Living Orthodoxy in a Sinful World

Many people have questions about our Orthodox Christian
Faith. Many simply do not remember what they learned in Sunday School. Many are
not comfortable asking their questions in public. But ALL of us can benefit
from the questions of others. This week’s question is inspired by Saint Paul’s
words, “It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which
your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. Do you have faith? Have
it to yourself before God.” (Romans 14.21-22) In the context of recent
contemporary issues facing the Church in America, what does Saint Paul mean
when he says these words, and how do we live Orthodoxy in a sinful world?

http://youtu.be/vpAlZBgpT9Q

It’s Not about Love....It’s about MONEY

With yesterday’s SCOTUS (that’s the Supreme Court of The United States for those like myself still behind in the acronym game) decision that same-sex marriage will now be completely legal in all 50 states, it occurs to me to share a few words. I offer my words, simple and few, to the many and complex of others in responding to the court decision.

It isn’t about love. When I turned to social media yesterday, it seemed my screen had been taken over by rainbows – rainbow flags, rainbow corporate logos, rainbow pictures of The White House; there’s even a Facebook app to shade your profile picture rainbow. Just short of the rainbows was the slogan “Love Wins” running a close second. I’ve got news for you.....it isn’t about love. The LGBT community has been allowed to love anyone they wish since the beginning of time. No law legalizing marriage changes that fact. The LGBT community had been celebrating “non-legal” marriage for quite some time in several mainline Christian Churches. No law legalizing marriage changes that fact. The ONLY thing that really changed yesterday was the money.

It’s all about the MONEY. I have several friends who have been fighting for LGBT rights since I knew them in college, and I can remember quite vividly being told, “We don’t want to be allowed to marry, we just want to visit our friends in the hospital.” This mantra ended shortly as the demand for inheritance rights and other “end of life” issues seemed (to my perception) to consume the LGBT community which at the time understandably was falling victim to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. But then things changed...

Our society began to respond to the call of LGBT community activists by changing various laws which previously had limited financial equality among the LGBT community. A term had been coined, “Civil Unions” which allowed for insurance companies and the like to extend health care and survivor rights etc to LGBT partners. But it still didn’t end with civil unions. Very quickly it became about the legal status surrounding the term marriage and it’s privilege in the tax code. Those who were married, and therefore only heterosexual couples, could take advantage of various deductions and other tax benefits. Something had to change! And change it did yesterday.

But the money doesn’t stop with the LGBT victory at the Supreme Court. The pendulum is always moving. Already yesterday various high profile columnists within the LGBT community had already pushed ahead with posts warning others that the fight was not over. There have been, and I expect will continue to be, calls for Churches which refuse to support the new law to be stripped of their tax exempt status. See.....? It’s all about the money.

Because I don’t recall reading ANYWHERE that those who support traditional marriage offering to give up their various tax benefits. I don’t recall hearing of a single Church offering to pay property taxes in order to be allowed to not support same-sex marriage. It’s ALWAYS about the money. Well, maybe not always, but I haven’t witnessed many times when it has not been about the money. Let’s face it. How many Christians in 2015 love God enough to continue financially supporting their Church if their donation wasn’t tax deductible? How many Christians who, WITHOUT COMPLAINT, would forgo their vacations, beach houses, flat screen TVs, and other luxuries, in order to logarithmically increase their donations to the Church in order for the Church to pay property taxes? If the lack of financial support for Orthodox Churches today, and that is WITH all our tax benefits, is any indication, I believe we have our answer.

I wonder.......if there was no money on the table, if we would even be having this debate... 

Questions and Answers: The Light of Christ in the Narthex

Many people have questions about our Orthodox
Christian Faith. Many simply do not remember what they learned in Sunday
School. Many are not comfortable asking their questions in public. But ALL of
us can benefit from the questions of others. This week’s question addresses the
“how” and “why” of lighting candles in the Narthex. Some people think lighting
candles is just “another thing we do” as Orthodox Christians that has no
meaning. But when you place that candle in the sand, you are doing MUCH more
than just lighting a candle.

Who Is Your Master

The world in which we live demands for us to choose our master. Our master will guide us, shape our priorities, and protect us from outside dangers. Our nation was built upon the idea that each person is his own master, and has the freedom to guide and shape himself, and to set his own priorities. The sense of individual freedoms has been the hallmark of the American dream since this great nation was established. For sure there have been some, and there will continue to be some, who express their individual freedom by oppressing and defeating others. Some even kill to defend “their version” of freedom.

Such was the case this week in Charleston, SC., when a young man influenced by the idea that his way of life was more important than the life of nine of his fellow human beings. Early reports revealed a young man who, in his mind, believed “blacks were taking over” and that he had to stop them. This young man chose a master. The one he chose as his master is dedicated to the death and destruction of all things good and loving. His master is selfish and cunning. His master doesn’t know how to allow others the same freedoms that he enjoyed. His master is filled with rage and hate. And his master will stop at nothing to gain your loyalty as well.

Jesus Christ said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6.22) Events such as the tragedy in Charleston can serve as a reminder that every day we are faced with who we will choose as our master. Will we choose God, the master of love, compassion and freedom, or will we choose his enemy? Our master guides us, and shapes us, and protects us and leads us to Life. His enemy will lead to hate, rage, and death. May the memory of those killed in Charleston, and all those killed by evil influence, be eternal.

