Many years ago, when I was tucking my eldest daughter into bed, she asked me a question: “Dad, why do we believe in the Resurrection?” I have always taught both my daughters to be strong and to think for themselves, and so I was happy to hear the question, and I answered it as best as I could, giving the historical evidence. At the end of it all, she said, “Oh, good. I was afraid you were going to say that we should believe in it because it was in the Bible.” No chance of that; Dad is not a fideist, nor a fan of circular reasoning. The case for Christianity is a strong one, and can withstand historical scrutiny. Here I would like to set out the case for Christianity in somewhat fuller terms than I did that night so long ago.

In my previous piece, “Why I Am a Christian (Part 1)” I examined the question of why one should believe in the physical Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. I looked at the essential historical reliability of the Gospels portraits of Jesus and His claims to be God. I concluded that given the number and audacity of those claims, there were only three live options on the table: either He was a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. I suggested that His many miracles made sense of and supported the third option.

Today we begin a series on the use of the Old Testament in the early chapters of the Gospel of St. Matthew. We will examine his citations in his narrative of Christ’s birth, childhood and adulthood up to the time He settled in Capernaum, bringing a great light to the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali and to all the world. St. Matthew (either the actual author of the Gospel or the one under whose blessing and authority it was first disseminated) took care to present Jesus as the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, and by examining the use of the Old Testament in this Gospel we can see how deeply and creatively the Church used those Scriptures.

We continue our series examining St. Matthew’s citations of the Old Testament. Today we look at his citation of Jeremiah 31:15. It reads, “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are not.” The LXX renders it more or less the same way, though the order of the chapters is different. In the LXX the text is found in Jeremiah chapter 38, not chapter 31. But the meaning of the text is the same.

We conclude our series examining St. Matthew’s citations of the Old Testament. Today we look at his citation of Isaiah 40:3, which reads, “A voice cries, ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of Yahweh! Make straight in the desert a highway for our God!”

There is today in the Orthodox Church a cult of personality—or, more precisely, of personalities, in the plural. That is, there are a number of men, mostly monastics and wearing the badge of “elder” who have set themselves up as judges and arbiters of Orthodox praxis. Most of the hubbub is over matters of ecumenism. Drawing upon the Fathers (often ripped from their historical context) these men declare that outside the Orthodox Church there is little or no grace and salvation. Accordingly, everyone who comes to Orthodoxy from another Christian confession must—not should, but must—be received by baptism, so that those who were received by chrismation must “correct” this “error” and be again baptized.

The feast whose season we now in is called “Theophany” or (in many places) “Epiphany”. This latter is not so much an English word as it is a transliteration of a Greek word, epiphaneia. It is often rendered “appearance” in the English versions, though this rendering can be misleading. One can have a small or insignificant appearance. For example, a person can have a brief cameo appearance in a movie (such as Alfred Hitchcock famously did in his movies), appearances so brief and insignificant as to be missed by inattentive eyes.

I have just read two fascinating pieces about Pope Francis’ recent and controversial document Fiducia Supplicans, which officially allows Roman Catholic priests to bless persons in same-sex relationships, one by an Orthodox and the other by a Roman Catholic.

Protestant critics of Orthodoxy fault us for many things, but one of the foremost of their objections is our devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Hostility to Roman Catholicism is built into Protestant DNA, so anything in Orthodoxy that resembles something in Roman Catholicism will be subject to criticism, including such more or less innocuous things like clergy wearing cassocks and calling themselves “Father”. Our Orthodox devotion to Mary (whom we call “the Theotokos”) often heads the list of Protestant objections, since it features so prominently in Roman Catholicism.

In my last episode, I examined Paul’s words in Romans 9 and their bearing upon the classic Reformed teaching about predestination—i.e. the notion that before the creation of the world God had already chosen some to be saved and some to be damned, and that these choices were based solely upon His sovereign will, and that furthermore, our human choices to accept or reject Christ were simply the outworking of God’s primordial decisions. Those whom He chose to be saved He would draw to Himself so that they would accept Christ, and those whom He had chosen for damnation He would harden so that they would reject Christ. Those teaching this often refer to Paul’s words in Ephesians 1 in support of their views, so we will examine that passage here.

It has been suggested to me that in many (most?) Evangelical circles one becomes a Christian “by accepting the finished work of Christ”—i.e. by believing and accepting as true that on the cross Jesus paid the full price due our sin and by saying a prayer acknowledging this.

Fr. Apostolos talks about the dangers of confusing externalism with spiritual fruit.

Fr. Apostolos Hill unpacks the story of Hosea and Gomer, contrasting the covenant between God and Israel and Gomer's infidelity in her pursuit of an "open marriage." Jesus' words in the Gospel reading today about the exclusive nature of our union with Him in the New Covenant ("whoever loves father, mother, son, daughter more than Me...") indicates that our fidelity to Him cannot be divided.

