In both the story of the fall of the Angels and the stories of Genesis 2-4, God’s created want more-more than they have been given even though what they have been given is more than enough. In a sense they had everything they could want, but there is always that nagging drive to acquire what
It wasn’t the money Jesus was teaching about but the “grasping” the “holding on.” Immediately my mind goes to the kenosis described by Paul in the Philippians hymn: “Though he was in the form of God …” I have always been fascinated by the term used that is translated “grasped at” or “held on to”
Good news! At least that’s what Gabriel called it. Good news, my ***! What sort of good news comes from nowhere, totally unexpected telling you that all of your plans and dreams are no longer valid-that everything you wanted is now at best “on hold” or more likely gone forever. That’s what I fear about
“All things come from thee, O God, and of thine own have we given thee.” Kenosis. Self-emptying. It’s ironic that in seminary, while in direction with Fr. Gerald, this was the constant theme. And yet, as I have progressed through my adult life, I still have not learned that core lesson: before God can fill
Somewhere in my memory bank is a statement by an Orthodox teacher that we in the West have an imbalanced view of God: that we so emphasize the person of Jesus (the Son within the Trinity) that our sense of the Spirit (person #3) is minimal at best. Consequently, we downplay the role of of
For what does your soul thirst? Frankly, I don’t know. This has been one of the problems in my life. I have spent so much time taking care of others or worrying about what others want of me that I have never really been able to answer the question concerning what it is for which
Am I able to be still and simply listen to God? That’s a good one! I find it hard to be still and simply listen to the world around me. I often begin my prayer time simply trying to do that – the ticking of the clock, a car passing by … and before I
If I have prayed it once, it’s been thousands of times. English, German, Spanish, Polish. Most times it starts automatically and powers through to the end – it’s over before you know it and it seems not a word meant a thing. Is it because of its nature as a form prayer? Is there value
The hands of the potter are at once strong and gentle. They are strong in that the palms and the fingers must exert just the right pressure to make the clay form. They are gentle in that the slightest movement alters the form of the pot. So it is with God, no? Just the right
When I went to college (Houghton College in the southern-tier of New York State), I lived in a religious culture that was very certain about who God was and how God operated. Very often I heard, “God loves you and has a plan for your life!” (one of the “Four spiritual laws”). At times this
