In 1956 an American game show debuted called “To Tell the Truth”. Each round of the game introduced three people all claiming to be the same person, and a team of panelists would ask them questions. Those pretending to be the real (usually famous) person would make up answers, while the real person would answer truthfully. The inquiring panelists would then guess which was the real person. The host of the show would conclude by saying, “Will the real (name) please stand up?” and he or she would then stand up thereby revealing their identity and the accuracy of the panelists’ guesses.

We continue our series examining St. Matthew’s citations of the Old Testament. Today we look at his citation of Micah 5:2. “In the Masoretic Hebrew it reads, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you will come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.” The LXX reads similarly: “And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, you are very small to be in the thousands of Judah, from which for me will come out to be for a ruler of Israel, and his goings out are from the beginning, from the days of eternity.” It is all the more surprising therefore that St. Matthew’s version reads a little differently from either the Hebrew or the Greek. It reads, “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you will come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.”

Recently I heard a very dark and serious song about the judgment of God and His wrath against sinners. It was the folk song “Great God Almighty’s Gonna Cut You Down” (accessed here). I was not aware of the song before; apparently it is an American folk song. The oracular Wikipedia informs me that it was first recorded by the Golden Gate Quartet in 1946 and issued in 1947 by the Jubalairies, and since then has been covered by a variety of singers in country, folk, electronic, and black metal genres, including such singers as Johnny Cash, Tom Jones, and Elvis Presley. It takes some imagination to contemplate someone singing both about blue suede shoes and the wrath of God, but that’s America for you.

I note with no surprise whatsoever the news out of England, which is that the Church of England has decided to bless homosexual partnerships. This came after a compromise was struck last February following five years of debate about the church’s position on homosexuality and the inevitable apology offered for the church’s failure to welcome homosexuals.

I am told that during a very interesting and well-run radio show about deaconesses, it was agreed (or at least widely thought) that Phoebe, mentioned famously in Romans 16:1, was a deaconess. But was she?

Now that Great Lent is upon us, the question sometimes arises about where we should put our spiritual focus. There are two places we should certainly not put our focus—and only one place where we should.

As reported in the Byzantine Texas blogsite, the Ecumenical Patriarch is calling for a unified observance of Easter by next year, 2025, to coincide with the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea. In a sermon he said, “We beseech the Lord of Glory that the forthcoming Easter celebration next year will not merely be a fortuitous occurrence, but rather the beginning of a unified date for its observance by both Eastern and Western Christianity.” Patriarch Bartholomew went on to declare that it was “a scandal to celebrate separately the unique event of the one Resurrection of the One Lord”.

Thousands of years ago when I was a teenager and a brand-new Christian, I happened to read an article by S.G.F. Brandon about Jesus being a Zealot, in which he questioned much if not most of the Gospel portrait of Jesus and suggested that the Gospels (particularly that of Mark) constituted a whitewash of Jesus, eliminating His Zealotry from the Gospel picture to make Him and His movement more acceptable in Roman eyes. It was, of course, a precis of his 1967 book Jesus and the Zealots which created something of an academic dust up in its day.

Fr. Apostolos shares about myrrh in the Old Testament, New Testament, and today. "We must become emblems of hope as we bear that sacred myrrh, that oil of healing to a broken world."

With reflections on the life and ministry of St. Panteleimon, Fr. Apostolos encourages us to commit ourselves to give at least as much attention to our spiritual health as we do to our physical well-being.

Fr. Apostolos speaks from the Gospel of St. John, chapter 3, "For God so loved the world...," exhorting us that "love alone is the surety of our doctrinal purity."

Fr. Apostolos shares about real strength from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians.

Fr. Apostolos shares about the Ladder of Divine Ascent.

In view of the national media's drumbeat of fear-mongering, Fr. Apostolos reminds us of angelic salutation "Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy!"

Fr. Apostolos talks about the exclusive nature of our citizenship in the Heavenly Kingdom. "No one may hold dual citizenship in the Kingdom of God and any other kingdom."

Fr. Apostolos talks about the ascetic tradition of the Orthodox faith in light of St. Anthony the Great's feast day.

Fr. Apostolos shares from 2 Corinthians 6:1-10.

Fr. Apostolos talks about the history and importance of fasting.

Fr. Apostolos speaks about repentance as healing from the cancer of sin. Sin is that foreign substance in us which, if left untreated, will produce in us spiritual death, and God provides the treatment.

Fr. Apostolos talks about the importance of the Cross.

Fr. Apostolos talks about the key of humility that unlocks God's grace.

It being the parish's Stewardship Sunday, Fr. Apostolos speak about the means whereby our resources can be sacralized and our financial lives brought under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, through tithing.

Fr. Apostolos shares encouragement for the start of Great Lent.

Fr. Apostolos Hill reviews the life of St. Haralambos and the threat his faith, as a 113 year-old man, represented to an Empire.

Fr. Apostolos Hill exhorts us to embrace a new paradigm for parish youth ministry that focuses on spiritual development and less on entertainment.

Fr. Apostolos Hill speaks on the theme of the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise and how we acquire a thirst for the Kingdom.

Fr. Apostolos Hill talks about deconstruction of determinism on both a personal and corporate level. The change Jesus invites us to experience is one He Himself provides. To suggest that real change is impossible, as determinists insist, is to abandon the path of salvation.

Fr. Apostolos Hill shares Sunday's homily for the Holy Cross, at once a message easily understood enough but very challenging to accept.

Fr. Apostolos Hill dives into what we mean when we say, "Christ is born, Glorify Him" as well as other Orthodox Christmas meanings.

Fr. Apostolos Hill's homily talks about citizenship in the Heavenly Kingdom and how repentance is the entrance exam.

Fr. Apostolos Hill discusses the phases of crisis and the importance of wisdom to cling to the One who gives us hope.

Fr. Apostolos Hill returns after undergoing eye surgery to reattach the retina in his left eye. He speaks about the times when God allows us to undergo trials to strengthen our Faith in Him and sharpen and correct our priorities.

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily about the 1st Ecumenical Council and how only the God-man Jesus Christ is the Bridge that unites Heaven and Earth.

Fr. Apostolos Hill provides a straightforward expository of the peace that Jesus provides.

Fr. Apostolos Hill shares a homily on this Sunday's Gospel reading, an examination from Holy Scripture of the nature of true healing.

On the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt, Fr. Apostolos Hill shares on the Prophet Micah's closing comment on God throwing our sins into the depths of the ocean. As St. Mary's life indicates, we cannot out-sin the measureless mercy of God's love.

Fr. Apostolos Hill speaks about the importance of being transfigured in Jesus Christ.

Fr. Apostolos Hill deconstructed the soteriological heresy of the Penal Substitutionary Atonement of Anselm of Canterbury and an explanation of how the Orthodox Church understands and applies the Cross of Christ and its efficacy for our salvation.

Fr. Apostolos speaks about the meaning and application of the Greek word for "Grace" and its connection with "joy" and "gratitude."