Sword in the Fire

Slavery is a distant memory for our culture and one we would like to forget. Yet it is no surprise that the American slaves embraced the images of the Exodus to provide hope and relief during their time of bondage. Sadly, slavery is still with us today but hidden among our neighborhoods and countries throughout the world. Today there are more slaves in the world than at any other time in history. This is not metaphorical slavery but true captivity where people are treated as chattel and property and deprived of any outward freedoms. Louis Etongwe rescues people from slavery in Virginia and Maryland. This is not slavery from the old south but from modern America. His stories are harrowing, but touching as this modern day Moses delivers people from hidden enslavement. http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/about/slavery/real-stories-from-north-america/ This modern story of slavery leads us directly into the first Biblical ode. Understanding the slaves of the American past and knowing ...

The Japan catastrophe is mind boggling in the amount of death, suffering, and destruction caused by one event. As more and more stories enter the news stream, the horror keeps growing. Yet in all this suffering, incredible stories appear that inspire the soul. Tonight, the news compared the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl to the current situation in Japan. In doing so, the stories of those who averted greater disaster were recounted. At Chernobyl, the workers who reentered the facility to contain the meltdown did so knowing that it would be their own demise. Within three months of containment, they all died. Today we hear of Japanese workers making the same sacrifice. They are giving their lives for their countrymen, and are doomed to be the walking dead for next several months. Radiation poisoning of this magnitude rarely is pretty and pleasant to the human body. These workers, of all people, know and understand the pain this will place on their lives for the next several mont...

Lent is upon us, and strange things will begin happening. The purple demons of Lent come out in force. How can you tell the purple ones have arrived? You have trouble making it to church, meat is everywhere you look, you miss morning prayer when the alarm clock mysteriously stops working, church politics gets crazy. You've seen it. Lent is a battle, and knowing this should us fight. Those who feel the brunt of Lent are often our clergy. Their workload is increased due to the increased number of services. The pressures of ministry are concentrated. While we should prayer for our clergy throughout the year, during Lent there is an urgency of prayer for them. One of their main jobs is to equip us, the laity, for the work of the ministry. For this we should offer thanks and prayers, especially during this intensive period of the year. Here is a prayer taken from the Antiochian Little Red Book: A PRAYER FOR THE PRIESTHOOD O Lord Jesus Christ, enkindle the hearts of all thy Pri...

A Facebook friend and fellow Orthodox blogger is running an FB experiment. Each day he is posting a separate song that is part of his soundtrack for life. My guess is that much of this is tongue in cheek, but it is fascinating. This is something I could never do. For me, it would be like getting a tattoo; as soon as I made my decision public, I would be embarrassed by its level of uncool. Growing up in an age of tv, radio, & movies, most of us probably have songs that evoke deep memories. My soundtrack would be a strange mix of brit pop, movie soundtracks, 80's/90's CCM, early rap, and a college foray into grunge. I still hear "Eye of the Tiger" in my head whenever I motivate myself to start a running regimen every 3 years. Decades after hearing a song, I am amazed that I can still remember the words. Songs do have power. They have a way of entering the heart of man through the back door. The music, rhythm, and rhyme drop the rational defenses of the ...

We think too much. At least I do. This is not an anti-intellectual rant. No, it an observation and confession about myself and perhaps others like me. I like many Orthodox today came into the Church via my head. I stumbled upon a Church Father, an Orthodox book, an interesting website. This discovery felt like a mysterious treasure that had been hid from me, and I could not wait to open. I opened, and found a wealth of books, treatises, and arguments I never considered. I consumed it like a tasty treat or a rich meal. Then one day it occurred that I should visit a real Orthodox church. For some this is a fulfillment of all the books read, and for others it is a bewildering assault to the senses that thrust them back to the books. It was enough for me to keep returning and eventually entered the Church through her sacraments. Because of the method of entry, I assumed the way of the journey would be the same. Yes, it was not all in our minds, for I did adapt to some external...

Today I stumbled onto something in Gregory of Nyssa that made my heart leap. I love the Fathers but occasionally their illustrations need some updating because of the gap in time and culture. But today it was different, and only my time in the Bluegrass prepared me for this one. Our Sunday School is about to jump into a study of Exodus. Besides commenting on the literary meaning of the text, which is extremely important, my goal is also be true to the way the Church and the Fathers read Scripture. Allegory, types, salvation, and moral images were all important for them. Many times it is really hard to communicate this way of reading into modern minds. It helps to follow the Church in her liturgical texts and the way she reads a particular passage and symbols. To accomplish this I try to find as much Patristic commentary on what we are studying, and let it become part of my own heart and understanding. For Exodus, one source I have picked up is St. Gregory of Nyssa's Life of ...

Orthodoxy has done a poor job reaching out to the African American community in this country. On the other hand, Islam has made significant inroads into a community that has a rich spiritual tradition. Islam often sells itself to African American as the religion with African roots. Christianity is the slave masters religion. This is blatantly false. Before Christianity made its way to Northern Europe, it had already penetrated Africa. Christianity has much deeper roots in Africa than many moderns understand. Black saints abound in Orthodoxy and the early church. One such saint is St. Moses the Black. This one saint is the inspiration for the life of a contemporary African American Orthodox priest with a most interesting testimony. Excitingly, a movie is being made on the life of this wonderful man with a message toward African American and all Americans to return to their religious roots. Below is a link to the site detailing Fr. Moses Barry and the making of the film: http://go...