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Tuesday after the Ascension. The Most Important Thing in Life Is the Only Non-Seasonal Thing We Do

Then He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands He blessed them. While He blessed them, He parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. Luke 24: 50-53 There are many “seasons” in life, seasons that are anticipated, seasons that are endured, seasons that are enjoyed, seasons that end, sometimes even seasons that

Monday after the Ascension. John’s End—The Purpose of the “Book”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:30-31 But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain

Friday after the Ascension. So, What Now?

And while staying with them He charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which He said, “You heard from me.” Acts 1:4 (From the Epistle Lesson read on the Feast of Ascension) If you divide the history of the world into chapters, the first chapter would be, “The Creation of the world.” The second chapter would be the period where mankind lived in total unity with

Feast of the Ascension of our Lord. He Ascended in Glory

So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. Mark 16:19 (From the Third Eothinon Gospel of the Sunday Orthros) “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” And when He had said this,

Leave-Taking of Pascha. Recruiting Others is Part of the Deal

And Jesus came and said to them, ”All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Matthew 28: 18-20 (From the Gospel read at the “Vesperal Liturgy on Holy Saturday morning) Christ is Risen! At every Baptism,

Tuesday of the 6th Week of Pascha. He Works with Us Even When We Doubt

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him they worshiped Him; but some doubted. Matthew 28: 16-17 (Gospel read at the Vesperal Liturgy on Holy Saturday morning) Christ is Risen! “Doubt” is a topic that comes up often not only in these reflections, but in any journey of faith. We wonder things like:  Is my faith strong enough? Am I doing what

Monday of the 6th Week of Pascha. We Are All Called to Be Disciples and Apostles

And Jesus said to the Disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt

Friday of the 5th Week of Pascha. Grace and Truth Supersede the Law

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 (From the Gospel at the Divine Liturgy on Pascha) Christ is Risen! I remember from my college days that I was a really good test-taker. I had this system that I called “read, retain, regurgitate, release.” I would read the information, retain it in my brain, regurgitate it for the exam, and then it was released from my brain

Thursday of the 5th Week of Pascha. Grace Molds Us Gradually and Continually

(John bore witness to Him, and cried, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, far He was before me.”‘) And from His fullness have we all received, grace upon grace. John 1:15-16 (From the Gospel at the Divine Liturgy on Pascha) Christ is Risen! Back in the reflection on Holy Tuesday, I wrote about a cup, rocks and water and used these to illustrate the concepts of

Wednesday of the 5ch Week of Pascha. Show Me Your Glory!

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. John 1:14 (From the Gospel at the Divine Liturgy on Pascha) Christ is Risen! How often do you think of the word “glory”, specifically, God’s glory? Have you ever wondered what “the glory of the Lord” might look like? Most of us probably don’t think about this