Category Archives: A Lamp for Today

A short “Addendum” to my blog on angels: I noticed today that the OCA gospel reading for this Sunday of the synaxis was Luke 10:16-21, rather than the story of Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter, the reading for the Antiochians. Certainly this is an interesting reading to put alongside Hebrews 2, and on a day whenContinue reading “More on Angels: OCA reading Luke 10”

Hebrews 2:2-10; Luke 8:41-56, 9:1; Daniel 8:16; 9:21-11:1; Joshua 5:13-15, Rev. 12:7-11 Back when I was a graduate student, I assisted the loving but quite liberal professor of New Testament, George Johnston, in a large class given to students at McGill ( Montréal), who wanted to be more acquainted with the Bible, for the purposesContinue reading “Angels, Help us to Adore Him! (Twenty Third after Pentecost, Synaxis of the Archangels and Heavenly Host)”

Galatians 2:16-20; Luke 8:27-39; Luke 16:19-31; OT passages on “Son of God” This weekend is one of the few in which the Orthodox jurisdictions do not follow the same gospel reading. Some read the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man, while others read the story about the man with a legion of demons. TheContinue reading ““Save us, O Son of God!” Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost”

  Readings: Genesis 14:14-20; Deut 1:8-11, 15-17; Deut 10:14-21; Luke 8:5-15; Titus 3:8-15 “The saying is sure…But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels over the law, for they are unprofitable and futile” (Titus 3:8-9). What is sure? What is stupid or shallow? The answers we hear this Saturday and Sunday should give a senseContinue reading “Sunday of Holy Fathers of Seventh Ecumenical Council: Things Sure and Shallow”

Readings: 2 Cor 6:14-7:1; Luke 5:1-11 Ex 29:45-46, Lev. 26: 12-13; Jer 39 (32 MT) 37-40; Ez. 37:27-28; Isaiah 52:1-11 “Make holiness perfect in the fear of God” This Sunday, the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, we read a passage from St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians that makes many Protestants cringe. Indeed, though thereContinue reading “Intimations of Holiness”

Readings: John 3:13-17; Galatians 6:11-18; Isaiah 65:17-19; Numbers 21:5-10 This weekend marks my birthday, which stands equidistant between the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos (Sept. 8), and the feast of St. Edith of Wilton (Sept. 15/16). St. Edith is not well known to Orthodox, but is a (British) saint in the undivided Church,Continue reading ““With my Own Hand”—God’s World, our Life in the Spirit, and the New Creation.”

Readings for the Fast-day: Mark 6:14-30; Acts 13:25-33 Psalm 2:7; 10-12; Malachi 4:4-6 This Saturday is a strict fast. When we remember the beheading of John the Forerunner we are also remembering the dark side of reality, and the sober element of our faith. Clearly, we would prefer to celebrate the resurrection and the glorificationContinue reading “A Cautionary Tale: The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner”

Readings: Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 10:38-42; Luke 11:27-28; Genesis 5:22-24; 2 Kings (4 Kingdoms) 2:1-12. As a response to my last “bonus” blog on the Transfiguration of our Lord, one of my writers asked me if I might consider writing on the Old Testament background not only to the readings for Sunday’s Divine Liturgy (which IContinue reading “The Dormition and Translation of the Holy Theotokos”

The Transfiguration, found in Mark 9:1-13, Matthew 17:1-13 and Luke 9:28-36, is both a key moment in Jesus’ own ministry, and in the apprenticeship of his disciples. Meditation upon this scene, both in word and through icon, has been a powerful source of spiritual growth for Christians throughout the ages. The following is an excerptContinue reading “The Transfiguration: Transforming Light”

1 Corinthians 3:9-17; Matthew 14:22-34 Isaiah 8:13-18; Psalm 107:23-31 Our Scripture passages for this Sunday’s Divine Liturgy are well known. The epistle reading speaks of our identity together as the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The gospel reading narrates that marvelous story of Jesus encouraging the apostle Peter to walk upon the water. At firstContinue reading “God’s Signs: Building on the Foundation, Walking the Sea”