Pentecost is a feast of joy in the Lord’s renewal of His people’s spirits and His whole creation through the giving of the Torah. As the 16th Century Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel notes, “Man’s connection to Torah represents the fruit of the soul God placed within, and its ability to produce spiritual bounty … Without Torah, he remains in that state; but once he receives Torah, he realizes his potential as adama to bring forth bountiful produce.”
Read MoreConfirmation is one of the seven sacraments of the ancient faith. Sometimes called ‘chrismation,’ owing to the long-standing practice of using blessed oil (or chrism) as part of the rite, Confirmation bestows a unique grace to the baptized Christian, by which the nascent gifts of the Holy Spirit are stirred up in them and by which the Christian is sealed as belonging to Christ. The stirring up from within and sealing from without bestow strength upon the Christian, so that they may carry out their vocation as a member of the congregation of the faithful.
Read MoreWith this week featuring both the Autumnal Ember Days and the Feast of St. Matthew (September 21st), our recaps of 1 Kings as featured in our Old Testament lessons from Morning Prayer will cover only Chapters 6–9, as our lectionary skips over Chapter 7 entirely. As a reminder, the Ember Days are days of prayer and penance which occur at the four seasons (“Ember Days at the Four Seasons” sounds like the name of a fancy restaurant), where we also pray for development of vocations for clergy. At St. Matthew’s, we’ve also taken to praying for the development of all vocations in the Church, including those of the laity.
Read MoreWe continue our recaps of the Old Testament readings for Morning Prayer with the start of 1 Kings.
Read MoreThe recap of our Old Testament Lessons from Morning Prayer continues with the final chapters of 2 Samuel. But don’t worry, David’s story will continue next week in 1 Kings.
Read MoreWe continue our recap of our Morning Prayer lessons from 2 Samuel. This week features the sad tale of Tamar, the tragic response of Absalom, and the fecklessness of David.
Read MoreAh, here it comes, David’s Babyface to Heel turn. This is always a sad week for my wife, because it represents a turning point in David’s story as well as indicating that we are moving headlong towards the end of Trinity Season and rushing towards Advent and the end of the year. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our recap of 2 Samuel chapters 9-12.
Read MoreOur look at 1 and 2 Samuel continues this week with the end of one and the start of the other. That’s right, you get two weeks of recaps for the price of one! You may notice that recaps of chapters get shorter and shorter as it goes on. I assure you, dear reader, that this is merely a technique of good storytelling, allowing our narrative to build momentum and urgency, driving us to the end (and is not in any way an indication that I wrote this in a couple of hours).
Read MoreWe continue our recap of our reading of 1 Samuel from Morning Prayer this week. In this installment, David is in his wilderness years. As Bela Lugosi says in ‘Ed Wood’, “Home? I have no home. Hunted. Despised. Living like an animal!”
Read MoreWe continue our recap of 1 Samuel, which we’ve been reading during Morning Prayer. This week we are introduced to a hick from the sticks, David, son of Jesse. Slayer of lions, slinger of stones, shredder of lyres, and apparently not a chore to look at.
Read MorePreviously in 1 Samuel, chapters 1-9, we were introduced to Samuel, last of the Judges. The people began carping about having a king like all the grown up nations surrounding them, kind of like when I was a wee lad and everyone showed up after Christmas break with a brand new, diecast metal General Lee from ‘The Dukes of Hazard,’ so I started whining to my parents for one. Anyway, this week we continue our exploration of 1 Samuel with chapters 10-15, where we are introduced to Samuel’s pick for the crown, Saul.
Read MoreLast weekend, we celebrated the feast day of St. Peter, the disciple to whom Jesus said, in Matthew 16:18-9, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah … you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Before these prophetic words came true, though, St. Peter had to face Gethsemane.
Read MoreIn our first morning prayer reading with Deuteronomy 34, we mark the end of the life of Moses. As we do every year in the Daily Office, this is a story that began in Lent 12 weeks ago, with Baby Moses, a basket and the Bulrushes in Exodus 2. Except for two breaks, we have followed the story of Moses and the Exodus through the Easter and Trinity seasons. To mark this ending, this morning I offer a eulogy for the great prophet Moses—one as I imagine Joshua might have given upon the death of his mentor and teacher.
Read MoreOne of my favorite aspects of icons is how they meet and include the viewer. When I look at an icon, I’m always reminded that these saints and stories are real, and that they happened, and of my part and place in the story of the Church. One of the ways icons meet the viewer is through symbols and structure. Let’s unpack an example of how icons meet us by using the image of the Ascension.
Read MoreIn our exploration of Christian heresies, we see much of the problem stems from the effort to square Jesus’s life and ministry with the oneness of God. In other words, how can there be only one God, as the Old Testament affirms, then how does Jesus fit into that equation? The heretic, whatever his motivation, usually winds up denying some aspect of Jesus in order to ‘fit’ Him into their view of God’s oneness, usually either by denying His humanity or His divinity.
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