The Way

There’s an old saying, “You are what you eat.”

But, during Lent, the Christian tradition is to fast from meat, wine, dairy, and oil. Is the Church worried we’re going to become chunks of meat and blobs of oil?



Today, we learn about how fasting is connected to freedom and love.

If you’re like most kids, you probably had arguments with your parents when you were a kid, and I bet those arguments intensified when you became a teenager. 



As your blood boiled in frustration, I bet your teenaged-self wished your parents were dead; then you’d be free. Out of anger, you may have even vocalized this thought out loud.

If you did say it out loud, how did your parents react? I bet it wasn’t pretty.



When the prodigal son asked for his inheritance early, he was basically telling his father that he wished his father were dead. But, instead of getting angry, the father appeased his son and gave him the inheritance he asked for.



In the end, however, the inheritance was a curse for the son who would soon learn that walking the Way means that his father doesn’t treat him fairly!

In America, we have a saying, “Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.” This saying encompasses the attitude that one will get ahead in life through education and a good hard day’s work. 

But, what if this saying was a complete outright lie? Our fallen world may work this way, but the reality of the Kingdom is very different.

In order to walk the Way, we need to have a completely different understanding of how we become successful in the Kingdom.

It’s one thing to be rejected by a stranger, but it’s another thing entirely to be rejected by a friend or a family member. It hurts. But what happens when you’re rejected by the Son of God! Is there any hope for you after that? In Sunday’s Gospel lesson, Jesus rejects the Canaanite woman. What happens next and what we’re supposed to learn from this passage will cause us to walk The Way in an entirely different way.

Living according to the instruction of the gospel is always hard, especially when that instruction challenges our way of life or our perspective of the world.

As many of you probably know, one of the most famous Orthodox theologians of the 20th century was Fr. Alexander Schmemann. He was dean of the seminary I went to (St. Vladimir's), and his life's work was to teach about the Eucharist (which means, "thanksgiving").

He died on December 13, 1983, but his last liturgy was on Thanksgiving Day. Since Thanksgiving was this week, I thought it'd be appropriate to recount his words here. It was entitled, "Thank you, O Lord!"

This week, the Nativity Fast began for Orthodox Christians around the world. This 40-day period, is a time in which we prepare for the Nativity of our Lord according to the flesh.

But, as we watch our diets and take meat out of our lives, an important question comes up: is the impossible burger permissible? It’s not technically meat, but it looks, smells, and tastes like meat …

So, does it fit the fast?

The Bottom Line: when we fast, we have to be sure we don’t miss the forest for the trees.

If I were to ask you what feast Christians celebrate on January 6th, what would you say?

It probably depends on which Christian tradition you were brought up in. If you are a western Christian, you’d probably say “Epiphany.” But, if you’re an eastern Christian, you will probably respond “Theophany” instead.

Now, they are the same feast and, at the same time, they aren’t. There are some major theological differences in the emphasis between east and west, but, I’m much more interested in the difference between the words.

What exactly does “Epiphany” mean and what exactly does “Theophany” mean? And, what does the difference in definition tell us?

The Bottom Line: Our 4th type scene is “Theophanies,” which is a revelation of God.

In the Gospel of John, we hear the story of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at a well. Most sermons focus on the foreignness of the Samaritan woman: her identity as a “Samaritan” is contrasted with Jesus’s identity as a “Judean.” This then leads the preacher to speak about the inclusive nature of the Gospel.

However, this scene is a type-scene, one that goes back to Genesis. So, if it’s a type-scene, we must ask: what is the hearer supposed to recognize about this scene?

Well, the answer is that we’re supposed to recognize that two future spouses are meeting. This is their introduction to each other, an introduction that’ll eventually lead to wedding bells.

Now, this story—about Jesus and the Samaritan woman—just got interesting. If this scene is really an “encounter with a future spouse,” what then is John trying to say? What’s his point?

The Bottom Line: When two folks at a well meet, their just might be wedding bells about to ring!

One motif that appears over and over again in the Bible is the image of the barren woman.

All the matriarchs of Genesis had problems having children: Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel; and
 the motif appears again in the New Testament: St. John’s mother had a hard to time having children too.

Why would this motif appear so often in scripture?

What literary purpose does it serve for the authors of scripture?

What’s the spiritual meaning?

The Bottom Line: The motif of the barren woman reminds us that it’s God who bestows life.