Category Archives: A Lamp for Today

1 Samuel (Kingdoms) 21; Psalm 33/34; Gal. 2: 16-20; Mark 8:34-9:1 King David was not a stranger to shame. His times were wild and wooly—and most particularly, the times before he actually became king of Israel. Everyone remembers how Saul turned against David, and sought his life, even though David had been loyal to him.Continue reading “Ashamed of God? Sunday after the Elevation of the Holy Cross”

1 Cor. 16:13-24; Matthew 21:33-42; Isaiah 5:1-7; 27:1-13; 2 Peter 1: 3-12 And so we come again to the beginning of the ecclesiastical (and school!) year. In some parishes, schoolbags, children and teachers have been blessed; and on September 1, we remembered the entry of the Hebrews into the Promised Land, and the inaugural sermonContinue reading “O LORD, Look Down Upon this Vineyard! Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Thirteenth of Matthew”

1 Corinthians 9:1-12, Matthew 18:23-25; 1 Samuel/Kingdoms 12:3-25; 1 Samuel/1 Kingdoms 28; Psalm 99:6-9; Sirach 46:13-20 Our readings for the eleventh Sunday of Matthew happily correspond this year with our remembrance of the Holy Prophet and last of the Judges of Israel, Samuel. The themes of both the epistle and the gospel reading lead usContinue reading “Samuel the Prophet: Messenger of Justice and Forgiveness”

Matthew 17:1-13; 2 Corinthians 4:6; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Exodus 24 and 34; Daniel 10:5-10; 1 Kings 19; Malachi 4. St. Matthew tells us that when the disciples heard the voice of the Father, directing them to Jesus His Son, they “fell on their faces and were filled with awe.” All three synoptic gospels relate thisContinue reading “Falling on our Faces: the Feast of the Transfiguration”

Romans 15:1-7, Matt 9:27-35; Psalm 69 (LXX 68) “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Our God is the God of steadfastness and encouragement. We see this clearly as Christians, for the Father has reached intoContinue reading ““Written For Our Instruction”: Seventh Sunday of Matthew”

Matthew 8:28-9:1 For twenty-first century Western hearers of the gospels, demons and demoniacs are troublesome. We do not live in a time or a place where this phenomenon is understood, or even frequently experienced. (Though some would say that this is a deficiency in our perception!) Other ages have known about demoniacs, and even missionariesContinue reading “The Pigs and the Perishing: Fifth Sunday after Pentecost and Fifth Sunday of Matthew”

Luke 1: 1-80, 3:16-20, Malachi 4, Romans 13:11-14:4 Jesus began his ministry in full awareness of the dangers of telling the truth, and being the Truth.  As God, He knew the human heart and the depths of evil to which it can sink.  As man, He surely took notice of the sacrificial life of hisContinue reading “Telling the Truth, Then and Now: the Nativity of John the Baptist”

Job; James 5:11; Ezekiel 14:14-20 Tell me, brother, what you are able to endure, And how much of a man you are, I will tell you. Job the righteous rich man and all-glorious By Satan on a dunghill was thrown, And with pus and sores covered, To dogs and to men, a horrifying sight! WhateverContinue reading ““More is Going on than Appears to be Going On”: Lessons from Scripture on the Feast-day of the Righteous Prophet Job”

Revelation 12:9-11, Job 41:1-5, Isaiah 43:9-21, Isaiah 27:1 The stories concerning St. George are both a delight and a complication in the Orthodox tradition. For those of a practical mindset, a story that involves a princess, ravenous dragon and the knight who tames the beast smacks of legend. What is it doing among the moreContinue reading “St. George: Linking Legend with Historical Lessons”

Hebrews 12:28-13:8; John 11:1-45; 2 Maccabees 7; Daniel 12 And would it have been worth it, after all,… Would it have been worthwhile, To have bitten off the matter with a smile, To have squeezed the universe into a ball To roll it toward some overwhelming question, To say, ‘I am Lazarus, come from theContinue reading “Lazarus Saturday: the Overwhelming Question”