A Lamp for Today

We consider, by means of the Book of Wisdom 17, how paralysis takes different shapes in John 5, Acts 9 and Luke 24: some conditions in which humans have closed themselves off from God, but many others that the Lord heals by His power.

This weekend we consider the radiance of Bright week, the glory of the Theotokos, and the promise of our incorporation into the New Jerusalem, even as we reap many of its benefits now. We look to the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel, as well as to the final book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, to fill in the wonder of the Paschal hymn and its call for us to rejoice and shine with the glory of God.

This weekend we consider the radiance of Bright week, the glory of the Theotokos, and the promise of our incorporation into the New Jerusalem, even as we reap many of its benefits now. We look to the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel, as well as to the final book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, to fill in the wonder of the Paschal hymn and its call for us to rejoice and shine with the glory of God.

This week we look to the Old Testament readings of Exodus 3 and Jeremiah 32-33 to understand the feast of the Annunciation, the words of Gabriel to holy Mary, and the meeting of the Theotokos with Elizabeth in the hill country of Judah. God’s glory is seen in humble places.

This week we read the epistle through the lenses of St. John Chrysostom, St. John Climacus, the book of Genesis and Isaiah’s portrait of the Suffering Servant. Here we are given the hope to continue following our great forerunner Jesus. The gospel reading adds to this the importance of faith, prayer and fasting, as we set our faces towards the cross.

This week, we consider the strange figure of Melchizedek in Hebrews 4:14-5:10, and read it in the light of Mark 8:27-9:1, Genesis 14, Isaiah 53 and Psalm 44/45. Why is this figure compared with our Lord, and how must we go beyond this comparison to embrace the cross?

This week, we consider the strange figure of Melchizedek in Hebrews 4:14-5:10, and read it in the light of Mark 8:27-9:1, Genesis 14, Isaiah 53 and Psalm 44/45. Why is this figure compared with our Lord, and how must we go beyond this comparison to embrace the cross?

We reflect back upon the Psalm “By the Waters of Babylon,” heard by many of us in the past three weeks, as a preparation for Great Lent. Its troublesome final verse is read with the help of other portions of Scripture, St. John Chrysostom, Cassiodorus and others, so that we can understand why the psalm retains a valuable place in our worship together.

As we approach Lent, we are confronted by Jesus’ parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25, and Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 8 about making good judgments in life. We see these two passages illumined by the prophet Ezekiel’s parable of the Shepherd and the sheep.

This week, as we approach Great Lent, Dr. Edith Humphrey helps us prepare our minds by focusing upon godly humility, as seen in Job, in the model laid out for Timothy by St. Paul, and in the well-known parable of the Publican and the Pharisee.