Alive in Christ

In this lecture on 2 Corinthians 5:11-15, Fr. Gabriel opens with the judgment seat of Christ and a question any Christian can ask each day: what would the Lord say about my life so far? He shows how Paul turns "the terror of the Lord" on himself instead of on the Corinthians, and why the Church is an outpost of the kingdom of heaven. Drawing on the vision of Ezekiel and the iconography of our own church, he explains what it means that "one died for all," why Orthodox Christians speak of the Cross as Christ destroying death rather than as a legal punishment, and why verse 15 is the heart of this Bible study: those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

In this first Bible study of the new year, Fr. Gabriel sets the stage for 2 Corinthians: a cosmopolitan, divided church in Corinth, and a Paul who opens his heart about his own struggles and the comfort of God's presence. He returns to a favorite verse, "we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead," and then reads 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. He explores Paul's image of our earthly life as a tent, the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of the life to come, why feeling too much at home in this world can mean we are absent from the Lord, what Paul means by a spiritual body, and why we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

In this lecture on 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Fr. Gabriel reflects on Great Lent as the "Lenten spring": we prepare the soil of our hearts through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, but new life comes in God's time, not ours. He walks through Paul's words "we do not lose heart" and the outward man perishing while the inward man is renewed day by day. The class talks about why true Christians are the ones who struggle, why God so often works in the part of us we cannot see, and what it means that our light affliction is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. He closes on the difference between the things which are seen and temporary and the things which are not seen and eternal.

In this lecture on The Orthodox Faith Class: Holy Week, Fr. Gabriel walks the catechism class through the services of Holy Week day by day, from Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday to the Bridegroom services, Holy Unction, the Mystical Supper, the Twelve Passion Gospels, and the Royal Hours of Holy Friday. He explains the unbinding of Lazarus as an image of confession, why the Lord enters Jerusalem on a donkey, and why the mocked and beaten Christ is called the Bridegroom. He then follows the Lamentations, the procession under the epitaphios, the first resurrection of Holy Saturday, and the midnight Paschal service, which let us walk with Christ to the tomb and into the light of the resurrection. He also answers a question about prayers before meals and closes with practical advice for anyone experiencing Holy Week for the first time.

In this lecture on The Orthodox Faith Class — The Lenten Services, Fr. Gabriel prepares the catechism class for the approaching Lenten season by walking through the unique worship services of Great Lent, including the Forgiveness Vespers, the Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday and Friday evenings (where pre-consecrated communion is distributed since full Divine Liturgy is not served on weekdays during Lent), and the Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete. He offers practical guidance on fasting — explaining it generally means a vegan diet rather than total abstinence from food — and frames the entire Lenten journey as one of repentance, humility, and drawing closer to God, concluding with a partial church tour where he explains the theology behind Orthodox iconography, including the cross, the icon of the Theotokos as "the Directress" who always points to her Son, and the architectural layout of the church.

In this lecture on 2 Corinthians 4:13-15, Fr. Gabriel continues unpacking Paul's teaching on the apostolic life, emphasizing that knowledge of God in the Christian tradition is not intellectual but deeply relational — like the intimate "knowing" described in Genesis — and that our relationship with God matures through stages, from fear to desire to love. He revisits the theme of treasure in earthen vessels and Paul's paradox of dying daily so that life may work in others, and leads a rich discussion on Psalm 115 ("I believed, therefore I spoke"), exploring why we praise and worship God — not because God needs it, but because we need it, because the actions of love cultivate the feeling of love, and because invoking Christ's presence draws Him near to us, as beautifully expressed in the Breastplate of Saint Patrick.

In this lecture on The Orthodox Faith Class — The Creed Continued, Fr. Gabriel walks the catechism class through the latter portions of the Nicene Creed, focusing on the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, explaining through the teaching of Saint Maximus the Confessor that Christ went to the cross willingly, submitting His natural human will to the divine will of the Father as the model for all of us. He also covers key creedal affirmations including the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father, the one holy catholic and apostolic Church, one baptism for the remission of sins, and the resurrection of the dead, challenging the class to ask themselves whether they truly "look for the resurrection" in their daily lives or merely recite the words, and reminding them that the Creed is not just a statement of belief but a prayer that strengthens us against the forgetfulness the devil tries to sow.

In this lecture on 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, Fr. Gabriel explores Paul's powerful image of "this treasure in earthen vessels" — the glory of God placed within the humble, breakable container of human life — connecting it to the broader theme of God's progressive revelation from the Old Testament through Christ and into our own experience. He discusses how we behold the face of Christ in icons, in prayer, and in the people around us (drawing from Christ's words "whatever you did to the least of these, you did to me"), and then turns to Paul's paradox of apostolic suffering: that the apostle is always carrying about in his body the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may be revealed, a pattern of self-sacrificial love that extends to every Christian who lays down their life — whether through family, service, or dedicated prayer — so that life may work in others.

In this first lecture, Fr. Gabriel introduces the Nicene Creed as the foundational summary of Orthodox Christian faith. He emphasizes that the Creed is not just a statement of belief but a prayer, recited daily and during the Divine Liturgy, to remind us of who God is and what He has done. The first part of the class focuses on the opening lines of the Creed, affirming belief in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of all things visible and invisible.

Fr. Gabriel explains the Trinitarian nature of God, the mystery of one God in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and discusses the unique roles each person of the Trinity plays in creation and salvation. He unpacks the meaning of “begotten, not made”, distinguishing the Son’s divine origin from creation, and reflects on the incarnation: God the Son becoming man for our salvation. This act bridges the infinite gap between God and humanity, allowing us to be restored, healed, and united to God.

He concludes by reminding the class that Christ is the only true way to God, and that the Creed is rooted in Scripture, tradition, and the experience of the Church. Next week’s class will continue with the sections on Christ’s suffering, crucifixion, resurrection, and the Holy Spirit.

In this lecture on 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, Fr. Gabriel discusses Paul's teaching on how the gospel can be "veiled" to those who are perishing, exploring the theme of God's revelation to humanity from Adam's creation in the image of God through to the light of Christ shining in our hearts. He leads a thoughtful conversation about the mystery of why some people who don't profess faith seem joyful while some believers struggle, the nature of prayer as standing in the gap before God on behalf of others, and how God can work in people's lives in ways beyond our understanding, ultimately grounding the discussion in the Orthodox belief that God created the world out of nothing, continually sustains it by His will, and that what we call miracles are simply God acting outside His usual patterns.