luke 10: 38-42, Luke 11: 27-28, Isaiah 45 Both the readings for Western Christian communities for this coming Sunday, and our readings for today in the Orthodox Church have to do with humility. On Sunday, many Western Christians who follow the Common lectionary will be reading the words of the apostle concerningContinue reading ““Blessed Rather?” Contemplating Blessing, Honor and Humility on the Nativity of the Theotokos”

1 Cor. 4:9-16; Matthew 17:14-23;1 Samuel (1 Kingdoms)16:1-13; Micah 5:2-4 “Straighter when we bend and taller when we bow:” this was G. K. Chesterton’s understanding of the mystery of the gospel. Though he was not “Orthodox” (with a big O), he surely cared passionately about doctrinal orthodoxy and authentic Christian practice.  And his paradoxical sayingContinue reading “Fathers, Fools, Faith and Fragility: Tenth Sunday After Pentecost”

Readings: Matthew 14:14-22; 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, Ezekiel 34:11-23, 2 Kings 40-44, Psalm 23. All four gospels tell the story—or actually, the stories about how Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes, and fed multitudes.  The Orthodox Church gives the same weight to this action of Jesus, since we read not only the version from Matthew 14:14-22 thisContinue reading “Eighth Sunday of Matthew: Loaves, Fish and Family”

Readings: Matthew 9:1-8; Romans 12:6-14; Jeremiah 31:27-34; Jonah 3:1-10 “To err is human; to forgive is divine.” Indeed! Our Lord and God Jesus Christ both fulfills and breaks down this dichotomy, as we follow him through many episodes in his earthly life. He was the one human being who did not err—at least, in termsContinue reading “Forgiveness and the Authority of God’s Children: Sixth Sunday of Matthew”

Feast of St. Mary Magdalene This Friday coming is the feast day, both in the Western and Eastern Church, of St. Mary Magdalene. It is a particularly poignant time for me, since it is the name-day of my  firstborn daughter, Meredith (Mary Magdalene), who was the first of our family to be chrismated and receivedContinue reading “Feast of St. Mary Magdalene”

Readings: Romans 2:10-16; Matthew 4:18-23; Isa 53:2-5 This weekend, two weeks beyond Pentecost, we get into the brass tacks of our faith, and commence our reading of Matthew. The particular emphasis of the gospel of Matthew is one that has been especially difficult for western Protestants. It is in this gospel that we hear ofContinue reading “Second Sunday after Pentecost: Discipleship and Doom”

Acts 2:1-11; John 7:37-52; 8:12; Genesis 11:1-10; Joel 2:28-32; Ezek. 36:24-28. Seeing! Feeling and Tasting! Hearing! Pentecost is a multi-sensory feast, just as our liturgy engages all the senses. Its narrative in Acts 2 has connections with multiple passages in both the Old and New Testaments: some of these are made obvious, and others areContinue reading “Holy Pentecost: Water, Light and Living Words”

John 9:1-38; Acts 16:16-35; Psalm 2; Daniel 7 As we move towards Ascension Day, that high point of the great story when our Lord reveals his might and glory, takes our humanity up on high, and presents it to the Father, we hear, on this Sunday of the blind man, two stories of conflict betweenContinue reading “At Odds With the Power-That-Be! The Sunday of the Blind Man”

John 5:1-15; Acts 9:32-42; Micah 4:1-7 St. John Chrysostom, in his 37th Homily on the Gospel of John, reminds us of how the Scriptures speak to us: “GREAT is the profit of the divine Scriptures, and all-sufficient is the aid which comes from them. And Paul declared this when he said, “Whatsoever things were writtenContinue reading “The Sunday of the Paralytic”

John 20:19-31; 1 John 1:1-7 Genesis 2; Exodus 3 The Lord is risen! Truly, he is risen! This Sunday we hear about the response of that little group in the upper room: “When they saw the risen Lord, they were glad.” And we also hear the words of the elder John, who draws us, inContinue reading “Seeing is Believing: Sunday of St. Thomas”