Category Archives: A Lamp for Today

Hebrews 9:11-14, Leviticus 16, Jeremiah 31:33 In the midst of Great Lent, we are also in the midst of a people (understandably) obsessed with quarantine and disinfecting whatever we can.  Our reading from Hebrews for the fifth Sunday of Lent takes us back to the time of the Torah, when both cleansing and distancing wereContinue reading “Disinfecting the Conscience: The Fifth Sunday of Lent”

Hebrews 4:14-5:9; Leviticus 16; Genesis 14; Psalm 109 (LXX)/110 (MT) Despite the upset of Church closings and quarantine this spring, Great Lent still has great riches to offer us. We have, after all, many readings from the Old Testament during these weeks, and we also plumb the depths of the book of Hebrews, which interpretsContinue reading ““Grace to help in time of need”—The Cross, the Christ, and the Coronavirus”

Hebrews 11-12, Exodus, Judges, 1 Kings 17, Daniel Great Lent is a time when we particularly concentrate upon the Old Testament.  This makes sense, since it is a time of repentance, and St. Paul tells us to look at the Old Testament story of Israel as a way of seeing negative examples that should actContinue reading ““Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy”—the Righteous of the Old Covenant”

1 Corinthians 8:8-9:2; Amos 5, Isaiah 40 In our epistle reading for the Sunday of Meatfare, we pick up St. Paul’s train of thought after he has been answering the question of the Corinthians regarding whether it is permitted for Christians to eat food that had been previously offered to idols. It is important toContinue reading “Are we not free? Food and the Faith (Epistle for the Sunday of the Last Judgment)”

After having considered the cycles of troparia, kontakia, and theotokia, we resume our reading of the Scriptural passages for Divine Liturgy in the light of the Old Testament.  This year we will be focusing on the epistle readings, which are so often neglected in favor of the gospels, and seeking to understand them in theContinue reading “Continue in the Things That You Have Learned! The Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee”

Genesis 3; Deuteronomy 30, Psalm 138 (139 MT), Hosea Finally, we complete our study of the eight resurrectional-dismissal hymns for the Theotokos.  Tone 6 is similar to tone 8, in that these two alone address Christ rather than the Theotokos herself.  We sing this hymn during our celebration of St. Gregory the Theologian (Nazianzen) onContinue reading “Desiring to Recall Adam: The Resurrectional-Dismissal Theotokion in Tone 6”

Ezekiel 41:1-3; Psalm 130/131; Revelation 12; 21-22   Good things come to those who wait!  As we have been concentrating upon the resurrectional-dismissal hymns for the Theotokos in our Divine Liturgies from both Sundays and feast-days, we have waited some time for tone five come into play!  Finally, on January 18, when we remember SaintsContinue reading “Fourfold Joy! The Resurrectional Dismissal Theotokion in Tone Five for the Feast of Sts Athanasius and Cyril”

Daniel 12, Proverbs 31, Psalm 44 (45), Psalm 131 (132), Isaiah 7 In the past few weeks, we have been blessed to remember numerous saints, and two of my favorites— one ancient, and one contemporary.  During our celebration of both St. Ambrose (last week) and St. Herman of Alaska (this week), we sang the resurrectional-dismissalContinue reading “The Treasure of our Resurrection: The Dismissal-Resurrectional Theotokion in Tone 7”

Isaiah 7; Daniel 12 For a few weeks, due to the liturgical rhythm, we have either repeated a dismissal-resurrectional Theotokion that we already considered in this series, or we have had this usual hymn replaced with something else. Considering the significance of this week, when we celebrate the entry of the Holy God-bearer into theContinue reading “Somthing to Sing About! The Dogmatikon Theotokion in Tone Six”

Genesis 1-3, 1 Chronicles 16:8-36, Genesis 22:18 This week, we have had several feastdays, including October 31st, a day to remember the Hieromartyr John of Chicago.  His hymn, in tone one, leads to the dismissal-resurrectional Theotokion in tone one, as well. What a mysterious, provocative and joyful hymn this is!  It brings to life thatContinue reading “Carrying Your Creator: The Dismissal-Resurrectional Theotokion in Tone One”