Questions and Answers: I’m Distracted by Others in Church

Many people have questions about our Orthodox Christian
Faith. Many simply do not remember what they learned in Sunday School. Many are
not comfortable asking their questions in public. But ALL of us can benefit
from the questions of others. This week’s question is a follow-up to last
week’s “Which Way Should I Look?”
where we discuss the truth, sometimes difficult truth, that when we are
distracted in Church, it might be because we don’t understand Liturgy like we
should. We answered a second question this week, also along the theme of what
are eyes see in Church, in which we discuss the different colors the Church
uses for the clergy vestments and to cover the Holy Altar.

Orthodox Christianity Shouldn’t be Tolerated; It Should be Embraced

In more than twenty years of ministry (both as a non-ordained youth director, and as an ordained clergyman) I have met many, too many really, people who seem to approach Orthodox Christianity from the attitude of tolerance. Many Orthodox Christians, especially those who have been Orthodox since their birth, view the life of the Church with an unfortunate perspective of, “Why must I do all this stuff to be a Christian?” All this “stuff” can be a number of things including: fasting, attending Divine Liturgy weekly, reading and studying the Holy Scriptures, serving the poor, participating in the many sacraments and blessing services, not the least of which praying daily. To a world which focuses more and more upon pleasure, the Orthodox Christian Way of Life can seem a burden to difficult “to be worth the effort.” As a result of this attitude of tolerance, most view the life of the Church with the attitude of, “If I have nothing else to do, then I’ll go to Church.”

Unfortunately, this attitude of tolerance is based upon a terribly incorrect understanding of the “stuff” that we tolerate. We don’t fast, just to fast. We don’t attend Church merely to be in Church because it is where we are supposed to be on Sunday morning. The “stuff” we DO as Orthodox Christians has a purpose.

The purpose of the Orthodox Christian way of life is to train ourselves to spend eternity with God. Whether it is the Sunday Divine Liturgy, fasting in honor of the Holy Apostles (we’re doing this one now....) or scheduling a time for Holy Confession with our Spiritual Father, all this “stuff” helps us to prepare our souls for eternity with God in heaven. The Orthodox Christian way of life presumes we desire to be with God in heaven. The Orthodox Christian way of life shouldn’t be tolerated; it should be embraced with zeal......IF we desire to be with God. If not.....

What are You Willing to Leave Behind to Follow God?

As Jesus called His first disciples to follow Him, many of them were fishermen. They had boats and nets to maintain. They had families to support. They were business men with a mind to manage businesses. But when Jesus called, something changed in their hearts. “They immediately left their nets and followed Him.” (Matthew 4.20) Imagine what courage it must have required for them to leave their livelihood behind to follow Jesus. Imagine what courage it must have required for men who knew their business, to follow Jesus into an unknown future. And now imagine they made no excuses. They requested no delays. They immediately followed Him.

Each of us has something that keeps us from totally and unconditionally following Jesus. For some it is a job. For others it might be fear of the unknown, but each of us is called to follow Him. Each of us is called by God to join Him in the important work of spreading the Gospel to others. The time has come to bravely drop our defenses and follow Him. The time has come be courageous in the possibility of the unknown, and trust that God will take care of our needs. It won’t be until we are free from what keeps us back, that we can follow Jesus.

What are you willing to leave behind to follow God? Once you answer that question, only one thing remains. Now put it aside and start following. Once the disciples chose to follow, great things began to happen. “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. (Matthew 4.23) Just remember one thing.....these great things could only happen when they left everything and finally followed.

We Need Your Help!

We are working on some exciting plans for the fall series of our LIVE STREAM Bible studies, but we will need some additional resources. Please consider a donation today to help us grow our online ministry, and together we can help others Live A New Life In Christ.

Which Way Should I Look?

Many people have questions about our Orthodox Christian
Faith. Many simply do not remember what they learned in Sunday School. Many are
not comfortable asking their questions in public. But ALL of us can benefit
from the questions of others. This week’s question is from someone who noticed
many people doing something different while the Priest moves throughout the
Church during services. A newcomer to Orthodox especially may be confused by
what seems like chaos among the faithful. “Which way should I look?” Now, here
is an answer to that basic question. If you would like to submit a question for
our Questions and Answers Summer Sermon Series, please visit our website at
http://LiveANewLifeInChrist.org and we will do our best to include your
question this summer.

W4T (Word for Today) Φιλορνιθία - Love of Birds

I love hosting birds in our yard. We have a feeder, a bath, a nesting box, and actually consider birds when contemplating what trees, bushes and flowers to plant in our yard. I even "sacrifice" my blackberries by leaving them for the birds. I have identified more than twenty different bird species that make a DAILY appearance in our back yard. We had two different nests this year. Welcome birds!

Questions and Answers returns this summer!

Many people have questions about our Orthodox Christian Faith. Many simply do not remember what they learned in Sunday School. Many are not comfortable asking their questions in public. But ALL of us can benefit from the questions of others. Please submit your questions about the Orthodox Christian Faith. I will answer AT LEAST one question each week during our Special Summer Sermon Series.

When Enough Isn't Enough

Everyone thirsts for something, but only one thing will
satisfy your heart. Jesus said, “"If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me
and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart
will flow rivers of living water." (John 7.37-38) It is only when we
thirst for God that our heart will be satisfied. If we thirst for wealth, it
will never be enough. If we thirst for power and authority, it will never be
enough. If we thirst for knowledge, it will never be enough. When enough isn’t
enough, you’re probably thirsting for the wrong thing. Thirst after God, and you
will never thirst again.