The “So What” Challenge!
Is being materially "rich" a blessing? Well, it certainly can be, but material wealth can reveal a deeper truth about what true riches really are! I've known materially wealthy people who were genuinely content and I've known materially poor people who were always discontented, and vice versa. Material wealth...
The Hard Work of Being “Fair”
"Well, to be fair..." I cringed when I heard these words because I knew what followed was an attempt by the speaker to shut down the discussion. After all, everyone wants "to be fair," don't we? Ah, but what is "fair?" Of course, we want to be "fair." It seems...
Sunday Homily – You Are Invited to Commune
Where does our desire, across all cultures, to prepare food and celebrate with family and friends? Why does every culture have focused etiquette about formal dinners and responding to invitations? We are hard-wired to be in community. And this flows from the fact that God created us and now...
Jesus Speaks the Plain Truth
Today is the Feastday of St. Spyridon, the Wonderworker, and I always love the common scripture passages the Church gives us during these commemorations of the heroes of our Faith. Mainly because I get to learn about the saint remembered and I get to revisit familiar scriptures in light...
Rejoice O Barren Woman…
It's always so fascinating to me to see the wisdom of the Orthodox Church year. Here we are approaching the birth of the Messiah, the God-Man, the Savior of the World, and today we celebrate the miraculous Conception of the Theotokos by St. Anna, her mother. Of course, you...
Leaders, Be Serious!
Bookstores all across the country have hundreds of books in the "Business" sections talking about how to be a good leader. They have lists and lists of characteristics and behaviors that a "good" leader has or needs. And they sell well because most of us who are leaders really...
Created To Be A Copycat! Sunday Homily
https://youtu.be/vnyj7I_POKw The hunger hardwired into each of us for community or intimacy AND the opposite fear of intimacy are at the root of our internal and even external conflicts in our lives. Until we understand how to tame our desires and our natural tendency to mimic others is solved in...
Wage the Good Warfare
Let's face it, we live in a society that has exalted radical uncertainty to a virtue. Where the "really sophisticated" people pride themselves on being able to "see all sides" of an issue without ever coming down clearly on a position. Modern thinkers fear being labeled "fundamentalists" or "close-minded"...
St Nicholas, the Servant-Leader
“I’m their leader! Which way did they go?” I have a cap with two bills on it, one in the front and one in the back with that slogan on it. It’s funny because it’s so often true. Leadership is always such a rewarding and challenging calling. In fact, if...
All Things
I remember the look on his face when I told him that Orthodoxy is "maximalist, not minimalistic." And then I reminded him of years of government promotion of the "minimum daily requirements" of this or that vitamin to be healthy. He slowly began to understand what I meant when...