Christmas was more than a celebration; it was God’s trumpet, announcing to Herod the beginning of the end. It was a banner of war, unfurled to declare that a divine revolution had begun.
Sunday reading
Sacrifice and Worship
In Orthodox understanding, the bloodless sacrifice of the Eucharist is the primary act of worship. It is not something we do while we worship: it is what worship truly is.
Put the Dickens Back in Christmas!
I can think of no better homage to the man who “created” the modern celebration of the holiday than to read his delightful A Christmas Carol.
What Good is the Holy Fire?
My focus here is on not the sceptics who doubt the miraculous nature of the Holy Fire. My focus rather is on the significance of the miracle itself.
Barry McGuire, My Daughter, and the Moon
It was an image of God’s people, shining with a reflected glory, a divine light that came from God and illumining those in the world who could not bear the direct intensity of His glory.
Augustine, Calvin, and Predestination
We listen for the essential melody of the patristic chorus, and charitably pass over the odd discordant note which all of the Fathers occasionally sound.
“A Presence that was Not Theirs”
The year is 1868; the place, Damascus. A self-taught mystic calling himself Abd el Matar left his wife, family, and home to found a group of disciples in Damascus, the Shazlis, basing it on a Sufi brotherhood established in the middle ages. About forty or so people gathered about him […]
Not Like Religion – Clean and Unclean
The discussion of the category of clean versus unclean, sometimes discussed today, cannot be separated from the larger discussion of the abiding relevance of the Jewish Law.
Not Like Religion – Christian Sacred Space
We regard holiness not as coming from and residing in the earth itself, but from heaven. And that sanctity can be sent down from heaven to any place, for the whole earth belongs to the Lord.
Not Like Religion – the Christian Calendar
In a previous post we looked at the difference between the Christian Faith and all the other religions, and suggested that the main difference lay in the fact that Christianity was not a religion, but rather the saving presence of Christ in the world, and through His Spirit, our participation […]
Not Like Religion – the Christian Clergy
Christianity is not a religion, but the sacramental presence of the incarnate God on the earth.
Why We Need a God of Wrath
We want God to be effectual, especially when it comes to dealing with our own sins.
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