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The Debt of Sin and the Sin of Debt

~By Stephen Freeman, May 24, 2023 There are a number of ideas and phrases that most Biblically literate Christians would swear were in the Bible, but are not. Among those is the phrase (or concept) of the “debt of sin.” It is simply not there. Nor is there a phrase that describes sin as something that we “owe.” Again, it’s simply not there. The phrase, “the debt of sin,” or “sin debt” is extra-biblical. It

Sunday of the Blind Man: Deflection

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on May 29, 2022 Confronted by the inconvenient healing of the Blind Man the Pharisees employed a classic defense. Deflection. Notice how hard they tried to deflect attention from the healing. Look over here! Nothing to see over there!  They attempted to undermine the veracity of the healing by trying to get the man to say he had not been born blind. Failing at

The Great and Holy Wednesday

On Holy Wednesday [Matins celebrated by anticipation on Holy Tuesday evening] the Church invites the faithful to focus their attention on two figures: the sinful woman who anointed the head of Jesus shortly before the passion (Matthew 26:6-13), and Judas, the disciple who betrayed the Lord. The former acknowledged Jesus as Lord, while the latter severed himself from the Master. The one was set free, while the other became a slave. The one inherited the

The Sixth Thursday of Great Lent: The Bridegroom and Judgment

~By Father Stephen Freeman, April 10, 2023 Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching; and again, unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless.  Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom.  But rouse yourself crying: Holy, holy, holy, art Thou, O our God.  Through the Theotokos, have

Saving Knowledge

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, November 28, 2016  I have often used the example of riding a bicycle as an image of knowing God. There’s no difficulty learning how to ride if you don’t mind falling off for a while. But no matter how many years you have ridden, you cannot describe for someone else how you know what you know. But you know it. I also suspect that if you thought too much about riding a bicycle while you were riding

The Day the Earth Stood Still

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, August 12, 2011 Orthodox Christians (New Calendar) are currently observing a two-week fast in preparation for the Feast of the Dormition, a day which marks the death (“falling asleep”) of the Mother of God. For those for whom such feasts are foreign, it is easy to misunderstand what the Orthodox are about – and to assume that this is simply a feast to Mary because we like that sort of thing.

The Great and Holy Wednesday

On Holy Wednesday [Matins celebrated by anticipation on Holy Tuesday evening] the Church invites the faithful to focus their attention on two figures: the sinful woman who anointed the head of Jesus shortly before the passion (Matthew 26:6-13), and Judas, the disciple who betrayed the Lord. The former acknowledged Jesus as Lord, while the latter severed himself from the Master. The one was set free, while the other became a slave. The one inherited the

The Fifth Tuesday of Great Lent: Awakening from Delusion

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on October 20, 2013 Luke 8:26-39 I do not like to talk about demons much. They are so into themselves that I don’t want to cooperate in their narcissism. Also, I accept completely the Orthodox understanding that sin, death, and the devil (along with the demons) were defeated when Jesus died on the Cross and was resurrected, so It seems a little un-Orthodox to give demons as much credit

The Fourth Thursday of Great Lent: God Tells Us a Story

Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, April 3, 2016 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark. (8:34-9:1) Human beings love stories. We need them. Our lives are populated with them.  Christianity is built on them. If they are in the New Testament we call them parables. Raised as a Southern Baptist child in the hills of Eastern Tennessee, we learned and memorized the stories of Adam and Eve, Moses and

The Fourth Day of Christmas: The Prayer of the Vigilant Heart

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, December 30, 2018 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA King Herod is not only an historic figure he is also a metaphor for a mind out of control, in other words, an impure mind. From impure minds come impure thoughts and from impure thoughts come suffering. We call it in Christian lingo sin. It boils down to this. Sin is anything that causes suffering in