Bethlehem Archives - Page 9 of 10

Eighteenth Day of Christmas Advent, Journey to Bethlehem, Part III

12/02/2015

By Father John Parker The Angels are rejoicing and proclaiming the Good News. The Magi, journeying from afar, bear their gifts foreshadowing the divinity, sovereignty, and humanity of Christ. The shepherds, the first Jews to believe, explain what they have seen and heard, leading others, too, to wonder! As we make our way, as if in a spiral towards the center of Rublev’s Nativity, we are greeted by a strange pair. A couple we wouldn’t

Tenth Day of Christmas Advent, Journey to Bethlehem, Part II

11/24/2015

By Father John Parker What shall we offer Thee, O Christ, Who for our sakes hast appeared on earth as man? Every creature made by Thee offers Thee thank. The angels offer a hymn; the heavens a star; the wisemen gifts; the shepherds, their wonder; the earth, its cave; the wilderness, a manger. And we offer Thee a virgin mother. O pre-eternal God, have mercy on us! In my last post, we began our “Journey

Sixth Day of Christmas Advent, Christmas is Already Easter

11/20/2015

In Jesus, God achieved the perfect synthesis of the divine and the human. The incarnation of Jesus demonstrates that God meets us where we are as humans. God freely and fully overcomes the gap from God’s side. The problem of redemption is already resolved once and for all, long before its dramatic illustration on the cross. Bethlehem already revealed that it was good to be a human being. For the Christian, spiritual power is always

Fourth Day of Christmas Advent, Journey to Bethlehem, Part I

11/18/2015

By Father John Parker About seven hundred years ago Andrei Rublev, or one of his disciples, painted perhaps the most memorable and beautiful icon of the Nativity of Christ. The 14th century icon is warped and cracked, but is in remarkable shape despite its age and history. It tells us, in earthen pigments bound to the gesso plaster, the story of the birth of Jesus, each facet of the good news surrounding the Virgin Mother Mary and

The Thirty-Ninth Day of Christmas Advent: For so has God Loved the World (Part II)

12/23/2014

But the road from Bethlehem to Zion is long, and is leading us through Gethsemane and Golgotha. Already in Bethlehem the newborn Godchild is presented with funeral offerings by the Wise Men from the East. “Today God leads the Wise Men to worship through the star, prefiguring His three-day burial in gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” The very doors of the Bethlehem cavern are nearly stained with the innocent blood of the children who were killed

The Thirty-Eighth Day of Christmas Advent: For so has God Loved the World (Part I)

12/22/2014

That we begin our reckoning of time with Christ’s birth is a fact which has long been but a mere convention for many. Seldom does one recall and recognize the great event from which we count time. So do we betray our ignorance and insensitivity. In ancient days, time was computed from the Incarnation of God the Word. It signifies that we live in a world which has been renewed and redeemed already, that even

Tenth Day of Christmas Advent: Bethlehem Prepare!

11/24/2014

The Church’s exhortation to get ready for Christmas is conveyed in poetic language. Our hymns command Bethlehem to prepare and make ready for the Nativity of our Lord: Behold, the time of our salvation has drawn near: O Cave, make ready! The Virgin is drawing near to give birth. O Bethlehem, land of Judah, be glad and rejoice, for from you our Lord has dawned. Listen, mountains and hills, and lands around Judea, for Christ

The Post-Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos: Remembering Saints Joachim and Anna

09/09/2014

Coming as it does right after the beginning of the Church New Year, the Great Feast of the Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos on September 8 allows us a good start that we further hope we can sustain as the liturgical year unfolds before us. As a straightforward and joyous feast of commemorating the birth of the Virgin Mary, we receive a “taste” of the joyousness of life from within the Church

Sixth Thursday after Pascha: Holy Ascension Thursday

05/29/2014

The Ascension and the Glorification of Man (Part I) By Father Lawrence Farley In contemporary Orthodoxy, we are accustomed to referring to Christ as one of the Holy Trinity. He is usually referred to as “Christ our true God”, and the Gospel of John, which stresses His divine status, is, I would suggest, our favourite of the four Gospels. When announcing the reading from (say) Matthew’s Gospel, the deacon says, “Bless master him who proclaims

The Sixth Day of Christmas: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh

12/30/2013

The adoration of Jesus by the wise men from the East is part of the Nativity celebration in the Orthodox Church.l Whatever the actual historical circumstances of the event—and Orthodox tradition takes them quite literally—the spiritual and theological significance of the coming of the kings with their gifts of paramount importance. We have already seen how the Church emphasizes the fact that the entire order of nature participates in the announcement of Christ’s birth, thus

Tags

Eighteenth Day of Christmas Advent, Journey to Bethlehem, Part III

Tenth Day of Christmas Advent, Journey to Bethlehem, Part II

Sixth Day of Christmas Advent, Christmas is Already Easter

Fourth Day of Christmas Advent, Journey to Bethlehem, Part I

The Thirty-Ninth Day of Christmas Advent: For so has God Loved the World (Part II)

The Thirty-Eighth Day of Christmas Advent: For so has God Loved the World (Part I)

Tenth Day of Christmas Advent: Bethlehem Prepare!

The Post-Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos: Remembering Saints Joachim and Anna

Sixth Thursday after Pascha: Holy Ascension Thursday

The Sixth Day of Christmas: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh

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