The Apostle John relates [Jn 19:30] that on the Cross, Jesus bowed his head and said it is finished.” St John Chrysostom points out that there is a small easily overlooked detail of great significance here. Jesus bows his head before he dies. Normally, one dies first and then the head bows without volition. St John notes that Jesus offers his life … [Read more...]
God’s Doorknocker
A whisper was heard in heaven, “We need a doorknocker!” What could this mean? It was a mystery hidden from all eternity, unknown even to the Angels, but Isaiah, the youngest of all the Seraphim, began to wonder… The Gospel and Divine Liturgy are presented faithfully in a fresh and imaginative way through the eyes of an angel and the love of a … [Read more...]
Suffering Hell for the Sake of Heaven
Exploring the paradoxes of suffering and salvation in Orthodox Christian spiritual life. +++ Suffering Hell for the Sake of Heaven Part 1 Suffering Hell for the Sake of Heaven Part 2 … [Read more...]
Trauma and Transfiguration Talk and Q&A
To see a video of this talk and Q&A use this link https://youtu.be/fuQ_4dLkOZA … [Read more...]
What Must I Do to Feel Alive?
In the search to feel alive and at peace with life and one another, contemporary post-modern digital culture has given rise to some strange contradictions. People are lonelier while having more and more digital “friends” on Facebook. At odds with and dissociated from our physical bodies, there is an increasing preoccupation with constructing a … [Read more...]
You Don’t See Me
After 38 years of invisibility in a well-travelled area of Jerusalem where people passed daily, Jesus noticed one particular man among the many “invalid, blind, lame and paralyzed” huddled in the five porticoes around the Sheep Gate. The action throughout the Gospel of John unfolds in the context of six Jewish feasts in Jerusalem, beginning with … [Read more...]
Send That Annoying Foreigner Away!
Early in his ministry, Jesus sent the Apostles out two-by-two with instructions to “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” They were instructed to preach repentance saying “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand; heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast … [Read more...]
The Value of a Single Leaf and the Oneness of All
Approaching the Theophany of the Lord, we are again before the intersection of time and eternity. In the Apolytikion for Epiphany we sing “At your baptism in the Jordan O Lord, the Worship of the Trinity was made manifest…” There is a story from II Kings, chapter 6 in which the prophet Elisha invites some people to go to the Jordan river and build … [Read more...]
OCN Created Icon: Why am I a Christian
Part 2 is a dialogue with Fr. Dn Stephen Muse on the Image of God in Man and how as we encounter one another in and through the Logos, Christ is the guest who becomes our host in an eternal dialogue of love. Available from https://www.etsy.com/listing/768128296/the-dia-logos-prayer-art-print-free … [Read more...]
Introducing Antiphon Journal
Antifon is an on-line journal published in Greece which presents very high quality literary, theological, philosophical, cultural essays, aesthetics, and poetry. It regularly features a variety of interviews and discussions relevant to contemporary culture in light of Orthodox understanding. Interviews with Fr. Stephen were recently published on … [Read more...]
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