Great Lent in our tradition has always been a reminder that the battle for good, truth and love rages on in a world which opposes all these things. The first Lent was a battle; Jesus’ 40-day fight against the evil one before his world altering ministry for good. Every Lent also begins with a battle…
We always talk about being enlightened in our faith, that the more we know about God, our faith and our church, the closer we are to Him. That works for a little while, but Jesus most often pushes us in the exact opposite direction. He tended to endarken people to faith much more than enlighten…
Don’t stop with being just children of God, for we have great work to do as we grow up! I think that’s the special message which the Armenian Church and other Orthodox churches have preserved in celebrating Jesus’ baptism, as we are today, as one piece with his Christmas birth. Jesus was born, yes, this…
It doesn’t matter how you learned to pray, the great equalizer is the prayer of desperation, the upside-down prayer, the prayer we pray with our backs up against the wall. And for so many people, scratch the surface of this holiday season and the New Year, and you will find times of great trial as…
This again is not a question of prohibitions, but of priorities. Have your holiday spiced latte. Put dozens of giant inflatable lawn ornaments in your yard like my neighbor. Buy a bunch of gifts for yourself and your loved ones. But make sure you don’t buy into what you are buying, don’t live your life…
Christianity is first and foremost an applied religion, and so therefore like all things on earth, there is a seasonality to our church and spiritual life. Today we begin the season of Advent, fifty days of learning to hold loosely the things of this world and hold fast to the one thing needed. ‘Seek first…
I hope all of you voted this past week, and I hope the people you voted for did not get elected. That’s right, I hope your guys and gals didn’t get elected, and I challenge you today to get to know the candidate you don’t like who got elected. Read more about them, talk to…