St. Paul Archives - Page 16 of 23

The Ninth Day of Christmas Advent. “Born of a Woman.”

11/23/2018

By stating that Jesus is “born of woman”—this Mary (as both St. Matthew and St. Luke attest)—St. Paul insists that Jesus is most emphatically human, the “firstborn of all creation.” That this Mary is at the same time a virgin prevents the birth of Jesus from being reduced to what we know or can reproduce from our own experience. Life that is unmistakably human life is before us here, a real baby from an actual

The Sixth Day of Christmas Advent. Every Human Birth

11/20/2018

Birth, every human birth, is an occasion for local wonder. In Jesus’ birth the wonder is extrapolated across the screen of all creation and all history as a God-birth. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”—moved into the neighborhood, so to speak. And for thirty years or so, men and women saw God in speech and action in the entirely human person of Jesus as he was subject, along with them, to the common

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

10/03/2018

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, (flourished c. 500), probably a Syrian monk who, known only by his pseudonym, wrote a series of Greek treatises and letters for the purpose of uniting Neoplatonic philosophy with Christian theology and mystical experience. These writings established a definite Neoplatonic trend in a large segment of medieval Christian doctrine and spirituality—especially in the Western Latin Church—that has determined facets of its religious and devotional character to the present time. Historical research has been unable to identify the author, who, having assumed the name of

St. Thekla the Protomartyr and Equal-to-the-Apostles

09/24/2018

“The Holy Protomartyr and Equal of the Apostles Thekla was born in the city of Iconium. She was the daughter of rich and illustrious parents, and she was distinguished by extraordinary beauty. At eighteen years of age they betrothed her to an eminent youth. But after she heard the preaching of the holy Apostle Paul about the Savior, St Thekla with all her heart came to love the Lord Jesus Christ, and she steadfastly resolved

Turning Back (Part II)

09/05/2018

Turning Back (Part II) ‘The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Master, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?”… But Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him,

To Be or Not To Be – A Moral Question?

08/31/2018

By Father Stephen Freeman, February 3, 2015 As I continue this series on morality (or unmorality) the conversation continues to push me back to basics. There are deeply important reasons for unthinking the morality of the modern world and rethinking its place in our relationship with God. The most important reason is because it is incorrect to think of us as primarily moral beings. So what would constitute a moral being? A Moral Being A

The Unmoral Christian Revisited

08/24/2018

By Father Stephen Freeman, January 31, 2015 My article, The Un-moral Christian, along with You’re Not Getting Better, have continued to generate conversation around the internet, and within parishes. At least that’s the impression I get from numerous conversations, emails, social media, and even phone calls. Most of those conversations seem to be serious and are engaging the question of how Orthodox Christians should think about the moral life. A recent conversation in my parish has yielded

Abraham at the End of the World

07/20/2018

By Father Stephen Freeman, January 24, 2015 This is an exercise in the Orthodox reading of the Scriptures. My thoughts frequently return to this story and this line of thought. This article is greatly expanded from an earlier version. The habits of modern Christians run towards history: it is a lens through which we see the world. We see a world of cause and effect, and, because the past is older than the present, we look

Gifts and Talents and the Road to Hell

06/22/2018

By Father Stephen Freeman, January 19, 2015 At some point in my past, there was a survey used in parishes that was all the rage. It was a “gifts and talents” survey, designed to make everyone in the parish find their true ministry and to work together in fulfillment of St. Paul’s description of the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians. The key in these surveys was to determine precisely what gifts and talents someone

Behind Every Rock and Tree – An Allegory

06/15/2018

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, January 17, 2015 How is an allegorical interpretation of the Scriptures possible? In the fourth chapter of Galatians, St. Paul invokes the story of Abraham and his two sons, one born of a bondwoman (Hagar) and the other of a freewoman (Sarah). As he prepares to draw a lesson from the story he says of it: “These things are an allegory.” He then proceeds to draw a very authoritative (for him)

Tags

The Ninth Day of Christmas Advent. “Born of a Woman.”

The Sixth Day of Christmas Advent. Every Human Birth

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

St. Thekla the Protomartyr and Equal-to-the-Apostles

Turning Back (Part II)

To Be or Not To Be – A Moral Question?

The Unmoral Christian Revisited

Abraham at the End of the World

Gifts and Talents and the Road to Hell

Behind Every Rock and Tree – An Allegory

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