New Testament Archives - Saint Sophia

The End of the Modern World

09/21/2026

~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, October 7, 2024 “Welcome to the 21st Century!” Pick your issue, and if its outcome conforms to a popular, desired norm you are likely to hear such a greeting. The greeting also implies that a less than desirable outcome is wrong because it doesn’t belong to our time. It might be characterized as “medieval,” “outmoded,” “out-of-date,” “primitive,” “Neanderthal,” “reactionary,” etc. None of which actually describe anything. Such labels are value judgments and

Reading Scripture in the Kingdom

08/31/2026

~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, July 2, 2025 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (Joh 3:6) It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (Joh 6:63) Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. (1Co 15:50) The

The Sword that Pierces the Soul

08/10/2026

~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, August 14, 2024 Mary, the Theotokos, was described by St. Irenaeus in the 2nd century, as the “New Eve.” Like Eve, she is the “mother of us all,” if we have the eyes to see her properly. She is a quiet figure in the New Testament – not a preacher or worker of miracles. We see the story of her humility and openness to God as she embraces His condescension: “Be

Love and Being

07/31/2026

~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, July 21, 2025 Perhaps the most intriguing statement in the New Testament is St. John’s simple, “God is love.” As mysterious and awesome as the revelation of the Divine Name (“I am that I am”) to Moses might be, St. John’s statement gives a content that echoes and enfolds the death and resurrection of Christ itself. Indeed, any other statement about God runs the risk of obscuring this essential revelation. More

Acquire the Spirit of Compassion & Co-Suffering Love

06/23/2026

Sermon preached by Dn. James Wilcox on Sunday, August 18, 2024 1 Cor 1:10-7; Matt. 14:14-22 The reading we just heard should be familiar to most of us, as it recounts one of the “feeding of the five thousand” stories found in our Gospel texts. And I’m guessing that these “feeding” accounts, as I’m calling them here, are somewhat familiar to most of us. And in the event that they are, here are a few

Remembering the End

05/22/2026

~By Father Stephen Freeman Orthodox Christianity often seems inherently conservative. The unyielding place that tradition holds within its life seems ready-made for a conservative bulwark against a world all-too-ready to forget everything that is good or beautiful. There are subtle but important distinctions that make this treatment of Orthodoxy misleading and can lead to the distortion of the faith and an almost reverse image of our true salvation. Orthodox Christianity does not seek to preserve

Bright Monday. I am the Resurrection and the Life

04/13/2026

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~ By Saint Justin Popovich If there’s one truth that sums up all the Gospel truths, it’s Christ’s resurrection. Moreover, if there’s one reality that summarizes all the realities in the New Testament, it’s Christ’s resurrection. All his miracles, all his truths, all his words, all the events of the New Testament can be explained only in terms of Christ’s resurrection. Until his resurrection, the Lord taught about eternal life,

The Third Friday of Great Lent. Good News – Your Debt is Being Cancelled (Part II)

03/13/2026

~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 27, 2016 This bondage or slavery to sin is also similar to language applied to the devil: Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage. (Heb 2:14-15 RSV) St. Paul

The Third Thursday of Great Lent. Good News – Your Debt is Being Cancelled (Part I)

03/12/2026

~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 27, 2016 Recent conversations on the blog have bounced around the imagery of debt in the Scriptures. Contemporary Protestant thought often likes to express the notion of a “sin debt.” The idea runs that God’s righteousness and justice have proper demands. When we fail to keep the commandments, we create a debt for which God’s justice demands payment. Christ’s innocent self-offering on the Cross is seen as the payment for

The Second Monday of Great Lent. The Communion of Tradition

03/02/2026

~By Father Stephen Freeman, June 15, 2023 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life–the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us–that which we have seen and heard we declare to

Archive

The End of the Modern World

Reading Scripture in the Kingdom

The Sword that Pierces the Soul

Love and Being

Acquire the Spirit of Compassion & Co-Suffering Love

Remembering the End

Bright Monday. I am the Resurrection and the Life

The Third Friday of Great Lent. Good News – Your Debt is Being Cancelled (Part II)

The Third Thursday of Great Lent. Good News – Your Debt is Being Cancelled (Part I)

The Second Monday of Great Lent. The Communion of Tradition

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