Fr. Apostolos Hill discusses the book "God and the Pandemic' by Anglican bishop N.T. Wright. This book, as Fr. Apostolos notes, is written for us to consider the Christian response to this crisis as one of lamentation.

Fr. Apostolos Hill took the opportunity of his and Presvytera Denise's 38th wedding anniversary to offer a homily about marriage in the Orthodox view.

Scott Hanselman and his wife will be joining the walk for diabetes on May 6 2006. They've set a goal of raising $10,000 for this event and could use your help in reaching that goal. I encourage all of you to go to Scott's blog to find out more about this worthy cause, or go directly to diabetes.org to make... (64 words)

Sermon on the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul (2 Corinthians 11:21-12:9; Matthew 16:13-19)

Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

On Friday, October 29, 2010, St Nicholas Church in McKees Rocks/Pittsburgh was vandalized. The assailants smashed through a stained glass window, ripped down a royal door, and overturned a candle stand. Fr Tom reminded his flock that though these trials may come, no one can take away the gift of our faith in God. (Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost)

The Creed which we profess states that God created things "visible and invisible." Fr Tom reminds us that there is an invisible warfare constantly being waged on us, and we must be prepared by putting on the whole armor of God.

One of the most enduring questions in the minds of people is, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Christians are certainly not immune from either bad things happening or questioning why. Fr Thomas, using the story of Jesus walking on the water, reminds us that He is the Master Teacher, and can use all struggles to bring us closer to Him. (Mt 14:22-33)

The Christian life is surely a paradox. Our Lord teaches those who love Him that if they want to be exalted, they must be humble; if they want to be great, they must be a servant. Fr Thomas leads us into Holy Week by telling us that the Lord Jesus Christ not only teaches this paradox, but He lives it, and by so doing, He wins our salvation.

The scriptural readings for the eighth Sunday after Pentecost reveal a clear picture of who we are to be in Christ. St Paul teaches us that we are to be of the same mind, while St Matthew records the miracle of feeding the 5,000. Fr Thomas teaches us that we must consciously reject the choices the world presents to us, but rather fully immerse ourselves into the Church's life, which is transforming us into the likeness of God.

On the Feast of All Saints of North America, Fr Thomas reminds us of our Apostolic mission and how to meet the unprecedented challenges facing us in the 21st century.

We all receive an invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb, but how will we respond? Will we be found ready in our wedding garments? Fr. Tom calls us to look to the precious and life-giving cross to prepare ourselves as a bride waiting for the consummation of all things in Christ.

Leading into the feast of Theophany, Fr. Tom calls to remembrance the Forerunner and how he points us to repentance in order to see clearly our Savior in the Holy Trinity.

Tying together the Gospel readings from this week and the week prior, Fr. Tom lays out the reality that the One who prays, the One who walks on water, the One who gives us Himself in the Eucharist is always present . . . especially in our trials.

Listen as Fr. Tom discusses how active participation in the life of the Church now gives us a foretaste of the inheritance that awaits us in eternity.

In the second of his Holiness Month series, Fr Thomas dispels three myths about Christianity. (Matthew 10:32-33, 37-38, 19:27-30) All Saints Sunday, June 11, 2023

Fr. Gregory welcomes Fr. Yves Dubois as the guest preacher today.

Fr. Gregory encourages us to live the joy of the resurrection all year round.

The Theotokos stands for the whole biblical way of looking at the relationship between God and His creation as a mystery of LOVE.

Fr. Gregory reads a sermon by St. Gregory the Theologian on the Incarnation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Fr. Deacon Emmanuel gives the sermon on the Feast of the Annunciation.

Fr. Christopher speaks about the modern Saint, Mother Maria of Paris.

Fr. Gregory reads the two-part letter from Patriarch John X.

The glory of Jesus Christ is known in all its fullness in the resurrection of his complete person; body, mind and spirit. The Transfiguration is a disclosure of both a deified humanity and a glorified Cosmos in advance of the resurrection itself.

In Antioch Christianity moved beyond its Jewish roots and began to grow up to become the universal church that it is today—open to people of all cultures and all beliefs and all ages to become Christians.

Fr. Gregory and Fr. Emmanuel team up today to discuss the significance of the Ascension.

Lesson from the Good Samaritan by Fr. Emmanuel Kahn.

Fr. Emmanuel Kahn preaches on the Forefeast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple.

Fr. Gregory Hallam gives a sermon about the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple.

Fr. Gregory Hallam gives the sermon for Sunday, 10 March 2019.

Fr. Gregory Hallam preaches on the Feast of the Annunciation.