Sword in the Fire

The carols of Christmas have begun as we prepare for the birth of Christ.  Joyous old hymns celebrating “The First Noel”, honoring a “Silent Night”, and hearing angels beckon “Come All You Faithful” pulse through speakers of our local marketplace.  Orthodox songs are absent in popular American life, so we may be less familiar with the words and meanings.  Leading up to the Nativity, several hymns repeat each service, bringing to us the theology of the Church and helping us understand the fullness of the Incarnation.  No service of the Christmas season is more full of wonder and theology than the Royal Hours preceding the celebration of the Nativity of Christ.  Hymns explaining the mystery of God becoming Man through the womb of a Virgin are scattered among litanies, Psalms, and Readings of Scripture.  Yet throughout this service a strange phrase is repeated:   click here for the rest Theron Mathis

Track 4 of the Biblical Odes is in the tiny book of Habakkuk. I've heard all kinds of pronunciations for this name. Some put the accent on the last, and it sounds like "have-a-Cook", the Greeks transformed it to Avakoum, and my South Ga version sounds like "tobacco" with an "H". I love these "minor" prophets. Maybe it's the impulse to support the underdog. Habakkuk only has 3 chapters but a big message and he's in a part of the Bible where our pages are still stuck together. Here's some background on Habakkuk. He was from the tribe of Simeon living 600 years before Christ during the reign of the evil Judean king Manasseh. In this short book, he foretells the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. Habakkuk begins by complaining of his own personal trials, which are a legitimate concern because he was a righteous man living in the midst of pagan depravity. In the midst of his own personal p...