Category Archives: A Lamp for Today

“With Sacred Songs, let us praise the holy Apostle: the Narrator of the Acts of the Apostles and Author of the Bright Gospel of Christ , the All-Hymned Luke Whose Fame is not Confined to Christ’s Church for He is the Physician who Heals Men’s Ills,  Nature’s Frailties and the Soul’s Injuries and he Prays Unceasingly,Continue reading “The Gift(s) of the Evangelist Luke: Special Blog for St. Luke’s Feast-day!”

2 Corinthians 6:1-10; Isaiah 59:15-17; Wisdom 5:17-20; Isaiah 11:3-5 Today in public American discourse, one can (in many circles) only with great difficulty use the words “weapons” and “righteousness” in the same sentence. This was not always the case, of course. In past ages, those who bore weapons for the public good were honored asContinue reading “Weapons of Righteousness: Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost & Third Sunday of Luke”

Luke 5:1-11; 2 Cor 1: 21-2:4; Col 1:13-23; Isaiah 11:1-9 The prophet Isaiah was given, many centuries before the coming of the God-Man, insight into a time that God had appointed, when the Messiah would guide God’s people in wisdom and righteousness. Speaking of that hope, and helping the Jewish people to anticipate it moreContinue reading “Fear, Enemies and Fishermen: First Sunday of Luke Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost”

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”