Wait for the Lord (Sunday XIX of Ordered time)

“Of what should befall that night, our fathers had good warning; confidence in Thy sworn protection should keep them unafraid. A welcome gift it was to Thy people, rescue for the just, and doom for their persecutors; at one stroke Thou didst punish our enemies, and make us proud men by singling us out forContinue reading “Wait for the Lord (Sunday XIX of Ordered time)”

Hail to the Lord’s anointed (Epiphany day)

“…when they had appeared in Jerusalem to find the Child, Jewish heads would have looked up at the mention of a new light shining out in the heavens, because of such prophecies as we have from Isaiah…”

‘Will you leave me, also?’ (Sunday XXI of Ordered time)

Our readings this weekend demonstrate invitations by God to a chosen people, who are always given the freedom to either accept or decline. But if they do accept, they do so not on their own conditions but on His. We should remember that in the relationships that God arranges with an elect people, He paintsContinue reading “‘Will you leave me, also?’ (Sunday XXI of Ordered time)”

Wisdom builds herself a home (Sunday XX of Ordered time)

“See, where Wisdom has built herself a house, carved out for herself those seven pillars of hers! And now, her sacrificial victims slain, her wine mingled, her banquet spread, this way and that her maidens are dispatched, to city keep and city wall, bidding her guests make haste. ‘Simple hearts,’ she says, ‘draw near me;’Continue reading “Wisdom builds herself a home (Sunday XX of Ordered time)”

The Carpenter’s son (Sunday XIX of Ordered time)

We continue this weekend with a discourse on the divine providence, because of the readings we have been given. The first reading tells of the prophet Elijah, in flight from the wicked queen of Israel, Jezebel, who wished to have him killed; in distress and on the way to the mountain upon which Moses receivedContinue reading “The Carpenter’s son (Sunday XIX of Ordered time)”

Where prophets come from (Sunday XV of Ordered time)

We had a sentiment of prophecy in our readings last weekend, when it seemed evident that prophets are always sent, whether or not people listen to them. The directions of the Creator for right human living arrive in every time, whether or not the worlds receives them well. In our readings this weekend, we discoverContinue reading “Where prophets come from (Sunday XV of Ordered time)”

Reading through the letter of S. Paul to the Ephesians

The Church in Ephesos (west of Asia Minor, just across the Aegean from Macedonia and Achaia) was always a good egg in the first century, apparently. In the last book of the Bible, she received a good report from Christ Himself for her discernment with regard to the Apostolic authority: “To the angel of theContinue reading “Reading through the letter of S. Paul to the Ephesians”

Surviving remnants (Sunday IV of Lent)

Our religion is one of resurrection, and if we look down the history of the people of God, first in Scripture and then in Church history, we find that with every great destruction of the people a small remnant survives in faith and devotion and becomes prosperous again. We’ve heard of the proverb that historyContinue reading “Surviving remnants (Sunday IV of Lent)”